Can someone......

[frisco008]

Hello,

Can someone please post pics of about 2.5 inch discus that are sick and ones that are healthy? I didn't get any frozen bloodworms yet and my fish don't appear to me to be skinny but maybe I am wrong. Just want to see some pics to compare to them.

Thanks:D

[AmberC]

If you made another post about your discus, I dont think I saw it so thats why I'm asking so I apologize if you have to repeat something.. but what makes you think they are sick?

Here is a picture of my snow white which is about that size
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/CristaMeganMommy/Fish%20stuff/DSC03963.jpg
and here is the same fish, just a side view
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/CristaMeganMommy/Fish%20stuff/DSC03967.jpg

Amber

[frisco008]

I don't know that they are sick either, I have had them for 8 days now and I haven't seen them really eat. They are blood pigeons, I have seen them "graze" the bottom but that is it. They are such a shy fish.

[White Worm]

Give them some time and let them grow up a little and you will see some very friendly fish

[AmberC]

Shyness is a typical trait of discus. The more time you spend with your face pressed against the glass.. the more used to you they will become. When I want to make sure a new fish is eating... I drop in the food and then I move back pretty far from the tank and just stay still and watch. A lot of times, new fish will not eat in front of you because they are afraid. Just keep your eye on them. If they are black, or if their poo does not look right.. there may be something wrong.

Amber

[frisco008]

I only have 2 now should I get more? I want to make this a community tank eventually with a couple of other different fish too. I have other tanks in the house but only 2 discus in this so far, I want to put my chocolate albino pleco in but not sure. I have a 44 gallon with 2 live plants and gravel bout 86on temp, change water every 2 weeks....I have a magnum 350 filter and under gravel filter.

[White Worm]

Your water is probably one of the issues plus there only being 2 discus. They need about 3 friends and a water change every day (50% +)

[White Worm]

You may want to get rid of the gravel and go with sand and get rid of the UGF. Be careful with plecos because they will sometimes enjoy discus slime as tasty snack. Go with discus only until you get the hang of it, jmo.

[frisco008]

yikes I don't want to baby them that much I have 3 kids to take care of maybe I will just get rid of them (the fish). Thanks for all the replies

[pcsb23]

Agree with Mke re the UGF, ditch it. Also agree that 2 is not a good number at that size and age, 5, 6 or 7 is a better startng point. If you get more qt them! In the short term you will need to up the water changes. At a minimum I would recommend is 3x a week. I would also recommend using aged preheated water.

If you do add more fish you may need to increase the amount of water changes. For growing out discus I strongly recommend bare bottom tanks, ie ditch the gravel too!. The reason behind this is you will want to feed them between 4 and 6 times a day on a variety of foods including beefheart, frozen bloodworm and a premium flake or granule food. This will ensure the fish grow to their full potential and don't end up stunted specimens.

hth,

[AmberC]

I have a 4 yr old, a 1 yr old, a dog, 2 cockatiels, a guinea pig and 4 tanks. You can manage it. I agree that water quality is probably the issue! 2 weeks is too long to wait to do a w/c on any tank. You should be doing them at least once a week on the other tanks and the discus should get more and adding more will help them feel more at ease.

Amber

[hexed]

Frisco,
Actually Underground filters do not work right unless a powerhead is connected to them on all tubes. If you only use airline it is not strong enough to pull the debris from under the filter plate. The debris sits there and rots making your water perimeters to spike. Yes you can use the gravel if you choose to but you really should remove the underground filters from all your tanks. I learned my lesson first hand when it comes to them.

Growing out the discus in a planted tank or just substrate tank can be done but it is a lot of work. I did it and said I will never do it again LOL. I find it so much easier to just put them in a bare bottom tank and give them clean water changes and lots of food. Once they are adults I put them in a planted tank or just add substrate. In a BB it actually takes less time to clean then it does with substrate. It takes me about 30 minutes to vacuum the bottom and drain 50% of the water and refill the 55 gallon tank and I do not use a python which should cut the time even less. I also perfer to do my water changes at night after everyone goes to bed so I have no interuptions.

Like the others have stated, because the discus babies need so much food to grow, water changes are important. I feed my adults once or twice a day that's it, but young ones need more food :) They do best in groups of 5-6.
Hope this helps,
Frank

[candyl70]

If you do decide to get more discus, just be sure to QT in a seperate tank for at least 4 weeks, or you may have a disease attack all your fish.

Good luck!!

Candy