Discus still skittish after first month

[ncognto]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had thought about pothos and might do that. I have already put a small bag of crushed coral in one of the hob filters and may add a bit more as the ph swing between whats in the tank and whats coming out of the tap/aged water is quite a bit. I may try the hob on the brute as well...had thought about it but would need to use an established filter as it probably wont cycle on there by itself I dont think.

[Kyla]

If there is ammonia in the brute then a filter will slowly cycle on it, but u can skip that whole process by adding a bit of your cycled media to the filter on the brute. I heard somewhere that plants will also suck up ammonia directly but I don't know if that's true.

Another plant which really gobbled up the nitrate in my tanks was water sprite... it grew like crazy in thick clumps like lettuce! But it was a bit of a hassle with its leaves and it clogged the surface of the tank. The reason I like pothos for your brute/tank because just the roots hang in the water and it requires very little maintenance. Plus u could drain and refill the brute/tank without having to move it aside.

[rickmiles]

Okay, If pulling the wood and plants didn't work? Here is what I would do next (I've been breeding and raising Discus for 40 plus years and I have been in your situation many times.

In all my Discus tanks, I have apple snails, and at least one bushy/bristle nose pleco.
That could make them feel comfortable seeing others moving around.

Also at a last resort, I have put in 3 to 6 small Angelfish, the Angelfish after a day or two to will come to the top like crazy to feed and your Discus will see this and feel safe to do the same.
https://www.facebook.com/Fintastik

[Kyla]

U could also try paper along the sides of the tank as well, I did that on my QT tank and it seemed to calm down the new fish