New fishie questions

[Benny]

Hey alll,
just bought two gorgeous discus from SLS..
One Blue diamond and a Red Turq...

Couple of questions... My tank is barebottom, and the surface under the tank is white... Whenever a light is directly above the fish, it seems as if they see their own reflection ans swim skittishly around the tank... Will this ever change?

Also no feeding in first 24 hrs, how strictly should i follow this rule? The red turq already comes to the surface of the tank when i put my hand above the tank...

Magnifique fishies,
Im in love :D

[chris]

If they have only just arrived they should settle down soon in there new environment.
Feeding strait away shouldnt matter, as long as they eat thats excellent, maybe dont over feed.

[Merrilyn]

Congratulations on your new arrivals Benny.

They'll soon settle in and get used to their new surroundings.

If they look hungry, feed them. If they've had a very long trip, like a plane ride, then I wouldn't feed them for 24 hours. But just a short trip is not too stressful, and if they want food, I think it's okay to fed them.

[Benny]

I couldnt understand why they were swimming so horizontally and quickly after i put a few tetra bits in..

The sneaki buggers were eating them off the floor!! hehe all the food was polished off!!! yayyy

preparing a bucket of water for tomorrows WC (just to make sure the water stays squeaky clean) :)

Cannister filter should be going on tomorrow...

I hope they get past this looking @ themselves on the floor stage, the horizontal swimming just doesnt quite look right hahahahaha... Theyre good looking fish and know it themselves!!!

But i still cant believe how happy they are seeeming in the new environment.... :D

THnx for ur help guys (well, Merrilyn and Proteus especially)

[Annie]

Benny, I think once they get used to their new surroundings/home, they will stop the skittish act upon seeing their reflection. It will just take time of adjustments. Great to hear they are happy eaters! That is a good sign.

[kevkoi]

... also with small young discus, they feel more secure in larger groups.

If they are eating already, that is a good sign. We usually advice people not to feed for 24hours and feed sparingly for the first week just to let the fish settle down, get used to the new environment and make sure all food fed will be eaten.

Get us some pics once your fish have settled down. Glad u like the selection of fish.

I especially like that bunch of blue diamonds.

[Ben]

Benny,
Its very nerve racking when getting new fish, but its sounds like your 2 little guys have settled in very well!

All discus get spooked from time to time but more so the younger ones.
I have found vibrations affect them almost as much as sudden movements.

keep us posted on your new family!
and we would love some pics if possible!?

Ben

ps...great name by the way! :)

[Benny]

hehehehee

See my avatar for a shrunken pic of my new BD....

Hes so damn quick my digi cam cant close its shutters fast enuf to get a decent pic.. (maybe i need to learn how to use it better HAHA)!

But the shape of the BD and its colour is awesome.. The turq is gorgeous too except the stress bars!! tho they seem to disappear when i approach the tank

Regards, benny...

P.S. Reaching for the cam to get some piccies,
IF anythin acceptable occurs ill post em up some time tonight or in the early hours of the morning

[Benny]

Heres a couple of the LESS blurry ones :o

Unbelievably the two get along well in the 2 footer, im laughin..!

Huge thanks to Proteus for the kind donation of the tank and his knowledge and expertise, and thanks to Merrilyn for dealing with my countless questions in utter confusion and worry!

[Benny]

and a fourth for good measure

[Merrilyn]

Ahhhhh Benny, you did get some nice fish didn't you :shock:

They look pretty happy to me.

Now if you want to get your blue background more even. Get a jar of vaseline, and carefully smear some onto the back of your tank. The blue plastic background will cling to the glass without leaving any air bubbles.

Try it. It works a charm :wink:

[Benny]

Trust you to get picky on my background!!!! hehehe ill give it a bash perhaps tomorrow, well today but @ nite!!!

Got a bucket o water airating undert the tank, im doin a bit more then 10% daily for these lil guys, they dont seem to be complaining, though im a tad upset the pH has been a constant 7.2-7.4 !!! I know it should be somewhere around the 6.5 - 7 Region....

Thanks for the kind words LR, and i couldnt help but noticing that the Red Turq was a bit spotty for a turq? i love them both so dam cute!!

Oh and btw kev,
they ate food i put out almost an hour after i released them into the tank!!! I gave them today a few crushed tetrabits (mine r too big for their mouths) a little BS and a few Blood Worms, no food left behind whatsoever!!!

So far so good :wink:

[the_oracle]

Ben,
Nice fishes you got there. Don't worry too much. Once they have settled down, they'll be fine. You take good care of them.............


Sanie.

[Benny]

Did my maths, im doin bout 15% WC...

I Gave them a largeish feed (1/3 of bloodworms cube and 1/2 BS cube, bothi hikari) and the stress bars on the turq disappeared hugely after a meal (not one worm or shrimp left, haha!)

Are stress bars, therefor a sign of hunger too?

Regards, and interested on input
Benny

[Merrilyn]

Not necessarily a sign of hunger, but the bars seem to come and go.

I have adults with strong bars, and adults showing almost no bars at all.

They all look good.

[goldenpigeon]

nice fishies ben ;)

[Benny]

Thnx junior ;)

[Benny]

A week later, the pair have developed some interesting behavioural patterns.. With the lights on it appears as if the turq is the dominant of the two.. The BD generally hangs around in a corner, gets pushed aside when food is placed in the tank etc... However if i leave the tank lights off, he comes out alot more, and seems to shove the turq around a bit? Is the light frightening him or something? I feel guilty coz most of the time the turq gets the better feed.....

Seeing as it is a 2' barebottom tank, and empty besides the airstone pump and heater, there isnt much division between them (infact none at alll)....

Go figure?!

What do i do to make sure my lil bluey gets a feed, he generally eats leftovers bout 20 mins after i put food in

Update: Just put BH in the tank, they didnt look twice at it..
Turned light on tank off, come back they are both mauling the pieces on the bottom of the tank?

Wat theeeeeeeee?