Red Cardinal?

[msbudlite]

I was told by my pet store that Red Cardinals were OK with my Discus. My Discus keep hiding. Would it be possible that it's the 15 Red Cardinals in my 47gallon tank?

Thanks:D

[poconogal]

You are talking about Cardinal Tetras and hopefully not the Red Cardinal, the bird! :D I'm sure your Discus are not hiding from those teeny little fish. How long have you had the Discus? Have you checked your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? Is the tank placed in such a way that when you approach you are backlit? (That would scare the Discus, too, as all they would see is a dark form approaching). If you recently got the Discus, it could take them quite a while to become comfortable. (Some of mine took at least a month). By the way, I have a small school of 13 Cardinal Tetras and the Discus don't even notice them.

Connie

[msbudlite]

I've had my Discus' for nearly a year. My water is good. But, we do have a very small house and where they are there is a little traffic. I also have 3 Clown Loaches in the tank that I can't catch to remove. They were there before the Discus' to get rid of snails.

[lhforbes12]

MS,
If Connie is correct and you do have Cardinal Tetras (Paracheirodon axelrodi) they are often used as "dither" fish to make discus feel more secure (the discus seeing the cardinals swimming around think it's OK for them to be out too). The only other thing besides what Connie has already said is, how high is your tank? I find that when discus are placed low they tend to be far more shy. The theory is that, in the wild their main predators are birds so moving shadows above their heads make them hide from instinct. I had some on a store bought stand that wasn't very high and they always hid whenever anyone walked in the room, I moved them to a rack I had built where the bottom of their tank sits 5' from the floor. The difference was instantaneous, where before they always hid on my approach, in that tank they would rush to the front glass when I came into view, begging for food.

Larry

[poconogal]

If there is very little traffic where they are placed, they will tend to hide when there is someone approaching, as they are not used to traffic, but my first Discus tank was in my kitchen, which had constant movement by the tank, and they were not shy or skittish at all because they were used to seeing people, dogs, cats, etc. But my other suspects are the Clown Loaches. I've read many times that they should be avoided in Discus tanks, as they can make the Discus nervous, especially when they start getting a little bigger. They may well be contributing to your Discus' being nervous and hiding. They are definitely not easy to catch, though! :D

Also, Larry makes a good point about height. My tank is 24" high, so my Discus usually swim around higher up, and still, they sometimes freak when my hand goes above the water to put food in, especially if I sort of shake excess water off my fingers if I've placed food into the water. It must definitely look like a flying bird to them and I've been reminding myself not to do it anymore, but sometimes....

Connie

[msbudlite]

Thank you for the suggestions.

Yes the Cardinals are fish.:D

The bottom of my tank is at least 30" from the floor.

I'm suspecting it's the Clowns. They are fairly big now and there are 3 of them.

I don't want to upset the Discus' by trying to remove them. They are slippery little buggers. I've tried to catch them.......holy cow.

I guess I'll have to try again.:bounce:

Thanks guys.

[lhforbes12]

I don't know about the clown loaches, I have 6 clown loaches with 3 discus in a 125 and discus pretty much ignore them, but that could just be my situation. I definately agree with Connie about the old advice of keeping discus in a very low traffic area, to me it's a sure way to create discus who are always shy around people. My most outgoing ones are always the ones who are used to seeing people around, and dogs and cats etc.
The other thing I've noticed is, if discus have a solid opaque cover over their tank they are usually much less shy (like a canopy)

[crazie.eddie]

I'm new to discus, but it sounds like you have only 1 discus? I understand discus prefer to have a small group, so it may be shy becuase of no discus mates.

[msbudlite]

When I say there is "a little traffic" I mean traffic. Sorry for the confusion.

There is a cover on my tank.

Thanks

[lhforbes12]

MS,
I still don't think that's your problem, no matter how much traffic. As to the cover, do you mean a canopy? (Glass is not a cover to me). Another thing that can make them shy IME is no background, if the tank is open on all sides they tend to hide. Also if the traffic is being silhouetted, light behind the traffic, that may also be a problem because they really can't see exactly what is coming at them.

[msbudlite]

Half of the top has a canopy. My tank is covered on 3 sides.

[poconogal]

I don't know about the clown loaches, I have 6 clown loaches with 3 discus in a 125 and discus pretty much ignore them, but that could just be my situation.
I think it may be that in the confines of a 47 gal. tank they are scaring the Discus, especially since they are fairly big.

I know that they sell fish traps. If you can't catch the Clowns, maybe you can try one of the traps.

Connie

[crazie.eddie]

Catching clowns can be done by using 2 nets, 1 to coral the clown and the other to catch it. It's best to catch the clown by slowly bringing the net upwards. If you try to trap it from the side, it will swim away.

[msbudlite]

That's a great idea Eddie. I have three Clowns, so if I can catch 1 or 2 it would make the tank quieter and I'd still have one for clean up. I do believe Clowns GO all night and that's what makes the Discus' agitated. They (Discus') don't get to sleep properly.

I'll go buy another net tonight.:D

[msbudlite]

THANK YOU EDDIE!!!!!!!!!:D

The two net theory worked like a dream.

I left one Clown for now for clean up. We'll see how it goes.

I have four Discus'.

[msbudlite]

The Discus' are out and about now. I removed two of the Clowns (thank you Eddie). I'll keep one Clown for clean up and see how it goes.

Thank you all for your suggestions and expertise.:o

[poconogal]

The Discus' are out and about now. I removed two of the Clowns (thank you Eddie). I'll keep one Clown for clean up and see how it goes.

Thank you all for your suggestions and expertise.:o
Great, that's good to hear.