New pair not eating but look healthy

[DISCUS USA]

Hi ,2 weeks ago i recieved a golden glory pair through mail...ok i noticed them not eating much in day 1- day 4 but they are active ,colorful ,not hiding and they look like they want to spawn but water too hot for them to really get into that right now....so i decieded to hit them with high heat 92-96 degress and metro/aquarium salt..i see a very small improvement in the coarse of 2 week metro treatment but nothing that will make me say they are eating normally and quit metro treatment..

Before i go into prazi treatment wanted to hear what the pros think should be my next move...also i have not spoted long white feces as of yet...when i see feces in tank its short and black.. :o sorry to be so graffic lol.. ;D

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

It can take a while for adults to start eating again. I know that when I recieved some fish from Hans it took the better part of 3 weeks for them to begin eating b/h. Also, what might help is putting a few young discus in there tank to encourage the adults to eat, as young discus are eating machines. I have done this with other adults with great success and within a few days of adding the young discus they were attacking the food.


-Ryan

[DISCUS USA]

Ryan did you treat with any meds in span of 3 weeks before they started eating...i will put some 1.5 inch fry in same tank with the pair tommorow,sounds like that should work..thanks for that tip..

But should i stop metro treatment since no signs of sickness visible so far.they just take a day to eat what my other healthy fish eat in less than 1-2 minutes... what should i do its been 2 weeks.. :P

[Carol_Roberts]

If they are eating and pooping black with fins erect and bright eyes I would slowly turn the heat down and be patient. ;)

[susankay1]

Try some live foods, red worms or black worms. That worked for me when I bought some adults that were slow to resume eating after transporting. Adults are soooo tough. Good luck with them!!!

[DISCUS USA]

Hi Susan,live black worms is what i been feeding them exclusivly since day 1 two weeks ago...but a very small amount of cbw in morning takes them all day if not longer to eat..

They cant eat an entire live black worm,,they put 1 in mouth swallow half and spit out other half...they appear to struggle just to swallow that half of a single cbw...they search for the tinyest cbw pieces and eat that with not too much problem..

Carol if i slowly turn down heat should i end metro and salt treatment now .

[Carol_Roberts]

How many days have you been treating with metro?

[alex_m]

Hi Hector,

you said you've been treating with high heat and metro for two

weeks, that is enough IMO.

Stop all medications, lower your temp. and let their appetite come back.

Sometimes it takes week or two for the fish to start eating normally.

good luck

alex

[DISCUS USA]

Carol,been treating metro/salt/high heat 2 weeks today.

Alex,started lowering today -2 degress.

Heres pic of them to show they appear healthy but still working on their appetite.

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes, lower temp gradually - a couple of degrees per day and stop meds.

[DISCUS USA]

Ok Carol and Alex,will see what happens..hopefully by time i lower to around 82 degrees they will have spawned and be eating normally but hopefully not the eggs lol..will post progress in about a week..thanks for now everyone.. 8)

[DISCUS USA]

Hey all...just updating the status of the pair not eating...

Well i woke up today this morning to the male dead and when i got back from work today the female was also borderline ..i did immediate massive water change with salt but she died shortly after w/c... :'( ..damm it was a terible experience seeing male dead and female next...i contacted the seller today and he told me he would replace the pair.Was yet another learning experience,, thanks anyways for the advice peoples.. ;)

[Barb Newell]

Hi Hector, sorry about your losses :'(. Was the tank fully cycled?

It's a horrible experience to have to go through, they looked like really nice fish. Sorry....

Barb

[DISCUS USA]

Hey Barb,,it was a new tank but fully cycled ,filter cycled as well..