Just got 3 Discus's :)

[Tofumann]

Hey everyone,
After doing all my research i purchased 3 2.5" discuses, but they aren't eating anything i put in. They are just hiding and rarely coming out. 2 are at the top behind my filter and one is always at the bottom. they dont ever swim together and i've been doing water changes with R/O.
Water readings are:
Ammonia/Nitrite at 0 and
Nitrates at 10,
PH is at about 7.6 and
Temp is about 83 F
I'm a little worried as they may be sick? Because I've been reading other post's. Is there any reason to worry? They could just be getting use to everything, is my guess.
Tank is 50 Gallons with high lighting (T-5), because it is a planted tank. They seem to be less stressed when the lights are off.
Basically, I'm worried and have no idea what to do.

[eaglesfan3000]

It took mine almost three weeks to get adjusted in my 120. I was told when you first get your new discus fast them for the first day slowly break them in with small portions of food and keep the lights off for three days. Don't forget W/C's, W/C's.

[-gb-]

Your probably fine. Takes seme time for Discus to settle in. It would be helpful to know the following:

1) How long have they been in the tank?
2) Where did you buy them from?
3) Any chance you can post some pictures?
4) How often are you doing water changes and what % is being changed?

Maybe a good idea to leave the light off

[WMD]

After doing all my research .

wow i believe you havent done enough research.


i purchased 3 2.5" discuses

get 3-4 more discus.


because it is a planted tank

go bb. discus that small you could easily stunt them in the planted thank even in bb tank.

Saying that from my experience anyway, you dont have to take that

[eaglesfan3000]

Also if you want get a smaller QT say a 20 gallon keep them in there four to six weeks so you can keep a good eye on them. You might want to crank the temp up to 86.

That's all I got to say about that.

[strawberryblonde]

Hi there,

1) Juvenile discus don't need RO water unless there is something drastically wrong with your tap water. If you DO use RO water you need to add something like Seachem Discus essentials to the water in order to replace the much needed minerals that RO water removes.

2) Juvenile discus (yours are only about 2 months old) NEED to be in a much smaller tank, with no plants or substrate. The chances of them thriving in your planted tank are very low.

3) To growout juvies you'll need to feed appropriate foods many times a day. At least 4-6 feedings per day. In a barebottom tank they'll have no trouble finding and eating the foods you offer.

4) You will need to do a water change every single day while your discus are growing. Be sure to clean out any leftover food as well at each water change.

5) Lights can be much lower, but not so low that they think it's always dark, otherwise they'll become skittish whenever a light comes on.

6) Nitrates should be less than 5ppm. Be sure to test the water each night and do a second water change if necessary in order to reduce the nitrates.

7) Once your discus have reached 4+" it will be ok to reintroduce them to the big planted tank. But when you do, you'll still need to keep up with frequent water changes until they are full grown!

8) Discus don't do well in groups under 5-6. Is there any way that you can go buy at least 3 more juvies soon?

I hope that helps. If you're not sure what foods to feed them for maximum healthy and growth just ask. =)

[peglegderek]

Hi there,

1) Juvenile discus don't need RO water unless there is something drastically wrong with your tap water. If you DO use RO water you need to add something like Seachem Discus essentials to the water in order to replace the much needed minerals that RO water removes.

I agree i only use RO water becouse my tap water is trash but i add a liberal dose of Amazon Rain to the water to keep the needed minerals!

[Tofumann]

Thanks for all the comments everyone, I will be defiantly looking for 3 more discuses. I will take everything into consideration for everyone's input.
As to needs of these guys, I will sure make them happy.
Thanks again
.

[April]

All suggestions are right. Group of 6 or more, all same size,,same source. High heat. Even ph. No ups and downs or they will get very skittish.
Low nitrates..lots of wcs and high protein foods in small amounts frequently.
They will be skittish and not thrive with three.
they are more secure in a small tank.


---
I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?2ytt5m

[Celticreds5]

Congrats on your new discus. I just got some myself about 5 weeks ago after having had them many years ago before all the neat new colors were out. I got a lot of good advice here. You can pick and choose to suit your needs, such as HOB filters vs Canister, but some things I would NOT ignore:
1) Water changes--I do at least 50-60% daily
2) Get all your discus at once about the same size and have at least 6
3) QUARANTINE! This means when you go out and buy three more discus, you need to put them in a separate QT tank for a few weeks and do the daily water changes. I made this mistake myself--ordered 5 new discus and one was DOA--so it left me with 4--which left one to be bullied on a lot. So I went out and bought 2 more. I QT but got impatient--everything looked good, so after three days, in they went. All was well for a day or so, then I lost one of the newest ones. Then they ALL got sick. I treated them with salt (1 TBSP per 10 gals) upped my temp to about 88 and added Para Clear Everyone recovered except the other newest one so he went into a hospital tank. I ended up losing him too. So now I am back to 4 and the meek one is being bullied. I just bought two more--they are in QT and doing well and they will be staying there for a few weeks no matter how impatient I become.
4) Also check your water daily for all the basics: Ammonia and Nitrates which should be 0 and Nitrites which should be less than 5.
and PH which unless you're thinking of breeding is not a super big issue (don't mess with the up and down stuff--mine adapted to a ph of 8.2 and are not having an issue. you can do more harm than good adjusting the PH. Once you get regular readings without ups and downs, check weekly.

As for the eating thing--mine went through that. They hid and wouldn't come out for awhile. Then slowly they came out and ate a variety of things. Their favorites are freeze dried bloodworms and frozen bloodworms. Now everytime I walk near the tank, they come swimming up in case I am going to drop something in. This is another reason for frequent water changes--new discus need to eat small amounts throughout the day to grow well and not become stunted. I drop a pinch in 5-6 times a day--not a lot, but something they can pretty much wipe out in a few mins.

