Lesta3474 Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Hi Guys & Gals, Recently got 6 juvenile discus in a 80 grow out litre tank... They range from about 4-6.5cm in length... (they will be moved to their 200 litre display tank which is currently cycling and that they have outgrown the 80 litre tank... Probably in the next 2 months or more...) 2 Alenquer Reds 2 Red turqs 1 Blue/white cross 1 fuji red. Everyone is eating well except the fuji red!!! He comes out and stuff... but when i get close to feed them.. he goes and hides behind the filter inlet... Are fuji reds extra sensitive?? Or is it because he does not see a fellow fuji red... and therefore feels less secure? I'm pretty sure water quality is very good as I run a canister filter and do daily water changes of 25 - 30%. Been doing this for about 2weeks now so plenty of time for the discus to settle in... I'm currently feeding them Discus Tucker (frozen food from LPS), Frozen Bloodworms, tetra color bits and tropical flakes. Most of the other guys are alright but when one starts to freak out (the fuji red) the rest seem to follow which kinda sucks. Any advice to get the Fuji red to eat as well as make them less skittish would be great! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dracoz Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Some discus can take a while to settle down to a new tank sometimes... Also, any white poo poo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesta3474 Posted August 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Well... all the poo that I've siphoned out are red with alil white... just a lil stringy stuff but majority are in clumps. what does white poo signify? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Hi, Some Discus are more jumpy than others, I don't think it matters what colour variety they are. I have found young Discus to be worse than Adults. They also get frightened easier when their water quality is not up to scratch. Your water changes etc are good but I would try doing 50-75% water changes for a few days and see if that helps, especially with your size tank. Make sure the water is at the same temp and ph as your tank. If it is a bare bottom tank you could also add some plastic plants or even some live Ambulia or Indian Fern weighted down with lead to make them feel more secure, and live plants will help with water quality. I had Ambulia and Java Fern in my bare bottom tank while rearing baby Discus. Cheers, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesta3474 Posted August 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Ok i'll increase the amount of water changed... Water temp is very stable as I check the temp of the water before pouring it into the tank... as for PH.. i don check that but I figured that with the amount of water changes that I'm doing it should be good... Reason for using the smaller tank is because, 1) According to the breeder that I bought some of these discus from... it will be easier for me to do daily water changes required while they are still young... to prevent them from being stunted. 2) The larger tank is still cycling.. its been going for about a month and a half... and should be all good in in the next two weeks or so... Also, I have a driftwood in the 80 litre tank with very healthy, growing/propagating java fern. I also have a light unit but i dim it down my covering the top of the tank with a cloth so the light gets diffused. I'm just worried that he is not eating and will weaken and be more susceptible to diseases... How long can they go without food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Your size tank is fine, I just meant with that sized tank toxins will build up very quickly - hence the daily water changes. PH should be fine, as you said with the size of water changes you are doing it shouldn't be a problem -provided the water is from the same source. Good that you have some driftwood and Java Fern in the tank. Have you tried placing food in different parts of the tank and then leaving the room? You can even try an automatic feeder. He might come out to eat after you have gone. You can also try some sinking pellets that they will pick at. He will probably last 1-2 weeks without food?? But I'm not really sure. I wouldn't worry at this stage as he will probably be getting small amounts of food and should settle down and start eating soon. You are doing everything right as far as I can tell. Cheers, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesta3474 Posted August 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Cool Thanks! I'll give him alil more time.. Hope he will start eating. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 mine eat baby guppies, they love them its all one of them will eat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicmack Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 have you tried feeding bloodworm out of a feeding ring i found that was good for the more shy discus because it dispersed throughout the tank - or otherwise daphnia it floats about and there is no need to compete with the more aggressive discus for food Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoody Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 How long have you had them?? Some of mine took about 3-4 week's to settle down to a point where they would'nt freak out every time I walked in the room. Give them time if they are new other wise try feeding small amount's very slowly and often Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesta3474 Posted September 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 The fuji red have settled down now and all are eating very well indeed! I guess all they needed was time... Thanks for the advise ppl! I have a last question... I was planning on getting 2-3 juvenile discus... Currently have 6... Now once they outgrow the 80 litre grow out tank I will be putting them in a 200 litre tank... If i were to continue the daily water changes... will 8-9 discus in a 200 litre tank be ok? Tank has a Eheim Canister filter running on it as well. Do not want them to end up being stunted... and if its too many then i will stick to 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 It'll be fine when they're small, and by the time they grow up, you'll love them so much that you'll get more tanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Glad to hear all is now well with the discus I think the unwritten sort of rule that is thrown around is 40L per adult discus, obviously if they're smaller you can get away with more but you will have to do more water changes to keep waste down. Also you would have to upgrade to a tank larger than 200L once they grow up a bit or thin out numbers, I think 8-9 would be too many for a 200L tank once they start getting bigger.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Glad to hear all is now well with the discus I think the unwritten sort of rule that is thrown around is 40L per adult discus, obviously if they're smaller you can get away with more but you will have to do more water changes to keep waste down. Also you would have to upgrade to a tank larger than 200L once they grow up a bit or thin out numbers, I think 8-9 would be too many for a 200L tank once they start getting bigger.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 I also think a 200L tank would be too crampt especially once they've grown also if it's not big enough you'll stunt them...I have 9 Discus in a 450L tank and 5 of them are juveniles around 6cm, the rest around the 9cm mark. Plus they require very good water quality so I'd imagine that you'll need a bigger capacity filter if you continue to keep them in your 200L tank. I'm also hooked on collecting different types...looking for a colbalt blue in the welly region atm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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