New discus will not eat!

[swinters66]

So even if they arent eating...or arent eating a lot, I should do more water changes?

Does anyone feed their discus the Hikari discus food? Or New Life Spectrum discus food?

[Kindredspirit]

Always do your wc ~ and both of those foods you mentioned are high quality IMO! Keep us posted!


Marie ~

[White Worm]

So even if they arent eating...or arent eating a lot, I should do more water changes?

Does anyone feed their discus the Hikari discus food? Or New Life Spectrum discus food?

Yep, keep up with wc's and vacuum alot if you have gravel. You will see that the gravel collects so much crap and its better without it. When you think you cleaned good enough...you havent. I started with gravel and finally changed to BB. Easier to see when you need to clean. Although, I am now bored of the look and I am thinking of going with sand which is still better than gravel.
Yes, I use Hikari and my discus seem to love it more than any other brands. I also use tetra color bits granules. I feed hikari FBW's and freeze dried hikari BW. They dont care much for shrimp unless it is live.

[Andres]

Just do what I do buy a magnum 350 or the hot magnum with the gravel kit. Just suck up the gravel and not worry about leaving anything behind right into the filter and clean water comes out. The best idea ever!!! However, I only use this twice a week to deep clean the gravel. Nevertheless, when I do my water changes everyday I move the gravel my self and suck what ever is floating in the tank.

[swinters66]

Ok I saw a product at Petsmart...GarlicGuard. Says its good for finicky eaters or fish that arent eating. Its supposed to help stimulate a fish's appetite, and I have seen some homemade beefheart recipes that add garlic to it....so is garlic, or this garlicguard actually good for the discus?

[Marinemom]

I've used garlic with my other fish and it works great including my saltwater reef but my discus will not touch it. I think at this point I will have to resort to live food, hence the california blackworms. My only worry at this point is if I feed them the blackworms are they going to refuse everything else?

Marinemom

[Timbo]

My only worry at this point is if I feed them the blackworms are they going to refuse everything else?

its a good possibility. they can get hooked on cbw or fbw to the exclusion of other, more nutritionally balanced, offerings.

[swinters66]

Ok...I am losing patience. I raised the temp in the tank, it was about 88.1 this morning (was 86.8 early last night) and added a little aquarium salt. Now, I have noticed that they seem more active, swimming more, and a little faster...so I dont know if its the temp or the salt or a combo of both. And I got some tetra color bits last night...so I tried feeding them. Once swam up to a sinking piece and I thought "this is it!!" but he didnt eat it. What is going on with these guys?!?!

I am also wondering if the harlequin rasboras I have in there are a bad idea...they move around a lot, darting, and they are all eating, and I read that they like slow moving peachful tank mates, and these are anything but! Should I maybe take them out and just have discus and some of the bottom feeders? I am going to get 2 more discus this weekend. Would that maybe make the discus not eat? The rasboras and their energy level and only 2 discus in the tank? Like maybe if I got 2 more dicus and those actually ATE something...the others would start eating too?

I am going to do another water change when I get home from work tonight. Do I need to add more salt when I do this?

I mean, I feel like this is some big giant experiment gone awry, not an enjoyable hobby.

[Marinemom]

I hear you.My discus still will not eat and it has been almost a week with no food for them. Last night I tried plankton. Again, they just run and hide when the food arrives until I siphon it out. At this point I'm getting a little impatient. So, I'm going to do a larger water change today. That they will probably like. Then I guess I'm off to fine some blackworms unless someone else has some other ideas to get them to eat.

Marinemom

[swinters66]

Oh yeah we are in the same boat huh My husband bought me another discus today...TOTAL surprise...cant wait to get home and see this one. All he said was when I asked what kind he got "I dont know he's blue!" Cute huh? Maybe this one will eat and the other 2 will get the hint...I can only hope...and I am getting my 4th and final discus Sat, when I am off.

Let me know if the black worms work on yours...then Ill try it. I am thinking of getting live brine shrimp on the way home, maybe they'll eat those.

