keeping discus

[TONKA BEAR]

i have a 100gal comm tank with my discus (7 discus) for the most part everyone is healthy and everyone is peaceful however i keep losing my discus slowly 1 at a time they start to get very skinny now this takes months and it is only 1 discus at a time it will die then all will be good for a few months then it will repeat i went to my lfs and they keep saying it is the runt... but that you can keep many discus together???? why is this happening can anyone help?? and why if you can keep many discus together does 1 get singled out?? any sugestions??

kelly

[snaggle]

What else do you have in with you discus? They might be getting out competed for food.

[TONKA BEAR]

What else do you have in with you discus? They might be getting out competed for food.

i would have to disagree they eat very well!!! i have tetras danios angels catfish ropefish loaches swordtails in with them and everyone is generally happy this has been a comm tank for a few years now that is the only prob i have

[snaggle]

If they are eating well and still starving to death it seem, I would think internal parasite.

[TONKA BEAR]

at 1st that is what i thought treated it but nothing, if it were internal wouldn't other fish also be infected this is only specific to 1 fish at a time it like as one dies of the next 1 at the bottom of the totem pole will go

[Sam Chicklets]

I have to agree with snaggle. Out of all the fish you are keeping the discus are the least competitive. The smallest gets the least food and weakens. Also a lot of the fish you are keeping are not suitable tankmates either temperature wise or activeness. What temp. is your tank? How many of each type of fish do you have with them?

[geleen]

i have a 100gal comm tank with my discus (7 discus) for the most part everyone is healthy and everyone is peaceful however i keep losing my discus slowly 1 at a time they start to get very skinny now this takes months and it is only 1 discus at a time it will die then all will be good for a few months then it will repeat i went to my lfs and they keep saying it is the runt... but that you can keep many discus together???? why is this happening can anyone help?? and why if you can keep many discus together does 1 get singled out?? any sugestions??

kelly

There are a few things to check out, as there are a lot of variables and you can try to systematically change some things:

1./ Depending on the amount of other fish you may very well be overstocked. You don't mention stocking level of other fish.

2./ To keep discus healthy in that environment you would need to do at least 2 likely 3 50% WC weekly. You don't mention your WC schedule. If you are overstocked even more WC are required. I suspect the main issue is here! I would schedule several 90 % changes over the next few weeks.

3./ I agree that some of the fish you mentioned are not suitable tank mates.

4./ Discus are easily out-competed for food, they browse for up to 1/2 hour after feeding. For instance, your angels are very aggressive feeders.

5./ What is the temp you are keeping them at. My recommendation when you have a problem is 86 -88 F.

can your other fish handle that?

6./ How large is your filter? Can it handle the load?

7./ In a heavily planted tank there may not be enough circulation.

All conditions above will set discus up for disease and over time the weakest will die.

J

[firestorm]

Don't worry, you are not alone. Basically the same thing happened to me. So what I did was get rid of all the substrate, kept only driftwood with some plants tied to them. I also removed all tank mates except my bolivian rams. I would honestly recommend getting most of the tank mates out of the tank, except the swordtails. Danios prefer much cooler temps and they are way too active for discus, catfish usually are too active for them as well. Angels might be able to be kept with them, some will agree but some will disagree with this. Tetras such as rummy nose, and cardinals are good tank mates for discus, as well as bristle nose plecos.

Discus are schooling fish, so they work well in at least 4 or more. From now on try to purchase discus around the same size as the ones at home, I have found it incredibly difficult to keep up with feeding the little ones 5 times a day. How big are your discus? If they are still juvies, you will want to feed them a varied diet of flakes, pellets and frozen foods such as blood worms, brine shrimp, beef heart, about 4-5 times a day. If they are larger discus say over 4 inches I would probably only feed them 3-4 times a day.

I try to do a 50-60% water change every 3rd day (3 wc's weekly), but for you I would definitely start with 75% changes every day for a week then 75% every other day the next. Many people will age their water for their discus tank, and it is much better for them. So grab yourself a huge garbage pail and keep that full of water (you can add peat or driftwood in the pail to help soften the water). You will also want to keep the bucket aerated to keep the water from going stale, and put a heater in so the water will be the same temp as the tank. Try keeping the temp at, at least 86-88 for now, then eventually when all is well you can keep it at 84-86.

