New Discus Barely Eat [Archive]

View Full Version : New Discus Barely Eat

SuperDodge

04-21-2005, 06:30 PM

Hi.

I bought a pair of 4.5" Discus and had them shipped to my house. They were in transit for approximately 12 hours and when they got to myhouse their bags were full of waste and they were acting very very very very jumpy. I tested their water very quickly and the ammonia levels were through the roof.

I took them straight out of the bag and into my quarantine tank. As much as I hated to not acclimate them, I felt this was better than leaving them in such ammonia laden water. My QT tank is a bare bottom 29 gallon with one pot and a piece of driftwood in it.

I am using tap water (6.5 before and after aging) and Prime to dechlorinate. I am doing daily 50% water changes.

My question is this. Tomorrow will make one week that I have had these fish, and I have barely seen them eat. I have seen one or two bites go in, but not NEARLY enough. These are my first Discus (although I am far from new to fish) and I honestly don't know what is going on.

I have tried to feed Tetra Color Bits, Freeze-Dried Bloodworms and Frozen Bloodworms. Nothing has worked. The breeder told me he had been feeding them Frozen Bloodworms himself.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!
-RL

alpine

04-21-2005, 06:43 PM

Did you ask or did the dealer advised you of the PH he kept the discus at ? I just got my first discus 2 and a half weeks ago and wanted to make sure I did not shock them with a radical PH change .

It is going to be interesting to me what others say .

roberto.

HTown Discus

04-21-2005, 07:22 PM

Good move getting them out of the bag water quickly.

Probably nothing to worry about too much. I've been told by several more experienced keepers that the older fish take a little longer to acclimate. For example, I have received 4 shipments from different sources across the country, all in the 2.5" range. They all ate within a few hours of arrival. I picked up some 5.5" fish locally and they all took a week or two to start eating well. Just keep the water nice and clean and they should be eating soon if they're not sick.

SuperDodge

04-21-2005, 08:02 PM

RyanH

04-21-2005, 09:45 PM

The pH differences that you are describing are not a big deal. However the ammonia was a very big deal and you did the right thing by moving them to the tank immediately IMO.

If you have access to live blackworms I would give those a try. I just got in some wild Heckels yesterday that seriously got their asses kicked during shipping. I had them eating within 20 minutes of being put in the tank by using blackworms.

Raise the temperature to 88 degrees and add some salt (2T/ 10 gallons) to the tank. If you see any signs of ammonia burns or open cuts or sores add some Melafix (1t/ 10 gallons). Keep the lights off for a day or two. The quarantine tank should be in a low-traffic area. Preferably higher off the ground; eye level is best. Doing these things will calm your fish down and make them feel more comfortable. This is exactly the procedure I used with my Heckels and they are already eating out of my hand...literally... and I've only had them for 30 hours.

Just to let you know, If an adult Discus goes off it's food for a couple of weeks it's not a big problem. These fish can go quite awhile without eating with no real harm done. I wouldn't panic just yet. They'll eat when they're hungry. Guaranteed! :)

Keep us posted on your progress.

-Ryan

Carol_Roberts

04-21-2005, 09:55 PM

To recap the advice given above. .
Temp 88
Daily water changes
offer frozen bloodworms several times per day (cut a cube in fourths)
Keep the tank clean
they should settle in and start eating in a few days.

SuperDodge

04-24-2005, 10:11 AM

Just an update:

These guys are eating a little bit better than they were, but they're still not doing well. They've finally started coming up to the glass to see me instead of hiding all the time.

They still look very healthy and I can't see any problems.

I'll keep you guys posted.

-RL