Bare tank, or... ?

[k9outfit]

I acquired 6 small/medium Discus a week ago today (and they're still alive!!! :shock: ). Temporarily, I have them in a 33 long, with a sponge filter, and no direct lighting; just an overhead light on in the room. I originally had them in a completely bare tank (other than the filter) but they seemed very skittish, so I added some mopanni (sp?) and grape vine. They seem a bit more relaxed, though still quite nervous. I just read on a thread that a bare tank would actually encourage them to be more outgoing than if they have places to hide? Also, I'm doing daily 5 gallon w/c; is that acceptable?

[wickedglass]

I'm guessing that your tank holds about 120 - 160 liters or 30 - 40 gallons, being almost 3 foot long (I'm guessing the 33 you mentioned means 33 inches, it would help if you posted the other two dimensions). To house adult discus, it's good to think in terms of 1 adult discus per 10 gallons, but I've had over that quota and the fish were doing fine. So your water changes I think are fine, although personally I'm a bit too lazy to change my water that often and the fish don't seem to mind at all. Unless you're breeding, every 2 or 3 days should be plenty. But then, that comes down to personal philosophy, if you're happy and your fish are doing well, keep doing whatever it is you're doing.
I've looked up mopani, and found out it's wood. here in australia we use driftwood or mangrove roots (although collection of mangrove roots is now prohibited here, I believe) and I'm guessing by grapevine you also mean the wood.
Discus can take a while to acclimate and many factors can contribute to their skittishness. Water which is overly acidic, new surroundings, belligerent or unsuitable tank mates, loud footsteps on a wooden floor ... even a stereo system blasting away near the tank can make the fish nervous because soundwaves travel through water much better than though air.
Saying that, I believe your discus still haven't gotten used to their environment yet. Try not to do too much too soon, or you may just end up freaking them out more. I've had discus that have taken a month to acclimate to new surroundings, especially when they're put into a new tank and they're all new. A seasoned discus comfortable with its surroundings can help make new discus in the tank feel more comfortable, too. But you don't have that luxury at this stage.
Live food can make the discus become more "tame" as well, as their greed for it will make them a little less cautious and if you feed them little treats on a regular basis will eventually come to the fore of the tank to greet you.
Also the introduction of ditherfish is a good way to make discus feel more comfortable, some cheap tetras that school and hang about, can go a long way.
The critical element here though, in my opinion is time and patience.
Put yourself in their shoes, going into a new environment IS stressful. Now Imagine someone comes along and changes that environment a week later, just as you're beginning to get used to it. And then (well intended as it may be) changes it again a few days later. You wouldn't have time to get used to something new ... and really a week is not a long time to get used to anything.
So if your discus are healthy, coloured up, eating and generally behaving normally, then just give it more time. Your patience will pay off in the end.

[Merrilyn]

Hello k9outfit, and a very warm welcome to the forum.

Some great advice there from wickedglass.

Just give your fish some more time to settle in. They're a highly intelligent fish, and know the difference between their owner, who brings food, and a stranger.

Give it another couple of weeks, and you'll see their true behaviour.

[k9outfit]

Thank you for the advice and the welcome!

:oops: Should have specified the tank size instead of using the local jargon. It's 36x12x18 high, a 33 gallon tank; approx. 130 litres. Good guess wickedglass. The set-up is only temporary, since I have a 230 gallon coming (ordered, but not yet delivered) and am hoping to keep breeding pairs in 36x18x18 tanks - providing they survive that long. :roll:

So, since my fish are stressed out already (thanks to my interference trying to reduce their stress levels) would I be better off removing most of the wood and let them adjust to a basically bare tank (read they grow better/faster in a bare tank?), or should I just leave the wood in there? They are, and have been eating well since I got them: NLS pellets, which they don't seem to care for, frozen bloodworm, and live whiteworm.

My appologies; I'm just a smidge paranoid, since I keep hearing about how difficult Discus are to keep and how susceptible to disease and other nasties.

[Nathan]

i wouldnt take the wood out now youve put it in, i think itl just create more unescasary stress for them. theyl calm down over a week or so, just try and reduce traffic around the tank and deffinitely dont tap the glass! you may want to try and put a sheet over the tank for a couple days if they look really stressed but i dont think you have to much to worry about!

nathan

[wickedglass]

I'd go with Nathan's advice ... wait till they're trusting and comfortable, then they take rearranging a lot better