Discus Helpful advise please

My husband decided to pick a pair of discus fish for our 120ltr tank. He didn't want an easy fish to care for nooooooo he had to have these expensive ones didn't he. Before I placed these 24karat precious fish in our tank I made sure to bury peat moss in a stocking in the substrate of the tank and added a log. This supposed to keep the water at a level of 6.2 ph and I have the temperature at 28o c. Have I got it right or is there other advice you can give me. The other thing that concerns me is, they were roughly handled at the aquarium shop and of course when I got them home they were well stressed out. That is a big worry because they haven't eaten for a whole day. Is this normal for them not to eat until they feel comfortable in their new tank or will they belly up on me.?. Im really worried They are only adolescents so will they be more tolerable than older ones?

I'm not the best one to give advice, but I had a couple friends that were into
Discus like twenty years ago. I do recall that discus are easily stressed so I
think thats why they aren't eating. Actually I've been trying to get in touch
with one of them. I'll inquire on your Discus when I do.

I recall from Kizno that wood will raise PH, but I certainly could be in error. Also
my friends didn't keep full grown Discus in less than a 55gl aquarium so keep that
in mind.

Maybe Hubby needs to join a Discus Forum. In any event I hope they settle
in quickly.

I hope they are eating now.

Thanks for your helpful input. I'll send some pics so you can see the set up of the tank and the size of the fish. No they aren't eating but they show signs of being interested and they seem a lot more calmer. Their colour is slowly changing from mud to their original when I first saw them. So hopefully as the days go on they will make more improvements. You know what I should have done when we were getting the fish? Find out what their ph was at the shop. Mine maybe a lot softer than the water at the shop.

Here are the pics of the tank and the discus. They are real cuties, I haven't picked names for them as yet so any suggestions for names?[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

They are pretty fish. I have always liked them. I dream of having a Discus tank one day. There are so many to choose from, but I like them all!

If not before, names will come with their personalities when you recognize them.

Nice looking tank! My friends that kept them before always had a fair amount of taller plants in the background. Maybe a couple more? I imagine this was to afford them cover as they seem easily stressed. Just a thought as I've never kept Discus myself. Best of luck with them!

I always have trouble keeping real plants in this tank. The only other thing I can think of is maybe more wood a branch that comes right out of the water. When they start getting bigger (touch wood ha ha ha) we may advance to a much bigger tank

Theres always silk plants. I only have live plants in one tank except for moss balls(split) and a little frogbit in one other. I have enough troubles! lol!

There 2 very nice discus. The ph is fine and the temp is ok but i personally would up it to 30c. you could have a few problems in the future though, discus will often bully eachother so need to be kept in groups but even a group of babies wont work in anything under 55g, some breeders would say your tanks fine but that would only be if they where a proven breeding pair for 2 random discus your likely to have problems with fighting in the future which could lead to the death of one of them.

2tall wrote:Theres always silk plants. I only have live plants in one tank except for moss balls(split) and a little frogbit in one other. I have enough troubles! lol!

Thanks Feathertail I've got silk plants in other tanks but they never seem tall enough. I might look on the net and see if there are any that will reach near the surface.

kizno1 wrote:There 2 very nice discus. The ph is fine and the temp is ok but i personally would up it to 30c. you could have a few problems in the future though, discus will often bully eachother so need to be kept in groups but even a group of babies wont work in anything under 55g, some breeders would say your tanks fine but that would only be if they where a proven breeding pair for 2 random discus your likely to have problems with fighting in the future which could lead to the death of one of them.

Hiya...thanks for your advice and I will up the temperature as you suggested. So far the pair haven't made any hostile advances at each other. The tank has mirror backs so maybe they think they are in a group. Can you tell male from female at a young age? The guy at the shop couldn't, he said they have to get bigger. So we just had to pick what we liked and hoped we had a pair.

I better put a disclaimer in now Better than Betta!

The title Feathertail comes because of the quanity, not quality of the post I've
written. I seem to pick a little something up everyday. I just hope I remember!

