Discus are very dark

[Crooks]

I recently bought 5 discus roughly 2.5"-3". I'm trying to grow them out in a 30g tank. I do 50% water changes every morning and night. For some reason they are VERY timid and dark. I try to feed beef heart they somewhat eat it, but very reluctantly. I've had them for about a week so far. Any tips?
http://imgur.com/a/8UIYU
Edit: added link for pics.

[nc0gnet0]

Pics?

Your tank will/might suffice for now with your Water change routine, but you will eventually need a bigger tank. Is it bare bottom, is the bottom painted, and is it to bright as far as light intensity?

[Crooks]

http://imgur.com/a/8UIYU
The light is a single lamp 6700k t8. I had it barebottom but they discus were pretty spooked, so i put some gravel to help it a bit.

[nc0gnet0]

Are those live blackworms I see in one of the pics?

[Crooks]

No, those are blood worms. They eat those no matter what.

[nc0gnet0]

Hard to say they look frightened in the back corner but look good in the pics in which they are eating.....are you sure it's just not the lighting in the back corner of the tank?

-Rick

[Allwin]

r they adjusting to the bg color? is the fish tank in more traffic place? I had a fish, gets dark(stressed out) if more disturbance and looks perfectly fine in few mins. Eat and mingle well, my few cents.

[Crooks]

The fish are in my bedroom. Most of the time they are swimming in the corner. They sometimes swim about if I sit on my computer long enough. Might be the light and black background, but they are still very timid. When I walk by they just all shoot to the corner.

[DISCUS STU]

I agree with above, a 55 gal. is very good size to grow out five fish and easier to maintain water quality. Bare bottom tanks are the way to go but should have either paper attached to the bottom or be painted. I generally spray paint mine a deep red or reddish brown, personal pref. You may also want to try the "Disease Section" and fill out the questionnaire. . My fish get pretty reclusive if they have something, especially something bacterial. I say this because the pictures show your fish darkened and also displaying stress bars. Discus will usually always eat frozen blood worms but may stop eating even this if they're not well. Healthy Discus generally eat almost anything. Good Luck, we've all be there, at least I know I have.

[Crooks]

I forgot to mention that they are Red Turquoise discus. Not sure how many bars/what bars are they supposed to have.

[Crooks]

Status update: They're all swimming around today. Colored up just a bit. Kind of aggressive today. Kind of nipping at each other/cichlid behavior.

[Crooks]

Okay, I just put in a piece of beefheart mix. One of the discus is nipping at all the other discus to get them away so they can't eat :( what do i do?

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Crooks, try spreading the food around the tank so everyone eats. This way one fish can not hog all the food.
Pat

[OC Discus]

They don't look dark in some of the pics. Lighting and angle could be an issue. Also temporary change due to stress. Some fish can darken and lighten fairly quickly.

[pcsb23]

From what I can see the tank has no side coverings. In my experience this will not be helping them. Cover at least the back and one side with card or paper and you would be better to use a thin layer of sand rather than gravel. All my bare tanks have painted bottom and backs and sides, fish settle very quickly as they fee more secure.

[Crooks]

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that today.

[jds1990]

If you just added them could be the light. They might not be used to such a bright light. When I went from fluorescent to led my fish were spooked and some would turn dark. Just keep and eye on them and make sure they are eating and passing food without any signs of infection.