Crazy discus

[Fish042099]

I got a discus pair a week and a half ago. They are 5" red dragons in a 30"x12"x22" tank. They were doing great, I even got them to eat some flakes. Then I woke up to splashing. I turned on the lights and one of them was going mad! It was jumping up out of the water and smashing into the light and hood. Then it sunk to the bottom. I took it out and now it is swimming with his/her partner. What happened?

[random-cichlid]

maybe a bug was on top of ur tank and the discus thought he could eat it

DID ur light go on to fast???

[m.ingram]

Something probably just startled it .

[Old Dave]

Night light for new discus can give the a bit more confidence in their new environment.
hth,
Dave

[mawhins]

They just spook sometimes. I've psychologically scarred some of my discus when I removed their siblings unceremoniouslyfor sale. It's been over a month and they won't come out from behind the sponge filter. Not sure what to do with them now.

[phil56]

There are a lot of causes for Discus behaving this way,usually a high bacteria count is the most common.a U.V will solve that problem,copper treatment can also be the cause.I have found some foods high in heavy metals can cause the same effect.Many breeders shy away for bloodworms and other foods for that reason,Discus eating bloodworms unless from a clean source contain heavy metals,these are stored in the fat of the fish,when sick or changed to a lean food this fat is absorbed killing the fish through heavy metal poisoning.most people go crazy with meds to no avail,not realizing they themselves killed the fish months ago through bad food types.,Just a fish time bomb.Brine shrimp are not without problems if fed excessively.Raising Tetras raised on only Baby shrimp, looking great until you move them than dash around and die,same thing with marine fish,once taken off Brine shrimp they can be moved without a problem.Discus are far less affected but still can be a problem.
There are many more causes but these are the most common.Good luck.