New to Discus

[rambilt]

Hello everyone. Well, my wife and I received 12 Melon fry from Liz though we only paid for 10. That was really nice of her. All 12 of them survive the shipping ordeal. They are currently in an 80 gallon tank, with 400 Emperor and Magnum 350 for filtration, Rena 350 watts for heating which is set at 85. There's plenty of hiding places in the tank all artificial and about 1 1/2" layer of gravel. The Magnum 350 is really great for cleaning the gravel. No Not great, it's Awesome!!!

Anyway, what should I feed them. All I have in my stash are Hikari brine shrimp, Vibra Gro Discus medium pellets and Tetra tropical flakes fish food. Some of them seems to nibble at it but they all generally ignore the food. I'm thinking they are still in the getting used to the environment mood.

I did change 25% percent of the water the night before they arrive, should I change again today or should I wait until they are aclimatize? They all seem to want to swim out of the tank, you know up and down, then they'll just hover.

Thanks for all the help....

[funkyfish]

try some beefheart u should be able to get it at ur lfs. when i get mine the guy i get them from lives 4 hours from here. when i get them home they won't eat for a couple of days i put a little salt in with them it seems to help
good luck

[rambilt]

Hey Funkyfish, thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll wait for a couple of days when they really settle down then I'll entice them with some tidbits. Meanwhile I'll do the regular water change 25% hopefully it doesn't add to the stress that they already have.

[fish_maniac]

Congrads on the new fishes. Can't wait to see some pictures. I usually take it easy on the feeding in the first frist days. I think the salt, higner temperture and continue water change will help. If you can get some bloodworm from Hikari or live worm, that will help too. Good luck!


Kam

[GulfCoastDiscus]

Welcome Rambilt, Liz got some nice fish to start with. Good luck with them.

dan

[Carol_Roberts]

Ask Liz what she was feeding them and buy the same food. It's easier to recover from shipping and adjust to a new tank when you offer familiar food.

[bio new]

Hello everyone. Well, my wife and I received 12 Melon fry from Liz though we only paid for 10. That was really nice of her. All 12 of them survive the shipping ordeal. They are currently in an 80 gallon tank, with 400 Emperor and Magnum 350 for filtration, Rena 350 watts for heating which is set at 85. There's plenty of hiding places in the tank all artificial and about 1 1/2" layer of gravel.

Thanks for all the help....

Hi,

It would be better if your tank is bare bottom (BB). It simpler to maintain.

CHEERS!

[rambilt]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I really appreciate it.

The frys seem to be curious and doing little of exploring around the tank now. Some are nibbling on the gravel and the plastic plant probably something new to them... There's one that swam in the middle for something that might look like food, inhaled it and quickly swam to the corner width the rest of the group. I thought that was funny.

Anyway, I have emailed Liz concerning the food she was feeding the frys but I didn't get a response back.

If everything goes well with this batch, my wife and I are looking into converting the garage to a fish room... :)

Thanks guy for the help.

[rambilt]

Hi,

It would be better if your tank is bare bottom (BB). It simpler to maintain.

CHEERS!

I agree with you.. That is probably the easiest way to do it. My wife and I don't mind the extra time spend in cleaning the gravel and it's an easy task with the Magnum 350.

[rambilt]

Congrads on the new fishes. Can't wait to see some pictures. I usually take it easy on the feeding in the first frist days. I think the salt, higner temperture and continue water change will help. If you can get some bloodworm from Hikari or live worm, that will help too. Good luck!


Kam

Kam, You are right I cranked the temp a couple of notches, did the w/c and the gravel cleaning (all last night), woke up this morning the water is so sparkling clean, smash some freeze dried brine shrimp and dumped it all in and sure enough they are eating... Awesome! I'. m going to get some Hikari freeze dried blood worm and othe Hikari products to give them a little variety.

thanks guys for all the help. I thought I'd let you guys know that my adventure with the discus seems promising...

[ed8t]

Good luck with the fish, you'll grow to love them more every day.

My fish really enjoys Ocean Nutrition Forumula 1 flakes, so so with the Formula 2. They also inhale Hikari frozen bloodworms. Just don't do what I do, buy too much food all at once...I need another freezer :p

[Robin764]

Hey!! Welcome!
I see you got the bug as well. It is contagious, I must warn you. My fiance and I are moving now, because he finally got the bug, and we don't have any more room here for more tanks!!
There is one thing we like almost as well as discus here......
Pictures of discus!! Post some pics when ya can:)

Robin
PS. I started out with 4 discus and 1 tank 8 months ago...I'm now at 23 and 5 tanks.

[blaze]

My wife and I don't mind the extra time spend in cleaning the gravel
congrats u got a great wife too

[rambilt]

Good luck with the fish, you'll grow to love them more every day.

