Discus Settling In

[Zante]

On the 7th of April I added my 6 discus to the tank.

Now three of them have settled in and swim in the front of the tank, and eagerly come forward for their food.
A fourth one is also settled in, just a little skittish yet.

The one that is worrying me is the last one. While the others are colouring nicely, even "five" is occasionally nice and bright, even if he hangs at the back of the tank, "six" is jet black and hides in the far corner of the tank.

I guess he'll come out soon, following the others, I just wanted to know the opinion of people with more experience with discus.

 

[Nutbeam]

all about routine feeding times and patience

 

[mattlee]

a jet black discus is not a good sign.

firstly did you get all of the fish from the same supplier? were they all from the same tank?

secondly is the black discus being bullied at all by the others or has it always been this way since adding it?

thirdly (is that a word...?) did you test the water parameters of the supplier and compare them to yours? have you tampered with your water to try and get it suitable for discus at all?

it has been a whole month since you added them so i would have thought they should be settled and happy by now. is the black discus feeding at all?

 

[simonas]

welcome to the world of discus!! ha hes obviously the bottome of the pecking order, keep an eye on him make sure he eats

 

[Zante]

In a few hours it will be exactly one month since they have been added and I can post good news.
They are all six swimming about and feeding. "Six" is still a bit shy, but he is coming out.

... looks like Six is going to stick as a name

to answer your questions
I got them all on the same day, from the same breeder who kept them in the same tank.
He gave me a mixture of larger and smaller, so I'd have a better chance of having a good mix of males and females.
Six is one of the smaller ones.

He was feeding fine. Well, I could see him poo. I feed them at the front of the tank, but I made sure to sprinkle some food at the back for the shy ones. Looks like I don't need to do that anymore.

Yes, he is the bottom rung of the shoal, but he's not being particularly bullied or anything.

I looked for a breeder before setting up the tank and got the water parameters same as his by mixing RO water and tap water. Took me quite some time and a lot of testing to find the right mix, THEN I started filling the tank and populated it. I had a fully cycled filter to seed the sump so I could populate the tank immediately.

The water is oxygen saturated, I have plenty of pearling from my plants.

Once populated (without the discus) I waited one and a half months before buying the discus and then took the plunge.

Unfortunately, due to a series of circumstances they had quite a rough ride back to my tank, so it wasn't the best of starts, but it looks like everything is all right now.

I guess the black background and black gravel did "help" in keeping them dark for longer, and even now when they swim to the front asking for food, they are darker than the images I see on google, but to be honest I like the colors they have a lot.

ADDENDUM
After posting my... er... post, I walked up to the tank and poked my finger in the water and all six came to investigate. One even allowed me to give it half a stroke!
(you know... as in stroking it, not as in heart attack )

 

[mattlee]

Glad to hear that 'six' is on his way to recovery. Sounds like you did everything right before getting them, well done.

 

[foley69]

i have just added my first discus in the tank they have been in the tank for about 2 hrs now and have maintained their colour hopefully this will continue when did "six" start looking a bit "wobbly"

 

[Zante]

i have just added my first discus in the tank they have been in the tank for about 2 hrs now and have maintained their colour hopefully this will continue when did "six" start looking a bit "wobbly"

What do you mean "wobbly"?

 

[foley69]

dark colours etc as mine seem to have maintained their colour i was wondering if "six" started off with full colours before his darkened up

 

[Zante]

dark colours etc as mine seem to have maintained their colour i was wondering if "six" started off with full colours before his darkened up

Nah... they all were very dark from the start.

I call it "new kitten under the cupboard syndrome". Basically they were in a bare tank with 40+ discus and no other fish with no illumination, and they are put in this new tank, only six of them, with strange black stuff on the bottom, with strange green stuff sticking up from it, lights above and strange fishes swimming about. Not to speak of the different feeding routine...

... it took some getting used to it. Once the first did the others were quite quick to follow.

Six is smaller than the others, possibly younger and the bottom rung of the shoal. It is going to take a bit longer for her (not sure, but I'm guessing it's a female) to be as confident as the first two that came out.

Also, I have black gravel and a black background. I am sure that she is feeling more secure by staying black against black.

But... as I said, things are moving, albeit slowly, and the others are giving a very good example. She is eating and occasionally coming forward and colouring up, so all good (for now).

 

[foley69]

Good stuff fingers crossed they settle in a treat I just fed mIne for the first time and they scoffed the lot

 

[kevinjames]

got any pics then?

 

[Zante]

Tried to get some, but there are too many reflections on the bow front.

I have ordered a polarising filter that should help a bit.

 

[Zante]

And here are some pics:

 

[mattlee]

they still look very dark for the strain.