Do these look like Healthy Discus?

[sudz]

Hi Guys,

I've had my Discus now for a month and a half.
I've been seeing them every day. I THINK they've grown but its hard to measure.

I'm doing 25% water chagnes twice a week, sometimes 3 times a week.
PH is sticking around 8.3
Temperature is at 85-86*f.

Nitrates constantly test Zero, as well as Nitrities and Ammonia.
I believe the nitrates, because all of my duckweed has died off. The water changes since I got the discus are clearly working to keep nitrates near zero, and the existing plants are taking care of the rest.

Anyway, I've attached some pictures.

I ran into a problem with the Yellow one - He was constantly bullying my other ones around, so he was in isolation in a 5 gallon with daily water changes for 3 weeks and 4 days. He was just re-introduced yesterday, and I think the larger of the melons (Orange/yellow) showed him whos boss and he seems to be passive now. We'll see in a week.

My ONLY worry right now, is that I've never seen the other turquoise one Eat, and he's consistantly darker/not as vibrant as his similar tank mate.

I'm sure he's eaten something, but perhaps he grazes at night. Nobody picks on him, he just chills with the group but hides at feeding time. I know discus get their own social dynamic. He gets some nice color, but as soon as anyone walks by the tank, or a light turns on, etc, he goes darker colored throughout (not just bars)

Anything to be worried about?

Here's some pictures of the tank/fish. I'll work on getting better full body shots of the timid one.

The yellow one was a bully. we named him "O'Doyle" ... (Billy Maddison reference)

Full tank shot:

Yellow "Bully"

My Favorite Turquoise:

The shy one:

 

[Jacobsal91]

Wow, Awesome fish. Im not an expert on discus but to answer your statment on the bullying the ARE cichlids.. It will happen and its totally normal, The fish look totally healthy, If you are worried about that one not eating, What do you feed them? Perhaps try frozen if he doesnt like flakes or pellets. Nice pictures, totally jelious!

 

[pattyfurg]

Maybe the shy one is just more sensitive to the high ph.
Discus normally prefer a ph of 6 - 6.5 I think :S
I only know this from all the research iv done to prepare myself ahah

 

[sudz]

I hope he eventually livens up a bit. he's a BIT lathargic, but I do frequently catch him schooling with the rest of them. He just hides at the slightest change in his environment. (someone walking by, feeding time, Water changes)

If they're all scared (i.e. I bump into the tank or something touches the tank that makes a noise) they all huddle together. But food always brings them out of it.

They're ALMOST at the point where they're eating out my hand.

When I come home, they all DART towards me greedily for food. Its really cute. my fiance loves them.

Oddly, they're not as fond of strangers! I swear they recognize megan and I.

They see Movement outside of the tank as potential for food and don't spook nearly as much as they did when I first got them.

 

[sudz]

So 3 days ago I found a new home for "Odoyle" the yellow Bully.

Now I have 4 Discus, which i realize is less than ideal, However, the darker "stressed" one is coming out of his shell, and depending what time of day/whats been going on, his colors are getting better. he still doesn't eat with the others. I'm going to get some frozen foods to see if he's just a pickey eater.

 

[discus_lover]

I have few questions:
1. What’s the size of your discus?
2. Which type of food do you feed them?
3. How many times per day do you feed?
4. Did you quarantine your discus before introduce in your planted tank?

I see some peepering on your yellow melon’s fin. also discus needs more oxygen, that’s why many use airstone or sponge filter which also serves as oxygen supply. But that’s not present in your tank because you have a planted one.

Also discus needs various food habits. Since they are almost mature discus so feed them 3-4 times daily. You can feed them BHM,hikari discus bio gold,tetra bits,frozen dried bloodworms etc.

Did you know that before introducing those discus into your tank what did they fed? You can ask seller regarding this. It seems that few of your discus fishes are stressed. It may be that before introducing in your planted one they might live in a BB tank.

 

[sudz]

I got them from a reputable store, They are captive bred. They were stored in Bare Bottom tanks before.

I bought the same food he was feeding them at his store, which was "Color Granuals" (yellow container) I also have a higher protien Omega One Flake for the other inahabitants, but the discus also eat some as well, even after eating their "Color bits"

The size is between 3.5 and 5 Inches. When I sold the yellow one, The guy picking them up offered me 80 dollars for my largest one, whos colors are amazing.

I feed when I wake up, (7:00am) My Fiance feeds them around 11:00am to noon, Sometimes around 3 before she goes to work, I feed them when I get home from work around 6:30PM, and then again around 10, an hour before the lights go out. every 3rd or 4th day, I put an algae wafer in there for my Sucker and the cories also like them. The Discus peck at this occasionally too.

The Flake Food goes in when I get home, at 6:00, with the color bits, which feeds the cardinals and Black neons Tetra's.

I think I'm over feeding a bit, but I'm afraid of under-feeding.