medicate or leave alone

[gtitan56v8]

Ok, here is what I have. 100 gal tank, 12 cardinal tetras and right now, only two 3 inch discus. Really low bioload has me doing 20% wc every 5 days. I have had these discus for about a month now and they both look great. The only problem is that one of them doesnt eat. He hides in the darkest spot he can find and I have never seen him take a bite. He isnt skinny, but he is dark sometimes. If I turn out the lights he comes out and the two chase each other and act normal, but he still wont eat. I am wondering if I should go ahead and treat him with a metro or prazi treatment along with 90 degree water to possibly stimulate his appetite. Because the fish were the first guys to enter the tank, I never did any type of quarantine procedure. Should I treat both of them? Just the one that isnt eating? Help. Treat or leave alone?

[White Worm]

I think it is more about a big tank and a lonely discus. He needs friends (more than one). With a tank that size, a small discus will get lost. Discus do better in groups of 5 or more. It needs about 8 more friends...after qt...of course! :D

[poconogal]

Like Mike said, he needs more friends! Discus do much better in a group, a minimum of 5. When you have only two, unless they are a pair, usually what happens is that one will become dominant and will bully the other, to the point that the other will die. Even if they are a pair, the same can occur should they decide they want a divorce! If you have three, two will usually gang up on the third, it will die, then one will pick on the other, until it too, dies. I'd get more Discus in that tank, after a proper QT, of course.

[GulfCoastDiscus]

Juvenille Discus are afraid of open space. Place the 2 in a 29 and add a few more. You'll see the difference.:)

[gtitan56v8]

I knew that I would need to get more company for them, but at this very moment should I take them through the qt process? Or, should I go ahead and still try a few things to stim his appetite?

[GulfCoastDiscus]

I knew that I would need to get more company for them, but at this very moment should I take them through the qt process? Or, should I go ahead and still try a few things to stim his appetite?

Quarantine all of them in a barebottom tank.

[White Worm]

Try live foods or frozen blood worms from hikari. Most discus cannot resist. Problem also is that those cards are quick and will eat all the food. Discus graze and eat at their leisure off the bottom. You may want to seperate them into a smaller tank so they can get the food without competition and then qt some friends. Once your qt is over, introduce all of them to the larger tank again. You will see an amazing difference in behavior/attitude when a discus has a group of friends and feels secure/safe. :D

[Don Trinko]

I have 4 DB that when I first got them would hide every time I came in the room. When I fed them they would watch and when I left they would come out and eat. You might also try turning the tank lights off and as already mentioned more discus will probably help.
I try to buy all my discus for a certain tank at the same time. Then the tank I put them in is Home and QT. I have added fish without QT and if they come from a good source you may get away with it but.... You could be introducing a disease also. Don T.

[gtitan56v8]

Well I moved my two discus into a 30 gal, increased the temp up to 90 degrees and the guy that hasnt taken a bite in over a month started eating. I originally thought my fish had rather dull coloration but with a smaller tank and the temporarily extra warm water they look great. Thanks for the help.

[YSS]

I am glad your guy has started eating, but I really doubt that it's because you moved them to a smaller tank. May be extra clean water and higher temp? May be your tank wasn't fully cycled and had ammonia and nitrite in it. You stated that you had your discus for one month and they were the first ones in the tank. So, your tank is 1 month old? If so, definitely not cycled. I have never heard that a fish would feel more secure and prefer a smaller tank. Is your 30G cycled? Good luck.

[gtitan56v8]

The big tank has been up and running for about a year now, I just waited a long time to add discus. When setting up the 30 gal I removed one of the sponge filters from the big tank and filled it with water from the big tank. Since doing that I have changed out all of the water with fresh.