Is this behavior normal?

[vicky]

I added 8 juvenile 2" high discus to my 55G tank along with 4 kuhli loaches and a 3" pleco about 30Hrs ago, didn't turn on the lights for the first 12 Hrs. now after all this time all of them just just huddle together at the corner of my tank. they only move to change corners but when the lights are turned out they start to move comfortably around, they don't seem to be eating any thing though. i am giving them tetrabits now. but when i turn on the light after a few hours the food is gone and they huddle again. i don't know whether the discus or the loaches are eating the bits. Is this normal??


other specs of my tank

55G
Low light (about 1.5 W/G)
Two medium Amazon swords
DIY CO2
Eheim pro II 2026 external filter..
ph 6.5
CO2 definitely under 20ppm

[Cliffeh]

Hi Vicky

It sounds like they are still settling in. It can take several weeks for them to settle in and days for them to eat. I tend to keep the lights out and try and keep traffic around the tank (kids on scooters, wives with hoovers etc.) to a minimum.

In my 100g tank the new arrivals hid for a week or more and now they come up and feed out of my hand and even walking past the door of the room the tank is in will bring them out on parade at the front awaiting a treat.

Good luck

Cliffe

[vicky]

Thanks for the quick reply Cliffeh.
I am very worried about them, how long does it take for them to start eating??
How long can they remain without eating ?

I do not have any kids around the house.. and the tank is situated in a low traffic part of aur living room.

how many do you have in your 100G?

[Cliffeh]

I wouldn't worry about new fish unless they had been a week or mroe without eating then I would start to try them on different foods. If you are still concerned then try and find what they were fed on previously, whether they were eating well and try them on the same food, check with the supplier they were eating well before you got them... unless they are specifically looking emaciated i.e. their body shape from the front is like )(

I am sure others here can offer more expert advice especially some of the breeders sponsors.

I've got in my 100g tank:

14 Discus 3-4 inch
6 Clown
3 Bristlenose
10 Rummynose

The tank has two external filters and do 2 or 3 x 50% water changes per week.


I'ev got a couple of other tanks with 6/7 inch adults in and I am currently trying to persuade the wife to let me set up another 60g tank... tried chocolates, flowers and calling in the big guns this weekend courtesy of the cosmetics department of the local Harvey Nics -)

[vicky]

:)
Choclates, flowers and Cosmetics... good job buddy

[FishLover]

Try frozen BW. They like that.

I would move the loaches and the pleco out of the tank soon. Loaches will compete with discus for food. That's why after a while you don't see the food. The loaches got them all. Pleco will try to attache it to the side of the discus. That can kill them.

[vicky]

thanks fish lover for the caution, i removed the pleco right now2 even before replying. I would like to keep the loaches for sometime though, as they only come out in dark and the discus (when becomes normal) will be fed in light so the loaches will act as efficient cleaners. well, that is a beginners thought, if you thing that removing the loaches is necessary i'll do that.

[Cliffeh]

Personally Vicky I'd still give them some more time before chasing loaches around the tank, this may unsettle the discus more.

As Fishlover says, try a few bloodworm etc, some tasty morsels may do the job...

[vicky]

yeah i'll let the loaches stay for now. I installed a few LED's moonlight and the discus are acting pretty normal under them except theyre not eating anything but as you say it might take them a few days to start to eat i'll wait another day and i'll get some frozen bloodworms the first thing in the morning and try them. seeing them swimming normally in the moonlight is comforting for now, let's see hoe they do tomorrow.

[FishLover]

You may want to check the Discus Tankmate section for what's best to keep with discus.

I have some corys and ottos in the tank with them. Corys are acting as clean up crew and ottos are eating the algae. They don't bother discus that much.

I do have one loach in the tank. I have trouble getting him out because he is too fast for me. I may have to buy one of the trappers to get him.

[vicky]

some pics of my new juveniles...

sorry for the poor picture quality..



http://img42.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_55069_DSCN2915.JPG (http://img42.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=55069_DSCN2915.JPG)http://img121.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_55075_Picture_033.jpg (http://img121.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=55075_Picture_033.jpg)http://img140.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_55076_Picture_035.jpg (http://img140.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=55076_Picture_035.jpg)http://img40.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_55082_Picture_050.jpg (http://img40.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=55082_Picture_050.jpg)
http://img129.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_55088_Picture_052.jpg (http://img129.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=55088_Picture_052.jpg)

do you guys like them??


they started to move around today even in the light.. but theyre still not eating anything.
Should i remove the loaches urgently???
i'm very concerned.
please advice..cause it wouldn't be possible to remove them without stressing the fish.

[Cliffeh]

Vicky did you try some other food such as bloodworm, also did you contact the shop and ask what they were feeding and when they were last fed?

They look healthy enough and judging by the pictures are out and about. I am willing to bet if you give them time and the same food they are used to they will start eating.

[vicky]

yes i enquired at the fish store and they too were feeding them tetrabits, and yes i did try bloodworms today but they didn't eat it.

but after an hour or so the food disappears lights or no lights.

[nicholas76]

Hi Vicki

whats your ph?, ammonia ?, how often are you doing w/c?


the behaviour to some degree is normal IMO, but it really should be gettig better slowly.

In your tank its nice and planted so naturally they will go to hidey spots !

