Discus Newbie

[kevinjames]

i recently bought some discus which i have discused on another thread. im happy with the progress of the two largest which were sold to me as red turqs. but the two smaller ones still have a lot of dark colouring. the smallest of the two is very dark and hasnt brightenned up at all. these two im also unsure what type they are so if anyoe could id them that would be great. ive had them 4 weeks on saturday, they are eating well and not skittish at all so im happy they aere settled. im just wondering if i should be worried about the colouring of the smaller two? here are a few photos:

id of this one please:

small dude im concerned about dark colouring:

 

[simonas]

I;m not sure of name but your dark one is the same as my weakest one which hasn;t properly for a couple of weeks or grown and I think he is on his way out. Its so frustrating when discus do that

 

[kevinjames]

I;m not sure of name but your dark one is the same as my weakest one which hasn;t properly for a couple of weeks or grown and I think he is on his way out. Its so frustrating when discus do that

the small one is still feeding well and doesnt seem to be sulking around like a fish whos about to meet his end. just guess ill have to wait and see and hopefully it will pull round.

so can i get an id on these fishes if anyone knows?

 

[mattlee]

i think the id your after is yellow pigeon blood.

as for the dark one as simon says it doesnt look good for it im affraid. if its a pigeon blood discus then instead of stress bars they have peppering and your smallest looks very peppered therefor very stressed. if it is the smallest then it will be lowest in hierachy and probably getting a bit of stick and last to the food etc. just keep an eye on it thats all you can do.

 

[kevinjames]

i think the id your after is yellow pigeon blood.

as for the dark one as simon says it doesnt look good for it im affraid. if its a pigeon blood discus then instead of stress bars they have peppering and your smallest looks very peppered therefor very stressed. if it is the smallest then it will be lowest in hierachy and probably getting a bit of stick and last to the food etc. just keep an eye on it thats all you can do.

Thanks for the info and possible id. Like I said these are vthe first discus I've had and any info is greatly appreciated. Like I said these were off a local breeder and I don't even know if they are good quality but they were only £7 each so they are good to cut my teeth on.

So far the little dude seems ok feeding and is active. Would it be beneficial to separate him or just wait and see what happens.

 

[mattlee]

any discus that has the pigeon blood strain in it will show peppering when stressed and sometimes they just have it naturaly. high quality pb's will have the least peppering showing. other strains of discus will show bars when stressed like the turks you have.

you have done the right thing by buying from a local breeder as the water should be very similar to yours unless they use RO water etc. its normally recomended that your first discus should be larger ones as they are easier to maintain, less feeding etc etc. with young discus like yours i would say feed 3x per day to get them growing well and thickening up a bit. feed then a variety of foods so they dont get stuck or use to 1 type and plenty of protein.

i would leave the young black one in the tank and see what happens. to be honest you may lose a few especially at that size until you are use to them etc.

good luck with them

 

[kevinjames]

any discus that has the pigeon blood strain in it will show peppering when stressed and sometimes they just have it naturaly. high quality pb's will have the least peppering showing. other strains of discus will show bars when stressed like the turks you have.

you have done the right thing by buying from a local breeder as the water should be very similar to yours unless they use RO water etc. its normally recomended that your first discus should be larger ones as they are easier to maintain, less feeding etc etc. with young discus like yours i would say feed 3x per day to get them growing well and thickening up a bit. feed then a variety of foods so they dont get stuck or use to 1 type and plenty of protein.

i would leave the young black one in the tank and see what happens. to be honest you may lose a few especially at that size until you are use to them etc.

good luck with them

thank for more advice. im going to just leave him in there and hopefully he might pull round. they are getting fed between 3 and 4 times a day on a varied diet with water changes every other day. the local breeder didnt use RO water as our local water is very soft although he did use a homemade carbon filter thingy that im not using.

at the moment they are feeding on tetra min, prima, brineshrimp, tubifex, bloodworms and whiteworms. is there anything else i should or could be feeding them?

 

[MBOU]

Your two paler discus look like 'poor quality' Pigeon Bloods (unless you are planning to show them, quality doesnt matter so long as you love your fish!!)

I would advise you get some Kusuri Discus Wormer ASAP because your pegeons definately look like they have a good sized worm burden holding back their weight.

Keep feeding to small amounts 2-3 times a day, by spreading the feeds out, the discus can eat more and put on a nice bit of weight and quickly

 

[kevinjames]

Your two paler discus look like 'poor quality' Pigeon Bloods (unless you are planning to show them, quality doesnt matter so long as you love your fish!!)

I would advise you get some Kusuri Discus Wormer ASAP because your pegeons definately look like they have a good sized worm burden holding back their weight.

Keep feeding to small amounts 2-3 times a day, by spreading the feeds out, the discus can eat more and put on a nice bit of weight and quickly

Is the wormer just a treatment I add to the water? Will this be ok for my other fish in the aquarium?

As for showing them I don't think that is on the cards so ill just enjoy these and do the best I can to take care of them.

 

[MBOU]

The kusuri discus wormer is indeed a worm medication and will only do your other fish good. There are loads of different wormers on the market but only a few use the ingredient Flubendazole which is what i think your pigeon bloods need.

 

[kevinjames]

The kusuri discus wormer is indeed a worm medication and will only do your other fish good. There are loads of different wormers on the market but only a few use the ingredient Flubendazole which is what i think your pigeon bloods need.

I'm on to the wormer already, a local seller sells this brand at £6.95 for 5g which treats 500 gallons. Is this a good price? Also I have another tank with sa cichlids so is it worthwhile treating them also?

 

[MBOU]

Normal retail price and it goes a long way. Wouldnt hurt to treat both tanks

 

[kevinjames]

i got some wormer and have a question. im currently doing 40% water changes every other day so will this affect the worm treatment?

also ive just gotten a lot of frozen food in bulk. ive bought bloodworm, artema, tubifex, discus mix with garlic and beefheart. how often should i feed these each a week. especiaily the beefheart.

 

[kevinjames]

just an update, all four are still alive and well. the smaller dude is still the same but hes still feeding so ill be patient with him.

ive been doing research on stunted discus and im trying to see if my ones are in this category. but tbh im too inexperienced to tell. i know they are still young but could anyone whos got more experience please give me their opinion on the quality of these fish please.

also how much and how often should i be feeding these to give them the best chance?

 

[mattlee]

a discus should be pretty much almost round hence the name.... imagine your fish without the dorsal and anal fins to see their shape. also a good way of telling if a fish is stunted is the eyes as they can seem too big compared to the rest of the fish.

also with discus above their eyes on a front on view should be solid and round. some that are ill or not looked after can seem thin here and looked pinched....

i dont think your fish are of a great quality but that doesnt mean they are crap fish as im sure you wont be rushing them off to any shows!

did you see the breeders parent fish? as yours should turn out similar to them.

as feeding goes the smaller they are the more they will need feeding, possibly up to 3x per day but not huge amounts. as they get bigger they can be fine one 1 or 2 feeds a day.