shy fish

[chris_d]

:lol: Hi i'm a newbie at keeping discus, though i have had experience with other tropical fish and i would like to know how long does it take for discus to get use to its new surroundings. I've had my discus for about a week and they rarely come out from the back of my tank. My tank is planted 3 x 1 x2 ft, with 4 brown discus about 3 inch long with 2 bristle nose catfish. they do come out to feed when there's no light or no one's there! When i do see them...rarely they seem content enough with no dark cloration. My water and temp are fine. Can anyone help me, i just want to enjow looking at my fish. :(

[parasite]

hello and welcome to DF, usually about a week with no lights. how high is the tank off the ground? and are they in a high traffic area??

[chris_d]

thanks for welcoming me. The tank is about 1m20cm of the ground and it is placed in a relatively quiet corner of the hous. i had turned the lights off for the first three days, but i'll take your advice and leave it off longer.

thanks :D

[weird]

Assuming that temperature and ph is not fluctuating, that the water is regularly changed (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite) and your fish are not sick (white spot, velvet, flukes, tapeworm etc) ... your fish are probably going through a normal settling down period ... but healthy discus do normally rush to the front of the tank all the time crying for food.

What is your tank temp ?
Is ammonia or nitrite present in the tank ?
What is your ph ?
How regularly do you change the water and amount ?
Are you fish showing symptoms of any diease?
Why not take a picture of your setup and your fish ??

BTW, welcome to discus forums, where we like to d.i.s.c.u.s.S discus !!! ;)

[ctvu]

:lol: Hi i'm a newbie at keeping discus, though i have had experience with other tropical fish and i would like to know how long does it take for discus to get use to its new surroundings. I've had my discus for about a week and they rarely come out from the back of my tank. My tank is planted 3 x 1 x2 ft, with 4 brown discus about 3 inch long with 2 bristle nose catfish. they do come out to feed when there's no light or no one's there! When i do see them...rarely they seem content enough with no dark cloration. My water and temp are fine. Can anyone help me, i just want to enjow looking at my fish. :(

Welcome to this forum !!! It really depends upon your fish some takes only 48 hours with no light like mine, some stubborn might take up to 3 weeks to get used to the new tank, the bigger your fish, the longer it may take. Hope this helps
and see you around

[nag]

Hi Chris:
It may take three weeks plus.
Maintain a regular feeding pattern, so they get used to feeding time and start coming out during that time initially.
Try to hand feed them so they become pals with you soon :)
You can introduce a school of Cardinals and Discus will soon feel safe to come out.
Bye,

[mtchye]

In my limited experience, discus don't tend to like change all that much. The larger they are, the longer they seem to take to get acclimatised. Having said that they seem to recognise ppl as when I move them between tanks they adjust quickly?? Yet the same fish moved first into my tanks took a week before it did much at all... Perhaps stressful long moves affect them more.. Anyone else notice that?

[KAAZ]

I don't have as much experience as most of the guys here, but when I first got my discus they where also shy. But my local aquarium shop, said to try and move slowly around the tank when I'm near it. I don't mean you have to look like a sloth, but when you come to feed them don't make any sudden movements. And that did really well for me, and now my discus are out and about in the tank where I can see them. :D

Hope that helps....

[jim]

You may want to try to use life black worm to lure them out. I always do that when I purchase new discus. It works every time, they will came right out and eat like hungry monsters. You can even hand feed them after 2-3 days( just saying..you don't need to do that). But you have to stop feeding them life worms after they get used to you, as life worm might not be good idea for long term solution.

[Trebs]

Sit near the tank and read a book or watch TV. As long as they are healthy and the water conditions are good, it's getting used to you which is really the issue.

When I move my fish they acclimatise almost imeditately because they recognize me and the conditions are the same.

[chris_d]

Thanks for all those replies. I'm sure to take it all on board, and i'll keep updates on the progress. i wish i could show you them to you but i can show you my tank......that is with the fish hiding amongst the val at the back. :lol: .....plz tell me what you think

[weird]

wow, your tank is gorgeous ... please try and get some close up pcitures of your fish ... you should have a zoom and macro feature on your digital camera .... even if they are hiding.

What temperature is your tank ?
What is your ammonia. nitrite levels ?
How often you water doing change ? Not sure with a planted tank, but most guys here do easily water changes every 2nd day, if not everyday.
How new is your tank ?
Are your discus darkening , show white spots etc ? BAD SIGNS.

Discus can be shy fish when moved, but when they are settled .... look out ... these guys have character ... and boy they like to have fun. They are naughty, friendly, pushy, crazy, funny ... truly these guys have personality when they are settled.

On the general topic of moving and shyness of fish, I remember when I moved my botia to a new tank, they did not leave their caves for 4 weeks ... now they go stoopid at feeding time <still sleep like 22 hours a day>.

[chris_d]

thanks for the comment

My tank stats are:

-temp 28
-ammonia 0, nitrate 0
-25% weekly water change
-tank had been cycling for about a month before introduced the discus
-No dark coloration as far as i can tell when they feed and no signs of disease apart from their shyness

though i would like to know how i can reduce the stress the discus are put on when i do weekly water changes.....i any????????????
i use typical siphon and the bucket brigade process

[aza]

in my community i only do a weekly change and dont have any problems to avoid the bucket brigade i use a 10m lenght of 25 mm hose to drain the water straight out the door onto my garden its also long enough to get to my water store which is great no risk of spillin it on the carpet and the boss yellin at me

[weird]

I am having the same stress issue when putting the water back into the tank, but 2 nights ago I ordered a RESUN SP6000 from e-bay. This will sit in the bottom of my 100 litre bucket next to the tank, in which I daily age/heat the preparation water in. The RESUN will pump the water into my tank. Not only am I hoping this will reduce the stress, it should save my back abit.

