Well everyone the time has come!

[mattsoccer20]

Hi people, i am very happy to say that i just got my discus from mike beals today!:):):) And the discus i got are: 2 blue diamonds, 1 tiger turquoise, 1 tiger turquoise snakeskin, and 1 red melon. And i probably will be getting 1 or 2 more in mikes next shippment. And its been a while but i finally got the fish :)

[mattsoccer20]

Oh and i will try to post a video on youtube some time

[Cevoe]

Way to go, kid.
I was pulling for you that you would get it done.
Good luck with them.

[Second Hand Pat]

Congrats Matt, now the hard part starts.

[Skip]

FINALLY!!! CONGRATS!

[mattsoccer20]

Congrats Matt, now the hard part starts.

Haha yes.
And thanks guys so far i just put them in and they are already schooling

[russren]

good luck

[mattsoccer20]

good luck

Thanks

[calihawker]

Awesome! Good luck! Pics!

Steve

[BHarris '10]

Im interested to see your fish, looking at getting my first batch from Mike too. Good luck and congrats.
-Brandon

[vera]

pictures!

[Darrell Ward]

Mike gets quality fish. I have sold many offspring from fish I got from him. Enjoy!

[mattsoccer20]

Thanks guys i am going to post a video on youtube soon and when i do ill post the the link. Buy the way guys i have 2 quick things. People that have mikes fish, what kind of food do you guys feed them? And I brought them home and had them in last nite and right now they all just school and sit in the corner in the back? Is this becuase they are new to the tank? Thanks again

[mattsoccer20]

Just posted a new thread of the youtube video i made. The link is on the new thread. Go watch it :)

[Darrell Ward]

Thanks guys i am going to post a video on youtube soon and when i do ill post the the link. Buy the way guys i have 2 quick things. People that have mikes fish, what kind of food do you guys feed them? And I brought them home and had them in last nite and right now they all just school and sit in the corner in the back? Is this becuase they are new to the tank? Thanks again

It may take them a while to adjust.

[mattsoccer20]

It may take them a while to adjust.

Ok thats probably it. One more thing they wont eat now..... I have feed them frozen blood warms and some fish food i have for them call X-tream or something like that. They won even try to get it. Whats wrong. Please help

[moon_knight1971]

Generally when they are new they need a few days to adjust. No lights no food and walk by them slowly if you must walk by them. Don't forget to do your water changes Matt
:-)

Joey!

[wendy9722]

Make sure to clean up left over food and do wc's. It takes time for them to adjust and they are stressed out from shipping and new tank. No need to be concerned yet. You did get a good test kit right? Not stick tests. Need to keep water levels in check too.

Edit: where is link for you tube so everyone can see them?

[mattsoccer20]

Make sure to clean up left over food and do wc's. It takes time for them to adjust and they are stressed out from shipping and new tank. No need to be concerned yet. You did get a good test kit right? Not stick tests. Need to keep water levels in check too.

Edit: where is link for you tube so everyone can see them?

Ok thanks. yes i got a testing kit. And i did a water change today and yesterday before i put them in. And really about the no light? and here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5B_MrTil_o

[wendy9722]

Yahh no light is best to help make them feel a little more comfortable. I watched you video. They look really nice including the angels. I like the yellow koi and the silver angel. I and I'm sure many other would say get the discus into a bb tank until you know how to care for them first. Did you bother with qt? If not then you are playing a serious game that could cost you the lives of your other fish and discus. One of those fish could be a carrier of a disease that you are not aware about and can spread like wild fire to the rest and lose everything that is invested. I wish you the best of luck!!!! I hope they all stay healthy.

[mattsoccer20]

Yahh no light is best to help make them feel a little more comfortable. I watched you video. They look really nice including the angels. I like the yellow koi and the silver angel. I and I'm sure many other would say get the discus into a bb tank until you know how to care for them first. Did you bother with qt? If not then you are playing a serious game that could cost you the lives of your other fish and discus. One of those fish could be a carrier of a disease that you are not aware about and can spread like wild fire to the rest and lose everything that is invested. I wish you the best of luck!!!! I hope they all stay healthy.