[nicholas76]

just had a closer look at the pictures

that tank looks way to small.

can you please post a full tank shot please.

[sammigold]

Vicky, I have two clown loaches in my tank with my discus and they all live fine together... I would just watch your loach and see if he is causing trouble before removing him,... I think it depends on the personality of the individual fish sometimes... JMO

[vicky]

the loaches don't bother the discus at all, i even observed them for an hour or so in the moonlights last night, it's just the competing for food thing that worries me.

my pH is 6.4 dunno about ammonia but i'm sure it's zero or slightly above cause i'm doing 25% water change every other day now. my tank is 55G.
it's 4' long 18" high and 15" wide.
some more shots of the tank..



http://img133.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_01445_DSCN2970.JPG (http://img133.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=01445_DSCN2970.JPG)http://img17.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_01450_DSCN2901.JPG (http://img17.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=01450_DSCN2901.JPG)http://img106.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_01456_DSCN2971.JPG (http://img106.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=01456_DSCN2971.JPG)http://img42.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_01461_DSCN2977.JPG (http://img42.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=01461_DSCN2977.JPG)
http://img107.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_01467_Picture_027.jpg (http://img107.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=01467_Picture_027.jpg)


sorry for the poor quality of pics. actually i borrowed a friends camera and it's unfamiliar to me.. will post some better pics later..

[Cliffeh]

Hi Vicky. I don't think the loach is likely to be a problem as the discus should feed straight away and not let the food rest for the loach to pilfer (I have 6 in my tank and they are quite happy). If my calculations are right the fish have been in for about 4 days... If I were you I would still wait until a full week has passed before I worried.

You might want to try some live food such as daphnia to kick start their eating.

You would be slightly over stocked if your fish were adults as they need 10g per fish but for your juveniles you are fine... even adults would be okay with lots of water changes and good filtration.

I have also pm'd you a link to a thread that covers this same issue which may help.

The tank is looking nice, keep us posted and fingers crossed here for some good news.

[vicky]

yippeee..
they started eating today, and boy did they eat; i gave them a moist bixture of frozen bloodworms and crushed tetrabits today in the evening and they ate it all.
i'm so relieved.
Now they seem to be totally normal :D :D

[Merrilyn]

Great news Vicky. So glad they've started eating. They can be worrying little beasts, can't they.

Just remember than no healthy fish will voluntarily starve when presented with good food.

A change in tanks, slightly different water values, and the journey itself are enough to put discus off their food for a few days. Your fish have acted very normally, but you must be relieved that they are finally settling in.

[Cliffeh]

Excellent news Vicky, so glad they are eating well now!

[vicky]

I'm so happy.

thanks for all the advice.. :D

and another thing, the way they were eating today i don't think the loaches will be any competition, i think i'll have to worry about the loaches nutrition !! :)

[nicholas76]

Nice work Vicky!

ps nice looking tank too!

[vicky]

am giving some more pics, some people in another local forum are suggesting that they are stunted. Wanted to get your opinion.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5332/dscn29611lu.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5332/dscn29611lu.jpg)http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8526/dscn29688qw.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8526/dscn29688qw.jpg)http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1596/picture0361ml.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1596/picture0361ml.jpg)http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5858/picture0165zf.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5858/picture0165zf.jpg)

[nicholas76]

Vicki dont worry about what others think as long as you enjoy them.

If I was being critical I'd say that there eyes are a little too big in comparison to body size so stunting might be an issue.

Feed them up , feed then good food and do your w/c and you should get good develepment anyway

best of luck! and when they do grow big ensure to boast about it !

[nicholas76]

Vicki


just to give you an idea ( and it might be worth doing a sticky post on "Stunting" down the track, but these are small fish. See how the eye is in line with the body size. Nice and small.

[vicky]

Thank you Nicholas for the encouragement :) , they sure are my first batch of discus and i like them a lot. i think i'll keep them, just because they are a little behind in growing up doesn't mean i should return them to the crappy LFS tank (there were 14 of these in a 9-10G tank).

I'll feed them good and see how they do..
i'll get perfect one's later for my future 90g tank afterall i'm just 21 i have a long way remaining in this hobby. :P

[Cliffeh]

That is how it starts Vicky and before you know it you have tanks everywhere ;)

[jim from sydney]

well done Vicky....only just saw your posts.....i bet you feel a lot better now.....the juvies sure look great.......make sure you dont overstock or stunting could develop......Jim

[Nathan]

they do look like they are a bit stunted. but you dont need to worry unless you were trying to grow them really quite big, but no need to worry the stunting i dont think will cause any health problems.

good to hear there eating!

nathan

[Merrilyn]

You have a lovely lot of fish there Vicky. The colours are very good.

Maybe they do have a little bit of catching up to do in the growth department, but some good food and lots of water changes will go a long way towards correcting that. Small frequent meals are the way to put size on little fish.

I've seen some remarkable transformations on little fish that had a slow start, and turned into magnificent fish with the right conditions.

Good food, clean water, and warmth. The three keys to happy heallthy discus.

[vicky]

yes i'm giving them small amounts of food 4-5 times a day (bet'n 7am and 12 pm) and they all gulp them up in no time. will be doing WC's every other day for some time. Thanks for all the advice Merrilyn.