My fish really enjoys Ocean Nutrition Forumula 1 flakes, so so with the Formula 2. They also inhale Hikari frozen bloodworms. Just don't do what I do, buy too much food all at once...I need another freezer :p

ed8t, where do you buy the Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 from? Does Petsmart has them? How do you feed the Frozen Bloodworm? Thanks for the info BTW.

[rambilt]

Hey!! Welcome!
I see you got the bug as well. It is contagious, I must warn you. My fiance and I are moving now, because he finally got the bug, and we don't have any more room here for more tanks!!
There is one thing we like almost as well as discus here......
Pictures of discus!! Post some pics when ya can:)

Robin
PS. I started out with 4 discus and 1 tank 8 months ago...I'm now at 23 and 5 tanks.

Well, I saw my wife making some measurements at the garage this morning while I was washing the trucks. I just smile to myself.. I didn't say anything... 'cause she might send me to Lowe's to purchase the materials...LOL!! You are so right this is really contagious!

[rambilt]

congrats u got a great wife too]


Thank you very much... She is really a great wife!!!

[ed8t]

Don't have a Petsmart up here, I bought the Ocean Nutrition at my LFS. Try a small container of flakes first to see if they like them and if they do, you can buy the larger sizes online to save you $. I think Jeff at discusfarm.us carries O.N. in quantity.

The Hikari bloodworms can be bought in 16oz flats or cubes. You might want to try cubes first to see how much your fish eats and buy the flats after you get the hang of it. I just break off a piece and drop it in the tank - it thaws pretty quickly especially when the whole school of Discus swarms all over it.

[rambilt]

Don't have a Petsmart up here, I bought the Ocean Nutrition at my LFS. Try a small container of flakes first to see if they like them and if they do, you can buy the larger sizes online to save you $. I think Jeff at discusfarm.us carries O.N. in quantity.

The Hikari bloodworms can be bought in 16oz flats or cubes. You might want to try cubes first to see how much your fish eats and buy the flats after you get the hang of it. I just break off a piece and drop it in the tank - it thaws pretty quickly especially when the whole school of Discus swarms all over it.

ed8t, thanks for the info.. Being new to discus my wife and I really need all the help we can get. Again thank you very much!!

[Howie_W]

Hi rambilt! Welcome to Simply! http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/happy/457.gif

I also like feeding bloodworms in cube form as they are convenient to use without any mess. Both the Hikari and San Francisco Bay brands are safe to use.

For protein, the least expensive food to feed is homemade beefheart...if you check out the food and nutrition section there are many great suggestions listed, including how to prepare beefheart.

Good luck with your new fish and post some pics!


Howie

[JeffreyRichard]

Since you have gravel in your tank, I would advise against beefheart ... I found it too messy to clean in anything but a bare Bottom setup (others might have tips for cleaning up BH in decorated tanks though).

Stick with frozen as a primary ... Bloodworms, Mysis Shrimp, Plankton, Brine Shrimp (be careful ... basic adult BS has a less than optimum nutritional value, so don't use it as a primary food), daphnia. Live Blackworms are good. Pellets work too as a suplement (Tetra, Better Sinking Bits from Jehmco, Hakari, ...)

If you tank isn't overcrowded, I'd recommend adding some scavangers such as Cory Cats (C. Sterbai and C. Adolphi do well in discus water-temp, though there are more that also do well). I really like Ancistus (bushy-nose) cats ... they eat up ALL the left-overs ... you can usually get small ones from someone in you local aquarium club. Scavengers help keep the gravel clean.

Good luck

[rambilt]

Hi rambilt! Welcome to Simply! http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/happy/457.gif

I also like feeding bloodworms in cube form as they are convenient to use without any mess. Both the Hikari and San Francisco Bay brands are safe to use.

For protein, the least expensive food to feed is homemade beefheart...if you check out the food and nutrition section there are many great suggestions listed, including how to prepare beefheart.

Good luck with your new fish and post some pics!


Howie

I think I'll try frozen bloodworms.. I'm going to stop by at the local Petsmart on the way home today ro pick up some. What do you think of Hikari First Bites? Will that be a good supplements?

Thank you for the help..

[rambilt]

Since you have gravel in your tank, I would advise against beefheart ... I found it too messy to clean in anything but a bare Bottom setup (others might have tips for cleaning up BH in decorated tanks though).

Stick with frozen as a primary ... Bloodworms, Mysis Shrimp, Plankton, Brine Shrimp (be careful ... basic adult BS has a less than optimum nutritional value, so don't use it as a primary food), daphnia. Live Blackworms are good. Pellets work too as a suplement (Tetra, Better Sinking Bits from Jehmco, Hakari, ...)

If you tank isn't overcrowded, I'd recommend adding some scavangers such as Cory Cats (C. Sterbai and C. Adolphi do well in discus water-temp, though there are more that also do well). I really like Ancistus (bushy-nose) cats ... they eat up ALL the left-overs ... you can usually get small ones from someone in you local aquarium club. Scavengers help keep the gravel clean.

