why do they get scared so easily?

[rytis]

could it be bright lights? my discus sometimes if im not slow, seem to get real scared and jump to the sides of the tank. wonder why?

[DR.V]

Are they new to the tank ?

I had this problem before, what I did was , I turn on the lights from early in the morning 8am using a timer. Then slowly after 1 week , they will slowly come up to the front.

But for discus to get real scared and jump to the sides , this maybe a result from stress.

Can you give us more details that the discus showing ?? Water parameter ??

HTH

[rytis]

i think theyre ok now. no the tanks not new at all, but i changed water this morning and it went down to 82 degrees now back u to 88.

[chris]

Plenty of things can result in scared discus.
How many discus are in the tank :?:
Water conditions :?:
Position of tank :?:
Time of fish is tank :?:
Properly cyled filter :?:

Discus like numbers they are a schooling fish 5 or more disirable.
Discus prefer slightlyacidic water 6.8 a nice level and stable PH is also required.
They dont like amonia, fish waste. water changes can fish this.
Nitrite and nitrates 0 readings prefered water changes aswell can fix this.
With tank position this was a big one for me, I used to have my tank behinde a wall, the fish would only see you only once youve passed it. They like to see you coming....
Give them time to settle in your tank, with all these things address and a properly cycled filter you should have them hand feeding in time...
HTH chris :wink:

[Rossco]

From my personal experiance low ph makes discus dash around easier.When and if i see my discus dash around, more often than not i know my ph is very low. Below 6 ph they always spook easier than normal i find.

Thats just me and my findings in this matter.
Could be many other reasons,depends on alot of things.

[rytis]

opposite was in my case . but plus a temporary drop in water to 83degrees from 88, so im not sure which was exact cause....

[chris]

That drop in temp shouldnt change your fishes behaviour,
major drops in temperature causes fish to swim slow, I didnt once, I left my heater of for a day. The temp went down to 18 degrees, they just swam around slow, like they were cold, probably would have died the next day.

[nicholas76]

Temperature drop will make no change.

if anything it would slow them down.


the condition that you state is often caused by a ph swing ( its gone acidic ).

shadows/ light/ people movement are other factors.

being that your tank is heavily planted id say you have an issue with stabilising your paramaters.

[Merrilyn]

Rytis, a heavier than usual bacteria count in the water will also make your fish skittish. I find if I've missed a water change on one of the tanks, the fish will soon tell me if they're unhappy with the quality of the water.

A water change calms them down again.

That might help.