Thanks. So how long do i keep the lights out for and until there comfortible? Thanks about how you like the fish and stuff

[wendy9722]

I usually will go up to 2-3 days without lights. I will only turn light on here (no more than 5min) and there to check to see if any new devolpments such as disease or whatever should start showing. I feed about 24hrs after I get them in the tank unless I'm really excited. Even when I do feed early I end up taking it back out. I keep the house quiet for the most part then they start to get used to me and the family being around.

[seanyuki]

Hi Matt..........you got the discus yesterday and they are already in the community tank with other fish.......omg

[mattsoccer20]

I usually will go up to 2-3 days without lights. I will only turn light on here (no more than 5min) and there to check to see if any new devolpments such as disease or whatever should start showing. I feed about 24hrs after I get them in the tank unless I'm really excited. Even when I do feed early I end up taking it back out. I keep the house quiet for the most part then they start to get used to me and the family being around.

Ok thanks allot. One more thing when do i feed them? Do i feed them like once a day for 2-3 days, and with the light on or with out the light on? Thanks

P.S Oh one more thing as soon as i turned off the lights and left the room for a few seconds they started going everywhere in the tank and they did not hide when i steped in. It was nice to see that

[wendy9722]

You can leave the light off for them to feed. They will see the food with the room light that they are in. Since they are in a community tank I guess they will eat when they are ready. They will slowly start to come out of hiding as time goes by. They look like the are on the juvie side so you will want to feed muliple times a day with at least 15-20% wc a day so the water stays healthy and no build up of ammonia, and the discus will continue to grow you dont want to stunt them. You will need to clean your gravel!!!!! Remove decorations so you dont miss anything then put back in once you are done. Do a really good clean up every weekend and wipe all surfaces down. Its best also if you use aged water with juvies. This is what I do but others may do it differently. I'm not a expert but they can chime in if I am off base.

Oh went they start coming out of hiding while you are standing there is a good sign that they are getting more comfortable in the tank. Then you can put the light on.
What size tank do you have them in?
What are you feeding?

[TURQ64]

NO quarantine??..And this was the guy that said in a dozen threads that he read everything and was ready to 'follow along'???......

[jarret8x]

NO quarantine??..And this was the guy that said in a dozen threads that he read everything and was ready to 'follow along'???......

Clearly he didn't tho he just asked if he only needed to feed juvies once a day. Best of luck hope it all turns out well for you matt. Wish you paid a little more attention to the big details that everyone told you.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[roundfishross]

AAAAAAKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!! straight into the tank with angels and others(probably from lfs)! GRAVEL! I see brown algae in there as well. the algae points to a problem with dirty gravel. if this dos'nt turn into a train wreck it will be a miracle!


leo

[mattsoccer20]

Clearly he didn't tho he just asked if he only needed to feed juvies once a day. Best of luck hope it all turns out well for you matt. Wish you paid a little more attention to the big details that everyone told you.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

No i was listing. I was asking if i only do once a day feedings because i was not sure if feeding them to much will help or not help with them getting comfortable. And they did not go straight in i did the drip method and everything. And i told you guys i was not going to do a QT tank. And there was not any brown algae in there it was just the ipod i was tanking the video on. And i did pay attention so please do start this again. Oh and wendy, i have them in a 75 gallon tank and i was feeding them frozen blood warms and i tried feeding them some of this discus food but they are not use to it yet.

[mattsoccer20]

I ment to say please do not start this again

[zchauvin]

AAAAAAKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!! straight into the tank with angels and others(probably from lfs)! GRAVEL! I see brown algae in there as well. the algae points to a problem with dirty gravel. if this dos'nt turn into a train wreck it will be a miracle!


leo

they will be black, stunted, and all have diseases within the first week... poor things.

