# new Discus not eating, hiding



## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Have you noticed any color changes in them?


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## White Worm (Aug 22, 2007)

Too cold. 85-88F. Plus, it will take them some time to settle into their new surroundings. If your algae crew includes plecos, bristle nose are the only ones I would keep with discus. Many others eventually get a taste for discus slime which is not a good thing. Try feeding them one of their favorite foods like Hikari frozen blood worms. Once they associate you as the "FOOD GOD" and not the "BIG SCARY SHADOW", they will be right to the front of the tank with excitement when you approach.


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## crazie.eddie (May 31, 2004)

Give them time to adjust. If you got them from a breeder, they were probably used to a more discus in the tank. They are now in a new, probably bigger environment. Find out from the person you bought them from, what they feed so you know what they are used to. Once they are comfortable, start alternating with other types of food.

Also, make sure you turn off the lights in the room when you approach the tank and only leave the tank lights on. Most discus are used to the tank lights being the only lights on when approached. I can had feed my discus with the lights of the room are off, but most of them cower to the corner if I turn on the lights in the room. When you approach the tank, view them from the bottom and slowly stand up. If they see your full body, you can appear scary. Otherwise, if they just see your head, you may appear like another type of discus.


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## White Worm (Aug 22, 2007)

The one thing I can say is that is not a good idea to baby them. Just go about your business as usual. They will adapt. I can walk right up to my tanks day or night, lights or no lights and I get the same reaction. Actually, when they see any movement in the room, they automatically come to front thinking it is feeding time. However, they do not like dark clothing. I will spook mine everytime if I am wearing a black shirt..... they see me as "BIG SCARY PREDATOR". Spend some time in front of the tank doing normal things. They will get used to you and you will be more relaxed since you wont have to worry about sneaking up on them. My daughter practices cheerleading in front of the tank and they just sit and watch right at the front of the tank. Whenever you go to the tank, give them some of their favorite food. No matter what, they will always have a little skiddish behavior sometimes...nothing to worry about.


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## stlfishlover (Mar 26, 2008)

We picked up 4 discus over the weekend also. Couldn't beat the deal... got the 4 of them for $75... they're about 2 1/2 inches.... according to the guy working at the shop they came from Hans. We have them in our 125 gallon, along with some Bolivian Rams and tetras. The temp is at 82 and they seem fine. Two of them even come up to take the food right out of my hand when I hold a frozen cube in there. 

We've been feeding them a variety of foods...New Life Spectrum pellets, Spirulina Brine, and frozen bloodworms.... my dad (who's raised discus for years) says they need a good variety when they're that young. They love the spirulina brine the best. 

One of them hides a good part of the day and it is darker than the other 3 but it still eats whenever we put food in there. I'm thinking it might be a sub female... just a bit smaller than the other 3 also. Hopefully when she gets a little size to her she won't be so shy. 

Hope everything goes well with yours.


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## iceterran (Jan 4, 2008)

So I tested my water for GH and its very soft, perfect. Ive tried feeding Hikari freeze dried blood worms (which their breeder says they like) and they pay no mind. When i feed aquamagic discus pellets they seem interested but hesitate to eat. I'll try alternating with hikari: blood worms (freeze dried) tubifex (freeze dried) brine shrimp (freeze dried) and Bloodworms (frozen cubes). I think they just need to get used to me walking up to the tank. Thanks for all the insight people. ( by the way I got 6 red turquoise juvies [2.5"] for $80!!!!)


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## stlfishlover (Mar 26, 2008)

iceterran said:


> ( by the way I got 6 red turquoise juvies [2.5"] for $80!!!!)


:eek5: Wow... and I thought _we_ got away with robbery... :icon_eek: Well done! :thumbsup:


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## rmc (Dec 6, 2005)

At this point I would be proactive instead of reactive. Like others suggested, get them to associate you with food. Frozen bloodworms work great for this and I normally hold it and let them eat from my hand.

I would also do small water changes (15%) daily to keep any pathogens they are not used to within manageable concentrations. I would start raising the temp too. 84 degrees f. should still be OK for your other fish but you may want to consider moving them before going above that. A lot of plants can't take the heat either. If your discus are dark or if their eyes are not bright then that's a sign that they are stressed. Once they are comfortable and happy they'll swarm to the front of the tank when they see you. Mine will swim into my hand and let me pet them or pick them up.

Good Luck!