When you feed them, watch them to make sure they are all eating. Some of my discus will still not eat flakes or pellets, but will eat bloodworms, so try to make sure they all eat at least something. If one does not eat anything you feed them, then it is a sign that they are either stressed or sick. Discus seem to get internal parasites more easily than other species of fish, try a product called fluke-tabs made by aquarium products (I got mine from Gold's) it will help get rid of many internal parasites and worms.

I honestly think yours stop eating because they are stressed, not because they are sick (from tankmates) Discus can go quite a long time without eating I have found, thus getting very skinny before dying, and it is very hard to nurse them back once they have gotten that skinny. Discus have very small stomachs, which makes them hungry more often, and that is why it is very important to feed them more often. They often pick at the bottom of the tank for food between feedings.

I was in your shoes just a few months back, and I have been following this whole routine and they seem to be doing quite well now. Just hang in there and things should get better for them

[TONKA BEAR]

i have a 100gal comm tank with my discus (7 discus) for the most part everyone is healthy and everyone is peaceful however i keep losing my discus slowly 1 at a time they start to get very skinny now this takes months and it is only 1 discus at a time it will die then all will be good for a few months then it will repeat i went to my lfs and they keep saying it is the runt... but that you can keep many discus together???? why is this happening can anyone help?? and why if you can keep many discus together does 1 get singled out?? any sugestions??

kelly

There are a few things to check out, as there are a lot of variables and you can try to systematically change some things:

1./ Depending on the amount of other fish you may very well be overstocked. You don't mention stocking level of other fish.

2./ To keep discus healthy in that environment you would need to do at least 2 likely 3 50% WC weekly. You don't mention your WC schedule. If you are overstocked even more WC are required. I suspect the main issue is here! I would schedule several 90 % changes over the next few weeks.

3./ I agree that some of the fish you mentioned are not suitable tank mates.

4./ Discus are easily out-competed for food, they browse for up to 1/2 hour after feeding. For instance, your angels are very aggressive feeders.

5./ What is the temp you are keeping them at. My recommendation when you have a problem is 86 -88 F.

can your other fish handle that?

6./ How large is your filter? Can it handle the load?

7./ In a heavily planted tank there may not be enough circulation.

All conditions above will set discus up for disease and over time the weakest will die.

J

[TONKA BEAR]

i have a 100gal comm tank with my discus (7 discus) for the most part everyone is healthy and everyone is peaceful however i keep losing my discus slowly 1 at a time they start to get very skinny now this takes months and it is only 1 discus at a time it will die then all will be good for a few months then it will repeat i went to my lfs and they keep saying it is the runt... but that you can keep many discus together???? why is this happening can anyone help?? and why if you can keep many discus together does 1 get singled out?? any sugestions??

kelly

There are a few things to check out, as there are a lot of variables and you can try to systematically change some things:

1./ Depending on the amount of other fish you may very well be overstocked. You don't mention stocking level of other fish.

2./ To keep discus healthy in that environment you would need to do at least 2 likely 3 50% WC weekly. You don't mention your WC schedule. If you are overstocked even more WC are required. I suspect the main issue is here! I would schedule several 90 % changes over the next few weeks.

3./ I agree that some of the fish you mentioned are not suitable tank mates.

4./ Discus are easily out-competed for food, they browse for up to 1/2 hour after feeding. For instance, your angels are very aggressive feeders.

5./ What is the temp you are keeping them at. My recommendation when you have a problem is 86 -88 F.

can your other fish handle that?

6./ How large is your filter? Can it handle the load?

7./ In a heavily planted tank there may not be enough circulation.

All conditions above will set discus up for disease and over time the weakest will die.

