am i doing the right thing?

[MRQuad]

i have 11 juvies in my BB tank..
- feed them 6 times a day..
- change the water everyday up to 25% of the tank.
- try to force them to eat NLS-Discus Pellets. (so far, i only see 6 of them eating, i don't know the others when im gone.. hope they eat too)
- temp is 28C
- cover the tank that they could not see someone in the room.. because, if they see someone in the room or pass their tank, they were all going crazy.. it's like a ball bouncing around.. i'm afraid that that might make them stress.

what else did i miss guys? please, give me advise.. i want to provide them with a perfect care.. thanks!

[Eddie]

Sounds like your doing good to me. How long have you had them? What size tank you have? I would probably avoid covering up the tank, your fish need to get used to you and other people moving around the tank. Discus are scared by sudden movements so its not anything to be worried about. When your fish get used to you, they will be up in the front of tank begging for food! :)

Eddie

[MRQuad]

thanks for the reply..

it will be a week tomorrow since i had them. the size of the tank for now is 40G as my grow out tank.. i am just paranoid that i might make them stress because of a lot of movements that are going on in the room.. they banged themselves in the glass like really hard. you can hear it, that's not just one i think all of them, that is why i am covering the tank..

did i miss anything about caring them?

[Eddie]

No, sounds like your doing good. The fish are still getting accustomed to you and their new environment. Eventually they will all be eating and probably anything too. Make sure they are getting good clean water that matches the parameters of the water in the tank. Keep an eye on your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Feeding them 6 times a day may bring some changes in the water conditions from left over food or feces. Changing the water everyday will keep your nitrate levels down if your biofiltration is handling the ammonia and nitrite.

HTH
Eddie

[MRQuad]

thanks a lot for the information sir.. i do have an update, i just notice that all of my discus have a big belly, just i assumed, they all ate the pellets that i gave them.. i still cover the tank though.. huhuhu.. they are really jumping like crazy if they see someone near the tank, or a little movement..

[Apistomaster]

All the time you spend on water changes and feeding will soon become so routine for your discus that they will lose their current fearfulness. It just takes some time and as long as they are eating they are and you, are on the right track. Soon you will be rewarded by a group of constantly begging fish.

[MRQuad]

update:

i took off the cover now, and everything seems fine.. they just hold their ground, it's like observing the thing that is moving around. :o

and about the feeding, they all ate the pellets that i gave them, but something worry me though, they attacked each other every time i feed them, is that normal? would i be afraid? as in like, all of them attacked each other. :mad:

i have some questions: if i overfeed my discus, would they be ok? or, should i minimize the times that i fed them everyday? it seems they ate it all, cause there's a lot of brown poo in the bottom.. is brown poo showing a healthy discus? :D

wow, that's a lot of question.. sorry about this.. :D

[Eddie]

Yes, it is perfectly normal for the fish to attack each other while feeding. They get aggressive when it comes to food. Don't over feed them, just feed them smaller amounts throughout the day. Heavy eating means healthy discus.

Eddie

[MRQuad]

Yes, it is perfectly normal for the fish to attack each other while feeding. They get aggressive when it comes to food. Don't over feed them, just feed them smaller amounts throughout the day. Heavy eating means healthy discus.

Eddie

thank you sir! i will follow what you say.. thanks again for your time replying my messages.. i'll come back soon if i have any questions.. hehe.. :D:D

[Peachtree Discus]

it will be a week tomorrow since i had them.

was your tank fully cycled before you added the fish???

[MRQuad]

yeah, i assumed it is fully cycled.. the tank been running for more than 3years now.. :D

[mikel]

Hi: Your tank is bare bottom, correct? Did you paint the bottom of the tank with paint (obviously from the outside)? Your fish can be scared because of the glare or the sense of the never ending bottom. I was told by an experienced discus keeper that I should paint the outside of the bottom of my barebottom tank so that the discus can feel more secure. I went to my local paint shop, and picked up a non-toxic, interior paint for glass (I chose a bluish grey...deliberately choose a light color so that my pigeon bloods will have minimal peppering). It took about 10 minutes of painting upside down since my tank was already filled and set. My discus was very happy after that. So you might want to try that. mike