discus coming out of hiding

[soundtweakers]

After a month and a half, my discus(three) finally decide to come out from hiding. The dominent fish only bully the other two during feeding and no longer chase them back to their hiding spot. I'm planning on adding a few more discus and what precautions should I take?

[pcsb23]

Make sure you qt the new fish properly. Buy them from a reputable source.

[AADiscus]

QT is a must. You don't want to take a chance on bringing anything into your current stock and tank. How big is your tank? Discus are schooling fish and do better in larger groups.

[soundtweakers]

My tank is a 55 gallon long tank medium/heavy planted.
I just bought a small red turq today purely on impulse, it's kinda hard to find any dealer that stock discus in NYC.

I do not have a QT, and right now the only thing I can do is to keep a aerated bucket(1 gal)floating in my tank. I will be doing 100% WC every day for this floating bucket.

[pcsb23]

Ahh, impulse buys, been there done that (may even do it again too, but I have full qt facilities).

Whilst I understand the desire to buy more discus, it is well worth spending some money on a small qt/hospital tank. That, a sponge and a heater will only set you back the cost of 1 or 2 quality discus, and can save you hundreds in the future.

I would not keep the bucket in the tank, water will certainly escape from the bucket into the tank defeating the purpose of QT. Also 100% changes will not be enough on what is effectively a 1 gallon tank. 2 or 3 100% w/c a day and you may get away with it.

[soundtweakers]

Thanks, Paul, you're right, I think I'll just drop this little guy in after acclimation.

BTW, I like your Signature.
David(Mr. Gilmour) bought his black Fender strat from my workplace in the 70's. A few month ago he was touring in NYC and his guitar tech almost bought a vintage drum set from me.

[pcsb23]

BTW, I like your Signature.
David(Mr. Gilmour) bought his black Fender strat from my workplace in the 70's. A few month ago he was touring in NYC and his guitar tech almost bought a vintage drum set from me.

Now that is worth shouting about, one of my all time heros's. There are plenty on this site that play, you may get some business from them ;)

What was the drums btw?

[soundtweakers]

The set was a '67 something I'm not sure, I'm really in the guitar dept.

we have frequent visits of rock legends, not to brag or anything, but I met Pete Townsend two week ago.:D

David Gilmour is one of my all time favorite guitarist too:)
let me know what you need and I'll take care of you, Paul.

[pcsb23]

let me know what you need and I'll take care of you, Paul.

Just some ability will do :o

Seriously we are pretty well catered for in the UK, the guy who set my guitar up for me has at some time or another done people like Richie Blackmore, David Gilmour, Robert Cray, and Eric Clapton, so he is quite good I think. Anyways we are wandering off topic a bit here, but its your thread so... :D

[soundtweakers]

haha, it's like discus, rock'n'roll is just as addictive!!:D
I just saw Eric Clapton in concert two weeks ago with Robert Cray as a guest guitarist, needless to say, I was totally blown away. All hail slow hand!!

Well, I'm taking a bit of risk here putting this new fish in my tank without QT. Well, lets see if luck is on my side. This fish has been in the dealer't tank for about a month, it's still quite small about 2 inches. The fish looks perfectly healthy(body shape, fins, eye size, well fed), the only thing is that the ring around the eye is not as red as I would like it to be(could it be the black band running across the eye?). It's my first discus that has the black stripes so I'm not too sure.

I have a little acclimation system with tank water dripping into the floating bag and another tube siphoning water out(in drips) I let it float for few hours and the fish is actually feeding inside the bag(that's a good sign, right?)

thanks again

billy

[pcsb23]

Billy,

At least you are going in with eyes open, and yes you are taking a risk. I hope the consequences are at worst manageable, but given the circumstances you had little option! Gotta curb those impulse buys my friend :), at least until you've got a qt setup ;).

[AADiscus]

I hope the new one works out in the tank. But you ought to go ahead and invest in a QT tank. Even a 10 gal will work. Its something to keep it separated from your already healthy tank. Just keep an eye on everyone in the tank.

[swinters66]

Yep...I have two that are hiding...unless I am not in the room. I peek in and they are out, but close to the bottom of the tank. They slowly come out to eat, but go right back to their spot behind the plants.

I am not too terribly worried, since they are eating, and they don't appear sick. Just shy. Believe me, I watch these 2 like a hawk.

Glad to hear yours are coming around!