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## iceterran (Jan 4, 2008)

Ive had some small success with freeze dried blood worms  I sat in front of the tank for a few hours today (studying for my real estate exam) and they seem to be getting more comfortable with my presence. I got them to eat of blood worms by shaking the container to entice them to the top of the tank. It seems they dont like the aqua magic discus food i bought for them, i will slowly try to acclimate them to it. Just to clear things up i have probably ~ 10 ottos, 4 SAE 2 whisker shrimp, 4 cories, a 1.5" bristlenose and a .05" rubber pleco for algae crew. I should also mention my filtration system is a homemade 29 gal sump with 10 gals of bioballs, so the water volume is usually about 90 gals on average (50% weekly wc's) The tank is pretty heavily planted with high light and pressurized co2, I'm wondering if my plants will have any problems with my temp around 82 - 84. I'm actually not sure the names of my plants because i bought them in a pack from another user. Are most plants ok at these temps?


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## DiscusIt'sWhats4DinneR (Apr 25, 2008)

Discus are very shy fish. they take a while to adjust to their new surroundings. you have to uinderstand that it could take up to a month for them to become secure. during the first week you put them in there they will certianly hide as soon as you even get near the tank. however i believe that they are very intelligent. in my experience they seem to be able to recognize different people. they see me and they swim to the front of the glass. most of the time when anyone else is in te room they hide. these guys take time to adjust. they probably wont eat for a few days. just keep putting the worms in there. after a while they will loosen up. they are also sometimes stubborn when you try to feed em something different. you have to mix some of what you know that they will eat in with the new food to get them to eat it.

just give them time, make sure you give them water changes once a week at the bare minimum. i do 50% wc's every 3 days. there are actually hormones in their waste that inhibits growth.
anything above 80 degrees is fine. discus are much less fragile than they are generally percieved to be. in nature discus come from very soft and acidic waters, but unless you want to breed the discus it is not a necessity to mimic nature and water params are not so important.

i keep my tank at 86 degrees. i can grow all bunch plants at an unbelievable rate, my swords are growing and im throwing away vals and floating water lettuce every week. i have a high tech tank. everything grows like crazy. (sometimes algae too  )

however i have crypt lucens that i dont think have grown at all in months.


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## rmc (Dec 6, 2005)

Have you tried Sera Discus Granules? My fish love it. I can look around to see if I have a sample bag from them. PM me if interested.


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## stlfishlover (Mar 26, 2008)

Hope I'm not hijacking the thread here .... Seems to be some knowledgeable folks here with discus also so while we're on the subject of feeding them, I have a question about food as well. The food that is marketed just for discus... what is in it that is so important for them? Is it just the variety of vitamins etc that can be found in foods like New Life Spectrum or is there a certain ingredient in there that they need in their diet? I know there is even Jack Wattley discus food, and a few others... also, is it necessary to feed them Beef Heart?


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## rmc (Dec 6, 2005)

stlfishlover said:


> Hope I'm not hijacking the thread here .... Seems to be some knowledgeable folks here with discus also so while we're on the subject of feeding them, I have a question about food as well. The food that is marketed just for discus... what is in it that is so important for them? Is it just the variety of vitamins etc that can be found in foods like New Life Spectrum or is there a certain ingredient in there that they need in their diet? I know there is even Jack Wattley discus food, and a few others... also, is it necessary to feed them Beef Heart?


Partly because of the temps we keep these fish in, their metabolism rates are high so they need fairly rich foods. The small mouth and small gut means they can't eat a lot of food at one time so specialty foods with high animal protein levels were developed. Beef heart was a good and inexpensive way to provide the protein but it tends to be somewhat messy and inconvenient. Beef heart is now being processed into a dry food to make it less messy and a lot more convenient but the processing increases the price. Discus foods today will have higher protein levels than the typical staple food used for the average tropical fish. To make a long explanation short...... Discus need food that they will eat with vigor and provide the nutrients they can digest. You can feed them foods that are not as rich in nutrients but you would probably have to feed them more often to keep the fish healthy and thriving.


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## stlfishlover (Mar 26, 2008)

Thank you. Very helpful answer!

:thumbsup: 



rmc said:


> Partly because of the temps we keep these fish in, their metabolism rates are high so they need fairly rich foods. The small mouth and small gut means they can't eat a lot of food at one time so specialty foods with high animal protein levels were developed. Beef heart was a good and inexpensive way to provide the protein but it tends to be somewhat messy and inconvenient. Beef heart is now being processed into a dry food to make it less messy and a lot more convenient but the processing increases the price. Discus foods today will have higher protein levels than the typical staple food used for the average tropical fish. To make a long explanation short...... Discus need food that they will eat with vigor and provide the nutrients they can digest. You can feed them foods that are not as rich in nutrients but you would probably have to feed them more often to keep the fish healthy and thriving.