Good luck and when in doubt, ask these experienced discus lovers here--they know their stuff

[Skip]

3) QUARANTINE!

http://www.madtomatoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Facebook-Like-Button-big.jpg

[warblad79]

Pictures would definitely help to determine the health of the fish

[Orange Crush]

4) Also check your water daily for all the basics: Ammonia and Nitrates which should be 0 and Nitrites which should be less than 5.
You got the nitrAtes and nitrItes swapped.
Ammonia and nitrItes should be 0
nitrAtes should be <5

Oh, and bloodworms are junk food with almost no nutritional value.

[Celticreds5]

You got the nitrAtes and nitrItes swapped.
Ammonia and nitrItes should be 0
nitrAtes should be <5

Oh, and bloodworms are junk food with almost no nutritional value.

Thanks, I stand corrected. So what is the best thing to feed discus? I have beefheart flakes, but they don't go for them much, and raw beef heart *ain't gonna happen*, I've heard bad things about blackworms and tubflex? They like shrimp pellets and the algae/veggie tabs I feed the bottom feeders, but I know they can't grow and live well on those, they just share when I feed the others.

Thanks

[strawberryblonde]

Good foods are:
beefheart flakes
discus pellets
discus flakes (I know that OSI produces a very tasty version of these and my discus love them)
freeze dried blackworms - Al, the owner of Simply Discus sells these in loose or cubed form and discus gobble them up
spirulina flakes
beefheart.

You don't have to mess with making your own beefheart mix. I purchase mine in frozen cubes. They aren't all that expensive and my discus grew fine, fat and HUGE on them! They are sold by San Fransisco Bay foods and you can purchase them nearly anywhere. I buy mine whenever they have a discounted price at Drs Foster and Smith website. I buy 12 packages at a time (to reduce the cost of shipping) and then store them in the freezer till needed.

Discus like a good variety of foods, so I mix together the different types of flakes in the morning for them, then offer pellets and freeze dried blackworms during the day. Beefheart is offered about an hour before I plan to do my water change, and then they have a "bedtime snack" of blackworm cubes.

Mine don't eat nearly as often anymore since they're full grown, but when they were little they were fed 6 - 8 times a day.

[TNT77]

You got the nitrAtes and nitrItes swapped.
Ammonia and nitrItes should be 0
nitrAtes should be <5

Oh, and bloodworms are junk food with almost no nutritional value.
Actually freeze dried bloodworms are a cheap high protein food. You should specify frozen or freeze dried when you make comments as the poster did mention feeding both.

[Jeapa]

Actually freeze dried bloodworms are a cheap high protein food. You should specify frozen or freeze dried when you make comments as the poster did mention feeding both.

+1.

I was just looking at the nutrional information on a can of Hikari FDBW and the protein was 65%. That is really good for the cost. I will be adding these to the rotation along with the FD black worms.

[Celticreds5]

Good foods are:
beefheart flakes
discus pellets
discus flakes (I know that OSI produces a very tasty version of these and my discus love them)
freeze dried blackworms - Al, the owner of Simply Discus sells these in loose or cubed form and discus gobble them up
spirulina flakes
beefheart.

You don't have to mess with making your own beefheart mix. I purchase mine in frozen cubes. They aren't all that expensive and my discus grew fine, fat and HUGE on them! They are sold by San Fransisco Bay foods and you can purchase them nearly anywhere. I buy mine whenever they have a discounted price at Drs Foster and Smith website. I buy 12 packages at a time (to reduce the cost of shipping) and then store them in the freezer till needed.

Discus like a good variety of foods, so I mix together the different types of flakes in the morning for them, then offer pellets and freeze dried blackworms during the day. Beefheart is offered about an hour before I plan to do my water change, and then they have a "bedtime snack" of blackworm cubes.

Mine don't eat nearly as often anymore since they're full grown, but when they were little they were fed 6 - 8 times a day.


Thanks Toni,
I have some of these foods on hand and I do mix them up and judging by how fast my hi-fin Blue Diamond is growing, I think they're doing ok ;) He's the pig in the bunch. Mine always seem to be hungry so I try to give them small meals throughout the day. I just saw on Drs F & S that they had the frozen foods--that's great since I live in a rural area and have to drive to Timbuktu to get to just get to a Pet Smart and with the price of gas, shipping sounds like a good idea.

Thanks again
Georgia 6 discus 8 cories 10 cardinal/neons 1 LFBN for now ;)

[Celticreds5]

+1.

I was just looking at the nutrional information on a can of Hikari FDBW and the protein was 65%. That is really good for the cost. I will be adding these to the rotation along with the FD black worms.

I agree--I was looking at the nutritional info on the Bloodworms and they don't seem to be all that bad to me either. I definitely wouldn't consider them junk food. I think the thing is variety--one food of any kind is probably not as good as a good mix.

Georgia 6 discus 8 cories 10 cardinal/neons 1 LFBN for now

[Tofumann]

it turns out that one of the discuss has ich so i treated it then the next day my two other discuss have ich, im treating them with QuICK cure fast relief for ick and protozoan parasites im treating them day by day for the past 3 days hopefully they get well soon ive been doing water changes daily my ph and amonia levels are where they should be. im feeding them blood worms but im gonna change the diet asap.

[judy]

If you raise the tank temp to 86 for a week, the ich will be killed off.

[vanilla2005]

I think your only problem is that there are only 3 of them. You most likely need at least 6.