[mattsoccer20]

No they are showing allot of color did you even see the video??? They have X2 more color in the video now. And non of the fish have diseases if they did the fish would be dead or dieing now. So guys lets not start this again. If it does not turn out well as in the get sick and die and stuff you guys then can say stuff. Thanks

[Altum Nut]

Matt,

Don't take offence to comments others may have because your the one asking.
Were glad you purchased from a very reputable source. Free informative suggestions/recommendations were offered in previous posts. The option to accept any advise is always yours in the end.
I wish you the best of luck with your new group.
Let us know how they are when they settle in....and keep up on those w/c's

...Ralph

[ericatdallas]

Matt -> This is a little OT, but... At times you get criticized for asking a lot of questions and then not listening to advice... most of the criticism is legitimate. However, let me comment that I think you're a lot more mature than I was your age and probably more so than a lot of people who are "adults". For as much criticism/sarcasm/flak that you get on this forum you sure maintain a very level temperament. You don't get into arguing matches and you never seem to get annoyed by what people say. In fact, you deflect it or ride with it pretty well. So good on you :)

This could be an expensive lesson for you. I'm glad you listened and only went with one source. Although going with juvies in a non-BB tank .. well, good luck and I hope it works out. I didn't listen either ... there's another guy that's new and asking advice that's not listening either. But in a few years, you may be answering questions for the next "matt" and be able to answer with personal experience.

No matter what happens, don't get discouraged and just learn from it. Even if you listened to all the advice, you're bound to make mistakes and it's inevitable things will go wrong anyway.

[wendy9722]

Trust me I would love to give you he(( but I wont. I'm not your mother but another person that loves discus and angels. I can give you the best advice I can for what I know and and what works for me. The other fish in the tank isnt a good idea at this time. They should be moved to another tank for awhile until they are comfortable in that tank. It needs to BARE BOTTOM and the bare minimum amt of decor. The decorations will keep the left over foods in the tank and spoil. That isnt healthy for the fish. I'm telling you this advice as a friend and as a mother. I tell my daughter the same thing all the time. Its a lot of hard work to remove all that stuff but it does pay off in the long run. If you should have to treat that tank for anything when you do at least a 70% change 1-2xs a day cleaning that gravel is gonna get on your nerves. More and more dirt will come out each time but you wont get it all. Therefore the disease will remain in the tank and the fish wont get better.
I had angels in with my first set of discus before and ended in a disaster. Needless they came from a LFS and I didnt know much better. I would love to mix them but the health of my discus is at stake if I should mix and vis versa with the angels. I ended up with a lot of dead discus. So now I have 4 discus only tanks and 2 55gal tanks for my angels so I have best of both worlds. All my tanks are bb except the tropical fish tank that has glow fish, molly, tetras, guppies etc. They are not a delicate type of fish. I made my angels bb due to a disease out break and made things 100% easier to clean and get rid of any build up. I wipe the glass down all hoses and heaters. I wash the decoration with a mild mix of bleach water in a spray bottle and take a sponge for fish only to get rid of the algea and left over food. Then rinse rinse and rinse some more!!!! Make sure that the smell is 100% gone and even when you dont smell it do it at least another 2x's to make sure.
The discus may not come out of there shell because of the poor water quality. You probably have a lot of build up that you are unaware about. Ask your parents to help you 1st remove the fish from the tank and place them in buckets #2 drain all the water #3 remove the gravel. It looks like it is black and will keep discus dark and not show the brighter colors. I promise you will have much better results for doing this. #4 clean all decorations throughly!!!! All heavier decor will remain at the bottom of the tank. If you have fake plants put weights on them to keep them down if you want them. If you have live plants put in a pretty dish with a small amt of gravel and keep it contained there. That is much easier to deal with especially with a out break. The tank will be fine without it and still can look pretty.#5 put the water conditionor/prime in and start refilling and make sure the temp is correct the entire time. Plug all equipment back in once filled. Then you can place discus only in for awhile. They should purk up in no time. Your can also add some aq salt to help them settle. Please do as I have asked you to do. I would hate to see those lovely fish die because you chose not to listen.

