NEW TO DISCUS. PLEASE READ AND OFFER ADVICE :)

[Marshall25]

Hello Everyone!

I just joined today and I'm really excited to be a relatively newcomer to discus fish. I think they are some of the absolutely best looking fish and I really hope to have a beautiful full of color in the future. My name is marshall, I live in San Diego, CA, and am 22 years of age. Ill post some pictures of my tank and list all the details so you all could possibly leave some feedback/ constructive criticism. So far I have three discus, 2 3" red melons and 1 5" red/turquoise. They are housed in a 40 truvu acrylic hexagon tank. The water temp is 82 F with a Ph of 7.5. is this okay or should i need to make changes? if so how. I do not have a bubblier yet but very soon. So these guys are very scared of me especially when I did not give them any places to hide. They would act crazy and I would worry about them over stressing so for the time being I added some fake plants for some hiding places. Please offer any ideas about how to make them less shy!!! All they do is hide in the back and I never really get to enjoy them. I feed them tetra bit (the discus kind), freeze dried beefheart and blackworms, and frozen beefheart and blood worms. I have a big Hagen filter on the back with sponges and bio media. I also wanted to asked about their color. I had them in a smaller tank before when I had the temp up to like 87 F and their colors were very vibrant, now since the move they seem to be darker, any reasons why? oh lastly I know three is a small amount should I think about getting more discus? Anyways any suggestion would help and I would really appreciate it.

Here are some pics of my set up sorry about the quality

http://s24.postimg.org/9xt7q4v4x/tank1.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/9xt7q4v4x/)

http://s7.postimg.org/fkhwspa9z/tank2.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/fkhwspa9z/)

http://s9.postimg.org/ubcggrnvf/tank3.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/ubcggrnvf/)

ps if I totally fudged up posting these pictures could you also let me know a better way haha

[discusmat]

Welcome.
Read all you can here, and in your area you can go to http://www.sandiegodiscus.com/
a sponser.

[j03yYung]

How long have you had them? They usually take a few weeks to get use to you. My small Discus were like this for the first few weeks. Also try bumping the temp to 84.

[Trubble]

Welcome to Simply, Marshall.

Your fish could be dark because they are stressed. This can be caused by many things. It could be the lower temp in the tank, or the small quantity you have has them feeling insecure, especially in a larger tank, or it could be that they just haven't settled in to their new surroundings. I would relax and give them a little time. They may surprise you.

That said, discus are more comfortable in larger groups. Most go with 5+. Just keep in mind before you decide to jump in and add more fish, the rule of thumb for discus is approx 10 gallons per fish, so 5 fish =approx 50 gal tank.

Just some thoughts. hope this helps a little. I'm sure some of the more experienced members will pipe in soon.

[Trubble]

Oh, a hint about posting pics. Try uploading them to photobucket, then posting a img link to the pic in your post.

[CrazyAngels]

Oh, a hint about posting pics. Try uploading them to photobucket, then posting a img link to the pic in your post.

+1 most use photobucket.

BTW, welcome to the forum and yes Chad Hughes is a great guy to deal with and talk about discus in SD.

[mmorris]

So far I have three discus, 2 3" red melons and 1 5" red/turquoise. They are housed in a 40 truvu acrylic hexagon tank. The water temp is 82 F ...So these guys are very scared of me especially when I did not give them any places to hide. They would act crazy ...I added some fake plants for some hiding places. ... I had them in a smaller tank before when I had the temp up to like 87 F and their colors were very vibrant, now since the move they seem to be darker, any reasons why? oh lastly I know three is a small amount should I think about getting more discus? Anyways any suggestion would help and I would really appreciate it.

It would help if you did some serious reading in the beginners' section. I recommend you start with this: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?86009-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Getting-Started-with-Discus
You need at least six discus, particularly since yours are so young. Is that a black background? If so, it will darken the fish. If you give discus a place to hide, they will, and it will take longer for them to get used to you. Bump the temp up to 84-5. The 40 gallon will be fine for 6-7 discus for a few months but you will eventually need a larger tank. Most of us recommend a barebottom tank until they have grown up a bit because it is easier to keep clean. I'm guessing you got them from the fish store? How long have you had them? They may be havng health issues. How did you cycle the tank, and what is your water change regime? There are a lot of variables and without more information, it's hard to pinpoint the problem.

[Marshall25]

thank you all for the warm welcomes and advice. I have been doing a lot of reading on my down time and have a better idea of what to do, how to and so on. I did buy two more pigeon blood discus bring my total to five. They are smaller as well so I will get to enjoy watching them grow. Trubble i know you said stick by the rule of thumb of 1 discus = 10 gallon but its just not in the budget just yet. Although i do have great news since i added the new guy they are all so happy and swimming around together. The blackness has faded from everyone and their colors are really shinning. Really starting to relex now about them and actually getting to enjoy them. Will post better pictures very soon =)

[Trubble]

I'm glad to hear things are working out for you. Can't wait to see pics.

[tonytheboss1]

:bandana: Welcome Marshall25!! I won't go down the road of jumping in before knowing how deep the water is cause that ship has sailed. I will suggest strongly that you read as much as you can & arm yourself for this challenge. There is a wealth of info here & a number of good reference / history sources. Familiarize yourself with as much as you can. Continue to ask questions (hopefully BEFORE) lol and enjoy the ride. "T"

[Marshall25]

haha ya tony I realize I did things kind of hastily. but I'm much happier how things have turned out. If I have any more questions I'll be sure to ask sooner rather than later :P

[Crunchy]

For beginners before you get discus try to get a good water change system.

Whether it is a pump to hose for draining, holding area for aged water, or connecting a hose or python to the tap. Make sure your set up is near a drain or water source. It will help keep this hobby under control in terms of effort and time. Carrying buckets everyday and getting spills will sour the mood fast.

[strawberryblonde]

.. Trubble i know you said stick by the rule of thumb of 1 discus = 10 gallon but its just not in the budget just yet. Although i do have great news since i added the new guy they are all so happy and swimming around together. The blackness has faded from everyone and their colors are really shinning. Really starting to relex now about them and actually getting to enjoy them. Will post better pictures very soon =)

It's good that you've added more discus to the group, but since you didn't QT the new discus, be sure to keep a sharp eye on them for any signs of illness.

The second thing I want to mention is water changes. 5 young discus are fine in a 40 gallon tank... so long as you keep up with water changes. You'll want to do a daily water change. I'd aim for 60-80% per day. You can keep them in the 40g till they reach 5" - 6" and then they'll need to go into at least a 55 gallon, preferably a 75 gallon.

While they are growing, plan to feed them 5-6 times per day. Most feedings can be the tetra bits, flake food and freeze dried worms. Feed them the beefheart about an hour before you plan to do your daily water change. That way the beefheart doesn't have a chance to sit around and foul up the water.

[vendetta]

Hi!

I read ph7.5 and I was sorprised beacuse when I started with discus I loosed some of them because of pH. Currently I have in my main tank a pH of 6.5 and some times I think a wild discus I have is little stressed; others domestic discus are very well.

I know there are people who have pH from 7.0 to 8.0 but I don't be very sure about if it's correct.

So.. the good point here is your discus are recovering their colors ;)