craniac24
03-29-2005, 12:30 PM
Hi everyone,
About a month ago, I decided to get back into the discus bug and pick up 8 juveniles that were about 2"-2.5" in size. So far the experience has been somewhat mixed, but very satisfying nonetheless. I did lose the smallest one of the bunch for no apparent reason...it was very sudden and there were no signs of illness. Another one I am about to give up on, as he suffered from gill flukes and never seemed to recover after treatment. He is currently quarantined and hasn't eaten in almost 2 weeks.
I also had to give away what was probably my healthiest and prettiest fish...a red turquoise. His bullying started to become out of control, to the point where he was damaging the others. So at this point I have 5 very beautiful, very healthy and fast growing discus in a 72 gallon tank.
So here's the question for the day. One of my bigger ones has become VERY easily frightened in the last couple of days whenever I approach the tank. He doesn't just hide when he sees me, he absolutely bolts to the back of the tank as quickly as he can...sometimes running into things along the way. Sometimes he even gets caught up in one of the plants and will just lay there breathing heavily until I leave. He's never been like this before, in fact it's always been the opposite. Whenever I used to come to the tank he was one of the first ones to greet me and got more than his fair share of food.
I find that if I feed them then walk away, he'll come out of hiding and eat...so I'm not worried about him getting food. He still looks extremely healthy in every respect and if I'm across the room, he'll be out in the front of the tank acting quite normally. It's when he sees me coming his way that he begins to flip out. I guess I'm a little concerned/curious about this only because this is only very recent behavior from him. I try to walk as softly and gently to the tank so I don't startle him or otherwise take him by surprise, but as soon as he sees me....off he goes. Not only is it disheartening to see him so scared of me lately, but I also worry that he's going to injure himself if he continues to act like this!
I'm sure the first question most of you would ask me is "what are your water parameters?" So here goes:
Temp: 86
PH: 7
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate: None.
Water changes: 25-30% every other day.
Currently using aquarium salt at 1tbs./10gal
Has anyone had any similar experiences or thoughts they'd like to share? I appreciate your help in advance.
About a month ago, I decided to get back into the discus bug and pick up 8 juveniles that were about 2"-2.5" in size. So far the experience has been somewhat mixed, but very satisfying nonetheless. I did lose the smallest one of the bunch for no apparent reason...it was very sudden and there were no signs of illness. Another one I am about to give up on, as he suffered from gill flukes and never seemed to recover after treatment. He is currently quarantined and hasn't eaten in almost 2 weeks.
I also had to give away what was probably my healthiest and prettiest fish...a red turquoise. His bullying started to become out of control, to the point where he was damaging the others. So at this point I have 5 very beautiful, very healthy and fast growing discus in a 72 gallon tank.
So here's the question for the day. One of my bigger ones has become VERY easily frightened in the last couple of days whenever I approach the tank. He doesn't just hide when he sees me, he absolutely bolts to the back of the tank as quickly as he can...sometimes running into things along the way. Sometimes he even gets caught up in one of the plants and will just lay there breathing heavily until I leave. He's never been like this before, in fact it's always been the opposite. Whenever I used to come to the tank he was one of the first ones to greet me and got more than his fair share of food.
I find that if I feed them then walk away, he'll come out of hiding and eat...so I'm not worried about him getting food. He still looks extremely healthy in every respect and if I'm across the room, he'll be out in the front of the tank acting quite normally. It's when he sees me coming his way that he begins to flip out. I guess I'm a little concerned/curious about this only because this is only very recent behavior from him. I try to walk as softly and gently to the tank so I don't startle him or otherwise take him by surprise, but as soon as he sees me....off he goes. Not only is it disheartening to see him so scared of me lately, but I also worry that he's going to injure himself if he continues to act like this!
I'm sure the first question most of you would ask me is "what are your water parameters?" So here goes:
Temp: 86
PH: 7
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate: None.
Water changes: 25-30% every other day.
Currently using aquarium salt at 1tbs./10gal
Has anyone had any similar experiences or thoughts they'd like to share? I appreciate your help in advance.