Discus Help

[FishHobbyist1564]

Hi I have bought 4 discus about a month ago in my 75-gallon tank. I have been planning to add a larger shoal of them, and I will be ASAP. But for now, they seem to get along great and are fine when nobody is in the room.

I know that discous are shy and get scared easily at first, but it has already been a month, and I cant seem to figure out why they are so afraid of me. They know that I am the only person who feeds them, and cleans their tank. But they still run to the back corner in the plantswhen i stand up or walk in the room. They should be able to realize that i am harmless, because they see that the school of 7 rummy nose tetras are constantly swimming back and forth at the front glass when i come near them.

I give them a 25-percent water change twice a week, their temperature is about 82 F or sometimes 83 F. Their water quality is good because they have bright coloration, and are not black. Also the rummynose tetras have bright, colorful red noses (their noses are not pale or an orangey tint).

I still cannot figure out what is wrong. They should feel safe, since my tank is very well planted, with both live and plastic plants (soon to be mostly live plants). They know that they have many places to hide if they feel nervous.

So what could be wrong? I just want my discus to feel safe and be happy. And I absolutely love seeing videos online where the discus go and eat like crazy out of their owner's hand!! lol

I appreciate every reply very much!

 

[Colin_T]

Fish become shy when there isn't enough movement around them. All the old books say discus should be kept in a dark quiet corner to prevent them being spooked. In reality they are better off in an area with lots of movement around them. Then they get use to it and don't panic every time something moves in the room. The tamest discus are the ones in the petshop tank that is right by the counter or front door where there is a constant stream of traffic moving past them.
Turn the television on during the day when you aren't home. You don't need the sound on but the light and movement on the screen will help calm them down. You can also move the tank so it is in an area with more people moving around it. Get everyone in the house to move past the tank as often as possible. An electric fan can have some ribbon or streamers tied to it and as the fan blows air the streamers will wave about and this can also help.

 

[rabbut]

It could also be the group size. You realy need a group of 5+ for them to be confident IME, so I'd advise gettting your other discus around about now As Colin says, movement arround the tank also boosts their boldness. Mine beg for food if I get within about 3ft of the tank, though they won't yet feed from my hands. They also great anyone else whom enters the room They are in my diningroom, so they get a lot of movement for about an hour at a time, three times a day, with less movement, but still some, thorughout the day.

Just going to ask what size discus you have. For any under 5 inches, two 25% weekly waterchanges will likely stunt them While raising young fish I do 2 50%'s a week, or more. The more you waterchange, the quicker they grow, but skimp on waterchanges, and they will stunt, stopping growing almost completely, and never reaching full size Most discus "newbies" stunt their fish by skimping on waterchanges, and it realy is a shame...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

Thanks Rabbut and Colin_T, your information really helps! I'm going to have to work on creating more movement. And i'll have to get more discus right about now (yay, that's always exctiting lol!).

And of course, I will start doing more water changes.

--Thanks again both of you!

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

It could also be the group size. You realy need a group of 5+ for them to be confident IME, so I'd advise gettting your other discus around about now As Colin says, movement arround the tank also boosts their boldness. Mine beg for food if I get within about 3ft of the tank, though they won't yet feed from my hands. They also great anyone else whom enters the room They are in my diningroom, so they get a lot of movement for about an hour at a time, three times a day, with less movement, but still some, thorughout the day.

Just going to ask what size discus you have. For any under 5 inches, two 25% weekly waterchanges will likely stunt them While raising young fish I do 2 50%'s a week, or more. The more you waterchange, the quicker they grow, but skimp on waterchanges, and they will stunt, stopping growing almost completely, and never reaching full size Most discus "newbies" stunt their fish by skimping on waterchanges, and it realy is a shame...

All the best
Rabbut

I agree with you, a group of 4 is pretty small if the Discus are small (4 inches or less.) Young Discus normally like to be kept in a smaller tank with more fish, so they feel more secure.

 

[rudapleco]

you should remove your plants from your tank,then the fish cant hide,then reintroduce the plants and then the fish will be scared of the plants and come to the front of your tank,discus arent used to plants in the amazon,there is none,my discus were shy at the start and this worked for me,mine all feed from my hand and i can stroke them they seem to enjoy it,hope this helps stevie

 

[rabbut]

You don't realy want to stroke fish...It removes their slime coat, making them prone to infection...

IME, the more hiding places a Discus has, the bolder it gets, so I don't quite see how removing all places to hide is likely to get the fish to be more bold. If anything I'd guess that it would make them also prone to infection, due to the stress of not having anywhare to bolt to. In the Amazon, they have space to run from a thret, so hiding places aren't as important, but they don't realy have anywhere to run in a tank

All the best
Rabbut

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

Yeah i would assume that they would be more comfortable with the plants there, so i am going to keep the plants in the tank. I don't want to switch the tank around, because i dont want to get them confused lol.

They seem to be getting better in the past few days. I keep my television on when i am in the room, and I spend time around them everyday (since they are in my room).

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

you should remove your plants from your tank,then the fish cant hide,then reintroduce the plants and then the fish will be scared of the plants and come to the front of your tank,discus arent used to plants in the amazon,there is none,my discus were shy at the start and this worked for me,mine all feed from my hand and i can stroke them they seem to enjoy it,hope this helps stevie

That would likely cause extreme stress to the fish.

 

[tHE SCRiBBLEs]

I have had discus before, and will soon again. I have noticed that different fish have different personalities. I have had fish that feed from my hand, while at the same time, others hide in a corner. Mabey add some cardinal tetras because i have heard that they make shy discus feel more relaxed and at ease.

Hope this helped
Chris

 

[mike os]

how big are the fish?

IME if they are small and can hide they will

 

[Don Trinko]

Different discus have different personalities. My 1st 4 discus would not eat while I was in the room for months! Now I can touch them while cleaning the tank and they do not care. It took 3 or 4 months.
I have 3 others that were always waiting for me to feed them.
IMO; 1. Do whatever your normal routine is. They will eventualy get used to it.
2. They do not like dark colored clothes.
3. They do not like shadows, especialy from above.
4. They don't like sharp vibrations. Slamming lid closed, Knocking into tank etc.
5. They need clean water, warm temperature, and good food.
Don T.

 

[Fatty]

I have a similar problem but with 4 flier cichlids, they were fine for years living with 3 buenas aires tetra (I think or congo tetra something), the fliers would come to the edge of the tank no problems begging for food all the time. The tank is in the hall so they have plenty of movement all the time during the day, my maintanance every week is at the same time.

Then the tetras died (old age I think) leasving the cichlids, since then they have been spooked if you move an arm or leg too quickly and 4 good size fish dissappear behind the bog wood. They do this every time they see anyone, which is most of the time, so we have a completely empty fish tank!!
If I approach the tank and hover they will slowly come out expecting a feed, so I do but if as I've said I so much as flinch too quickly they all dart behind the bog wood, sometimes headbutting the tank 5 or 6 times, one of these days I think they're going to do some serious damage.

All this started when they had no more friends so I have now got 6 odessa barbs for company, they are very active and have been in the tank for three days now. This morning was encouraging as I saw them all out when normally the fliers would be hiding, but generally they're still really spooked. Early days with the new fish but hopefully it will do the trick.

Introducing the new fish in this instance is the only thing I can think of, other than possible mental problems that have somehow affected all 4 fliers at the same time!

Water paramters all all ok, ph is 7-8, temp 24 ish, change a good20% water a week with re-buffered RO water.

Fishhobbyist, be sure to let us know how you get on with the discus, coz i'm stuck if the new fish don't work.