Hanging out in the corner

[jerzguy]

Hi, I have a 6ft 125g tank and all my 11 dicus are allways hanging out in one corner of the tank. When I go near and move to the other corner then they will follow me once I move away then they will go back to their corner. They dont even spread out they stick together as if there is no space. Feeding time they dont have any issuer in chasing the food all over. It is a planted tank and the other side where they dont hang out is covered with Blyxa Japonica. Is this normal? There is no current except the filter oulets on the other side.

Thanks

[zamboniMan]

Can you post pictures? If thats the only open space (the rest being tall plants) in the tank that may be the cause. Also details about your water, lighting, etc.

The more you give us the more we can help.

[Darrell Ward]

Hi, I have a 6ft 125g tank and all my 11 dicus are allways hanging out in one corner of the tank. When I go near and move to the other corner then they will follow me once I move away then they will go back to their corner. They dont even spread out they stick together as if there is no space. Feeding time they dont have any issuer in chasing the food all over. It is a planted tank and the other side where they dont hang out is covered with Blyxa Japonica. Is this normal? There is no current except the filter oulets on the other side.

Thanks

Without knowing all the details, my first guess would be the bright lighting of a planted tank.

[jerzguy]

I still did not figure out how to take a picture using my old digital cam. I will try again. My Ph is around 6.7. 4X96 Watt PC 10K Coralife fixture for 10 hours a day. Pressurized CO2 with AM 1000 reactor and SMS 122 ph controller. FX5 & eheim 2217.

[philip69285]

10000K is very bright and the wrong spectrum for plants anyways... change them to 6700ks and your discus should love them much better and your plants will thank you as well. I use 4x65watt PCs no problem.

[Darrell Ward]

4 x 96 watts is a heck of a lot of light for a 125 gal. with discus. I'm not surprised that they huddle together. I would suggest that you try to only run 2 fixtures for a few days, and see if the fish's behavior changes.

[exv152]

Are the discus new to this setup?

The lighting is strong but you may be able to get away with it if you provide more hiding spaces for them, like some large swords plants or branches to resemble the root system of a tree. The Blyxa Japonica is a low lying plant and they need a bit more above their heads to make them feel secure. If you don't need that much light, you can cut that in half and the fish may still not feel 100% secure, but it may help. Try just turning one set of lights off and keeping 2x96 on, and see how they react.

[Fraise]

one thing you may want to try adding is some tall grass (val) that will grow up to the surface and then grow across the top. it will provide them with a little bit of shade. It seems to have worked for me and i have a similar setup with the same lights.

[FSM]

10000K is very bright and the wrong spectrum for plants anyways... change them to 6700ks and your discus should love them much better and your plants will thank you as well. I use 4x65watt PCs no problem.


10000k bulbs are not significantly brighter or dimmer than 6700k of the same type, and plants grow fine under either