Good luck

JeffreyRichard, I do have one small catfish and a Pleco in the tank:) . I will take your advise on sticking with the frozen goods. I think it's the easiest for my situation.

[Howie_W]

I think I'll try frozen bloodworms.. I'm going to stop by at the local Petsmart on the way home today ro pick up some. What do you think of Hikari First Bites? Will that be a good supplements?

Thank you for the help..

The First Bites are designed for young fry, just after they get to the point where they are free swimming and eating on their own...I think these are bit small for slightly more developed juveniles.

You mentioned you are already feeding some pellet food which is great...I've been using Tetra bits for a long time as my fish love them.

When feeding any pellet food make sure to soak them briefly in water before feeding as they absorb on contact and expand like a sponge.


Howie

[kingbashi]

hi ram---i also got 14 from liz (only ordered 12--what a gal!!!)got mine on frozen hikari bloodworms(by far the best) spirilina and omega enriched frozen brine shrimp and SUPER SUPER clean live blackworms---they go crazy for them!! i am feeding them 5-7 times a day and doing 60% water changes every day-- my temperature is 88--i swear they look bigger everyday!!----GOOD LUCK!!!! :D

[rambilt]

Well, here are some pictures I've taken tonight before and during cleaning the tank. I hope it turned out...

[rambilt]

hi ram---i also got 14 from liz (only ordered 12--what a gal!!!)got mine on frozen hikari bloodworms(by far the best) spirilina and omega enriched frozen brine shrimp and SUPER SUPER clean live blackworms---they go crazy for them!! i am feeding them 5-7 times a day and doing 60% water changes every day-- my temperature is 88--i swear they look bigger everyday!!----GOOD LUCK!!!! :D

Hey Kingbashi, glad to hear from you. Liz surely likes to give her customers a consolation :). I got mine last Friday they are just starting to eat the food I was giving them. Today they were specially hungry, they were eating like Piranhas :) . Then I tried the frozen blood worm and they kind of hesitated but they took a bite anyway.

I cleaned the gravel again and did water change. I took some pictures while I was cleaning the tank and did an attachment but it didn't show up. I guess I'm going to have to figure out how to attach pictures. Good luck to you...

[rambilt]

Well, here are some pictures I've taken tonight before and during cleaning the tank. I hope it turned out...

Sorry, the pictures are in the wrong format. Let's try again. The pic are not very good. I apologize for that.

Well, here they are...

[rambilt]

Here's pic #2 before the fishy :)

[rambilt]

Here's pic #3: Cleaning the gravel, before the w/c last night. Notice they are not very shy they are waiting for some food to pop out of the gravel, I thought that was funny. I was afraid to lift the tube because I mightr suck them in. :)

[rambilt]

Pic #4: Tank after cleaning last night.

[rambilt]

Pic #5:

After the tank was cleaned and water changed!

[rambilt]

Pic #6

[rambilt]

Pic #7

Well that's all folks. Not a very good pictures... Hope you guys enjoyed it.

[ed8t]

Pretty good looking tank, thanks for the pics.

When I first starting feeding any new textured foods ie. mysis shrimp or bloodworms, it took a couple of feedings before the fish became accustomed to it, now they're like a pack of hyenas.

I couldn't tell from the pics but I would suggest using a pre-filter on your intake tube and rinsing it well during every water change. You wouldn't believe how much gunk it picks up daily. Check the thread on pre-filters.

[rambilt]

Pretty good looking tank, thanks for the pics.

When I first starting feeding any new textured foods ie. mysis shrimp or bloodworms, it took a couple of feedings before the fish became accustomed to it, now they're like a pack of hyenas.

I couldn't tell from the pics but I would suggest using a pre-filter on your intake tube and rinsing it well during every water change. You wouldn't believe how much gunk it picks up daily. Check the thread on pre-filters.

ed8t, you know that was a very good idea. If I install a screen or maybe a nylon stockings to cover the intake tube it would hopeflully eliminate cleaning the tubes as part of maintenance. Wow, thanks ed8t sure do learn a lot by just hanging out with the experts....

[Robin764]

Nice looking tank and fishies:)
Robin

[rambilt]

Nice looking tank and fishies:)
Robin

Robin764, thank you very much. New hobby for the wife and I, already thinking of going to the next level and it's been only since last Friday when we received our first 12 fry. Dang, it's so addicting!!!!

[ed8t]

ed8t, you know that was a very good idea. If I install a screen or maybe a nylon stockings to cover the intake tube it would hopeflully eliminate cleaning the tubes as part of maintenance. Wow, thanks ed8t sure do learn a lot by just hanging out with the experts....
lol...no expert here, just another hobbyist learning from others on this board too!

[babyjess210]

Nice tank and discus!!! Thanks for sharing. Frys look very clean.

Kenny