Transferring my discus to observe them.

Diann62 said:

I've had my 3 pigeon blood discuses for 3 weeks now and they're still hiding in the bushes. I was just talking with an expert who said they might have these parasites. He said to take them out of the tank, put them in the 30 gallon and observe them. My 30 gallon is up and running because I was planning on getting more discuses.......not now of course. He said to take half the water out of the 30 gallon and replace with water from the main tank. Both tanks are 86 degrees but he said once the discus are in the 30 gallon, to raise the temp. to 90. If they have a white discharge, then it's probably this parasite sort of thing. (can't remember the name of what he said it might be). I have to do this all tomorrow because I'm out today. I'm very nervous. I have 4 pieces of driftwood in the main tank and I'm wondering if I should take a small piece out and put it in the 30 gallon? Will it make much of a difference? Does all this sound like a good idea?

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depends on the parasite as some can only be discovered with microscope

I would treat the main tank.

usually , for me all new fish I get are in qt for 30 days and treated for parasites. if something comes up I treat and start the qt period over.

the problem with discus is they may be affected by flagellated protozoa.
usually treated with prazi and metro.

I would treat the main tank as the parasites may still be in the tank when you introduce them back to the main tank.

Wow, new discus hiding in the bushes wouldn't lead me to think right away they are sick. Young discus are very skittish and there's lots of reasons they hide, the number one being not feeling secure enough yet. Are they eating for you? How big are they? How many altogether in the tank? And do they come out from the bushes when you leave the immediate tank area?

Are there just 3?
How big is your tank?
What other fish are in with them?
What type of lights on the tank?
Were the purchased from a breeder or a local pet store?
Sorry for all the questions, but without all of these answers, I can't really give an honest opinion. And your answers will tell me a lot more.

If I remember correctly, you have more on order to add to the group. That will make them feel more comfortable. It's not going to hurt them to put them in the 30G and observe their feces. It will give you a better chance to see if an what they are eating, if their bellies look full, or if they seem real thin. White feces most often indicates internal parasite. They are going to stress out when you catch them and put them into another tank. For one thing they are already feeling insecure. I'm sure they feel absolutely lost and overwhelmed by that big tank. Young discus are timid....but they also eat like piglets, even if it's when you're not looking. Hopefully the tank is in a place where traffic will still go by, they need to get used to room movement. Turning the heat up to 90 will make them starved, so you should see them eat good. I would start with frozen bloodworms since I think there isn't a discus on the planet that would turn their nose up them.....unless they were sick. They may feel more comfortable with a piece of driftwood in there to hide behind so while it wouldn't hurt, make sure there are no sharp points that they can run into if started. Don't keep a real bright light over them, most do not like it. And see how it goes over the next couple of days. Let us know if they are eating and pooping they way they should. Do not put any meds into their tank until you know better what is going on. Meds are stressful by themselves, and you just may not need them.

Pinkertd tried to put it nicely. I will tell you straight out.

DO NOT medicate those discus your problem is they are young juvenile discus and you only have three.

Three discus is the worst number you can have. Two will pick on one till it DIES then they will turn on each other till only one very weak discus is left.

Now that you have by all indications in your post about catching them, increased the stress on these fish.

now the one that Will be picked on will have a shorter time.

You need to do one of the following to help these fish

1 put them back in the 110 and add ASAP 3 or more to your stock there are reasons that all discus owners will tell you the same thing. you can have 1 or 5 discus nothing in between unless you pay $600+ FOR A mated pair

2 separate them into their own tank one in each tank.

judging by your stubbornness to take our advice you did not research keeping discus enough. medicating discus because they don't come out to see you is not a reason to do this.