My guys are now use to me siphoning ... I get disappointed now that no one in my tanks are scared of me ... I seem to now have to shooo them away from the siphon so I can get the work done ... they get use to u quickly.

[jim]

It seems plants in your tank are quite tall from the middle of your tank right to the back. I suggest to have tall plants "only" at the back, have shorter plants in the middle ( at least half of length of what you currently have now). There are just too many hideing places in your tank for your discus.

[flukes]

I actually like the tank layout! Just wondering how did you cycle the tank?

Might just still be settling in, how long have you had them in the tank?

[luvmydiscus]

Chris, hi I just bought a new little discus not even a week ago. I know what you mean about them hiding. I started tofeed mine from a stick some fozen bloodworms. Now my discus is my best friend.

Below is a pic I just took as I have a bloodworm feeder that this little guy has taken to since yesterday. A litte patience and it also helps as I have an angel fish in there that knows what this feeder is all about. I see you have angels too so this might work for you too.

I also feed a mixed flake food too not just the good frozen stuff they love so much. I also put frozen brineshrimp in this feeder too.

By the way, love love your tank. The plants are just beautiful, do you mind me asking what type of lights you use and what type of plants you have in your tank?

Good luck with your discus, this is my very first one and I am new to discus as well.

:D

[luvmydiscus]

Let me wipe the egg off my face. Going back and looking at your tank pic you do have a worm feeder. Da, my stupidity for not looking better. Sorry about that. :oops:

[chris_d]

thanks for those replies. :D In response to them i cycled my tank with the angel i had in my 2ft and let the tank to cycle for a about a month or so before i put the discus in.
Don't worry about my angel its quite hardy.

luvmydiscus i think your right about having an angel around for company for the discus. Even though they are still quite shy my angel is not , which gives the discus some confidence. just the other day i was able to feed the discus and they were quite happy to feed in front of me...so long as i didn't make any sudden movements

the lighting in my tank use 2x30wattx3ft lights 1 flourecent and the other triphosphor, though i'm planning to chaged it to both triphosphor since it is more brighter and more pleasent to the eyes....i reckon it enhances the colour of the fish more, but thats my opinion.

as for the plants i use manly hygro and val at the back, my tank is not large interms of putting many plant varieties so i keep it to a simple few...and also whaterever that looks nice at the local shop.........My aquascaping is thanks largely to the MANY plant siteS out there and also AMANO...HE IS A GOD!!! 8)

[flukes]

If you cycle a tank with one angel and then put in 4 discus, the bio bacteria will not be enough. Although it will eventually form, it will be harming your discus in the mean time.

Id be keeping an eye on the ammonia, mainly at the end of the day after a full day of feeding and feces..

[luvmydiscus]

Yes I agree with the angel. I definatley gave my new discus the confidence even though I have only had it for 5 days now.

Your tank is beautifully planted, just wanted to know what type of plants you had in there as I am not good with the names of plants. I only have Java Fern in mine but would like to get some other types that are not picky about light quality.

My light is what came with my 25 gal and it holds one 24" flourescent light. There are special plant lights out there which I am considering but don't want to change my canopy on the actual tube itself.

Good luck with your discus.... :)

[sunshinediscus]

Great looking tank Chris and awesome plants, but i think that could be the reason why your discus are not coming out. I agree with Jim that the layout you have in that tank is not ideal for discus. Give discus cover and for sure they will use it!!! I'd get rid of most of the tall plants in the centre and just have a few stands of tall plants towards the back and sides. Short plants will be better for the middle sections.

Rod

[chris_d]

i do check my water every other day to see if any changes but they haven't changed and the amonia and nitrites are at 0, the nitrates are about 7ppm.

at the time i brought them home i fed them sparingly..only now am i starting to gradually increase feeding amount....though i will monitor water closely from now on.

i never thought that hydro were considered tall plants though...15-20cm aren't that tall are they???
probbaly i have yet to do my weekly prunning....and the fact that i raised the gravel level at the back and used the drift wood and rocks to act as a wall..i dunno....but i'll take your message on board and start planning to reaquascape.

[chris_d]

as for the plants themselves luvmydiscus i mainly have Hygrophila (don't know the type) and thin Vallisneria both need moderate light, i not sure if its suited to your conditions though you can go to this site http://www.plantgeek.net it has listing of many aquatic plants and is categorised eg. placement, lighting, difficulty such as....which is a big help!

happy hunting!!!

[weird]

chris_d, I think everything is on track, just let your guys settle abit ... and they will be fine ... I honestly think they are in good hands. Nice work.

Btw where did you get your discus ?

[chris_d]

i got mine from lam's aquariuma parramatta.

[weird]

Is that the one in the westfield shopping centre ? If it is, that is the first place I ever saw Discus !!! The aquarium at the front of the store, which is in the outer wall, with the school of neons...opps might be cardinals can't remember, bala sharks ... and dinner plate size discus ... the intense eyes of those discus were the first ones that got me into the hobby !! kewl.

[chris_d]

No that's Aquariumland. Lams is seperate from the shopping centre, along church st i think. :) Its been running from quite a few years, its a very big store with expert advice from loads of experience! Aquariumland hasn't been running for a long time and just opened recently. Their DISPLAY DISCUS is in ok condition however the discus that they sell aren't...also their employees seem not that quite knowledgeable...but that's my opinion

[weird]

Unfortunately that sounds like most (if not all maybe I have missed one... I hope )aquariums in the North Shore.

IMHO, SLS are the best in Sydney for Discus.

[chris_d]

Canleyvale is also a great place to get good quality discus. They have an efficient and big centralised bed filters