first time with discus - qt'ing of wild discus

[anewbie]

Updated pictures:
For a while two paired up and behaved like they were going to spawn but to my knowledge never did. The left the 'herd' for about two weeks.

[brewmaster15]

Couple of updated pictures since their blue was really popping:



Should probably get a polarizer and use an slr to prevent the glare. No clue why their blue is so bright today. Guess they are angry at me.

If you turn off the room lights and windows blinds down the glare shouldn't be an issue. If you want to really improve the pics.. dslr camera set up like I describe here..

https://forum.simplydiscus.com/forum/non-fishy-stuff/photography-as-a-hobby/99921-fish-photo-guide

is the way to go.. you really want to light from above and bouncing a flash of the ceiling is a great technique.

al

Ps.. fish do look nice though.

[anewbie]

Couple of updated pictures since their blue was really popping:



Should probably get a polarizer and use an slr to prevent the glare. No clue why their blue is so bright today. Guess they are angry at me.

[anewbie]

Here he is in front of a group; he is hte one that is in front lower left i believe; more pictures would have to wait till tomorrow since lights have gone off in the aquarium.

He is not the smallest but is probably the skinniest. The small ones have a lot more blue on their lower fins and darker lines - the large ones much larger fins.

I can try for more tomorrow if needed.

[brewmaster15]

Btw is this one in particularly unhealthy skinny ?

Can you post a few more pics of this fish?

[anewbie]

Btw is this one in particularly unhealthy skinny ?

[anewbie]

Some updated pictures - you can tell me if they are near death or doing well (btw i noticed on page 1 there is a startup picture which shows you just how well plants grow in warm temps):

[brewmaster15]

It has an overflow box; it was a customaquarium build. There are things i like and things i dislike about them. Btw what i meant to say this morning is - it isn't that the discus have been trained by me but rather they have trained me
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To be honest the 3 largest are pretty fat; so once i get the 2 smallest one to fatten a bit i'll tell them i've had enough of their non-sense and they need to cut this crap out.
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I was a bit surprise they wouldn't eat the salmon but iv'e had other fishes that reject foods they should like - lucky my flag cichild and chocolate cichild will eat anything i toss in. WHen i had the discus in a bare bottom 40b for qt i did start to get them eating pellets and the large ones actually don't seem to mind to much it is just the smaller ones who seem more picky.
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Btw would it be a bad idea to stick 4 or 5 wavarni in their aquarium ? I might be getting some extra and trying to figure out where i can put them if the guy sends too many.

I haven't kept them but have had B.cupido and they were ok together. Should be ok they don't get very big, just don't over do the numbers.

Btw what i meant to say this morning is - it isn't that the discus have been trained by me but rather they have trained me
--

They are very very good at that!

[anewbie]

Does the tank have an overflow box? If it doesn't maybe at some point try loose fdbw. For some tanks they work better.

It has an overflow box; it was a customaquarium build. There are things i like and things i dislike about them. Btw what i meant to say this morning is - it isn't that the discus have been trained by me but rather they have trained me
--
To be honest the 3 largest are pretty fat; so once i get the 2 smallest one to fatten a bit i'll tell them i've had enough of their non-sense and they need to cut this crap out.
-
I was a bit surprise they wouldn't eat the salmon but iv'e had other fishes that reject foods they should like - lucky my flag cichild and chocolate cichild will eat anything i toss in. WHen i had the discus in a bare bottom 40b for qt i did start to get them eating pellets and the large ones actually don't seem to mind to much it is just the smaller ones who seem more picky.
-
Btw would it be a bad idea to stick 4 or 5 wavarni in their aquarium ? I might be getting some extra and trying to figure out where i can put them if the guy sends too many.

[brewmaster15]

Does the tank have an overflow box? If it doesn't maybe at some point try loose fdbw. For some tanks they work better.

[anewbie]

Theres no way to know how much is lost I am afraid. I'm going to come across as harsh here and I don't mean to but it needs to be said. Your group of discus isn't somehow special in their tastes. They don't "hate the harder worms." You trained them to become used to soft mushy worms... you just need to retrain them. We are own worst enemies with our fish.

It isnt' harsh; i realize i trained them but the 'training' was mostly in response to how they reacted as i first started with unsoaked cubes. In terms of mess it is a bit of a mix bag because they rip off the cubes from the glass and once it starts floating they dont' really eat the whole thing - so even if i don't have to soak i have to at least hold the cube until they finish it. If the cube isnt' soaked that can be several minutes per cube which begins to take along time. I might try a week of just putting pellets in and let them go hungry if they won't eat the pellets. Oh well i'll play with some different approaches.

[brewmaster15]

Yea; these new ones will stick to the glass; but the only one who will eat them is the large one who would also eat salmon. He will nibble at then rip the whole thing off and let the cube disolve in the tank. Then i try hand feeding them unsoak cube and after about 15 minutes they ate two cubes - they really hated the harder worms.
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So my question (since it saves time and they eat more); how much nutrient is lost if i soak them before i feed them the cubes. If only a small amount then they will eat 3x but if a lot of nutrient then i have to find a compromise. That one large one will also eat pellets and when he eats they will sort of follow his lead but as soon as he is done they don't know what to do with the stuck cubes. The ripping off part is also a pia because unless i take the top off and track down the cube it makes a huge mess.

Theres no way to know how much is lost I am afraid. I'm going to come across as harsh here and I don't mean to but it needs to be said. Your group of discus isn't somehow special in their tastes. They don't "hate the harder worms." You trained them to become used to soft mushy worms... you just need to retrain them. We are own worst enemies with our fish.

[anewbie]

Are you sticking them on while they're dry? If you soak them first they will not stick.

Yea; these new ones will stick to the glass; but the only one who will eat them is the large one who would also eat salmon. He will nibble at then rip the whole thing off and let the cube disolve in the tank. Then i try hand feeding them unsoak cube and after about 15 minutes they ate two cubes - they really hated the harder worms.
-
So my question (since it saves time and they eat more); how much nutrient is lost if i soak them before i feed them the cubes. If only a small amount then they will eat 3x but if a lot of nutrient then i have to find a compromise. That one large one will also eat pellets and when he eats they will sort of follow his lead but as soon as he is done they don't know what to do with the stuck cubes. The ripping off part is also a pia because unless i take the top off and track down the cube it makes a huge mess.

[jwcarlson]

One thing i will note is the instructions suggest sticking them to the glass as in the video; but when i do such they fall off and make a bigger mess. I need to find a brand that will actually stick

Are you sticking them on while they're dry? If you soak them first they will not stick.

[anewbie]

Ever see this video? no cubes were soaked for this video. look at how clean the water is while they feed.

One thing i will note is the instructions suggest sticking them to the glass as in the video; but when i do such they fall off and make a bigger mess. I need to find a brand that will actually stick