[Skip]

let him go... there are in.. we are here... if he needs :)

[Skip]

let him go... there are in.. we are here... if he needs :)

he has to learn sometimes.. and i am sure every one of newbie still went against the advice of the COLLECTIVE>>. BUT we learned from mistakes :)

[mattsoccer20]

Matt -> This is a little OT, but... At times you get criticized for asking a lot of questions and then not listening to advice... most of the criticism is legitimate. However, let me comment that I think you're a lot more mature than I was your age and probably more so than a lot of people who are "adults". For as much criticism/sarcasm/flak that you get on this forum you sure maintain a very level temperament. You don't get into arguing matches and you never seem to get annoyed by what people say. In fact, you deflect it or ride with it pretty well. So good on you :)

This could be an expensive lesson for you. I'm glad you listened and only went with one source. Although going with juvies in a non-BB tank .. well, good luck and I hope it works out. I didn't listen either ... there's another guy that's new and asking advice that's not listening either. But in a few years, you may be answering questions for the next "matt" and be able to answer with personal experience.

No matter what happens, don't get discouraged and just learn from it. Even if you listened to all the advice, you're bound to make mistakes and it's inevitable things will go wrong anyway.

Thanks. And guys ill keep up on the WC's. And i will everything i can to keep them alive. One more question. You guys said to keep the lights off in the tank for 2-3 days. And i was at a petstore today that is called preuss pets and they are pretty good with there fish and thats where i get most of my info on all my fish from. And one of the discus people told me that it takes some discus 2-3 weeks until they are comfortable in the new tank. How long do i keep the lights off for and how long did it take all your guys discus to get comfortalbe? Thanks

[Skip]

And i was at a petstore today that is called preuss pets and they are pretty good with there fish and thats where i get most of my info on all my fish from.

are you cheating on SD! :angry:

[DLock3d]

Good Luck with your fish Matt. The community here on simply ALL understand that you have to start somewhere. I think most of us understand that you have to sometimes learn that the stove is hot by touching it. There are many here who will be willing to help you no matter what and those who don't I'm sure won't choose to criticize your mistakes as we have all made them at some point.

[wendy9722]

Most everything I have read and have experienced I will only keep lights on long enough to look for health issue and snap a few photoes. They dont like the light for a couple of days. When they are starting to come out of the corners from hiding that is a good sign. They are starting to get comfortable again. yes they can take a couple more days but I dont believe weeks. You know that they are happy when they show their colors and dont mind you in front of the tank awaiting food. Yours may take more time due to all the other fish and black gravel and dirt. They may never get up to full color cuz of that.

Since all my tanks are bb they generally come around after 48-72hrs. They dont eat while I am standing there though. That does take a couple of weeks. approx 2-3. You should be able to see them eat by now.

[mattsoccer20]

Most everything I have read and have experienced I will only keep lights on long enough to look for health issue and snap a few photoes. They dont like the light for a couple of days. When they are starting to come out of the corners from hiding that is a good sign. They are starting to get comfortable again. yes they can take a couple more days but I dont believe weeks. You know that they are happy when they show their colors and dont mind you in front of the tank awaiting food. Yours may take more time due to all the other fish and black gravel and dirt. They may never get up to full color cuz of that.

Since all my tanks are bb they generally come around after 48-72hrs. They dont eat while I am standing there though. That does take a couple of weeks. approx 2-3. You should be able to see them eat by now.

Ok thanks wendy. All of these things you said should be happing so far are except for my red melon discus. If i got rid of the black gravil can i keep the black back round? Because you guys are right my blue diamond discus are not showing the true color they are sometimes a amazing blue and then somtimes a black ish blue. So tell me what you think. Thanks guys

P.S and warlock maybe i am cheating on SD maybe not..... Mwhahaha! lol lol

[mattsoccer20]

Ok thanks wendy. All of these things you said should be happing so far are except for my red melon discus. If i got rid of the black gravil can i keep the black back round? Because you guys are right my blue diamond discus are not showing the true color they are sometimes a amazing blue and then somtimes a black ish blue. So tell me what you think. Thanks guys

P.S and warlock maybe i am cheating on SD maybe not..... Mwhahaha! lol lol

Oh what i want to do is that i would switch out the black gravil for like a brown and white grail. It looks like the color of sand. Its like a mix between white and light brown, if you know what i am talking about. so tell me if that would work.

