Discus, How To Make Them Eat?

[TheRedDiscus]

Hey everyone, what do you do if one of your discus just neglects food? how do you feed them?

 

[WILDER]

There something wrong if he\s not eating.
How many gallons or litres is the tank,
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

Does the fish look bloated or thin.
What it look like when he goes to the toilet.

If you soak there food in garlic juice that sometimes stimulates there appetite.,
Not eating can be bacterial to internal parasites.

 

[mike os]

also how many discus, how big? & what are you feeding & how often?

 

[Purity]

From what little knowledge of discuc I have I'd try chopped up beefheart.

 

[jourdy288]

Let's see, I think they might like livefood, maybe ghost shrimp/

 

[cheesy feet]

Try them on some frozen/live food.They love bloodworm, glassworm, and usually beefheart.All 3 is usually found at fish shops, also suck out all the uneaten food.

As others have said what are the waters stats? How does the discus look? What filter do you have and what's the tanks volume? What's the waters temp and does he have any company of his own kind?

 

[TheRedDiscus]

Ok thanks, i got it, i'll try different food.... meanwhile i'll test the water stats. P.S garlic juice??? are you sure? it sounds very weird...

 

[humpy_the_humphead_wrasse]

may be premature in noting this... but looks like u jumped into the deep, expensive and fragile end of the fishkeeping spectrum all at once.

i recommend to people who ask me start off with a couple of silver dollars, angels, pleco's and black widows. if after 6 months they r big n strong. then u may be ready for discus. i just hate seeing such a beautiful fish in anythin but pristine and tranqual mood.

 

[TheRedDiscus]

Humpy, ur right.... but i hate returning these fish back! , so please everyone, can u guys help me out as much as u can? thx.

 

[petertr]

Humpy, ur right.... but i hate returning these fish back! , so please everyone, can u guys help me out as much as u can? thx.

Did you test your water? What were the stats?

What are the details of the tank? Size, plants, shelter etc.

What else is in the tank.


That should give us a good idea of where to go next.

 

[TheRedDiscus]

GOOD NEWS!!! everything in water stats is ZERO!!! Except for ammonia being 0.18 ppm...... I also got a new air pump to help ventilation. This is how it looks now. not TOO much dif in looks but accualy better

 

[Don Trinko]

ammonia of .18 is not good news. If your tank is completly cycled ammonia should be 0....Unless you are overfeeding, just added fish or there is something dead in the tank. .18 will not kill your fish but it should be zero.
Maynot be the reason the fish is not eating but it is not good. Don T.

 

[TheRedDiscus]

Good news! ammonia has dropped to a amount of 0.02 ppm! almost got it gone.

 

[petertr]

There's probably some ammonia in your tap water anyway - so 0.02ppm is fine.

One thing I would suggest, from what I've read on here, is to get a backing picture for the tank - it helps fish settle.

Also, I don't think there is enough cover in your tank. Plants, caves - that sort of thing.


My discus didn't eat at first - I noticed there were cowering under the filters. So I added some large caves, and within days their behaviour totally changed - now they come to the surface for food as much as my oscars did!!!

 

[TheRedDiscus]

OH NO! DANGER DANGER!!! AMMONIA HAS SPIKED!!! It has reached 0.25 ppm!!!!!! QUICK ANYTHING!! I"M DOING A WATER CHANGE!!! SINCE THIS IS A EMERGANCY, I ADDED A LITTLE AMMONIA DETOX 10ml