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Hi All.

this is my first post and i\'m reaching out to discus experts for some help regarding a new discus i have.

I\'ve been keeping discus for about 10 years and have never had an issue with my water quality, illness or genuine well being of my fish, this has me stumped though!

i have done my reading online to see if there was comparable issue but the information is conflicting.

I bought 2 discus of the same strain the blue turquoise; from the same discus importer i always buy from, they were in the same tank and did my normal prep, water quality was good, the discus looked in great health.

One of them has taken a turn for the worse , about a week ago (1 week into their new tank)
the smaller one started show small brown spots on his skin above his eyes and the side,
he would go very dark (almost black) in color when the lights go on or when he is around his tank mate. The smaller one is eating a little bit, (only sinking discus pellets) as is the bigger one but i\'m concerned it\'s not enough

I\'ve been vigilant with my water charges, doing 80% a day since i noticed they issue, the temp is 30C they are the only 2 discus in the tank there\'s also 3 Bristlenose catfish 2 large pieces of driftwood and about 20 neon tetras in the tank.

The bigger one is showing no visible issues

the only thing i could think of is that my GH General Hardess is very high but i was under the impression that wouldn\'t have any affect

Please Help?

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A daily 80% water change seems extreme to me. Have you discussed this (pun intended, sorry) with your importer? Discus do tend to like softer water, but I'm not sure I've seen what you are describing in a tank with hard water before.

Does the smaller one get bullied by the big one very much?

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

i was advised on another forum (simply discus) to make the changes are large and often as possible

as far as the bullying goes, yes and no, times they'll swim together happily other times he'll go dark and nip at him or chase him around

its an odd one for sure

thanks for your reply