[Altum Nut]

Matt,

Your choice to remove gravel is a wise one....however, you need to remove fish before hand and save some water.
Remove filters as well. You will be surprised how much crap will cloud the water once you disturb gravel.

...Ralph

[mattsoccer20]

Ok thanks. Where would i put the fish?

[moon_knight1971]

Siphon some water out of your tank into a 5 gal bucket and put the fish in there until your done. If you're going to be longer than an hour then you might want to add an airstone. If it's going to take you a few hours you might want to also put a small heater in the bucket too.

Joey!

[mattsoccer20]

Siphon some water out of your tank into a 5 gal bucket and put the fish in there until your done. If you're going to be longer than an hour then you might want to add an airstone. If it's going to take you a few hours you might want to also put a small heater in the bucket too.

Joey!

Ok thanks. What about my cardinal tetras, black tetras, ram cichlids, and 2 angelfish? Oh one more thing my discus come out at swim everywhere now with the light on but eveytime i get close enough they all swim to the back and hide together behind the filter (they think the fit behind it but they are a little to big lol) and the blue diamonds color fades a little bit, how can i make them not abrade like how you see them on the computer or in stores? Thanks

[ericatdallas]

If you have buckets to spare, I would go with multiple buckets for the fish. Having done the whole gravel thing once before, if you keep too many fish in a bucket they may startle each other and then you have a ton of fish banging against the sides. It doesn't always happen and I don't think it has ever done any harm, but why chance it if you have extra buckets laying around.

Diverting your airstone to the bucket is probably a good idea.

[mattsoccer20]

If you have buckets to spare, I would go with multiple buckets for the fish. Having done the whole gravel thing once before, if you keep too many fish in a bucket they may startle each other and then you have a ton of fish banging against the sides. It doesn't always happen and I don't think it has ever done any harm, but why chance it if you have extra buckets laying around.

Diverting your airstone to the bucket is probably a good idea.

Ok thanks guys. One more thing how can i get my discus not afraid of people and me???? Thanks for all the help.

[DLock3d]

Ok thanks guys. One more thing how can i get my discus not afraid of people and me???? Thanks for all the help.

Time Matt. Once the fish get used to clean water and figure out that you're the food source they'll be much more apt to be around when you're standing there. I'd practice approaching slowly at their first feeding in the morning and standing there without moving for about 5 - 10 minutes regardless of if they eat right away. Eventually, their appetite should overcome their fear. HTH

[mattsoccer20]

Ok thanks

[mattsoccer20]

Oh guys one more thing. Mike told me that if i have a black backround and black gravil the discus will turn a black ish, and my blue diamonds have. Do you know if i change the back round and gravil with they turn back to there normal color again? Thanks

[Larry Bugg]

Yes the normal color will return.

[mattsoccer20]

Yes the normal color will return.

OK cool thanks. So do i need to change both though? (back round and gravil)

[Larry Bugg]

Yes, I certainly would.

[mattsoccer20]

Yes, I certainly would.

Ok thanks bugman. I just changes the background. Well i took it off and now its just the color of my wall its against (white). So they seem to be warming up to me, because i took it off and i walked away for like 2 minutes came back and just got on my knees and stood there watching and after like 30 seconds most of the cam out. :) So thats good but i hope they will get as good as my other fish do in the tank, because when i come up my 2 angelfish and cardinal tetras, black tetras and ram cichlids all come up. So hopefully they do that soon. And do you know how long it will take for my blue diamonds to color back to normal? Thanks

[Larry Bugg]

They will get used to you pretty quickly and become very interactive with you.

Some of my very first discus I got were 3" blue diamonds that I put in a tank with the back and bottom painted black. Wow was I dissappointed in what happened. After reading some threads about painted tanks I repainted the back and bottom a pastel green. In a matter of a couple of days the difference was dramatic.

