discus - lob-sided?

[djceri_g]

A friend of mine needs advice. She bought a big discus yesterday afternoon. she left the light off all yesterday and the discus was swimming and feeding healthy only slightly on one side. Is this how they swim anyway? she has put the lights on this morning and he had eaten tetra prima and swimms around quite happy but still a bit lob-sided! it this normal? thanks

[scott bowler]

hi djceri_g this may sound silly but do you have a bare tank , is there a chance that it can see its self in the bottom of the tank

[djceri_g]

so, the tank has got 1 inch gravel topped with 1 inch sand.

Ph: 6.8
NitrAte between 0 - 10
NiraIte 0
Ammonia 0
Temp 30 digeees c

[Merrilyn]

Sometimes I think the catching and transporting of large fish upsets their balance for a few days.

Give it a few more days to settle in, and then let us know how it is.

[djceri_g]

lets hope so! he seems happy enough and isn't shy at all! he/she has took a interest for the common plec. Also, is it a good idea to have a spare tank? maybey a 45L as a hospital tank? how many discus can be kept in a 96L juwel reckord? Thanks guys

[benjohnson]

The rule of thumb is one Adult dicus per 40 litres of water, so 2 in your case.... However, Discus prefer some height to length, and the Rekord 96 is long as opposed to high from memory, Maybe worth you considering trading that tank in for a slighty different one with some extra height?

Also , Discus like to be kept in small groups of 5 or more, if you have 2 that aren't a pair one will bully the other to the point it will probably give up the ghost unfortunately

Consider a slightly larger tank if you can

[djceri_g]

juwel 96L is:Height 46cm x 81cm wide x 36cm deep
great advice! Do you think I should stick to what Ive got? or don't they like being alone? would like to get a corner tank but money is tight at the moment. Also, lack of space!

[benjohnson]

Ah ok, thats not too bad.

They prefer being in slightly larger groups.... but you have to bear in mind you will need the room to have them grow to be up to 7 inches big in theory, so therefore the 40 litres per fish should cater for that without a problem.

If you can fit it in , and you want to stick o Juwel tanks... a Rio 300 would be spot on for 6 odd discus and some friends, or a trigon 350 is a nice corner tank .

I hear what your saying about the money though, fish keeping can be pretty steep!! If you havnt bought your discus yet, i would have a think about it long term, having 2 in a tank (Unless you buy a pair of course, but it will mean you cant really have any tank mates) will result in one out gunning the other

[djceri_g]

My friend Discus is doing well now. not lob-sided now!

[Merrilyn]

That's good to hear.

Discus are tougher than we give them credit for.

Support them with lots of water changes, warmth and good food, and a lot of problems they will sort out by themselves :P