Discus Novice

[thegatti]

Hi, my name is Lieren and I'm new to this forum and to Discus. I went to a pet shop and saw the most colourful Discus I have ever seen! I was hooked.
They were quite expensive though, so I went to another LFS and bought two small discus. they are blue and red patterned- one with squggles and the smaller one has red spots.

I expected them to be shy being new to my tank, but the smaller one constantly hides. My bigger guy stays with him most of the time but does come out by himself every now and then.

I have driftwood and gravel as my main decor. The temp is 80-82 degrees F.

When I feed the fish, my clown loaches are the first ones to grab the food. Could that be a reason they feel shy?

[mmorris]

The biggest problem I can see, assuming they are healthy, is that you only have two. Unless they are a breeding pair, which I assume not, I recommend no less than six discus. They feel most comfortable in a group. Also, if you have something in your tank for them to hide behind, such as wood, it will most likely take them longer to get used to you. The temperature is a bit cool, particularly for small discus. I would increase the temp to around 85. How long have you had them? Was the tank cycled before you put them in?

[tcyiu]

Hi, my name is Lieren and I'm new to this forum and to Discus. I went to a pet shop and saw the most colourful Discus I have ever seen! I was hooked.
They were quite expensive though, so I went to another LFS and bought two small discus. they are blue and red patterned- one with squggles and the smaller one has red spots.

I expected them to be shy being new to my tank, but the smaller one constantly hides. My bigger guy stays with him most of the time but does come out by himself every now and then.

I have driftwood and gravel as my main decor. The temp is 80-82 degrees F.

When I feed the fish, my clown loaches are the first ones to grab the food. Could that be a reason they feel shy?

Welcome aboard. Just for disclosure purposes, I did the same thing you did. I bought two discus first and then started doing research and found this forum.

It would be useful to provide some additional information such as size of tank, the water temperature, other inhabitants, and if you happen to know, the parameters of the water.

But having said that, it is also likely that they are shy because they:
1) need to get acclimated to the new environment
2) would generally be less stressed in a school with other discus

Now, just so you know, once one of the fish becomes comfortable, it will assume the dominant spot in the pecking order and will harass the other fish. It is not doing it yet, but will do so in a few days. This is entirely normal. AND unless you are enormously lucky, the one being harassed will be further stressed and may get sick and die. Again, it's natural.

This is why people always recommend a school of 5-6 juveniles. If you cannot get more fish, then consider a divider. At a minimum, provide hiding places for the harassed fish.

Good luck.

Tim

P.S. In my case, the weaker one became sick which is why I started doing research online. It eventually died befor I could get other juveniles into the tank.

P.P.S. mmorris' post was posted before I posted. So, just wanted to add: ditto what she said.

[seanyuki]

by any chance did you quarantine them for a period of time b4 adding them to your main tank?....keep us inform:)& welcome to this freindly forum.

[thegatti]

Firstly, my tank has been established for about 3 years now. I think I have had my Discus for about a month. I bought the wood with my first Discus so he would have somewhere to hide and it would drop the ph for them.

My tank is 70 litres, and both Discus have plenty of swimming space being only small. I would love to get more of them but I don't think I have room for another one do I?

The pecking order has already started. The bigger one is pusing the smaller one around.
I thought angelfish were the only ones that were a pain in the neck that way. :)
I think I might try dividing them. Any ideas on diy dividers?

Can someone tell me why they would be more shy when they have a hiding spot when other fish are more confident with one?

[AzFishKid]

Can someone tell me why they would be more shy when they have a hiding spot when other fish are more confident with one?

Most people will tell you that discus are very social, and often interact with people.

Just think of it this way: If you were in a glass aquarium, and this big thing 75x your size came up near the glass and looked at you, would you hide behind something in the tank? Probably. But if there was nothing to hide behind, then you would have to get used to it over time.

[mmorris]

I bought two discus first and then started doing research and found this forum.



LOL I bought one. :D Once I found this forum I went out and bought 5 more immediately, along with a 55 gal. tank. I've got a lot more than that now!

[Jason K.]

i did the same as most of us here, saw them in a store loved them, needed to get some, but couldn't afford them, saw an add in another forum, assorted $ 10 a piece. bought 3 (shipping cost twice as much) i now have a $90 fish that i can only speculate to be a rose red. all said and done, found this site read, read, read. and now have some really nice fish from a sponsor here that are all healthy and begining to reach maturity, they hopefully will pair and give me some little guys to start off right. this site has given me the knowledge to get this far, with the help i've found here breeding is not out of the question. (thanks guys)

[exv152]

...My tank is 70 litres, and both Discus have plenty of swimming space being only small. I would love to get more of them but I don't think I have room for another one do I?

The pecking order has already started. The bigger one is pusing the smaller one around...

Did you say 70L? That's like 18 US gallons. That's way too small for those fish, especially if you have other types of fish in there with them. You want to have at least 6 discus, because of the bullying, which means a 60 gallon tank or bigger.

[thegatti]

I tested the nitrite and it was .25ppm so I'm doing a big water change today.

Eric, I was waiting to see if someone was going to jump on my 70L tank. I thought ok 10 gallons per fish....I'll buy one. Then he hid and I read they like to be with their own kind so I bought a second one. I am smart enough to not get any more.

Can someone please tell me why it is too small besides the risk of stunting?

[thegatti]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFuXzw4BtAw

[exv152]

...Eric, I was waiting to see if someone was going to jump on my 70L tank. I thought ok 10 gallons per fish....I'll buy one. Then he hid and I read they like to be with their own kind so I bought a second one. I am smart enough to not get any more.

Can someone please tell me why it is too small besides the risk of stunting?

When I made reference to your tank size, it wasn't because of stunting, it was because discus tend to bully each other. If your discus are smaller than 4 inches, and in a group of less than 6-8 members, the weakest fish will be bullied by the dominant one, and if it dies, the next weakest will be bullied. If you want to keep discus you'll need a much larger tank.

[thegatti]

I have now taken all the decor out except the driftwood and have also rehomed my clown loaches. It looks a lot bigger now :)