Scared Breeding Pair

[Dudley Eirich]

I have a pair of young blue diamonds that recently bred in a community tank. About three weeks ago I transfered them to a breeding tank (20 gallons). They did very well in the community tank, but since transferring them, they haven't eaten and huddle in the back of the tank. I change 25 % of the water on a daily basis. There is no measurable ammonia, nitrates or nitrites. The pH is 6.7 and the hardness is 4 dGH (72 ppm). I have raised the temperature to 89 degrees to try to stimulate eating, but that hasn't helped. I have considered adding another fish, but am not sure if the anxiety being exhibited by the pair will transfer to the newly introduced fish or not. I have seperated other pairs before and didn't have this degree of difficulty. In fact, I have another pair in essentially the same water conditions and tank size that are doing well and breeding regularly. Should I just be patient? Have others had this problem and how did you solve it? Thanks for any advice you can give.

[Carol_Roberts]

Well by 3 weeks they should have settled in . . . you can try adding another fish or two . . . watch the new fish carefully to make sure they aren't beaten up too badly by the pair.

[Willie]

I'd recommend a 90% water change. Fish always feel better after it!

Willie ;)

[Rod]

Unfortunetly it happens that way occasionally Dudley, i don't have an absolute answer on why or how to fix it but if they don't settle soon place them back into a community for conditioning and try repairing in a couple of months.

[Dudley Eirich]

Well I took Carol's advice and put another fish in with the scared pair. It took over a week but they finally have begun to eat. It took almost five weeks for them to adapt to their new tank! They still hide quite a bit, but at least they are eating and are pushing each other around like typical discus. Thanks, everyone, for your advice and comments.

[Dudley Eirich]

Now...for the rest of the story! It seems that as soon as I took the other fish out of the tank, the pair went back to their stressed-out ways, hiding in the back of the tank, barely eating, and looking like they had lost their best friend. The tank that they were in was a 20 gal covered on three sides with insulation. From reading other posts, I assumed that they might feel more secure this way. However, with this pair it seemed to have the opposite effect. Their behavior was very frustrating, because they were in the tank together for about three months and had still not adapted to living there comfortably. They certainly weren't in the breeding mood.

Their tank is next to another breeding pair, so I finally got the bright idea to remove the insulation from their tank so they could see the other fish. It was a miraculous transformation...they immediately perked up and started actively swimming around the tank. One day later they consumed their evening meal immediately after feeding them.

I just thought I would share this experience with others in case someone else runs into a similar situation. Like humans, discus really do have different personalities and some just need the comfort of having others around them.

[Timbo]

interesting story! there's comfort in numbers eh

[lauren0626]

What's the purpose of covering three sides of the tank? I just don't get it. :confused:

[Kenny's Discus]

Quote:
"What's the purpose of covering three sides of the tank? I just don't get it."

Less movement around the tank so that they don't get spooked as easily.

Kenny

[CODISCUS]

You did not mention location of the breeder tank. If your tank is placed low to the ground or in a high traffic area this could be a cause.

[lauren0626]

Quote:
"What's the purpose of covering three sides of the tank? I just don't get it."

Less movement around the tank so that they don't get spooked as easily.

Kenny

Would't they want to see what goes on around them instead of big heads suddenly appear in front of the tank?
Just joking... :D