Discus biting and not eating

[marfa59]

I have a 95 Gal. Tank with 9 discus. One is a 1 year old Marboro, several slightly smaller, 2 that are about 3 inches, and 2 that I just got last week that are 2 inches. Problem #1 is the 2 new small discus started bumping the large Marboro, looks like they are biting him. One of the larger snakeskins has done it a couple of times. Problem #2 is I moved the tank from upstairs a couple of weeks ago, and since then I have not seen any of them eat. They do not come to the top to eat like they used to and I haven't seen them eat off the bottom either. Three of them seem to be darker but I'm not sure if it's just because of the lighting in the new place. The ph is a little high but that is what they have always been in and it has never been a problem. I added a Clown Loach a week ago because of snail problems.
Ammomia-0
Nitrites-0
Nitrates-0
ph 7.2
Help!! I'm worried about them not eating and worried that they are hurting Marboro.
Connie

[mmorris]

Did you quarantine the new arrivals - discus and loach? As I understand it your fish hadn't eaten for a week and you then added more last week? Does the marlboro show signs of physical damage? How is he behaving? Your water stats don't sound right. Can you test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate again? The ph is fine. What temperature are you keeping the tank? What is your water change regime?

[marfa59]

I didn't quarantine the Discus. They came from the same breeder as all my others. Maybe that was a mistake. But suprisingly they are acting much better this morning. They are swimming around like normal and they ate bloodworms. They just won't eat the Tetra Granules that I have always fed them. I usually feed once a day with bloodworms or shrimp brine and the rest with tetra granules. Repeated water test and all results are the same. Marlboro doesn't show any signs of damage. Temp is kept at 86 to 88 and I do water change twice a week at 20%. I'm new to Discus behavior. Would taking them out of the tank and moving it from one place to a totally different part of the house make them act strange for a while. I also changed the sand in the tank to gravel. Would they need to readjust to the new atmosphere?

[mmorris]

That's good news! Yes, they would need to readjust to a new environment. You should have nitrate readings, particularly if you are only doing 20% twice a week. When I have 10 gal. or more per fish I do 50% every other day - daily if they are juvies. I quarantine even if they are from the same breeder (importer?) They may have gotten in new fish between your two orders. Secondly, fish suffer some stress in a move and that could lower their defences to something they may have successfully fought off previously. Quarantine gives you a chance to ensure that new arrivals are healthy before adding to the others.

[marfa59]

Thanks for advice. Just wish they would eat the tetra granules again.

[mmorris]

Up the wc's, and if they're on the mend, they'll be eating the granules soon. :)

[MostlyDiscus]

Hi Connie,


I really hope that your Discus are doing well:o. If your pets are eating well then carry on. If no then it may be benificial to raise the tempurature to 87 and stop any food for a day. This may let the larger discus to regain the advantage so to speak and be more agressisve.

Ed