New Discus not eating

[madmaddy]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here and have bought 3 cute discus (only after getting my mature 5 ft tank ready for the) The man at the shop said to just feed them frozen blood worms. After soaking the blood worms I feed them to the fish they get all ready to eat them (very eager) but the just keep spitting them out???
I've had them for 3 days now and worried they will get sick! :shock:

Any suggestions? should I feed them something else?
They're about 6cm so how often should I be feeding them?

Cheers
KL

[Hollowman]

Seeing that you posted in this section, what exactly are your water parameters? Please dont say they are ok, we need figures to help.

I would forget the bloodworms for now and get them feeding on a good quality beefheart mix, there are recipes here on the site so do a search. Bloodworms are more of a treat food for sub adults, not juvies like yours. Such small fish in a huge tank wont help confidence either imo, what other fish are in there?
Sometimes fish take time to settle so keep trying, but not with bloodworms. Try beefheart, Mal's freeze dried black worms, brine shrimp, Tetra Prima, of a good quality flake. NEVER TUBIFEX

btw, 3 is never a good number Discus are shoaling fish, so a group minimum is 5 or 6 fish.
Please take some photos and try to post them. The forum is having difficulty hosting pics right now, so use a third-party like Photobucket to post them up.

Ok, several pointers there, we now need detailed answers.

H :)

[madmaddy]

Hi Again,

I got them some beef heart and they're eating it! YAY.I have rummy nose
tetras and cardinals in with them. The ph level is 6.5 temp 28 degrees.
I'm trying to get some photos of them. I'm hoping to find a breeder here in sydney so I can buy some more discus.

Cheers
KL

[BigDaddyAdo]

What about ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

KH/GH?

[madmaddy]

Hi, sorry for delay.... Ph: 6.8 NO2:0 NO3 40ppm and Ammonia: 0.

is this ok?

[BigDaddyAdo]

Try and keep the nitrates as low as possible. Aim for <10ppm. I would also bump the temp up to 30.

As the are very young fish you will need to feed alot and do lots of water changes.

What else is in the tank?

Can you run us through your maintenace regime?

Some pics would also be nice !!!

[madmaddy]

I Have 6 discus 6 rummy nose tetras 8 cardinals 2 mollies. I have been doing water changes twice a week but think I better do this more frequently.
I will upload some pics to photo bucket now.
Cheers
Kylie

Oh how often do I have to feed them? and how much cause I was told to feed the twice a day??
Also the biggest discus is a bit bossy is that normal? :shock:

[madmaddy]

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss229/madmaddy10/Discus/fish3.jpg

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss229/madmaddy10/Discus/fish2.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss229/madmaddy10/Discus/Fish.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/ss229/madmaddy10/Discus/IMG_7936.jpg

[jannie_s]

Sometimes discus can take up to a week before they eat, once eating you can feed them as much as they can eat quite a few times per day (be carefull for overfeeding otherwise you will foul the water and could end up with Planaria as well. I have found discus to be sort of moody - one day they get into the food and the next just peck at it for a while and then get into it. Best not to have Discus with greedy feeders and are usually best suited for a species tank. They will get bossy and thats just the way they are (sorting out the pecking order)having quite a few discus in the tank will also help one fish being picked on. Lastly stick to a water temp of 30Deg C as it helps to get rid of parasites but make sure there is enough water movement (higher the temp the lower the oxygen levels) Hope that helps and enjoy your discus

[Hollowman]

but make sure there is enough water movement

I agree with everything apart from that bit. Discus do not like to live in a current. It can stress them and they will die (eventually) As long as the surface has movement that will be fine, or even an airstone running, but do not have any strong flows around the tank. :wink:

[boxters]

Well i know some will disagree with what im about to say, but if ever in doubt i have a very impressive collection of show fish. Those that have been to my place will agree.

1) when introducing new fish to a tank they can go without eating for upto 1 month.
2)Discus especially juveniles have a very high metabolism and require a substantial diet. blood worms and most worms for that matter are only about 5% protein and will cause intestinal issues for young fish. Beef heart is 47% protein and is therefore a better source of energy for your fish
3)I feed all my adults 3 times per day and my juveniles 4-5 times per day. If they are not fed enough you will end up with stunted fish
4) dont do to many water changes. All our tanks are vaccuumed daily and therefore at most 10% is changed.
5)water current in my opinion is no issue. my systems are roughly 1500 litres each and i use a 6500 litre per hour pump. the fish come to play near the outlet. what i would advise is if there is a strong flow into the tank that it be in one area only, so if the fish want to get away from it they can.
6)30 degrees in my opinion is a touch high. all my tanks run at 28.7-29.3 this includes my wilds, asians and Stendkers all of which are spawning all the time.

above all consistency is key with water

[mcloughlin2]

I agree with boxters, however would like to add if your young discus (Under 3") go without food for a month you may as well give up on raising high grade fish. They will have stunted growth and poor body shape so it would be in everyones best interest to do everything possible to get them feeding ASAP.