Sheila
05-24-2008, 10:13 PM
Hi, I am new to discus but with the help of some local people (and forums) I have set up my first Discus tank. Here is the info:
It is a 55g tank with 1 Aquaclear110 and 1 Aquaclear70 for filtration (both have established media in them and both have sponges on the intake tubes). I am using 2 200w heaters to keep the temp at 85 and so far it has been very stable.
The substrate is sand and I have driftwood and real plants for decor. I was originally going to do a bare bottom set up but changed my mind after talking to a few people. The tank has been set up for several years but was switched over to discus about 2 weeks ago. I have 12 cardinal tetras and 6 discus. I picked up 3 ( 1 blue diamond and 2 spotted greens) about 9 days ago and another 3 (1 blue diamond and 2 golden phoenixes) 7 days ago. The second blue diamond that I got stopped eating about 3 days ago now. Everyone else is eating like absolute pigs and is taking food right from my hand. Currently they will only eat bloodworms and I haven't tried switching them onto anything else yet since I was told I should let them settle in first. The one that is not eating is very social and still has good color but it is obviously skinnier than the others. They were all dewormed before I purchased them and have all been having normal poops. I've begun thawing the bloodworms in some garlic guard to see if that will help at all. Is there anything else I can do?
I've been told to give it some more time but being a first time discus owner I'm panicking a bit. I'm by no means new to cichlids and most of them will not starve themselves but I've been told discus can and will.
I'd also like to know how to get them to eat someting other than blood worms, so far they ignore everything else.
Thanks so much.
It is a 55g tank with 1 Aquaclear110 and 1 Aquaclear70 for filtration (both have established media in them and both have sponges on the intake tubes). I am using 2 200w heaters to keep the temp at 85 and so far it has been very stable.
The substrate is sand and I have driftwood and real plants for decor. I was originally going to do a bare bottom set up but changed my mind after talking to a few people. The tank has been set up for several years but was switched over to discus about 2 weeks ago. I have 12 cardinal tetras and 6 discus. I picked up 3 ( 1 blue diamond and 2 spotted greens) about 9 days ago and another 3 (1 blue diamond and 2 golden phoenixes) 7 days ago. The second blue diamond that I got stopped eating about 3 days ago now. Everyone else is eating like absolute pigs and is taking food right from my hand. Currently they will only eat bloodworms and I haven't tried switching them onto anything else yet since I was told I should let them settle in first. The one that is not eating is very social and still has good color but it is obviously skinnier than the others. They were all dewormed before I purchased them and have all been having normal poops. I've begun thawing the bloodworms in some garlic guard to see if that will help at all. Is there anything else I can do?
I've been told to give it some more time but being a first time discus owner I'm panicking a bit. I'm by no means new to cichlids and most of them will not starve themselves but I've been told discus can and will.
I'd also like to know how to get them to eat someting other than blood worms, so far they ignore everything else.
Thanks so much.