Count Iblis
Tue Feb 27, 2007, 12:15 PM
Just a little background. 5 years ago, I started with discus. There were four discus in a 55 gallon tank. I kept them successfully for about four years when due to admitted laziness, I started to lose them. I wasn't keeping up with my twice weekly water changes, allowing sometimes up to two or three weeks go by without water changes. I cannot change what happened in the past, but I wanted to give the background to say that while not an expert discus keeper by any means, I am also not a newbie to the hobby. During the time that I had kept up with my water changes, I had a very successful tank, no disease, no sickness, even a pair that constantly tried to breed but kept eating the fry (I never intended to breed).
I have one left from that original setup. I decided to finally restock the tank after a year of keeping the surviving discus alone (ironically, the runt of the tank who had survived the brutality of tankmates and my neglect to become the lone survivor)
The new fish, which I bought from a breeder about four months ago, are:
4.5" white faced mellon (just over a year old)
3" dragon king (about 9 months old)
3" yellow crystal (about 9 months old)
The original is a 6" that I wasn't I.D.'d, but I believe it is a turquoise.
All is well except that I had never been able to observe the yellow crystal eating. The fish seems shy most of the time, hiding under plants, although I have noticed that it is a bit more active in the early morning hours than during the prime time hours of the evening. It doesn't appear to be unhealthy, but I am afraid of losing it if it does not eat. It seems mildly interested in food (we give Omega flakes, Tetra bits, freeze dried bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms (Hikari)--it moves toward the food, but almost as if blind, just lets it go by and moves away. I know some discus prefer to pick at the food once it hits the bottom, but I haven't even observed this. The others are very eager and aggressive at feeding time, picking it right out of my hand and from the water as it floats around the tank. Any suggestions to kick the crystal's appetite into gear or get over its shyness? As I said, I can't see any signs of sickness or even stress.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
I have one left from that original setup. I decided to finally restock the tank after a year of keeping the surviving discus alone (ironically, the runt of the tank who had survived the brutality of tankmates and my neglect to become the lone survivor)
The new fish, which I bought from a breeder about four months ago, are:
4.5" white faced mellon (just over a year old)
3" dragon king (about 9 months old)
3" yellow crystal (about 9 months old)
The original is a 6" that I wasn't I.D.'d, but I believe it is a turquoise.
All is well except that I had never been able to observe the yellow crystal eating. The fish seems shy most of the time, hiding under plants, although I have noticed that it is a bit more active in the early morning hours than during the prime time hours of the evening. It doesn't appear to be unhealthy, but I am afraid of losing it if it does not eat. It seems mildly interested in food (we give Omega flakes, Tetra bits, freeze dried bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms (Hikari)--it moves toward the food, but almost as if blind, just lets it go by and moves away. I know some discus prefer to pick at the food once it hits the bottom, but I haven't even observed this. The others are very eager and aggressive at feeding time, picking it right out of my hand and from the water as it floats around the tank. Any suggestions to kick the crystal's appetite into gear or get over its shyness? As I said, I can't see any signs of sickness or even stress.
Any suggestions are appreciated.