Will my Discus starve

[Billionzz]

I have had 5 Discus in a 120g planted tank and they were doing well, they were healthy and active. One of them was about 5" and the others are close to 4".

I tore down my planted tank to switch to ADA substrate and while doing so I placed the Discus in a 29g tank. They have been in there a week and I plan on keeping them there probably another 3 weeks while my plants get going well in the 120g tank.

I have always feed my Discus bloodworms and I would really like it if they ate some prepared foods instead. I'm thinking that they would be healthier that way.

Since they have been in the 29g tank for the last week, two of them seem to eat the prepared food ok but the others pick at it every now and then but don't seem to eat much. I have been changing 80% of the water daily on this tank and it has and established Eheim 2026 running on it.

Should I give in and feed some blood worms or just wait it out till they all eat the prepaired food well?
I'm assuming that they won't starve themselves.

Thanks,
Bill

[Ryan]

Healthy discus will not starve themselves to death, but they can be stubborn. Skip a whole day's worth of feeding, then try feeding your prepared food in the morning when the fish seem to be hungriest. Do this a few times in a row and they'll eventually take the prepared food.

A variety of foods in the discus diet are best, so there's no reason not to include bloodworms too. I feed all my fish a variety of bloodworms, mysis shrimp, a couple types of flake, some granules/small pellets, and live foods when available either for spawning conditioning or a treat.

Ryan

[Billionzz]

Thanks for the help,

Since I will have them in a bb tank for another 2 or 3 weeks would you suggest any preventative treatment for worms or whatever because I can't do that in the planted tank.

Again they have always been healthy and active but a couple of them look a little thin now because of the food change.

[Ryan]

You could do a Prazi treatment if you wanted to, just to see if they expelled tapeworms. Otherwise, if they've been healthy and they eat well and act normal, I don't think it's anything to worry about.

Ryan

[Billionzz]

oK - thanks for the help