aim is a little off

[wheeler]

i have noticed that some of my discus have a hard time picking up food from time to time. i have read this before somewhere but cannot remember the answer. will they grow out of this or is this normal??? they are very determined to get it and generally don't give up and are eating well. just wondering. thanks

[ShinShin]

Some say Blue Diamonds are susectable to this condition. I don't know.

I do know that because of the location of the eyes of a discus, there is a blind spot directly in front of their nose. This is true of fish with eyes set directly on the sides of their head. I saw a program where a TV camera showed a salmon striking at a trolled lure 4,5,and 6 times before finally hitting it. I witnessed trout doing the same thing chasing a spinner I was casting.

Discus inhale (for lack of a better term) their food. I suspect as they grow older and stronger, this inhalation process becomes stronger and "missing" its food tapers off. I have only seen young fish with this problem. Never an adult. Someone else may have observed this in an adult discus.

Mat

[Carol_Roberts]

I've had a couple of cobalt type discuc with this problem and they never did grow out of it.

[wheeler]

cheers, thanks for the response. yes they do seem to inhale the food off the bottom of the tank. i'm sure that as they get a bit bigger they will have an easier time with this.

[Timbo]

i have a melon that needs glasses too, i'm always cheering for him when the food goes in. if he doesnt get the morsel on the first try (which is hardly ever) he'll give up on that one, and try another, then another. poor guy gets enough to live, but he's falling behind his tankmates in growth.

gonna get him a white cane and his own parking spot

[CAGE-RATTLER]

Ive noticed this as well with my red turk/brilliant blues (still not sure ... lol) 2-3 inch juvies. They seem to do fine with floating food but stuff on the bottom theyre aim is definately off (more so withe smaller ones).

I attribted it to being bare bottomed and not having the bottom painted and them maybe seeing two of everything due to a reflection (and going after the wrong one ..... lol)........... but not sure if thats what it is or not.

[wheeler]

this particular one is a green scorpion (seems to be more blue and orange though), and the bottom is black and white gravel. the red blood worms are really easy to see in there. like i said, they generally get whatever they are after so i am not too concerned, but thought i should ask.

thanks for all the replies so far