Pale Discus

[finchfarm]

The other day we purchased a few Discus, a blue one and a red one. The woman at the LFS said they were tank-bred Discus, if this means anything.

Anyway, the Discus were doing really well with the exception that I was having a hard time getting them to eat something. We talked with someone about what exactly they fed their Discus at the LFS and made sure we had some of those foods for them. Anyway, we bought Hikari Discus Formula, which the woman at the LFS said they fed them, among other things. My Discus don't really eat it and just let it sink to the bottom of the tank; they may have taken a few pieces, but not very reliably. I tried flake food; nothing. Bloodworms; no interest. Tetra Color Bits, which the Discus grabbed up and then spit right back out. The only thing I've been able to get them to take is frozen brine shrimp; which sometimes they would eat and sometimes spit out. Yesterday I ended up pulling out a few tablespoons of tank water and setting the frozen brine shrimp in there and letting it defrost. The Discus ate the completely warmed shrimp very well.

Then I come by the house yesterday to let my dogs out and took a quick look in on the birds and fish to make sure they were ok. The tank was cloudy and my AquaClear filter was making strange noises. I also noticed the Discus were looking pale. I couldn't do anything then, and would have to wait until I got home later. On getting home later, we found that the filter intake valve had become detatched from the filter.... and we couldn't find it anywhere! This led to phone calls only to find all fish and pet stores closed, a fruitless trip to Wal-Mart, and coming back home and wondering what I was going to do. I began to gravel vac out the tank and within taking a few gallons out, the filter really started to get loud and strange sounding.... next thing I know, I see the intake valve. Once the intake valve came off, the remaining part of the filter tube still in the water had sucked up the intake valve in backwards.

I didn't even test the whole water panel before doing a 20 gallon water change on the 75 gallon tank. As of this morning I'm looking at:

pH: 6.5
Nitrite : 0
Ammonia: 0
Temp: 84ºF

I don't have a KH, GH or Nitrate test kit.

This morning, the Discus look better and less pale. I turned the tank light on and sat down to read a little and within a few minutes they looked pale again. Coming in here to type this and checking on them again, they look more colorful again without me sitting there watching them. So.... why are my Discus pale, should I really start to panic?

Are they pale because until yesterday they really weren't eating that great? Or because all they're eating is shrimp? Stressed by the filter mishap or perhaps because of their sensitivity and that the water became cloudy once the filter started going on the fritz?

I confess, I do have these Discus in the same tank with a few Silver Dollars; which most people here is probably going to say is a big no-no and that they could be stressed by the Dollars. Some people told me they were great tank mates, some they weren't good because the Dollars would stress the Discus, so I figured I'd try just two. That being said, the Discus often tend to school with the Dollars and I haven't seen them majorly preturbed at the Dollars or seen them appear to get majorly scared either. There was one minor event in which one Dollar decided to chase another because he wanted the algae disc the other one had and this caused one of the Discus to stop and fan his fins out a bit and watch them, the other Discus wasn't bothered by the incident at all. Of course, I wasn't home yesterday when I noticed they looked pale either.

Any ideas?

 

[DevotedToDiscus]

Finchfarm, I am not about to launch into a Discus keeping lecture, as that won't help your fish at all(even if you have made some errors with your stocking

).

First off, if your Discus were stressed, they would be very dark in color(almost black), and hiding in a corner. Not pale as you suggest. That's the good news. However, these are delicate fish and need a nice settled environment. So don't expect them to have a huge appetite if you have just got them. Give them time to settle into their new home. Please try to refrain from chemicals to clear your cloudy water. Discus need super clean water, and things like Aqua Clear really are not the answer. If you have cloudy water it is better to address the source of the problem. 2 things you need to look at...... filter capability(I am assuming your filter is mature?) and water changes. Your filter needs to be turning over the complete capacity of the tank at least 3 times per hour IMO, without generating a torrent of flow, as Discus don't like turbulent water. So set your outflow accordingly. I cannot stress enough how much you need to stay on top of your water changes. My main tank gets 50% every second day! Sounds a lot, but if you want super healthy Discus, then they need it. It doesn't need to be difficult, just well thought out. I do mine while I eat my breakfast, and in real terms takes up about 5 minutes of actual time. OK, so the tank takes around 30 minutes to drain and fill 50%, but I spend less than 5 minutes taking out the hose and setting it up.

Now, once they have settled, try to give them a varied diet if you can, as it will help their immune system and keep the parasites at bay. They should really love frozen bloodworm, and live Brine Shrimp(if you can get them), but don't let them get into a habit of eating their favorite dish! Tetra bits and flake are all good too. Frozen Brine Shrimp have little value, as all the nutrition is lost in the freezing/thawing process.

You are always welcome to PM me if you get stuck

 

[finchfarm]

Thanks for the advise.

The cloudy water thing is 100% better today, so I really think whatever was going on had to do with the filter issues yesterday. I only did a water change, and fixed the filter, and that seemed to do the trick. No chemicals here.

As you guessed, the filter is mature as it has been set up for a few years now. I'll have to look at the outflow and things on the filter if I can figure it out, but the filter is an AquaClear 110 and the tank is 75 gallon, so if anything the filter is pretty overpowered for the tank. Yesterday was the first time I've done a water change since getting the Discus; I've only had them 2-3 days. I was intending of gravel vac/changing water every 2-3 days with them of about 20 gallons, but if you're doing 50% water changes every 2 days; I guess I need to look at it more often. I was thinking of this the other day, but what do you do with your Discus when you go on vacation? Not sure if my Dad, who usually comes by to take care of them, would want to do water changes.

I have dried bloodworm (which they haven't touched) as well as tetra bits, regular flake and special flake formulated for Discus. I've been offering multiple foods, but they're really not keen on anything except the frozen shrimp, though the little blue one is constantly looking at the bottom of the tank for food and he ate a few of the sinking Discus granules this morning..... I was thinking about their next feeding of taking some of the foods they're spitting out and mixing it in some tank water with some brine shrimp while they thaw out and hope the other foods get some of the shrimp smell/flavor on them to try to trick the Discus into eating it. Think it will work?

 

[DevotedToDiscus]

Don't fret about your water changes as much as I do.......I have OCD with my tank

.......Plus my fish are over fed! Just understand that they will thrive if you can keep the tank and water extra clean. When I am on vacation and or work away, I have 2 systems........1. Big filtration, and auto feeder...... 2. A girlfriend who loves the fish as much as I do!

However, don't get confused with super healthy fish, and fish that are OK. They won't die if left alone for a week or two, they will just be a bit sad, but will soon pick up when you get back.

On the food side, dried bloodworms, shrimps, etc. are not worth bothering with. Try to get frozen bloodworm, and with your Tetra Bits, give them a short soak in water before feeding. The Tetra Bits will be way too hard out of the tub for your fish, unless they are fully grown big guys. That is why they spit them out. Is like eating a dry cracker

I feed mine frozen bloodworm, live brine shrimp, and beefheart......they get flake and dry food out of the auto feeder, but to be honest they are not massively interested in it. They are spoiled!

I have a couple of threads on here, which might yield something of use to you.

I think you can search my content or something.