Discus hiding

[ajniner94]

I got a discus about a month ago. He hid a lot the first week but then was out and not scared. Then there was 2 kids at the house tapping on the tank and walking behind it. since then he hides all the time. Is this normal? its been almost a week since the kids were there. Is there anything else to be concerned about?

[Pices]

Could you share some more info like size of tank, number of discus, other tank mates, size of new discus, is it in a planted tank or bare bottom?

[ajniner94]

75g tank. Not planted just fake decorations. Gravel bottom. Only discus in the tank , other tank mates are 2 neons, 2 cory cats, 2 bosemi rainbows, congo tetra, blue ram, large pleco, blue botia

[danotaylor]

Discus stress easily when on their own, most on SD would suggest a minimum of 5-7 in a 75 gal tank. Rainbows and Congo's are super active and feed very aggressively...an already stressed lone discus would likely just go to the corner darken up and stay there...

[ajniner94]

I agree but I can watch on my camera when I am at work and from a distance when im home. The discus seems to be fine and swimming as long as im not in view

[ajniner94]

just checked my levels. PH was 7.6, nitrates were a little high at 20ppm and ammonia was at .25 ppm

[gators111]

Grab a chair and sit in front of your tank for 15 minutes or more. That solves most of the skittishness. And while having a solitary discus isn't ideal, the rainbows and the botia are also aggressive feeders and botia can be quite nippy as well. I'd return them to the LFS, ask for some credit towards more neons or cardinal tetras. Which can act as dither fish and make the discus more comfortable. Also, check that your water temp is around 84 and you don't have a broken heater. And of course, do at least a 50 percent water change as well.

[ajniner94]

the botia never comes out. he may come out in the middle of the night but never during the day. The temp is about 82-84. the neons seem to be slowly disappearing. a month ago I had 6, now I have one. I also have 2 lemon drop tetras that do well.

I would like to add more congo tetras and also will be adding at least more discus soon. I like the idea of a schooling tetra and schooling discus tank

[jeep]

Discus stress easily when on their own, most on SD would suggest a minimum of 5-7 in a 75 gal tank. Rainbows and Congo's are super active and feed very aggressively...an already stressed lone discus would likely just go to the corner darken up and stay there...

Agree!

[fljones3]

Agree!

+1

[ajniner94]

I had the same issue when I had an angel fish in there. I would watch the discus swim out of its corner and then get chased back. this seems to be directly related to me. as soon as I leave the room he is swimming at the center of the tank. I agree those aren't ideal tankmates (lots of discus is tough on a budget) but I really don't think they are the problem