My New Stendker Discus Have Arrived!

You will soon find yourself thinking that you have new fish puppies in that tank....beg, beg, beg for food!!!!! Sometimes frantically like they're gonna die any second if you don't give them food again! All the fish I have kept over the years, I have never encountered any this dog-like with their begging abilities! You will be wrapped around their little dorsal fin almost immediately. The spunk of young discus is very entertaining!
 
I am sur ethey will. Mine did that all the time in the beginning, its one of the reasons I ended up pullling out 70% of the plants in my discus tank as they were growing. I couldn't see them half the time and they hid! Sneaky little things. I, like Deb, keep a light on in the room for ambient light so they do not startle as much as kids/cats/me go bumbling by the tank. Another thing, mine were VERy reactive to dark colors and would freak out if I got near the tank in my black clothing. I started keeping an old labcoat at the fishroom door to put on which really helped their startling as well. It also makes me feel like a mad scientist which I just love! :grinyes:
 
I agree , give them time to adjust.
mine get pretty much the same routine. 4:15 I turn on the overhead light in the den. I leave them alone till 5. by then they are awake and begging for food.

btw these were raised in the same planted tank since 2"
they now vary in size from 4-6" and are housed with a Peruvian Angel and a single bolivian ram.
 
Star_Rider said:
I agree , give them time to adjust.
mine get pretty much the same routine. 4:15 I turn on the overhead light in the den. I leave them alone till 5. by then they are awake and begging for food.

btw these were raised in the same planted tank since 2"
they now vary in size from 4-6" and are housed with a Peruvian Angel and a single bolivian ram.
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Thanks Star. I was going to get a tank to have bare bottom, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to keep them in this tank. It isn't heavily planted and I can get the python in between everything. I thought, and you guys may laugh, would I be more comfortable in a room with pictures on the walls (filter tubes and heater) and nothing else or would I be more comfortable in a room with an easy chair, couch, tv, carpet, etc. (plants, wood, substrate). I know it is more work to vacuum in a room with furniture, but would you keep your house empty to make it easier to clean?
 
snoopy65 said:
[...] I thought, and you guys may laugh, would I be more comfortable in a room with pictures on the walls (filter tubes and heater) and nothing else or would I be more comfortable in a room with an easy chair, couch, tv, carpet, etc. (plants, wood, substrate). I know it is more work to vacuum in a room with furniture, but would you keep your house empty to make it easier to clean?
Click to expand...

I think like this too. Perhaps it's a bit of anthropomorphism, but don't many of us treat our fish like family already?
 
snoopy65 said:
Thanks Star. I was going to get a tank to have bare bottom, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to keep them in this tank. It isn't heavily planted and I can get the python in between everything. I thought, and you guys may laugh, would I be more comfortable in a room with pictures on the walls (filter tubes and heater) and nothing else or would I be more comfortable in a room with an easy chair, couch, tv, carpet, etc. (plants, wood, substrate). I know it is more work to vacuum in a room with furniture, but would you keep your house empty to make it easier to clean?
Click to expand...
snoop
you still need to be aware that daily water changes are in order many times 20 % or what ever it takes to remove uneaten food.

I found my discus like to forage and will search every where for food.

so i didn't remove so much uneaten food but the waste for all the food they ate.
the big thing to keep in mind.. is that bare bottom is easier . but planted can be done with a bit more effort.
 
Snoopy, growing out discus in a planted tank has its challenges. If these are your first I encourage you to go bare bottom, but bb is not an absolute must, just easier for growing out discus.

As your discus become more comfortable in their new home and are eating well you'll notice them pushing on each other, especially around feeding time. Discus naturally assume a pecking order with a dominant fish and an omega fish, the least subordinate. The omega(s) are the ones you have to really watch. The dominant will chase them away from food, or attempt to. In a really subordinate fish, they are easily chased from the food and can, in a planted tank, hide behind plants most of the time and not get enough to eat. These fish will stunt easily and may need to be spot fed away from the other fish in a planted tank. In a bb tank with no place to hide they often get aggressive enough to push their way to some food.

The old saw about fish hiding less if they have more hiding places doesn't really apply to juvie discus, IME.

Also, the fish look great and it's very nice to see that they don't appear to be hormone treated.

Mark
 
Thank you for the insights and for the complements on the fish. I will target feed anyone that doesn't appear to be eating with the rest of the pack. I also will be doing daily water changes at least until they are at what is considered "young adults". Then it will be water changes as the params dictate, daily or every other. They all seem to be doing better today, even the 2 that were hiding.
 
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