New Discus, some questions

[Rob Blanks]

I just recieved a shipment of six 2.5 to 3" discus from a breeder I've read is reputable, these are my first, and I've been reading up for the past weeks while my tank cycled. 3 of them are LSS, two of them look brown, but light, however, one of them is nearly balck. Is this normal after shipping? I understand standard stress, etc. But I haven't read of any LSS going this dark, and the other two are much, much lighter.

Also, one of the LSS (a different one from the very dark one) is swimming on his side and seems to have trouble staying at the bottom. Any ideas? Will he recover with time. At posting time, they've been in the tank for 1.5 hrs. The 2 Yellow Crystal strain and 1 Snow White seem to have fared much better, the Snow white has already even unclamped his fins and swims normally.

BTW it's great to have such good source of info, I've been lurking until know and reading and it's been an immense help! Sad DAAH is currently down.

[Rob Blanks]

Oh! And I tried the scoop method some advocated on this board, worked like a charm!

[oodi]

Hi Rob, and welcome!

It can take a few hours for the fish to fully recoup from the stress of shipping. I would give it a little more time, and then let us know how they're doing.

Judi
:)

[RyanH]

Hey Rob,

Welcome to Simply. Black color is obviously a sign that your fish is not feeling well. However, if they have only been in the tank for a couple of hours then it's probably too early to know if its a disease problem or simply stress related. I would turn off the lights and leave them alone overnight. I wouldn't bother feeding them unless you have live food this will only spoil your water quality. If you have some plastic plants or something to put in the tank for hiding then use them. You could also use salt and heat to help reduce stress (2 T/ 10 gal. and 93 degrees F.). If your fish hasn't shown signs of improvement by tomorrow then post again and we can start troubleshooting.

hth!

[Rob Blanks]

Thanks for the advice. I've added the salt, the dark one is fading back down, the sideswimmer is still on his side, but I'll post a full update tomorrow. Another quick question: I don't have live food, so should I start them with Bloodworms or Beefheart or flake? Also, if anyone is familiar with the premeasured Hikari bloodworm packs, should I use just one cube for that number and size?

[Carol_Roberts]

Use one cube of bloodworms for the first feeding tomorrow morning and see how they eat

[RyanH]

Rob,

I wouldn't bother trying to feed them today. They are scared and stressed and most likely won't eat anyway. As far as what to feed them, I would contact the seller and find out what he was feeding them and use that. This is the best way to get them eating again.

I personally love the Hikari bloodworms in the individual cups. They will do well for you. When you start feeding, do so with one THAWED cube. If that is consumed quickly then add another. You will quickly get familiar with how much your fish are safely capable of eating. Word of caution: they will eat until dead. I have actually seen fish with ruptured sides that literally ate until they exploded. Feed until their bellies are full and then stop. Small, frequent feeding are also better thena few, large feedings.

Discus often swim on their sides when stressed. I wouldn't panic quite yet about that.

hth!
-Ryan

[Rob Blanks]

UPDATE: Hey all, thanks for all the responses. All of the Discus are now swimming normally and the dark one has colored down quite a bit. I fed them 1 cube of bloodworms this morning after turning on the light, and they all appear to be eating well. Still very shy and lurking behind the plants, but I've read it may take them several days to get used to the new tank and become bolder. They'll come zipping out for food, then slowly retreat behind the pots and huddle. I guess for day old fish this sin't too bad.

[DarkDiscus]

My smaller guys took a couple of weeks to become extremely active and unafraid. They just need to get used to the new automatic-food-providing-pink-thing... (AKA You!)

;)

John

[RyanH]

Glad to hear your making progress Rob. Their behavior sounds pretty normal for new, healthy, but scared Discus.

Post some pics when you get a chance! Let us know when other questions arise. :)

[Rob Blanks]

Hey all, all of the Discus are now swimming frrely about the tank. Still skittish, but much less so, no huddling behind the potted plant any more except during WCs. I'll put up some photos soon. They're eating flake and blood worms, but won't take pelets or beefheart. Can anyone tell me what the best way t ofeed beefheart is? I'm using frozen, prepackaged stufff. Do I mash it up after it's thawed out and just drop it in?

[aggie_67]

Everyone will think I'm nuts, but the things we do for our fish.

I cut up BH into bit size chunks. Especially if they won't eat it yet, make it as easy for them to try as possible. Also doesn't foul the water as bad if they don't have to tear it apart. Have also used a potato peeler on the big frozen slabs, zip off a thin slice and the fish can attack it easier.

[RyanH]

My only concern with that Aggie is that with unground beefheart you risk giving your fish intestinal blockage.

[Howie_W]

Hi Rob,

It's not uncommon for fish to get hooked on eating bloodworms, and become less interested in other foods.

You should consider making your own beef heart, as its cleaner, and less expensive.

For juveniles, I take my own beef heart, which has already been ground and frozen into thin patties, cut off a small piece, and chop it up into finer bits. The food is then placed into a cup of warm water to thaw before placing into the tank.

Fish are usually the most hungry in the morning, so try feeding then. If they are still not interested, try mixing a small amount with one of the foods they like.


With pellet food, it should always be soaked before feeding, as it expands in water. When introducing pellets for the first time, I find that young fish willl be more interested in it, if you crunch it into even smaller bits before soaking and feeding.

HTH

Howie