Scared Discus!! PLEASE HELP!!

[Gooose]

Hi everyone, i would greatly appreciate any advice you can give me. I have a 55 gal tank with five discus that i purchased about two weeks ago, its the first time i ever had discus so i make sure to keep the water very clean and as suitable as i can for them. my ph is a little high(7.6) but i was told they can adapt. anyway, i have been feeding them frozen bloodworms and pellets and flakes constantly but no matter how many times i feed them(dont worry i dont overfeed them) they always get scared and literally go crazy, sometimes trying to jump out of the tank, whenever i go near the tank. they just dont seem to be adjusting well and its very upseting bc i read how discus are so friendly and they swim up to the tank etc.. Also only two of them eat on a consistent basis, the other three just hide and i hope they eat up the leftovers afterwards. So if anybody has any advice to help them adjust better, or maybe thats just normal for discus to take a long long time to adjust, any help will br greatly appreciated, thank you so much and a wonderful day, greta to be a part of this community now.

[fiftycal]

Lower the pH. 7.6 is pushing it alot

[nicholas76]

goose

id read through the entire beginners section. The problems you have mentoined are not exclusive too but may indicate a multitude of issues that are ongoing in your tank.

small discus need time to adapt. It sounds like you havent allowed them adequate time to adjust to there new environment. Problem being if you have already spooked them it may take days and days to let them calm down again. Is your tank in a busy part of the room?? cut back on the water chanes and avoid having your hands near or in the tank for awhile.

Cut back on the feeding for a little while and utilise a worm feeder and live worm. They cant resist and will eventually ( if healthy and happy ) come to the front of the tank and feed generally forgetting about issues you have mentioned.


what are your parameters? ammonia reading?

can you post a picture without causing to many issues?

In relation to your ph of 7.6.... What part of the world are you from ??? update your profile please.

7.4 is ok, 7.6 is approaching on high , but it depends what part of the world your fish are from in my opinion.


good luck!

[samir]

Like Nick said check your ammonia, its usually the culprit when such things happen. it can be very frustrating when this happens but its very simple to fix, so get back with ammonia, nitrite readings and a picture.

[Gooose]

My Ammonia readings are at 0 and my nitrate and nitrite levels are also good, how long do you think i should stop feeding them for? i have plenty of decor and plants for them to hide in, its just that they get so scared, i hope they adapt soon enough.thanks for the help

[nicholas76]

interesting.

in this case id fee dthem, but feed lightly and send food to the front of the tank. Just give them time to come out and like i said try live food if all else fails.

brime shrimp may work just as well and its safer in my opinon then live worm.

[stonedavid]

I always throw in other more placid fish to calm skitterish discus down ie cory catfish or female siamese fighters. This way the catfish are always moving so the discus are seeing movement most of the time and the fighters are always the first to eat out of your hand, when the discus see this they soon overcome their fear and start approaching the food source.
Hope you fix the problem.
Pete

[scott bowler]

gooose welcome to the forum imo its only two weeks but they should be setteling in now i think you should drop the ph a little and ask the fish shop what ph he was running his tanks at . iknow that they can handel a higher ph but maybe they would be comforable in a lower one , we run our ph over here in oz at about 6.8 some a little higher and some a little lower . but 7.6 seems a little to high to me . good luck with it let us know how you go

[nicholas76]

actually thats a great idea

throw in a school of rummy nose tetras

[samir]

throw in a school of rummy nose tetras
or feeders as you now call them :lol: :lol: :lol:

they shouldn't really be jumpy unless there's something wrong. healthy discus in good water are not shy. give them a few days to settle down, if they remain the same, and your water is fine, then they would probably have internal parasites.

[valk]

Hi, Samir

What medication would you recommend for internal parasites?

Thanks

[stonedavid]

Some discus can be naturally timid i have a female that is always hiding in the corner and when they breed the male always looks after the batch of babies. They are medicated for parasites and healthy, just her individual personality i suppose.

[iro11a]

Hi, Samir

What medication would you recommend for internal parasites?

Thanks

Octozin :D healed my guys up!

Jono

[samir]

you can give them a treatment with octozin after you eliminate all other possibilities.

[Hellyair]

Gi 'Day
I have found that My discus did not like the air stone I had in the tank, too much noise I think.
I took it out and it had a huge overnight change in the mood of my tank
cYa Steve

[scott bowler]

steve how big is your tank ? do have an thing else to put oxygin in the water or breaking the surfaces of the tank .

[samir]

what is the ph of your tank after removing the airstone ?

[Hellyair]

what is the ph of your tank after removing the airstone ?Gi'day
My tank size is about 160 ltr and I use a canister filter 1000ltr/per hour with a rain bar under the surface point at an upwards angle moving the surface water, my Ph level is 6.7. water temp 28-29 deg. I've got 4 discus with 12 cardinal tetras and 2 bristlenose cat fish all doing well at the moment.
C ya
Regards Steve