HELP WITH NEW DISCUS

[flyer1988]

I just bought 6 discus fish from John over at Houston Aquariums and they are magnificent, really happy so far. Thing is that the fish's just wont eat I tried tetra flakes, tetra bits, and finally small quantitiy of blood worms which one 2 or so accepted to nib on it. But I do see them really stressed out for instance I just got close to the aquarium and the biggest on just shooted towards the top then down the rest just kinda stayed still like saying yo dude whats wrong wit you. hehe. any ways I have another discus which I bought locally and remember about this issue with him as well but I remember it took my about a month to break him in to start eating normally. I just which that I could figure something out quickly as I really aiming towards a daily or one day yes one day no waterchange to keep water quality up, but since these guy seem too stressful I dont want them to get scared once I do a quick vacume. Any help would really be appriciated I just got these 2 days ago and while they seem beautiful Im really concerned about there health. what im going at the moment is leaving the light on for about 2 hrs then go dark so that they can relief themselves of all the stress. In addition can you all advice me if I would have to grow through this everytime I change them from one tank to another tank since Im setting up thier tank and its cyclying at the moment. thanks all every bit of help is appriciated.:)

[Jennie]

Can you call John?

[golden29]

It is normal for them to not eat when they are settling in. I have had it take up to a week before they settle in.
You might find these threads helpful.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//showthread.php?t=26570
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//showthread.php?t=26682

[golden29]

It could be water quality if your tank is not cycled enough. Also even if you had a cycled tank putting 6 more fish in all at once will put to much of a load on your biofilter. It will take up to 1-3 weeks to catch up. Also it is very important before your water change to age the water overnight especially if you are lowering the PH by some means. And the above comment is right as well. You should call John and find out what his water parameters are and find out what kind of foods he fed them. If it was primarily live then it can take a few weeks before they start to be weaned off of it. In that case you would need to get some and slowly add other kinds.

[Skip]

flyer.. i bought some for there a couple of weeks ago.. they were skittish for a few days.. but i would feed just a few tetra bits.. and jus leave them alone.. mine would graze on them after about 15 min.. it was all gone..

they were skittish also for the first week of water changes.. but its better to get them use to it, asap.. my little guys.. love to surf in the Current as i pour the water in a gallon at a time.. it is the funnest thing.. i feed them T-bits, Freeze Dried Black and Blood worms and a few flakes.. plus frozen Blood worms .. they are feed about 4-5 times a day.. they now, after 2 weeks will wait for me at the glass and like "BEG" for food its awesome!! just give it time.. i am about 2 months into my Discus adventure.. i am hooked!! : ))

your will be fine..

ps.. your tank does have bacteria filter established.. yes? how long has your tank been going before you added fish?

the best thing for stressed discus is CLEAN water.. so get on them WC!! good luck!!

I am not a SD Sponsor.. but i did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express! :D

[flyer1988]

Yeah i might call john tomorrow after work but Im really in a tight scheduale until thursday. I really do appriciate everything I will try calling him during my lunch break. Thank you all and keep your comments comming, by the way god bless you all for your quick replies. I understand I did place too many fish at once, oh and at the moment they are in a cycled tank. Its just that I bought them another tank with more space and thats the one im cyclying. :)

[Jennie]

I would leave a small light on in the room and turn tank lights out.
Yeah i might call john tomorrow after work but Im really in a tight scheduale until thursday. I really do appriciate everything I will try calling him during my lunch break. Thank you all and keep your comments comming, by the way god bless you all for your quick replies. I understand I did place too many fish at once, oh and at the moment they are in a cycled tank. Its just that I bought them another tank with more space and thats the one im cyclying. :)

[Eddie]

Just trying to see what your plan is on doing water changes. Will you be using aged/conditioned water or straight tap? What are your water parameters at the moment?

[DiscusLoverJeff]

When I purchased my discus, they did not want to eat for a couple days. Then I turned the water temp up to 88 degrees and they finally got hungry and that helped. I turned the water temp down after 2 days back to 83/84.

DiscusLoverJeff

[flyer1988]

the tank that there in has been running for about 9-10 months already and as for the water paremeters well. its at 80 degrees water temp and do three water changes a week of 1/3 tank and in addition I have a API ammonia test kit and it shows as yellow meaning good. At the moment I use filter tap water with the condition to remove clorine. thanks guys im going to leave the lights off for another day. I managed to do the water change today in the morning i kinda stayed near the glass for like 5 mins and then just quickly vacume the gravel and was able to do it without them getting all jumpy on me there probably were thinking weired aliens or something. hehe. hopefully they will be fine. thank you all for your tips. by the way Houston Aquarium discus are awsome you all have to see them I traveled about 6hrs just for my discus. the things we do for the things we love. :)

[flyer1988]

my bad i traveled 11 hours and half hehe round trip about 5 hrs and half to get there and another 6 hrs on my way back, but sure worth it.

[forrest]

hi Flyer,
this is just my opinion, u may try it out but it going to be a little bit aggresive to the fishes, not suitable for all fishes.

first of all, lower the water level as low as u can to reduce the pleasure in the tank since fishes r stressful atm ,best is about 4-5" height of water, of cos if the fishes r big..it may need another 2-3" height of water.

stop feeding them for another 3-4 days, this will be the hardest part for keeping fishes, it will be a bit cruel doing it but it going to be good for the rest of their life.

off the tank light with the room light on all the time (24 hours), try not to off n on the room light, this may cos the fishes much more stressful.

100% water change daily with your ablity to control the quality of water, if not atleast 50% a day.

during the 3-4 days of starving the fishes, only add salt to the water n best with water condition which is able to calm the fishes down, we have the water conditioner here named "stress coat" at my area (i could be wrong with the spelling), not sure u can get them in USA or not.

after 3-4 days, no matter how much fishes can eat, always 1 cube of bloodworm (6 discus) for each meal for 2 times a day, if u see fishes fighting for food after 3 days....start to feed them double each meal. remember the water change has to be done each day.

after a week, if the fishes doing better...then start feeding them as much as they can n enjoy your hobby.......remember...good quality of water change is the key.

the above way of treating skittish fishes is one of MY way, it may work to some but not for all (it depends very much on the condition of fishes), i wish u all the best for keeping discus and enjoy the hobby....

best rgds,
forrest.

[boxters]

they can take upto 4 weeks before they become settled. can i suggest cover the tank with a sheet, and just leave one end open. this will make them feel more secure and settle in quicker

[nc0gnet0]

How big is the tank they are currently in? How big are the fish? What was the water temperature of thier previous environment before you purchased them?

[Fluffy]

I heard that it might help to rise the temerature for a few degrees. It seems their digestion works a bit faster and the feel hungry sooner. When they start eating, lower the temperature to normal.

[Keith Perkins]

Flyer - you're a lucky person to get advice from Forrest. If you need an aggressive method to get your fish acclimated and eating, I'd certainly use his suggestions.