New Discus Owner! (going on vacation in March...)

Hello Everyone,

I am a proud new owner of 6 beautiful discus! I got them on January 8, 2022. They are about the size of my palm at the moment (maybe 2.5-3 inches tall from bottom to the top of their fins) and they are all eating, swimming, and pooping well. They are still establishing a pecking order with my blue diamond clearly at the bottom (poor guy), but they are not bullying him/her too bad and he is still getting enough to eat and all that. I have had my tank set up and running since September 22, 2021, and the parameters have been super stable for months (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, ~20 nitrates, and the temperature at a warm 86.0 F).

My question is, I am getting married in March and we are doing a destination wedding and will be gone for 7 days. We have someone watching the house and our dogs and I'll teach him how to feed the discus, but I am uncomfortable with him doing water changes... he is not a fish person and has no interest in being one, and honestly, I just wouldn't trust him to do them anyways. I am not concerned too much with the water quality (the tank is heavily planted) but I am with the growth hormones of the young discus. Will they be ok to sit in the same water for 7 days? I am planning on doing a 40-50% change the day before we leave and obviously right when we come back. I am super worried about stunting their growth.

The tank is 75 gallons and I am putting in a second filter soon just for the extra water flow but from my understanding that wouldn't help with the growth hormones.

Also sorry for the spot algae on the glass, I cleaned it right after I took this picture.

 

I would probably do a large water change before you left, very light feeding if any while you are gone, large water change when you get back.

 

Will they be ok to sit in the same water for 7 days?

Yes.

 

Hello Everyone,

I am a proud new owner of 6 beautiful discus! I got them on January 8, 2022. They are about the size of my palm at the moment (maybe 2.5-3 inches tall from bottom to the top of their fins) and they are all eating, swimming, and pooping well. They are still establishing a pecking order with my blue diamond clearly at the bottom (poor guy), but they are not bullying him/her too bad and he is still getting enough to eat and all that. I have had my tank set up and running since September 22, 2021, and the parameters have been super stable for months (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, ~20 nitrates, and the temperature at a warm 86.0 F).

My question is, I am getting married in March and we are doing a destination wedding and will be gone for 7 days. We have someone watching the house and our dogs and I'll teach him how to feed the discus, but I am uncomfortable with him doing water changes... he is not a fish person and has no interest in being one, and honestly, I just wouldn't trust him to do them anyways. I am not concerned too much with the water quality (the tank is heavily planted) but I am with the growth hormones of the young discus. Will they be ok to sit in the same water for 7 days? I am planning on doing a 40-50% change the day before we leave and obviously right when we come back. I am super worried about stunting their growth.

The tank is 75 gallons and I am putting in a second filter soon just for the extra water flow but from my understanding that wouldn't help with the growth hormones.

Also sorry for the spot algae on the glass, I cleaned it right after I took this picture.

I know nothing about dicus, but want to say they are beautiful fish. Also congratulations on your upcoming marriage.

 

I know nothing about dicus, but want to say they are beautiful fish. Also congratulations on your upcoming marriage.

Thank you! I set up this tank specifically for them and I waited so long! I am very excited about finally having them!

 

If someone is going to be there to answer the door, can you hire one of those services that does like offices fish tanks?

 

If someone is going to be there to answer the door, can you hire one of those services that does like offices fish tanks?

That sounds really expensive... have you done that before?

 

No but I would check it out. Discus are really expensive too. Maybe your Lfs may have some ideas?

 

Have the sitter only feed the fish 2 times while you are gone [ Congrats !] .
Measure or bag each feeding so sitter knows how much to give .
Easy peasy .The fish will be fine .Change water before you go and after return .
Enjoy !

 

Hello and congrats on the discus! Very nice group! They all look great. That yellow one may turn orange. Congrats on your upcoming wedding! As to the discus change the water the day before you leave. (How much water are you changing and how often?) than don’t feed them till you get back. This keeps the tank water clean. They can go weeks without food. When you get back change the water than feed. I always feed after a water change. Its like a reward. Mine instead of hiding are swimming around looking for food throughout the water change. This is what I do when on vacation.

 

Hello and congrats on the discus! Very nice group! They all look great. That yellow one may turn orange. Congrats on your upcoming wedding! As to the discus change the water the day before you leave. (How much water are you changing and how often?) than don’t feed them till you get back. This keeps the tank water clean. They can go weeks without food. When you get back change the water than feed. I always feed after a water change. Its like a reward. Mine instead of hiding are swimming around looking for food throughout the water change. This is what I do when on vacation.

Hello! Thank you! I am currently changing 30-40% every other day.
Also I honestly already considered him to be orange haha but I guess he does look yellow! Other people have also said to not feed them while I'm gone. I feel like that contradicts what I know about juvenile discus feeding though (feeding 2-3 times a day for growth). But I guess since its a short time they will be fine?

No but I would check it out. Discus are really expensive too. Maybe your Lfs may have some ideas?

I contacted a LFS! It's not the one I normally go to but they do tank maintenance for people and said that someone will get back to me on pricing! Hopefully it's not too expensive. If it is, it seems like people are pretty much agreeing that they will be fine for a week. I would feel more comfortable knowing that someone knowledgeable is caring for them while I'm away though.

 

Yes young discus need lots of food. 4-6x a day if you can do it. But they’ll be fine while your gone. Good to see your doing the water changes! Also your blue diamond may be some type of albino. Looks white. Where did you get them? Also they look bigger than 3”. Again nice group.
What are you feeding?

 

Yes young discus need lots of food. 4-6x a day if you can do it. But they’ll be fine while your gone. Good to see your doing the water changes! Also your blue diamond may be some type of albino. Looks white. Where did you get them? Also they look bigger than 3”. Again nice group.
What are you feeding?

I got them at my lfs called Aqua Imports in Boulder Colorado.
sorry for any confusion, I’m honestly not well versed on the colors. My lfs was calling the darker one (the one on the far left in the picture) a blue diamond and the white one is a white diamond I’m pretty sure.
I am feeding beef heart and blood worms mainly. I have other fish in there and I feed them flakes that the discus pick up and they also munch on algae wafers when I feed them to my bnp haha. They’re not picky which I guess is good, lots of variety!

 

Stop the beef heart a week before you go. It’s just messy and best not to have any laying around. I don’t use it I use freeze dried black worms. All 3 of the blues you have either snake skins or royals. No diamonds which is good they tend to be nasty.
Again you did good they all look healthy! Usually don’t find ones that nice at a pet store. Keep up your water changes and they should grow nice! Next if adding anything to the tank qt it for at least a month. These discus get sick easy from new fish.

 

Stop the beef heart a week before you go. It’s just messy and best not to have any laying around. I don’t use it I use freeze dried black worms. All 3 of the blues you have either snake skins or royals. No diamonds which is good they tend to be nasty.
Again you did good they all look healthy! Usually don’t find ones that nice at a pet store. Keep up your water changes and they should grow nice! Next if adding anything to the tank qt it for at least a month. These discus get sick easy from new fish.

Thank you! I feel like a proud mother!
The corrys tend to do a great job cleaning up the food that the discus miss but I’ll stop the beef heart a little early.
I am not planning on adding anything to the tank except maybe plants. Thanks for all your help!

 

Lol even plants .