How long before I need to worry?

[seancj]

My 10 2.5 inch discus from Backyarddiscus arrived yesterday afternoon. I acclimated them, put them in the tank and turned the lights off for the rest of the evening. All of them looked outwardly healthy upon arrival albeit a bit stressed.
This morning they were still cowered in the back corner of the tank hiding amongst the plants, apparently breathing hard.
Upon returning from work this evening, they are still hiding in the plants and breathing hard.
Water parameters are all very good, temp at 83 (raising it to 84 as we speak).
I expected that it would take them some time to feel comfortable in their new surrounding, but how many days before I start to worry?
I'll perform a large water change tomorrow after work or should I wait a bit?
They are not eating yet either. I have offered frozen bloodworms and Tetra bits to no avail.
Any assurances or suggestions would be very welcome.

[Jhhnn]

I'd make sure the tank is well aerated and that the CO2 level isn't too high, if you're adding it... I'd give 'em a couple more days with close observation before doing anything drastic... well, that's assuming things stabilize and start to improve...

A partial water change won't hurt anything, regardless of what the test kits tell you...

[Eddie]

My 10 2.5 inch discus from Backyarddiscus arrived yesterday afternoon. I acclimated them, put them in the tank and turned the lights off for the rest of the evening. All of them looked outwardly healthy upon arrival albeit a bit stressed.
This morning they were still cowered in the back corner of the tank hiding amongst the plants, apparently breathing hard.
Upon returning from work this evening, they are still hiding in the plants and breathing hard.
Water parameters are all very good, temp at 83 (raising it to 84 as we speak).
I expected that it would take them some time to feel comfortable in their new surrounding, but how many days before I start to worry?
I'll perform a large water change tomorrow after work or should I wait a bit?
They are not eating yet either. I have offered frozen bloodworms and Tetra bits to no avail.
Any assurances or suggestions would be very welcome.

Are there any other fish in the tank? Has this fish tank EVER had fish in it before?

They may just be adjusting, can take several days to a week.

Take care,

Eddie

[Lytehouse]

This is highly frustrating and scary process. As Eddie said, can take several days or week, if all else is well. Can you post any pics of the fish? Have you done water tests? Can you describe the tank set up? The more information the better for people to help and not guess.

Best of luck.

[Chad Hughes]

To be cautious, I would contact the breeder/seller and talk to them about what is taking place with the fish. Sellers should know their fish best and shoud be able to relay the best information to you. We are guessing.

I will say, with shipped fish, it's good to know what the water parameters of the seller are before adding them to your tank. If you read their website, their parameters are given, however they do not list TDS which, IMO, is THE most imprtant parameter to know. Here is their web site link.

What's your water like? Soft, low Ph? Hard, high Ph? If you have soft water, these guys are going to have to adjust to your new water. Typically discus adjust better to harde water when coming from neutral to hard water.

Give them a call and see what they say. That's what I would do.

[yim11]

TDS which, IMO, is THE most imprtant parameter to know.

Even more so than pH? I'm thinking in regards to fish going from low to high (or vice versa) pH...

Thanks,
-jim

[Chad Hughes]

Even more so than pH? I'm thinking in regards to fish going from low to high (or vice versa) pH...

Thanks,
-jim

Yes. Ph low to high is worse that high to low. The same with TDS. Dropping the Ph can cause Ph burn to the gills. Major TDS shifts from high to low cause osmotic shock. The reason that I watch the TDS is because it is a good indicator of Ph, assuming that the water has not been modified with acid or alkaline buffers. If the TDS is a close match, the Ph won't be far off enough to cause a problem. Hope that helps!

[jaykne]

Your water was probably not a very close match, and they are probably just very stressed, but it is also very common for discus to hide and not want to eat the first couple days. Just watch them close make sure you don't see any other symtoms and I would do a water change, I never wait to do water changes on new fish, start them right off with my daily water changes. I would also put some salt in the tank, like a TBLS for every 10gal of water, helps reduce stress and gill function, add more for any water you replace for about a week. Larry

[namasgt]

I never had a fish do this under good water conditions.
If they are not eating there is a problem as juvies like to eat a lot. this only have happened when the water was bad and got fixed by large water change with aged water.
If they are truely stressed as it looks like, and it goes like this for too long they can develope deseases like Hex which is not a very good thing if you have juvies.

plus I strongly recomend you to remove the plants and keep them in a bare bottom. you only have to wait a little over 12 months before they get big and atractive, then you can put them in a planted tank. there is no sense to put a baby discus in a planted tank, they make a lot of mess and WC will be harder in planted tank.

[seancj]

Thank you all for the replies and input.
Here is my post describing the tank in detail:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=72954
I came home during lunch today to find 10 of the 11 discus swimming out in the open in two small groups. A single blue diamond is still hiding in the plants. All of them still appear to be breathing a bit fast and none of them will eat bloodworms or tetra bits. They all still scurry back to the plants when I move towards the tank.
I will do a 50% water change when I get home around 4 PM and see what follows.
My tap water is a bit on the hard side. PH is 7.7. Nitrates at about 5.
Plenty of oxygen as I have a trickly filter sump and a small waterfall type return.
The room with the aquarium is a very low traffic room, so they should not be startled at all during the day and very little during the evening.
I'll post more later tonight.
Sean

[Scribbles]

Good to hear that they are coming around. Discus are skittish but they will get used to you. Your little ones might be feeling a bit lost in such a big tank. Just give them time. Young discus do breathe rather rapidly especially when feeling stressed. As long as they don't have one gill clamped or are flashing or scratching I would just keep an eye on them. HTH

Chris

[Chad Hughes]

I'm wondering if it might have something to do with shadowing at the top of your tank. It's open with no cover. Discus hate overhead movement. Maybe they're just spooked? Guessing here. Glad to hear that they are coming around!

[Lytehouse]

Great you have some change in behavior. Also good you are so observant.

Keep us posted. Good luck with the water change.

[Daniella]

When small babies discus have places to hide, they will hide. It is best to keep them in a not too large tank, bare bottom to, but if you want to keep them in a planted tank, you can expect them to be shy. Just a bare bottom tank is really needed at this young age to keep good water quality with the 6 times per day feeding they require.

Thank you all for the replies and input.
Here is my post describing the tank in detail:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=72954
I came home during lunch today to find 10 of the 11 discus swimming out in the open in two small groups. A single blue diamond is still hiding in the plants. All of them still appear to be breathing a bit fast and none of them will eat bloodworms or tetra bits. They all still scurry back to the plants when I move towards the tank.
I will do a 50% water change when I get home around 4 PM and see what follows.
My tap water is a bit on the hard side. PH is 7.7. Nitrates at about 5.
Plenty of oxygen as I have a trickly filter sump and a small waterfall type return.
The room with the aquarium is a very low traffic room, so they should not be startled at all during the day and very little during the evening.
I'll post more later tonight.
Sean

[seancj]

I did a 50% water change last night, about 120 gallons or so. A few hours after the water change, still no interest in food and still hiding.
As of this morning:
All discus still appear to be breathing fast this morning but no signs of gill clamping, flashing, or scratching.
They continue to hide near the back pane amoungst the plants. I offered them Tetra Bits and bloodworms again this morning which they ignored.
All other fish (glo lite tetras, neon tetras, baby roselines) are doing very well.
Not sure what else to do. I'd really hate to have to pull out all the plants, which might elleviate the hiding issue, but how would that improve their appetite?
Its the lack of eating that concerns me the most.
Is there any food that they just can't refuse or ignore?
I have emailed BackYardDiscus and reported the issue to them and waiting for a response.
Thanks again everyone for the help.