[Cosmo]

Discus are social fish, so hiding is a sign something is not right. In Billy's case, probably too few fish, and Paul is right.. you have to curb those instinctual buys... they may look healthy but you never know and the results can be devastating. Better to buy online from a good breeder, the freight isn't cheap but the price of each fish is usually lower than an LFS so if you buy enough it works out in your favor. Plus, you have a much better chance of getting quality fish.

Other problems that can lead to hiding include, but are not limited to (lol)... poor water quality or TOO MANY HIDING PLACES. Don't know if either of these apply to either of you, but thought I'd throw it in.

In the guitar department, I sold a classic Gibson SG special a couple years ago and am still kicking myself. Got a good price, but would be nice to still have it around. I'm thinking it was a 73 but it's been too long. Now I'm stuck ... lol... with my Strat (which I love) but the darn thing refuses to restring itself :p and I just haven't had the time lately :( Like Paul, I've had sets of new strings sitting around for several months.... gotta do it :)

I have a rare drum set in the garage, the old self tuning heads type... worth anything?? Paid a hundred bucks for it about 10 years ago but added all new hardware.... my daughter used to play, now it just sits :(

Rock on dudes... and good luck with your fish, but, ummm... lose the bucket and invest in a small qt tank, you'll be glad you did :)

Jim

PS.. Several people who have heard me perform say Eric Clapton's voice sounds just like mine... I'm wondering why HE got all the money... LOL

[soundtweakers]

At one time not too long ago, I had 7 tanks in my apartment(55, 20, bunch of 10s). All given away except the biggest one when I became a dad.
Now I'm in a situation where I need to add another tank(wife approved for a 20 tall:) ). I think I'll get one of them metal stand where you can stuff another 20 gallon on the bottom.

Thank you Cosmo for reminding me the horror stories that I often hear at work. I'm not selling anything out of my guitar collection anymore!!

another two 20 gallon on the planning stage:D exciting!!

billy

[Cosmo]

Billy,

Buy 29's... she'll never know the difference :p :D

[kaceyo]

Just stopped in to say...uhhm... something discus related, and that I first saw "The Floyd" back in 1973. Pre-Dark Side and before anyone had heard of them. Tickets were $2.50 and it was easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I count the group among the top 5 bands of all time. Tell David I said "hi" if you see him ;)

[pcsb23]

Just stopped in to say...uhhm... something discus related, and that I first saw "The Floyd" back in 1973. Pre-Dark Side and before anyone had heard of them. Tickets were $2.50 and it was easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I count the group among the top 5 bands of all time. Tell David I said "hi" if you see him ;)

On one of their frecent stadium tours I think at Wembley in the UK we did the lights for it, but it was the one where the seating stands collapsed and was cancelled. I'd got tickets too! Last saw them back in teh 70's at Manchester Free Trade Hall, those were definitely the days.

[soundtweakers]

Buy 29's... she'll never know the difference
of course I thought of it, but I'm given only 25 inches of space and a 29 gal is 30 inches long.:mad:

I first saw "The Floyd" back in 1973. Pre-Dark Side and before anyone had heard of them. Tickets were $2.50 and it was easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I count the group among the top 5 bands of all time. Tell David I said "hi" if you see him
my parents should've made me 15 years earlier....

On one of their frecent stadium tours I think at Wembley in the UK we did the lights for it
Hey, I did live sound and concert lighting for seven years. You must be a part of a HUGE company if you guys are hired for Floyd.:D

Here is something discus related..
My only ram in the tank is actually chasing the new Red Turq around.
This new Red Turq. discus behaves very different than my original Pigeons.
It is definitely alot less skittish than the pigeons, I've only had it for four days and it eats bloodworms out of my hand....mmm...I like this fish, wouldn't mind a couple more.:)

Billy

[pcsb23]

Turks are what I call one of the original domestic discus. A good turk is virtually bomb proof, damn good fish, still capable of looking better than most of the newer strains.

And yes the company I work for is reasonably large, we only did the one gig for floyd from memory. The normal UK contractor had some difficulties with that gig, maybe they knew something! To put it in perspective my company did the lights for films like The Lord of The Rings trilogy, The last 4 or 5 Bond Movies, last 3 Star Wars, so nothing too big;) When I saw floyd in the 70's I could not believe how good Gilmour was (or is), nothing flash but just the way he played, with so much feeling. Felt like I lived each note, if only I could get to half that standard... Like Jim says gotta get my strat re-strung, I even put the strings in the cas with the axe, but they are still in the bag!!! So no magic there then..