He/she is not quite 20/20

[lado]

I have ghoust discus that has obvious "aiming " problem.Always undershots "bites".Looks real pritty but im lttle vorry it want get fair share of food in community tank with other 7 discus.He/she is 10 months old hevily feed 5 times a day and bearly 4".Is there a help in such a case?Fish on left.

[candyl70]

Iado,
As I understand it, there is always one fish who will be at the bottom of the pecking order and will always be a bit smaller. http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_9_8.gif
I know its a little sad, but if you have another smaller tank you could try to take the one out and feed it seperatley for a little bit and then put him back. But then another fish will end up taking his place.


hth,

Candy

[PJs]

Iado - check out my threads (2) on Feeding and Nutrition about feeding near-sighted fish. I have a turqoise discus with the same problem - now he eats like a little pig. But, I have only two discus and the female eats from the food that falls in the other parts of the tank, so no competition. Furthermore, he was the dominant fish in the tank when I bought him, so the other fish probably wouldn't have bothered him too much anyway. (I think he scared them away and then took his sweet time pecking incessantly at the food until he got it. But, his eyes are a bit too big due to stunting, and I am hoping his body will fill out faster now he's eating more. Hard to say.)

Good luck! Let us know if you come up with any good solutions to add!

(And yes, for all of you whose stomachs are doing flip-flops, I know well enough to not ever consider breeding this fish in case it is genetic. :D )