They still arent eating = (

[Louis]

Its been one week now in the planted aquarium , and my two pigeons have yet to eat.

I dont think its the fact that they dont want to eat, but everytime i get near the tank, they dart into the plants, and dont come out for another hour or two.

Does anyone think I should set up a spare 20 gallon bare tank with a sponge filter and just raise them in there?

[leanne31]

Hi Louis I dont have a lot of experience yet with discus myself but maybe you should set up a barebottom tank get them eating again and then maybe start adding a little gravel each week and then gradually add a few plants to might work who knows Leanne

[DiscusD]

I have the exact same problem, my fish too are scared of me when I approach too suddenly at them, but I think they don't stay behind plants for 2,3 hours though...

what I have done is put angels in the tank and as the food goes down the angels plenty eat and act as idols for the discii[/code]

[Louis]

Interesting Idea. Have you found success in doing this? I might just try taht idea.

Thanks

[DiscusD]

I know it works, have had success with it to get my discus to eat only flakes. It's great! But, I have this stock that won't eat and have introduced 4 angels and 6 corys. So, the angels are an idol on food and the corys reduce the amount of food in waste so the discus would have a higher competing attitude towards the food. Good luck

[Louis]

Ill pick up a few altum angels tomorrow....IF the discus start eating, I will have a huge load off my back. Eventually if they begin to get used to the feedings, I will move the altums to my other planted tank.

Thanks for the great idea dude!

Louis = )

[Rossco]

I have bought 6 young discus myself 2 weeks ago,they are abit shy still,some more than others.My red turq dashes like a madman when i walk by the tank,my blue diamond is also shy,3 cobalts i got and 1 pidgeon are not shy and eat up all the food.

All of em are about 2 1/2 inch in size,in a standard 4 foot tank.
I will add another 2 more discus this weekend,should make em feel more comfy.Safety in numbers when they are young works well methinks.

By the weekend i will have 8 discus,you guys all think that my 8 discus will grow to max in a standard 4 footer? also have 10 rummy nose and 4 corys.

I hope i am not over crowding,i dont think i am.

Ps.. the 2 new discus i will add on the weekend will be blue diamonds,anyone selling 2 and 1/2 inch BD's in melbourne? :wink:
Or 2 Blue snakeskins? :wink: Pm me if you are,thanks.

[Trebs]

Check your ammo and nitrites. It's normal for new fish to be shy, but only to a point. Generally mixing Angels with Discus isn't a good idea.

[leanne31]

I 'd have to agree with Trebs mixing angels can be a bad idea as they could be agressive eaters and scare your discus even more and they can pass on illnesses to them as well as they have similar illnesses but then again it worked for DiscusD so you could be lucky its just up to you
Leanne

[Louis]

I have two options that I am willing to perform:

1. Introduce Angels

2. Set up a new tank.


Either one is not a problem for me.

[leanne31]

You could try the angels first and then if that doesnt work move them to the bb tank
Leanne

[Louis]

I have setup a bare bottom tank below my 35 gallon planted. It is a 10 gallon, as that is all i have right now. I bought a sponge filter to get it running. Have to let the water cycle for a few days now. I will slowly add some water from the planted tank down to the bb to speed up the process.

ALso I purchased a portion of Tubifex Worms (live). I let them wiggle right in from of their mouths, but still nothing..

Also I am concerned because my ottos have started to suck on their slime coat. Not frequently, but a couple times.

[DiscusD]

So? how were the angels? I should've told you to buy little ones so they won't hog too much of the food and won't be too big of a treat to them. yes, mixing angels and discus can transmit disease. But, you gotta buy them at a reliable place though. Don't go buying fish at a huge corporation which just happens to supple fish. Dependable, dependable, dependable :!:

I brought my angels from a very dependable supplier, exact place and person whom I brought my discii, matter of fact, the discus and angel tanks are right next to each other. :wink:

[Louis]

I dont believe that Angels carry disease which can be harmful to discus. IF there were such parasites or bacteria, then wouldnt we have known by now what it was exactly? I have yet seen an article which describes this. So I think that discus and angels can live together no problem.

[funkyfish]

i keep all my discus in bb tanks they will be shy for the first few days after i get them but they all come around and most of mine eat after the first day if not the day after. it mite be a water quality problem. when adding new fish to a tank that has been set up for a while the bio filter will handle the original fish it will take a week or so for the filter to catch up with the new bio load
good luck

ps i never keep other fish with my discus

[kalebjarrod]

Louis,

i think your fish are fine, let them settle, this can take months remember the fish live for many many years. just let them find there own home and peace of mind

do not change your tank over to a b/b, if you want to go down this path get a new tank and set it up from scratch. There has been to many people on the forum who have tried and failed at doing this sucessfully. (it can be done but may disturb the fish more than nessecary at this point in time)

Angels are not the greatess partner for discus, they do carry a parasite that does not harm the the angel and is easily transmitted through them in large breeding setups, they will also out eat your fish especially if they are not comfortable at the moment. If you do want angel wait till your discus start to become confident and then source them from a A1 supplier nice and small.

Move very slowly around the tank, ask everyone in your house to move slowly around the tank, dull the lights on the tank so they feel more comfortable.

always think of your fish like people.

if you where pulled out of the roof of your home and dumped into another different house how long would it take you to recover? :wink:

[nicholas76]

new fish are so easily startled it isnt funny.

we become so concerned about it .,,, we find ourselves with our hands in the tank, moving this cleaning that changing whatever!! they never get a chance to settle in..

The one thing i keep telling people when buying discus for the first time.

1. allow your fish to have a settle in period.

2. keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible.

3. Make sure your water parameters are 100% spot on prior to fish entry!

4. and read up on all this before getting your fish :wink: easier said than done though hehe


NIck

[kalebjarrod]

i agree nic

the hardest thing to try and d when you have new fish is stay away and KEEP YOUR HANDS OUT

even i have trouble, just so tempting yet so destructive