Discus Constantly Hiding?

[EVoyager31]

So I’ve had these juvi discus for a couple months and at first things were great, they would be out and about exploring or just chilling within view.. only hiding if I made to sudden of movements, etc. They’re in a heavily planted 75g tank, two heaters set at 86, solid water parameters with weekly water changes and have been growing fairly well. 

 

Recently, 4 of the 6 just hide like crazy and I barely even see them unless I look really hard for them. I understand they can be sensitive to light and sound and have kept things calm in the fish room and my office the entire time I’ve had them and I am not sure what has changed. None of them are aggressive that I have seen.. I’m just not sure what to do.

 

 

[Theplatymaster]

@EVoyager31 what are the water parameters? Sometimes fish can be shy when they are sick, also some fish are just naturally shy.

[EVoyager31]

On 1/26/2023 at 7:45 PM, Theplatymaster said:

@EVoyager31 what are the water parameters? Sometimes fish can be shy when they are sick, also some fish are just naturally shy.

0,0,0,~20 (also using easy green). They are naturally skittish.. but I NEVER see them

[Tazalanche]

@EVoyager31
Could you please provide a photo of their aquarium?
Has the water temperature been at 86 the entire time you've had those discus? How much does the temperature fluctuate over a 24 hour period?
How long has their aquarium been running in the current set up?
What other fish are with them?

Edited January 28, 2023 by Tazalanche

[EVoyager31]

On 1/28/2023 at 9:57 AM, Tazalanche said:

@EVoyager31
Could you please provide a photo of their aquarium?
Has the water temperature been at 86 the entire time you've had those discus? How much does the temperature fluctuate over a 24 hour period?
How long has their aquarium been running in the current set up?
What other fish are with them?

Apologies for the messy tank, in the process of cleaning and trimming at the moment. I’ll be removing a ton of plants and stretching that large mass of plant in the middle the entire length of the tank (and trimming) and moving some smaller plants forward. The scape itself is a work in progress..

 

Tank has been running about a year and a half, as is. No other fish with them, just some mystery snails that I hatched several months ago. 86 has been fairly consistent, I check it regularly and it is never more than a degree off.. which hasn’t happened incredibly often.

[Tazalanche]

Your tank looks awesome as it is!

 

I'd recommend getting some dither fish that can handle discus level temps. I usually kept a school of cardinal tetras & a school of sterbai corydoras with my discus, but have also used other species. When the discus see other fish swimming around, they'll get more relaxed and are more likely to come out. Just be sure the dithers you choose are larger than a discus mouth, so less chance a curious discus doesn't have a snack.

NOTE: Especially with the expense of discus now, be sure to quarantine whatever you choose to use as your dither fish.

Edited January 28, 2023 by Tazalanche

[EVoyager31]

On 1/28/2023 at 2:03 PM, Tazalanche said:

Your tank looks awesome as it is!

 

I'd recommend getting some dither fish that can handle discus level temps. I usually kept a school of cardinal tetras & a school of sterbai corydoras with my discus, but have also used other species. When the discus see other fish swimming around, they'll get more relaxed and are more likely to come out. Just be sure the dithers you choose are larger than a discus mouth, so less chance a curious discus doesn't have a snack.

NOTE: Especially with the expense of discus now, be sure to quarantine whatever you choose to use as your dither fish.

Yeah I was thinking of picking up some cardinals! I want some cories but I feel like their lil barbels won’t do well on ecocomplete.. I’ve kept them on eco before and it was *fine* but not ideal. Cories on gravel seems to be a hot topic of discussion to this day 😜