New Discus

[Arch]

Hi all - i have just changed my 45g from community to specialise on Discus. I got 6 and put them all in together so as they all had a chance with territories etc. They are in with 11 neons and 3 tetras. The temp is 27 degrees - should i increase?

Feeding - I'm not too concerned yet with the feeding - I know it will take them a while to get used to the new home etc. Two of them will eat flakes the others dont bother so the 2 have obviously been fed flakes before. The others like frozen bloodworm though they spit it out, take it in, spit it out etc etc but eventually they do swallow some of it! They are very nervous still when i go near the tank - anyone any tips to try and not scare them as much? I'm dreading doing a water change - they will be petrified! They've only been in from Friday so i guess that will take time too.

Only other thing I'd like to query is their colours. At what age do their true colours come out? These are all quite dull looking and have their stress lines up quite a bit but is this just down to their new surroundings and settling in? The smallest one is one of the bossiest - he looks after his big mate and chases some of the others away although at times all 6 stay together and it is a lovely sight - though i doubt this will last!

Sorry for going on a bit there

Arch

 

[G_Sharky]

Congrats on your newly acquired Discus..... . My advice to you is to do alot of WC atleast twice a week and yes you should raise your temp and it should be at 30 C, this way their metabolism would increase and you can get them to eat again. Their true colours won't show until they get around 4-5 inches. The stress bars would go away as soon as they get settled and they'd be more friendlier.... Anyways GoodLuck with them....Also check out simplydiscus.com if you want to learn more or to talk to Discus experts......

 

[semper fi]

dreading doing a water changee? discus require water changes, since they require pristine conditions. daily water changes are recommended for them.

the loss of color could be due to stress. you can try keeping the lights off for a few days to help them get settled in.

 

[Arch]

Yes dreading doing water change as i dont want to frighten them anymore just yet - I'm aware the water needs changed regularly although is once a week not a bit much?

 

[parker313]

daily water changes are recommended for them.

Daily water changes are recommended for these guys Arch, not just weekly. They require VERY clean water.

 

[plecoguy]

first off congrats. a few questions. what is your ph? are you aging your water? are you on tap water? what are you adding to your water? how big are the fish?

First bit of good news, if your discus are small, and they have little color right now, then that means they havent been pumped full of hormones and will be able to get very large if you do daily 50% waterchanges, or everyother day. as for them being frightened, waterchanges will help, when you do a waterchange make sure you have your hands in the tank, maybe hold a piece of food, but the quicker they get used to you, the better. When you put food in the tank, you can also put your face really close to the glass, eventually they will come out and eat, if you continue this, they will recongize you and come out more. Ill tell you, the best thing to do for waterchanges is to contact a local soda bottling company in your area if you have one, they will sell you a 55 gallon barrel for pretty cheap, clean it up and put a power head and heater in it. then you alway have water at the correct temp and correct ph (i personally wouldnt mess around with the ph unless it is really high, but my discus are in a ph of 7.8 ).

any other questions or concerns?