Discus Behavior Inquiry

[mtv8dmarine]

Hello all,

I have added discus to my tank as I have decided after having read many times over what great fish they are. I love my angel and how it follows me all over but there's something appealing about Discus. Maybe it's the vibrant colors on a freshwater fish combined with the personality...who knows. Anywho, I do have them mixed in with some rasboras both scissortail and harlequin, some tetras, a pearl gourami and a few platies. They aren't being harrassed by any means except by each other at times which seems to be them establishing a pecking order. They are 3 days new to the tank.

My question is about how long do they typically take to become friendly and stop hiding amongst the plants and drift wood in the tank? I ask because I'd like to know if there are any behavioral issues I'm not seeing. My other thought and I'll let someone more experienced enlighten me is that perhaps the lighting is too bright where they may appreciate a floating surface plant?

 

[laura120381]

hi there,

discus are generally very skittish fish and are easily spooked. they would likely appreciate a floating plant or two!! the tank mates you describe would not have been my fish choice for keeping with discus as they tend to prefer peaceful, slow moving fish. however if they seem to be getting along that is fine. it may take the discus a while to build their confidence with such tank mates. out of curiosity, what temperature is your tank set at??

L

 

[mtv8dmarine]

hi there,

discus are generally very skittish fish and are easily spooked. they would likely appreciate a floating plant or two!! the tank mates you describe would not have been my fish choice for keeping with discus as they tend to prefer peaceful, slow moving fish. however if they seem to be getting along that is fine. it may take the discus a while to build their confidence with such tank mates. out of curiosity, what temperature is your tank set at??

L

I had it set at 78 prior to adding the discus. I bumped it up to 80 which according to the supplier is the lower of the preferred range (80-85F). He stated too low of temps and they can become finicky eaters. They have gladly taking bloodworms every day. Is 80F recommended? I haven't noticed any dulling of their colors either. They will come out for brief periods of time but will dart into cover if I walk by. This sounds more like it's simply an adjustment period to get used to my movements and their tank mates' typical behavior.

 

[laura120381]

hi again,

a temperature of 80 should be fine although i used to keep mine a little higher. the reason i was asking was because discus temps are not suitable for all the fish in your tank. however if your discus are acclimatised to this temp than that is great. a word of advice for you - bloodworms contain little or no nutritional value whatsoever and should not be used as a staple diet. try to encourage them to eat flake food or pellets and keep the worms as a treat!!

I agree that it is just an adjustment period at the moment. as they get used to tank mates, surroundings and you (!) they will come out more.

L

 

[kevinjames]

how big are they?

 

[mtv8dmarine]

hi again,

a temperature of 80 should be fine although i used to keep mine a little higher. the reason i was asking was because discus temps are not suitable for all the fish in your tank. however if your discus are acclimatised to this temp than that is great. a word of advice for you - bloodworms contain little or no nutritional value whatsoever and should not be used as a staple diet. try to encourage them to eat flake food or pellets and keep the worms as a treat!!

Any particular pellet you might suggest? What have you found successful?

how big are they?

A couple inches.


I looked at my tank again and slapped myself for not realizing this sooner. A large part of it was the water flow. I run 2 filters, one canister, and one HOB. The HOB was feeding back into the tank much harder than they appreciated which is why they would hide in the vegetation because it shielded them. Same applied with the driftwood. An hour after I turned off the HOB, they were out and exploring. They only became nervous (fin fluttering) when I approached.

 

[HaliHostility]

Hello all,

I have added discus to my tank as I have decided after having read many times over what great fish they are. I love my angel and how it follows me all over but there's something appealing about Discus. Maybe it's the vibrant colors on a freshwater fish combined with the personality...who knows. Anywho, I do have them mixed in with some rasboras both scissortail and harlequin, some tetras, a pearl gourami and a few platies. They aren't being harrassed by any means except by each other at times which seems to be them establishing a pecking order. They are 3 days new to the tank.

My question is about how long do they typically take to become friendly and stop hiding amongst the plants and drift wood in the tank? I ask because I'd like to know if there are any behavioral issues I'm not seeing. My other thought and I'll let someone more experienced enlighten me is that perhaps the lighting is too bright where they may appreciate a floating surface plant?

mine took almost a week to seem fully aquainted.theyre really shy so if they dont get comfy within a week or so you should look for other signs of discomfort [clampedfins, dark color,lethargy,etc] your probably just eager to see them happy so dont jump to any treatments unless ur sure something might be wrong..that always happens to me then i find out i wasted time worrying when they just werent comfy yet

also, yes some floating plants might help mine get all sketchy when the light comes on so they obviously arnt crazy about it..also are there any hiding places? theyre not dwelling fish typically but my one smallest discus [chicken S h i t] hides sometimes when he gets bullied or when he just wants to be in the dark

 

[mtv8dmarine]

Hello all,

I have added discus to my tank as I have decided after having read many times over what great fish they are. I love my angel and how it follows me all over but there's something appealing about Discus. Maybe it's the vibrant colors on a freshwater fish combined with the personality...who knows. Anywho, I do have them mixed in with some rasboras both scissortail and harlequin, some tetras, a pearl gourami and a few platies. They aren't being harrassed by any means except by each other at times which seems to be them establishing a pecking order. They are 3 days new to the tank.

My question is about how long do they typically take to become friendly and stop hiding amongst the plants and drift wood in the tank? I ask because I'd like to know if there are any behavioral issues I'm not seeing. My other thought and I'll let someone more experienced enlighten me is that perhaps the lighting is too bright where they may appreciate a floating surface plant?

mine took almost a week to seem fully aquainted.theyre really shy so if they dont get comfy within a week or so you should look for other signs of discomfort [clampedfins, dark color,lethargy,etc] your probably just eager to see them happy so dont jump to any treatments unless ur sure something might be wrong..that always happens to me then i find out i wasted time worrying when they just werent comfy yet

also, yes some floating plants might help mine get all sketchy when the light comes on so they obviously arnt crazy about it..also are there any hiding places? theyre not dwelling fish typically but my one smallest discus [chicken S h i t] hides sometimes when he gets bullied or when he just wants to be in the dark

These 3 are really skiddish. The largest one almost always immediately darts to hide whenever I pass the tank. The other two stay in the shadows of the plants. They aren't ill I'm pretty sure of that. My first response is never to medicate. None have clamped fins All color is as vibrant and beautiful as when I bought them. Except for the blue one with black stripes, but he was always a darker fish. I do have a huge driftwood piece in my tank they will go behind when spooked. They can't be seen and is a little darker behind it. This was the first place they went when I introduced them.

They are coming out more frequently though. Sometimes for brief periods, other times longer. I wouldn't say they swim around in circles though. When they come out, they find a spot and hang out there.

I'm probably going to ask around for floating plant ideas as the light intensity may only add to it. The other potential for their insecurity could be the other inhabitants. They are in with some pretty active fish and I believe this will also increase the time it takes for them to be comfortable.

 

[HaliHostility]

mine just kinda chill in the same general area to when the lights on... idk just shy fishies:] but adorable and interesting none the less

 

[snowflake311]

How many discus do you have? They will always do little chase here and there things will
get bette. But they are cichlids and they work out the a pecking order bu the order will hange and the pecking does not end just gets less.

My discus are not shy they come right up to me they eat from my hand I can touch them. I don't have floating plants. The main decor is a big branch.

They are new fish it can take a week or longer for them to adjust they are young and young fish can be more shy. As they grow and adjustthey should not be shy.

I would remove all other fish but keep a school. Discus are best when kelt alone. The gourami could be picking on them.