Better than Betta wrote:

kizno1 wrote:There 2 very nice discus. The ph is fine and the temp is ok but i personally would up it to 30c. you could have a few problems in the future though, discus will often bully eachother so need to be kept in groups but even a group of babies wont work in anything under 55g, some breeders would say your tanks fine but that would only be if they where a proven breeding pair for 2 random discus your likely to have problems with fighting in the future which could lead to the death of one of them.

Hiya...thanks for your advice and I will up the temperature as you suggested. So far the pair haven't made any hostile advances at each other. The tank has mirror backs so maybe they think they are in a group. Can you tell male from female at a young age? The guy at the shop couldn't, he said they have to get bigger. So we just had to pick what we liked and hoped we had a pair.

Discus are very hard to sex even when fully grown let alone when young. you might get away with it then but just keep and eye on them because things can turn nasty quick. And i forgot to ask what are you feeding them? discus need a high protein diet so do well with the main part of the diet as live and frozen foods.

kizno1 wrote:

Better than Betta wrote:

kizno1 wrote:There 2 very nice discus. The ph is fine and the temp is ok but i personally would up it to 30c. you could have a few problems in the future though, discus will often bully eachother so need to be kept in groups but even a group of babies wont work in anything under 55g, some breeders would say your tanks fine but that would only be if they where a proven breeding pair for 2 random discus your likely to have problems with fighting in the future which could lead to the death of one of them.

Hiya...thanks for your advice and I will up the temperature as you suggested. So far the pair haven't made any hostile advances at each other. The tank has mirror backs so maybe they think they are in a group. Can you tell male from female at a young age? The guy at the shop couldn't, he said they have to get bigger. So we just had to pick what we liked and hoped we had a pair.

Discus are very hard to sex even when fully grown let alone when young. you might get away with it then but just keep and eye on them because things can turn nasty quick. And i forgot to ask what are you feeding them? discus need a high protein diet so do well with the main part of the diet as live and frozen foods.

I have tried every known food that one can get except live. frozen b/shrimp- they won't touch, B/worm- they mouth and spit it out, flake- eat a bit and spit most of it out , crumble - high in vit/protein not interested. So I'm pulling my hair out wondering what the heck will they eat. Please.....have you got any suggestions at to what else I can feed them. I am keeping my eyes on them and so far all is calm no sign of aggression as yet.

How long have you had them? Is it possible that they could be"huffy" or temperamental when settling into a new home like some bettas? I once had a betta that refused all foods for over a week. He just started eating 1 day.

Irish_Lass wrote:How long have you had them? Is it possible that they could be"huffy" or temperamental when settling into a new home like some bettas? I once had a betta that refused all foods for over a week. He just started eating 1 day.

Good morning from over here I've had them since Tuesday....I think...I lose track of time these days. They sulked for 2 days and then they started swimming around looking at their home. But when I come near them they go down the back and hide.

2tall wrote:I better put a disclaimer in now Better than Betta!

The title Feathertail comes because of the quanity, not quality of the post I've
written. I seem to pick a little something up everyday. I just hope I remember!

Ohhhh Sorry...2 tall. Mr Banks isn't it? No excuse for stupidity

Better than Betta wrote:

2tall wrote:I better put a disclaimer in now Better than Betta!

The title Feathertail comes because of the quanity, not quality of the post I've
written. I seem to pick a little something up everyday. I just hope I remember!

Ohhhh Sorry...2 tall. Mr Banks isn't it? No excuse for stupidity

No excuse for MY stupidity

Irish_Lass wrote:How long have you had them? Is it possible that they could be"huffy" or temperamental when settling into a new home like some bettas? I once had a betta that refused all foods for over a week. He just started eating 1 day.

I agree with Irish_ Lass. They could just be finicky and still adjusting. Have you contacted the lfs where you purchased them. Find out if and what they were eating. How long they had them at the store etc..

My SAP's also wouldn't eat for a bit when I first got them. I remember talking to Kizno about them at the time.