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## LS6 Tommy (May 13, 2006)

Your parameters seem pretty good. If it won't be too detrimental to your plants, leave the lights off for 24 hrs or so. It'l give them some time to settle in. 
I know most people like higher temps for Discus than I do, but mine have always been happy @ 76* F. They're captive bred, so that may make a difference as I have always gotten them from the same breeders & they're usually pretty small at the time of purchase, around 1 3/4" tops. I'm not saying that higher temps are bad in any way, just that since my tanks have always been more of a community set up, I keep the temps down if I can.


Tommy


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## White Worm (Aug 22, 2007)

I dont think its too important to feed "discus" specific food. It cant hurt but they can tend to be pretty picky eaters. I feed blood worms, tetra bits and live food to them. Alot has to do with marketing. True, they do have a short digestive tract and small stomach so they eat 2-6 times day depending on age/size. For juvenile fish, its important for growth to feed them a varied diet many times a day and thats also why its not the greatest idea for a planted tank (messy). Adult discus would be better suited for the planted tank. Plus, you have to keep in mind that discus prefer a clean environment with many large water changes which could interfere with the planted tank. Its not absolute but it depends on the growth rate you are looking for from your discus.


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## DiscusIt'sWhats4DinneR (Apr 25, 2008)

This is the very reason that i keep my temp so high (86 degrees) the discus grow faster at higher temperatures. understand that young discus (as with all living creatures) go through what is referred to as the "critical periods of development," meaning that they go through different stages of growth and basically if they are deprived of certian nutrients their development will become irreversably stunted, just the same as children in third world countries who are starved since birth will grow up with deformalities in the bone structure that can not be corrected. this is why it is crucial to provide growing discus a broad variety of foods. flakes have a lot of the vitamins, but do not have the protien of the beefheart or the krill. krill also has a nice color enhancing effect on the discus. you can go the freeze dried route but i like to feed the frozen stuff.

i dont have any sort of set feeding schedule but i mix and match different foods every day, feeding frozen bloodworms with omega one flakes one day, frozen krill with tetra min the next, beefheart the day after that......

feeding beefheart can be a pain because i have to wait for the cube to melt and then mulch it up with my hands to get the pieces small enough to be discus bite-sized.

"special blend discus foods..." something that is usually a blend of beef or turkey heart with spirulina, krill, bloodworm ect and some extra vitamins ect...
it is expensive to buy pre made. there are recipe's online written by people who are discus nuts (one guy would spread the discus food on a cracker and eat it after he makes it...and wash it down with a glass of tank water!) that you could put together at home although very time consuming and messy. i plan to do this one day soon.


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## filipem (May 1, 2008)

small feedings 2-3 times a day, high protein diet with two to three types of food, large and frequent water changes, and Higher temps. Provide these conditons and Discus are like any other cichlid


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## White Worm (Aug 22, 2007)

DiscusIt'sWhats4DinneR said:


> This is the very reason that i keep my temp so high (86 degrees) the discus grow faster at higher temperatures. understand that young discus (as with all living creatures) go through what is referred to as the "critical periods of development," meaning that they go through different stages of growth and basically if they are deprived of certian nutrients their development will become irreversably stunted, just the same as children in third world countries who are starved since birth will grow up with deformalities in the bone structure that can not be corrected. this is why it is crucial to provide growing discus a broad variety of foods. flakes have a lot of the vitamins, but do not have the protien of the beefheart or the krill. krill also has a nice color enhancing effect on the discus. you can go the freeze dried route but i like to feed the frozen stuff.
> 
> i dont have any sort of set feeding schedule but i mix and match different foods every day, feeding frozen bloodworms with omega one flakes one day, frozen krill with tetra min the next, beefheart the day after that......
> 
> ...


Try just buying some beefheart from the grocery store. I got it from Winco. Just sent it through a grinder once, froze it in ziplock less than 1/4" thick and then feed chunks. You can add a binder like knox gelatin.


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## White Worm (Aug 22, 2007)

filipem said:


> small feedings 2-3 times a day, high protein diet with two to three types of food, large and frequent water changes, and Higher temps. Provide these conditons and Discus are like any other cichlid


I would up the feedings to 5-6 for the young ones. The adults would be fine with 2-3.


