Allie

True. I guess when you are just keeping them as pets, perfection isn't an issue. Yes we will be breeding ours if we ever get any...so maybe that's why I am being picky.
Sorry. Again I hope MissMTS your fishies are okay. Good luck with them.

MissMTS

Thanks Kate! I definetly thought that that discus looked stunted. I was upset when I got these discus because the one from my LFS that I got before this batch was beautiful and doing great. He is one of the ones that got sick immediately after I added the other ones. I definetly won't buy from this guy again, but hopefully at least a couple of these guys will turn into big healthy fish.

Hi Allie,
There was an accident in my tank (the thermometer shattered). I did massive water changes trying to get the stuff out and have been doing daily 50 percent water changes since I got the fish to keep the water quality good. I know that some of them look stressed and I can't seem to figure out why. All I know is that some of them arrived looking stressed (they were darker in color than I thought they should be) and when the thermometer broke, 5 of them got sick (some kind of skin condition that I think was from the brown crud in the thermometer getting into the water). I lost one of them. Their skin condition cleared up for the most part with vitachem and raising the temp in the tank. They are all eating well and are very social with eachother, but some of them do look a little stunted or like their coloring is just not right. I don't know what to do except keep doing water changes and feeding them a good diet. Right now I have 7 juvies in an 80 gallon tank and I am going to narrow it down to about 5 once they get bigger and I can see which ones grow to be the most impressive looking fish.

I know what you mean. I have noticed there is something not right with some of them, but I just don't know what it is. The stripes are not what is concerning me because many have those stripes as part of their natural coloration. It's the dark color of the body on a couple and the few that look stunted that worry me. If you have any advice I would love to hear it because this is my first try at keeping dicus and I am trying to do everything right, but I know it is a learning process.

MissMTS

You are right. I am not going to breed them and I certainly don't care is they are what you would call a "show specimen". They are just loved pets to me I am just a little concerned that their stunted growth will affect their health. Did your stunted discus live a full life, or did it get diseased? That is really my only concern

dee31

hi i just got a gold severum i hope he will get along with my discis ?

Allie

Yeah it is the dark coloring that concerned me. But if you were messing in your tank then it's understandable if they are stressed looking. Don't mind me, I worry too much.
You'll have to ask Kate, she is actually keeping them. I haven't yet...I am getting some in the future. We want to breed them for the store so we have to get really great quality. I would have gotten lfs store one if we were just keeping the as pets.

MissMTS

No! Discus can only go in tanks with tetras, small plecos, cories, and other peaceful fish. Don't put a severum in with your discus!

MissMTS

I don't blame you for worrying. I am the same way! I get totally paranoid about my fish. I am sure you need to get great quality discus if you are breeding them for your store. They are more expensive but for you it is really an investment, so it makes sense

capekate

Hi again Kate
Discus that turn dark are stressed or sick. They can turn very dark in a minute due to stress and aggression and then before you know it, they are back to their normal color. Im not sure how long you have had them, but it does take awhile before they feel secure in their new environment. So just keep doing those water changes.. feeding them good and after awhile they will not be so stressed and you should see the dark coloring go away to reveal their true colors. Also many juvi Discus do not show their true colors til they mature. be careful of any sudden quick moves around their tank. They do spazz out and will flit around the tank running into everything til they calm down. Its so sad when they do that, you are sure they are going to injure themselves and sometimes mine had actually seemed to go in shock from running into the hood or the glass or ornaments but they recover. I move very slowly around them so that I dont startle them.
Please keep us posted.. and I hope the rest do well.

Sabi

Hi Miss Kate! They are looking a bit stressed now but i think that soon as they settle down they are going to start looking beautiful! Thanks for the pics! I just got my first 2 this morning. Their color seems fine, if not slightly duller but they aren't active. I'm hoping they will settle nicely into my ph of 7.5, as the store had them in a 6.8. Kate is a great help and has been guiding me along. I'll make a thread on mine one of these days! Goodluck with yours, i think that thru all yours have been thru, it will take a while for them to settle down, but they will! How big are they BTW?

MissMTS

Hi Kate,
They are all back to their normal colors except for two of them. I looked closely and can still see a little bit of the skin infection on those two. I think I will set up a 10 gallon quarantine tank for them tonight with some used filter media to help them recooperate without the stress of having other fish around. One of them really doesn't seem to be doing well. The good news is that my other 5 are doing so much better I have had them for exactly a week and have been doing 50 percent water changes every other day. Hopefully they will adjust well because I know that the tank is still new to them. Thank you so much for all of your help.
Kate


Hi Sabi,
Congrats on your first two discus! I was so excited last week when I got mine. Don't worry about them hiding. Mine didn't eat for the first day and stayed hidden in a corner together. Now they are swimming all over the tank and even come out to say hello when I walk by I had to adjust mine to a higher pH too. They came from a 6.8 pH as well, and my water is normall 7.6-7.8. I added some driftwood before I got them to soften the water and now it is down to about 7.2 which I think is a little more comfortable for them. My discus are all about 2 inches. I have one small one that looks about 1.5 inches and a big one that I think is almost 3 inches. None of the coloring is great on any of mine yet, but like you said, I am sure I just need to wait for them to settle in. Have fun with your new discus and I can't wait to see pics

dee31

congrats nice pics i hope u enjoy them

Jim

First off your tank is beautiful, and your Discus look great.

But now i have to stomp on this thread and ask a question of CapeKate. I just got 2 new discus (started out with 4, but that's a long story). They're about 3" but are acting like they're already paring. This is my first time with Discus, but I've breed Angels, Oscars and Dempseys; I know I've seen this behaviour. But I don't know how to tell for sure if they're stunted, and maybe this is why they're acting like they're pairing despite their small size? This is the post to pics of them, could you look and see what you think?

New Discus Tank Pics

capekate

Hi Jim
I posted at your thread.

Jim

thank you!