J

thank you for all this info i just want to mention most of these fish were advised to me from Francos I was told they would all be fine together

1. I have 7 discus 2.5in approx 8 angels 2.5in 2 burmese loaches 2 clown loaches a ropefish 1 eel 8 syno cats 4 cory cats ( my cats dont usually come out of their hiding spots even at night) 8 congo tetras 3 danios guessing 10 other small tetras 4 swordtails 4 rainbows also i was told from Francos a fully stocked tank is a healthy tank

2. weekly 50% water changes will increase

3. i have never had a prob will any fish being aggressive towards eachother

4. temp is at 31C

5 filter is a Xp2

6. not to heavily planted all plants fake

[TONKA BEAR]

Don't worry, you are not alone. Basically the same thing happened to me. So what I did was get rid of all the substrate, kept only driftwood with some plants tied to them. I also removed all tank mates except my bolivian rams. I would honestly recommend getting most of the tank mates out of the tank, except the swordtails. Danios prefer much cooler temps and they are way too active for discus, catfish usually are too active for them as well. Angels might be able to be kept with them, some will agree but some will disagree with this. Tetras such as rummy nose, and cardinals are good tank mates for discus, as well as bristle nose plecos.

Discus are schooling fish, so they work well in at least 4 or more. From now on try to purchase discus around the same size as the ones at home, I have found it incredibly difficult to keep up with feeding the little ones 5 times a day. How big are your discus? If they are still juvies, you will want to feed them a varied diet of flakes, pellets and frozen foods such as blood worms, brine shrimp, beef heart, about 4-5 times a day. If they are larger discus say over 4 inches I would probably only feed them 3-4 times a day.

I try to do a 50-60% water change every 3rd day (3 wc's weekly), but for you I would definitely start with 75% changes every day for a week then 75% every other day the next. Many people will age their water for their discus tank, and it is much better for them. So grab yourself a huge garbage pail and keep that full of water (you can add peat or driftwood in the pail to help soften the water). You will also want to keep the bucket aerated to keep the water from going stale, and put a heater in so the water will be the same temp as the tank. Try keeping the temp at, at least 86-88 for now, then eventually when all is well you can keep it at 84-86.

When you feed them, watch them to make sure they are all eating. Some of my discus will still not eat flakes or pellets, but will eat bloodworms, so try to make sure they all eat at least something. If one does not eat anything you feed them, then it is a sign that they are either stressed or sick. Discus seem to get internal parasites more easily than other species of fish, try a product called fluke-tabs made by aquarium products (I got mine from Gold's) it will help get rid of many internal parasites and worms.

I honestly think yours stop eating because they are stressed, not because they are sick (from tankmates) Discus can go quite a long time without eating I have found, thus getting very skinny before dying, and it is very hard to nurse them back once they have gotten that skinny. Discus have very small stomachs, which makes them hungry more often, and that is why it is very important to feed them more often. They often pick at the bottom of the tank for food between feedings.

I was in your shoes just a few months back, and I have been following this whole routine and they seem to be doing quite well now. Just hang in there and things should get better for them

thanks so much!!! i have used metronidazole in their meat but i will try the fluke-tabs

[Sam Chicklets]

For a discus tank you are overstocked with other fish and under-filtered all together. If you want to succeed with your discus you will need to get rid of half of your angels, all of the danios, and the rainbow fish. Also increase your filteration by about 4 fold. My discus tank is a 66 gallon with 6 discus 2 albino bristle nose and some cardinals. I run an Xp3, a Magnum H.O.T. 250, and 2 55 gallon sponges. I do a 30% water change every 2 or 3 days and they are doing great. Also feed several times a day.

[geleen]

I agree, the XP 2 is inadequate, and you are overstocked. You may succeed if you at minimum,doubled the filtration and did at least 3, 50-75% water changes per week.....lots of work though.

The rainbows, and angels aggressive eating habits will keep food away from other fish especially the discus. I am not familiar with danio's.

J.

[TONKA BEAR]

i guess i have alot of work to do this weekend thanks to everyone for all the info

[Kevin]

Tonka Bear good luck, you are getting very good advice.

I just wanted to say that I am very impressed by the feedback that you are getting. It is nice to see that the people that I tried to help with discus advice are now succesful and able to help others. Once you get discus requirements down, they become as easy to keep as any other fish, only much more rewarding.

Kevin