A couple newbie questions

[bearrock]

I am new to discus (three days new) and seem to have already begin running into problems. I bought 3 discus from a local breeder 3 days ago they are ~ 3.5-4". The breeder was swearing that the PH could not be any greater than 6.5. Before the fish arrived I did everything I could to get the PH down but could not get it is decrease at all with API 6.5. The PH is 7.4.... Hard water? After further reading it seems that the PH will be ok as long as it is not fluctuating but I have yet to get any of the three to eat anything. They will suck in a blood worms but then they spit it right back out. I raised the temp to form 81 to 84 in hopes that would help.

None of them appear to be stressed after the first day they came out of hiding and swim around the tank regularly. I have been doing daily 50% water changes to get out all the un-eaten food and keep the water conditions optimal but I am unsure where to go from here. Should I keep trying to feed them or wait a day or two and try again?

[frinklinduds]

alright this same thing happened to me at first, try live food they cant resist it. also i ahve come to learn that store brought frozen food is not the best for discus and might not appear much to them. try goign to the food/nutrition section on the site for some recipes for some discus food. also give them time to settle in, and do not mess with the ph, keep it steady and your good to go ( my ph is at 7.6 and mine seem to be thriving well ). keep temperature around 86.

you also could try not feeding them a day or so and they will most likely eat.... i think of it this way, if you don't eat for a a day or so and someone gives you any type of food you are going to eat it and so will they


hope this helps, in my humble opinion try getting them some live food

[judy]

check with the breeder re what they were being feed prior to your getting them. Live food should get them going, but so might the same food they had before. If that was bloodworms, then just don't feed for a couple days. It can take awhile for them to get used to a new space.

[lane mechtel]

give it time, I have had some eat flakes on day 2 and others take 6 weeks, they will live. I would not feed them again until you see them looking for food, such as pecking at wood ,plants , gravel ect. I do feed a variety but I usually start with flakes because it tends to be the most difficult to get them to eat. I Know I'm strict. lol

[lane mechtel]

also my PH is 7.5 and all is well. just make sure it is the same when you do your water change. you are correct, make sure it is not fluctuating its very stressful to them.

[bearrock]

I have been trying to feed exactly what the breeder was feeding them.....still no luck. I will give it a couple days and post again.

Thank you for the help!

[ericatdallas]

I don't know if I read it above... but stop messing with your pH. Let them acclimate to your water. Try to remember, that a pH of 6 compared to 7 is 10 times more acidic. So those fractions may not seem to be much, but actually are quite significant. So if you're unable to properly maintain the stability, then let the fish get used to it.

Lots of people keep their discus above 7. Mine hovers around 7.1 out of the tap.

[Darrell Ward]

I agree. Don't mess with PH! Fiddling around with PH, is what used to be called "chasing the dragon". You get it down, it goes back up, you bring it down, etc. etc. Very stressful to fish.

[discuspaul]

As lane said...give it some time. It's not at all unusual for discus to take up to 2-3 weeks, or more, to comfortably settle in to a new environment. Don't feed them for a couple of days, then try feeding them very lightly - a couple of times a day, and see how it goes.
You got 3.5" - 4" fish from that breeder, and assuming they were all healthy & eating up to when you got them, they'll almost certainly come around. Let us know again in another week.