New Discus, Need feedback and suggestions

[Tibu_John]

I bought 5 small discus locally last week and need some advice on the quality of the discus. They are in a 46 gallon planted tank now, the tank has been running for over 2 years now with plants and stable. Other tank mates are almost 15 neon tetras, 5 albino cory, 3 julli cory, 15 amano shrimp, 1 platy and 1 dwarf gourami. I am running pressurized co2 in the tank which comes on 30 minutes before the lights go on in the morning and goes off an hour before the lights go off. As you can see the tank has a black background. I am doing a 50% water change every 2 days now. I am kind of handfeeding them putting few beef heart flakes at a time, to make sure that they are getting enough food and doing it thrice daily. The cories and the shrimp kind of clean up any food going to the substrate

I was not aware of the terms stunted, peppering etc before I bought the fish :(. I am almost sure that 3 of the orange ones has some level of peppering, but how bad is that looking at the video?
Do they look stunted??
What color can I expect them to be when they grow up? ( I see some bluish tinge on the fins of the dark ones)?
is it a better idea to remove the black background from the tank?
Do I really need to move them to a bare bottom tank? if so what size tank should I go for?

Awaiting feedback from the discus experts here..

Video Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TDw8QB4Z8c

Thanks,
John

[Altum Nut]

Welcome to SD John.
I am no discus expert but wish you would have done more research before jumping in full throttle.
From the video I can honestly and respectfully see poor quality and it doesn't help with the environment there in.
I would think you just plopped them into your established tank without proper quarantine.
Growth appears to be set back but would highly recommend a tank of there own approx. 50g BB, no dark background and plenty of w/c's along with good high protein foods.

...Ralph

[LizStreithorst]

I'm sorry, but the fish are not good and they won't last long in that environment.

[Akili]

Hi John,Welcome to SimplyDiscus, To all newcomers to this site and this hobby, I recommend to go through the stickies’ in the Beginners Section and watch this video
https://youtu.be/VXe3VKh7qF8 it is about an hour and half long but worth hours of information
P.S. A must read thread form the beginner section http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?86009-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Getting-Started-with-Discus

P.S In the video pay good attention where Al mentions what to look for how a Discus can be stunted

[farebox]

Welcome to SD fellow discus fish lover. Sorry to say, but your fish look in unhealthy shape. Don't feel bad thou, because the most of us start out just like you. Just take in the advise from the SD members and you will be off to good start, just read,read, and fell free to ask questions. Good luck in your future discus keeping.

[Dhavalsp]

Welcome to SD....I agree with all the above comments....However, in a heavily planted tank like that with carpet plants and other tank mates, any other discus group would have ended up being stunted, peppered, etc too.

I would recommend you to keep doing your 50% water change and see what happens, keep a close eye on any signs of disease or unusual behavior....these current discus wont cut the average discus criteria as ell, however, if you managed to keep them alive they will color up over next 5-6 months. Do not keep much expectations and be prepared for the worst.

If the focus of your hobby is really discus then start over with BB tank and a good stock, preferable from one of the sponsor over here but only after you are done with your reading and working with your current batch. Trust me, you will know in few weeks if you are 'daily Water changing' person or not...:P..also look up forum sections of 'tank journals' and 'planted biotypes' for ideas...

Good luck.

Dhaval

[John_Nicholson]

I have seen worse and I have seen a whole lot better. It depends on your goals. If you just want some fish then ok they might live, at least for a while. If you are wanting the big beautiful discus that you see pictures of then it is not going to happen in that setup and probably not with those fish. Not sure where you are located but if wanted to inform you of the huge NADA show in Chicago this year. We have some great speakers coming and it would be a great way to learn what it takes to make this fish go.

Good luck.

-john

[Tibu_John]

Thanks for all your responses. This was my first try on discus and I knew i was going to make mistakes. So obviously I was not willing to spend a lot of money on the fish this time. so went for a cheap option.. you get what you paid for right? ;) . Anyway I am planning to move them to a 55 bare bottom tank soon (if I am successful in convincing my wife to add a 4th tank ;) )
Thanks again..

[Altum Nut]

I am glad you did not take offence to our feedbacks which tells me you are eager to accept recommendations and in return just makes it that much easier to succeed with Discus.
Wishing you the best of luck with your wife but even the smallest area of the house including basement will work. I find this works for me when you encounter those unexpected water spills and your wife is not around to see it.

...Ralph

[chuckiesmalls]

we all start from the bottom. Well, at least I can speak for myself.

The fact you can be positive despite what some might consider harsh criticism (I would not) shows you have the correct attitude for this hobby. Because even the best of the best, loose their best fish for no reason. Or have some other sort of catastrophe. :/ And yes, like said above, most started where oir around where you are.

Keep it up. I am relatively new but if you have any specific questions you cannot locate already on this forum I would be more than glad to shre my limited knowledge with you. :)

Good luck and keep truckin'

[chuckiesmalls]

BTW check out some of the sponsors here or locate a good breeder and start with those fish (5 minimum ideally) in a bare bottom tank. DO daily BIG water changes. Feed the crap out of them and you will be happy. Very happy.