Help, one of my discus is hiding all the time!

[Serbi]

I recently got 6 "beginner" discus since this is my first attempt at keeping these fish. I have a 60g tank with gravel and some plants as well as some drift wood. Five of the six discus seem to be doing good.... they eat, swim all over the tank, and they don't seem to be stressed at all. One of them, however, is permanently hiding under the wood. I have seen him out... but seldomly. He doesn't even come out when it's feeding time. This has been going on for over two weeks (basically since I received them). There is a dominant fish in the tank....but he really doesn't pick on the other ones except very, very rarely.

I must say that the one hiding did look the worst when I receved them. He had parts of his fins missing...but his scales looked ok. I DID NOT pay a lot of money for these guys.... $12 to $16 each.... so I understand that the quality may not be great, BUT I would still like to make sure that they are all happy.

Help please!!

[Dillan]

How recently did you get these fish? Discus are shy and nervous -- it's their only defence in the wild. Some just take longer than others to settle in.

Assuming your water conditions are right... Maybe try feeding different types of food. Most Discus find frozen bloodworms or finely chopped beef heart pretty hard to resist.

They're not keen on bright light either. If your lights are bright, try dimming them a bit.

If all the other fish are OK you must be doing something right. ;) Try not to worry about the shy one. You can only do what you can do, after that it's up to him!

Dillan

[RLJSlick]

I recently got 6 "beginner" discus since this is my first attempt at keeping these fish. I have a 60g tank with gravel and some plants as well as some drift wood. Five of the six discus seem to be doing good.... they eat, swim all over the tank, and they don't seem to be stressed at all. One of them, however, is permanently hiding under the wood. I have seen him out... but seldomly. He doesn't even come out when it's feeding time. This has been going on for over two weeks (basically since I received them). There is a dominant fish in the tank....but he really doesn't pick on the other ones except very, very rarely.

I must say that the one hiding did look the worst when I receved them. He had parts of his fins missing...but his scales looked ok. I DID NOT pay a lot of money for these guys.... $12 to $16 each.... so I understand that the quality may not be great, BUT I would still like to make sure that they are all happy.

Help please!!
I've had my babies for about 3 weeks now, and they are still hiding. One thing, that is an old favorite trick, when you feed them, make sure they see your face, I even talk to them so they can get use to you being there, and they will associate your face and voice with happey eating time. I think my guys are finally coming around. When they see me, or even hear my voice they rush to the front hopeing to get some food. One thing I learned is that Discus love to eat. The really love to eat! :D

[Kindredspirit]

Hey Serbi!!


They do love to eat!! Make no mistake about that! Seems that is all they wanna do!! You may want to read up on the thread re starting a discus tank. Juvies do so much better in a bare bottom tank, honest!http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_11_2.gif So much healthier and less maintenance. Do water changes every day! Do not ever slack on that if you can....

Be patient they will come around! Did you get them from a LFS? They can come with some issues, really , from anywhere~If you give them a place to hide , they will. Might wanna take out the wood for now and your gravel, as it can hide some pesty things that make babies ill. ....cruise around this site and you will learn much!!

Hang in there and gather more info, okay?


Marie!http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_60.gif



Marie!

[Serbi]

Thanks for the info. I've had these guys for two weeks.... so I'll definitely give them more time to adjust. I'll also take out the wood.... no more places to do any serious hiding. I'll keep you updated on how they do.

Serbi

[Barb Newell]

Hi Serbi, what is your water change regime, how often are you feeding, is there poop ok, all gills open, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate reading?

Barb

[Serbi]

Barb,

I feed 3-4 times/day (frozen blood worms and Omega One flake). I do 25% w/c once a week. I took these readings before I changed the water: ammonia (0ppm), nitrite (0ppm), nitrate (5.0 ppm). The one that used to hide when I had the wood in there is still hiding in the corner now, after I took his "hide-away" away..... he's a Blue Diamond but his coloration is dark right now. I have a feeling he's not doing too well. The other ones seem fine.
Serbi

[CAGE-RATTLER]

Im certainly not an expert on discus as ive only had mine for a few weeks but ive read that some plants (even artificial) along with driftwood will give the new fish a sense of security and less stress............... so removing them may be more stressful on the shy one.

Personally i would put them back in and just give him more time............... but as i said ........ im certainly not an expert on them.

[crash]

Hi,
I am not an expert..I have had my discuses little less than 2 months.
But One thing that I learnt fom "The Guru" of discus Kumar from Kumlin tropical and I quote "Let the discus adjust to you, rather than you adjusting to them" If you give them space to hide they will hide. So be it.
Although you should do all the proper care if it doesnt wanna come out and feel safe its up to him as long as he doesnt look sick.
I hated my fish hiding too. Just like you I took out the places they use to hide. They seem to be doing fine,
My blue diamond use to hide a lot and get spooked and slightest movement. What did I do took out the drift wood where he hid, and voila, he is spooked no more.

Again I am not an expert, I am just offering what seemed to have worked for me.
Also it might be a little load on your tank but if its juvi discus add one more they feel secure in tank with more than 6 discus.

[lexylopez]

:bandana: :D :bandana:
I would recommend you try adding a couple more discus of the same
size from the same dealer as discus are shoaling fish and should be
kept in groups. This should give them more confidence
and make them come out. As long as they are feeding they will come
out when they are ready. Is the tank in a busy place, is there too
much movement near the tank as this will scare them.
:angel: :angel: :angel:

[ValorG]

if nothing else works, try removing the driftwood. ive learned that when given something to hide in, the discus will hide in it. I recently moved a large driftwood from my tank to see if my discus would come out and they did. i did this because they were always fine in a bare bottom tank but when i put them in my planted they would always go into my driftwood and come out sometimes. could of been my water but it was always clean, no ammonia etc...

[KingDiscus]

I would def. try to increase the amount and frequency of the water changes