Back to being shy

[Riche_guy]

I purchased a couple of Discus I introduced to a new tank a week ago. They were scared for two days hovering in the back corner. Once they started feeding they began to free swim. By this thursday they began to show signs of stress and nervousness especially when I would come to the tank. They are back in the corner only coming out for food relunctantly. Any suggestions? Water chemistry shows nothing bad except water is not cycled. being only two in a 110 gallon tank can it cause this problem??? :(

[Jarrod]

I purchased a couple of Discus I introduced to a new tank a week ago. They were scared for two days hovering in the back corner. Once they started feeding they began to free swim. By this thursday they began to show signs of stress and nervousness especially when I would come to the tank. They are back in the corner only coming out for food relunctantly. Any suggestions? Water chemistry shows nothing bad except water is not cycled. being only two in a 110 gallon tank can it cause this problem??? :(

Rich...if the water params are ok then I'd think they are still just getting used to new surroundings...when you say tank isn't cycled yet how do you mean?...how long has it been set up?...are you getting any readings on your tests in regards to ammonia, nitrates, nitrites etc?....if you can fid it you might try adding some Bio Spira to help get cycling process started...or add some filter media from a cycled tank if you have any available..keep hecking water params and feeding normally and vacing any debris up from bottom of tank...is it barebottom or planted? Wish I could give you better answers...but I'm newbie as well...the ones with more experience will chime in here shortly with more help I'm sure!...keep a close eye on them and let us know if anything changes with them...hth and good luck!!

[pcsb23]

Riche_Guy, Jarrods got it just about spot on. Check their poo, is it normal or whitish, if whitish is it stringy or lumpy??

Paul.

[Timbo]

a new tank a week ago... nothing bad except water is not cycled.

Jarrod is giving good advice. that is the problem i think, tank is not yet cycled. Its a big mitigating factor however that its so big vs the bioload, but its probably showing up now a little bit anyway. test for ammonia and nitrite and you can tell approx. where in the cycle you are.

[Riche_guy]

Tank is about a week old. All chemistry shows 0 and Ph is in the 6.6 - 6.8 range. Besides shyness I don't think the fish are showing signs they are suffering. their front fins are batting hard, but there is a current in the water, not too severe though. I guess it is a question of time and perhaps getting more inhabitants in there. Nothing abnormal about their droppings neither. Stay tuned.

[Jarrod]

Tank is about a week old. All chemistry shows 0 and Ph is in the 6.6 - 6.8 range. Besides shyness I don't think the fish are showing signs they are suffering. their front fins are batting hard, but there is a current in the water, not too severe though. I guess it is a question of time and perhaps getting more inhabitants in there. Nothing abnormal about their droppings neither. Stay tuned.

Rich to help get the cycling going a bit faster you might think about upping your bio load a bit in that size of tank...maybe add some dithering fish that you know are healthy and disease free...maybe some cardinal tetras or cory catfish or a pleco to help keep the bottom cleaned up a bit...just a thought...

[candyl70]

Hey Riche,
If your tank is not cycled, i definatley would NOT add cardinals, corys or plecos. The reason that they are a bad choice is that they don't cycle well, most of them can't handle the ammonia and nitrite spikes, in fact, neither can the discus. I think your best bet is to try and find some Biospira that will cycle your tank over night. Other wise you may loose your fish. (unless you are doing daily water changes). There are other types of tetras that are better for cycling if you can't find Biospira. Tell your lfs how long you have had the tank set up and that you have discus so that they give you a calmer and not nippy tetra for cycling. Good luck!


Candy