[mattsoccer20]

They will get used to you pretty quickly and become very interactive with you.

Some of my very first discus I got were 3" blue diamonds that I put in a tank with the back and bottom painted black. Wow was I dissappointed in what happened. After reading some threads about painted tanks I repainted the back and bottom a pastel green. In a matter of a couple of days the difference was dramatic.

Ok thanks allot bugman. Do you still have the blue diamonds?

[Larry Bugg]

Ok thanks allot bugman. Do you still have the blue diamonds?

Not those. I do currently have a Blue Diamond Snakeskin pair and about 100 fry.

[mattsoccer20]

Not those. I do currently have a Blue Diamond Snakeskin pair and about 100 fry.

Cool. i have never seen blue diamond ss.

[seanyuki]

I think BDSS = Blue Scorpion



Cool. i have never seen blue diamond ss.

[mattsoccer20]

Ya maybe

[Larry Bugg]

I think BDSS = Blue Scorpion

Are you talking about what BDSS stands for or what you get with the cross of BDSS?

BDSS is a Blue Diamond Snake Skin.

My pairing of BDSS should throw Blue Diamonds, BDSS and Blue Scorpions. The scorpions will be the barred discus where the BD and BDSS will be barless.

[mattsoccer20]

Are you talking about what BDSS stands for or what you get with the cross of BDSS?

BDSS is a Blue Diamond Snake Skin.

My pairing of BDSS should throw Blue Diamonds, BDSS and Blue Scorpions. The scorpions will be the barred discus where the BD and BDSS will be barless.

Kool

[wendy9722]

How are the discus??? any new video's or pictures???

[mattsoccer20]

How are the discus??? any new video's or pictures???

Hi, the discus are doing good. There eating and everything and there starting to know im the food source. But can be a little skid ish at times, but there doing better :). I have not posted a new video but i think ill make one right now :) And ill post in a few minutes. Thanks

[mattsoccer20]

Well i just posted a new video heres the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-xir1y4j1U

[troweler]

Hi matt, how large is your tank? and dont forget not to overstock as this could stop your discus from growing to their full potential. how long as your filter been running?

Graham

[Skip]

Hi matt, how large is your tank? and dont forget not to overstock as this could stop your discus from growing to their full potential. how long as your filter been running?

Graham

Graham, are you kidding me.. we have been Mentoring this Kiddo since LAST NOVEMBER about everything!! LOL

[Zoom]

Why do you still have gravel in your tank..?

[wendy9722]

Why do you still have gravel in your tank..?

+1 I thought you was going to remove the gravel. They still look dark to me. Are you doing the wc's and doing the water testing? Other wise they seem to be ok.

[hedut]

change your gravel to light color so you will see your fish much better color :)

[mattsoccer20]

+1 I thought you was going to remove the gravel. They still look dark to me. Are you doing the wc's and doing the water testing? Other wise they seem to be ok.

Yes im i will get rid of the gravil soon i have to get it soon and i have been very busy. And yes keeping up on wc's and testing is doing good the ph is at i think 7.5 i will do another testing tomorrow or something. And ya the blue diamonds do look dark to me to. Im going to get like a sand color gravil. (i really want gravil in there) And thanks. Once i get my new discus in like a week ill post a new video. :)

[Altum Nut]

Matt,

Are you getting another tank or again just adding more Discus to tank you already have without quarantine peroid. You should follow the one discus per 10g rule.
You understand that doing so will affect Discus you have and others you are getting.
You should really get your current set-up completed before you more forward.

...Ralph

[mattsoccer20]

Matt,

Are you getting another tank or again just adding more Discus to tank you already have without quarantine peroid. You should follow the one discus per 10g rule.
You understand that doing so will affect Discus you have and others you are getting.
You should really get your current set-up completed before you more forward.

...Ralph

I am doing the 10 gallon rule by the way.

[Altum Nut]

No problem soccerman.

...Ralph

[mattsoccer20]

No problem soccerman.

...Ralph

Ok thanks