Help

[ditka311]

Hi,

Newbie here and newbie to discus.

I just purchased a pair of juvenile discus - red turquoise. One is slightly bigger and is about 2.5 inches and the other one is a little bit smaller.

I just put the fish into my tank and problems started for the small one. He/she started swimming furiously all over the tank before turning very dark and hiding between 2 plants. It is on its side and moving its fins very rapidly. The larger guy is doing fine.

About my tank:

20 Gal (upgrading to at least a 55, maybe larger in a couple months)
pH is about 7.8-7.9. Fish store was about 7.5. I know that is a big drop and could be the cause but as i said, the other seems to be ok with it.

Temp is at 80-81 and i am trying to reach 84-85.

0 ammonia
0 nitrites
10 nitrates

A couple other things:

Fish were kept in same 20 gal tank at LFS. The little guy doesn't have much color yet so I am thinking it is very young. The other has nice blue bars/red coloring.

I know my filter is too strong. It should actually be for a 55 gal and it is causing a lot of current in that tank. I am going to get a smaller filter tomorrow.

Finally, it has only been about 2 hrs in the tank so i might be overreacting.

Thanks

[ditka311]

Well, I guess I jumped the gun. As I said, the bigger guy is doing fine. I left for awhile and came back to see the little guy actually swimming around.

Talk about being a paranoid "parent".

[Trebs]

They'll take a little while to settle in. Just keep testing your ammo and nitrites and feed lightly to start off.

[ditka311]

Yeah, they seem to be doing a lot better. Both are swimming around, no darkness, and are eating. Not the pellets/flakes but bloodworms.

I am feeding 2 times daily. Bloodworms in the morning and pellets at night.