[White Worm]

Ok...I am losing patience. I raised the temp in the tank, it was about 88.1 this morning (was 86.8 early last night) and added a little aquarium salt. Now, I have noticed that they seem more active, swimming more, and a little faster...so I dont know if its the temp or the salt or a combo of both. And I got some tetra color bits last night...so I tried feeding them. Once swam up to a sinking piece and I thought "this is it!!" but he didnt eat it. What is going on with these guys?!?!

I am also wondering if the harlequin rasboras I have in there are a bad idea...they move around a lot, darting, and they are all eating, and I read that they like slow moving peachful tank mates, and these are anything but! Should I maybe take them out and just have discus and some of the bottom feeders? I am going to get 2 more discus this weekend. Would that maybe make the discus not eat? The rasboras and their energy level and only 2 discus in the tank? Like maybe if I got 2 more dicus and those actually ATE something...the others would start eating too?

I am going to do another water change when I get home from work tonight. Do I need to add more salt when I do this?

I mean, I feel like this is some big giant experiment gone awry, not an enjoyable hobby.

Discus prefer to be in a small school size of 6-8. small fish are no worry. Actually when discus see the other small fish swimming about, it makes them feel a little more secure. With 2, they will be shy, timid, not eat, etc. You will be amazed at what happens when you get them about 4 friends to hang out with. What is your tank size?

[White Worm]

Oh yeah we are in the same boat huh My husband bought me another discus today...TOTAL surprise...cant wait to get home and see this one. All he said was when I asked what kind he got "I dont know he's blue!" Cute huh? Maybe this one will eat and the other 2 will get the hint...I can only hope...and I am getting my 4th and final discus Sat, when I am off.

Let me know if the black worms work on yours...then Ill try it. I am thinking of getting live brine shrimp on the way home, maybe they'll eat those.

I hope you are quarantineing (sp?) any new arrivals/additions. They could be carrying illness. You will need 6-8 and around a 90g tank to start off right. Most discus cannot resist live foods. Their natural hunting instinct kicks in. Thats why it is sometimes not good to add small fish to an already established discus tank. I did it and they all came running like I was feeding them. Yikes! They all chilled when they noticed it was friends and not food. They will come around with time.

[swinters66]

All of these discus came from the same store, the same tank. This third guy is VERY freaked out...I think mostly because my husband kept him in the bag, floating for a long time....he is a tad bigger than the other 2, but not much. He's hiding, and I have the light off for now. I am getting my 4th and last discus Sat (my day off). Its a 40 gallon tank. It's all I can fit in the bedroom right now, so the tank is away from a lot of traffic. I dont know why he was in the bag so long...my hubby told me since I am so anal about this tank (am I??) and that there was pure oxygen in the bag he didnt want to put him in the tank until I got home....so that ticked me off.

So, all I can do is wait...and hope he calms down. The other 2 went and checked him out, but are kinda leaving him be, hiding behind a big plant. So, with the 4th discus Ill get...I am hoping all will be ok.

[gdtrfb]

The plants will not like the salt. If your plants are the standard discus friendly plants a day or two at a higher than normal temperature will not hurt them. These plants are pretty strong and will recover form a short term period of stress. I also believe that discus introduced into live planted tanks take a bit longer to acclimate to their environment. Just think if you were coming from a bare bottom tank or a very sparse tank form the LFS adn then plopped into a lush planted environment. They will check and stake their territory, which is going to take longer in a tank with a ton of nooks and crannies. I have had great success with frozen cubes of beef heart. It is not gross. A red cube of frozen substance. At first you may want to dice it up and then drop it in the tank, but after a while it is fun to hold it between your fingertips and have the dish eat right from your hand. All discus I have had fall in love with beef heart. Hopefully, by now your dilemna is over.

[swinters66]

Marinemom....did you try feeding yours blackworms? I am just anxious to know how that worked.

My new guy is still hiding. The plants are fake. The new guy comes out here and there, but he is hiding at least every other time Ive checked in on him. The other two keep checking on him, from what it looks like, they are still swimming around tho.

I am womdering if I should have waited before trying discus. What was I thinking??