Discus Not Eating

[Mitch]

Three Days ago i purchased 2 blue discus. i bought them home and put the min to my tank. the hid dow in the corners under the plants fo the first day. the yare coming out now but still won't go for any food. i tried frozen brine shrip and the normal slow sinking crumble pellet food that i feed my fish. the food seems to be getting to the fish alright but they don't seem to be eating it. i'm starting to get a bit worried.

Please Help Me!!

 

[Kossy]

Well I hope you know discus are hard fish to keep etc... Your probably expereinced. Now with the eating thing...most fish when you buy them are quite stressed therefore it takes time for them to eat. What I reccomend is too buy some livefood so they start eating...however feed them flakes etc also or they will get hooked on the livefood and wont eat anything else

 

[Ginger726]

How different are your water parameters from the water at the store. Discus are pretty picky when it comes to water conditions. They could be stressed from ph difference or other parameters. If it isn't the water conditions it could be stress from the move. They need plenty of hiding places so they can get aquainted with the place. I am trying to think. . . I want to say I had read an article somewhere about the hierarchy of these fish. I can't remember but it was something to the effect that if they lose their pecking order that it can take them a while to adjust. Make sure you do frequent water changes and I would also try to feed them live food. Don't overfeed for fear of pollution. Keep the tank pretty quiet to give them their time. Keep us updated, if you can give us some more clues maybe we can help more.

 

[smb]

Throw some neon tetras in there and don't feed anything else as this might foul the water.

What size tank do you have and what size are your discus? Like mentioned, are your water params the same as where you got them from?

I would do a 25% water change every day also.

 

[Mitch]

well my ph is a bit over 6.6. the temp is 82degrees. they are both comeing out from hideing and are exploring their new tank. i got some live tubifix worm today but they still aren't eating. but they are stating to regain there blue colour. the tank is 4ft 55g. they are starting to look better. i am hopin they will start to eat in the next few days. as to the 25% daily water changes it too hard to do that. i have school and rugby training and it is difficult do one every day. i do it once a week. is this not enough?

 

[Alien Anna]

well my ph is a bit over 6.6. the temp is 82degrees. they are both comeing out from hideing and are exploring their new tank. i got some live tubifix worm today but they still aren't eating. but they are stating to regain there blue colour. the tank is 4ft 55g. they are starting to look better. i am hopin they will start to eat in the next few days. as to the 25% daily water changes it too hard to do that. i have school and rugby training and it is difficult do one every day. i do it once a week. is this not enough?

The significant point is: what was the pH of the water they came from? Discus don't cope well with changes in pH.

 

[Alien Anna]

Incidently, if you haven't got time to do a daily 25% water change I wonder if you have time to keep discus? They are very difficult fish to keep healthy and take a lot of work.

Also, I hope you're keeping an eye on your nitrites - you don't want a nitrite spike in there or it'll kill your fish for certain.

 

[Mitch]

i understand that discus are difficult to keep i was just wondering if the daily water changes are essantial. if they are absolutly essential then they will be done. i have not yet got a nitrite test kit but i will get one tomorrow. the ph was just over 7. they seem to be doing well. i am hoping that all will be alright

 

[Mitch]

thanks for your haelp and don't worry. i will make the time.

 

[George Farmer]

Hi Mitch,

Discus are notoriously fussy eaters, particularly when put into a new environment. I've heard of them taking anything upto 6 weeks to come out and start feeding, so I wouldn't worry too much if they look ok.

I'd recommend checking most water parameters regularly with Discus, i.e Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH and Temp. If they're not eating the food make sure you remove it from the tank if your not doing so already, pollution will cause Ammonia spikes. Your water changes should keep Nitrates down (if your tap water is low in them if you are using tap).

How long have you had your tank? Has the filter matured? Some Discus keepers recommend maturing the filter for at least 6 months. But if you monitor your water regularly you should be ok.

This is my personal opinion based on a fair amount of research I undertook when contemplating keeping Discus but I think 25% daily could be too much. I beleive 25% at any one time is the absolute maximum due to the possible change in water chemistry. The action the the water being poured could also add stress. I'd reduce to 20% every other day. Obviously larger changes may be in order if you have Nitrite spikes etc.

Hope this is some help. There's some excellent Discus dedicated sites out there, I'd check them out for more info. Good luck mate and hope all goes well!