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## emjhay27 (Sep 2, 2005)

iceterran said:


> I just picked up 6 red Turquoise Discus for my 75gal, the water params are as follows:
> PH: 6.5
> temp: 80
> GH: not sure, going to buy test kit today
> ...


-try minimizing the hours of light for 3-5days / cover the perimeter of the tank with black garbage bag. by having a garbage bag around your tank it will minimize the amount of movenment from their surroundings( the tank might be place where there is too much movement or traffic, this will scare off the discus and will result into hiding and not eating).Do not feed them...(the other fish you have in the take will be ok without feeding)they are really shy and will hide till they get stablish in their surrounding.

-after 3-5 days feed them if possible live brine shrimp/bloodwrm (frozen will do aswell)

-if they still dont eat , try getting liquid garlic (for aquarium use ofcourse)
its basically an additive , mix the liquid garlic with frozen brine or bloodworm then feed them. the liquid garlic will attract the discus to the food ...

if they still dont eat ... you might got them sick from the start , check if the the stomach is concave or white poo ^^, then you have internal parasite...
and thats a different story.

if you get them to eat , i suggest to feed them tetra color bits for an everyday use...
since you got red turq this will enhance the red marking on them...

i havent kept discus for 3 yrs but this is how i resolve my problem everytime i get new discus.

if you ever try feeding them beefheart make sure u feed them before you do your water change , this goes for homemade food aswell....


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## filipem (May 1, 2008)

You could try live blackworms. Discus go nuts for blackworms. If they don't eat the blackworms then you have a problem..

Also, Seachem makes a product called entice. It's a garlic formula that you mix with food. You could try that as well.

They might be eating when your not looking. There are known to do that when they are first introduced to a new tank.


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## GreenThumbing (Feb 23, 2008)

My discus did the same thing for a about a month, I never saw them feed, but they looked healthy. All they did was hide. But slowly they became more and more bold. I tried feeding them everything I could get live, frozen etc. but ultimately they seem to like flake foods the best. Go figure. Give them some time, Someone wrote earlier do not baby them, and I agree. They are tougher then we make them out to be. I keep my water at 80 - 82f and my discus are colorful and growing. i also feed them 2 times a day. They will come around, give them some time. I would feed my tank, then step back a few feet and be real still and watch, the discus would wait for the food to settle on the bottom then run out a grab it. Now they take it right from my fingers. They will come around.


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## DiscusIt'sWhats4DinneR (Apr 25, 2008)

Cal Discus said:


> Try just buying some beefheart from the grocery store. I got it from Winco. Just sent it through a grinder once, froze it in ziplock less than 1/4" thick and then feed chunks. You can add a binder like knox gelatin.


spirulina and broccoli can be had in pill form capsules at vitamin stores. 
my thoughts are to empty the powder from the capsules into a big mixing bowl full of beefheart, then add thawed bloodworms and krill, and BAM! kick it up a notch like emeril and add a little garlic.. fine gourmet dining for your discus:icon_eek: 

now i suppose we feed beefheart because it has no internal fat...because it is unhealthy for the fish to ingest fat... 

using this logic it should be okay to feed any lean beef tissue?? not just "lean" but actually devoid of any marbling whatsoever. I know a place where i can get what armenians call "keyma meat." it is the beef pectoral muscle with absolutely no fat, ground fine. some folks prefer to eat it in it's raw form.

my thoughts are that this should be okay to feed to my discus, and i intend to try. :thumbsup:


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## White Worm (Aug 22, 2007)

Too much work for me. The point of beefheart is for ease and its cheap. They tear up on the plain old beefheart with no additives.


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## neonmkr (May 16, 2008)

I'm currently going through the same process with 6 pigeon bloods. They're in a BB 30 gal tank @ 84 deg with daily WC. I'm in the process of getting a 75 together for their permanent home. I've had them for about 6 wks now & they wouldn't eat anything for the first week. The first time I tried the fbw they didn't show much interest but when I checked the tank about an hour later, there were no traces of blood worms left, just round tummies except for one of them. After a few days they would come out when I dropped the fbw in but quickly would hide after eating. I started introducing other foods with the blood worms & now they eat fbs & beef heart as well. The blood worms are their favorite though. After about 3 weeks, they started hanging out more & now they meet me at the top of the tank whenever I enter the room. The one hold out that I've yet to see eat is just now venturing out with the rest of his buds but is the first one to run for cover. I've only seen him eat if I peek from around the corner & wait. The key here is to have patience & feed worms.


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