Discus Being Very Jumpy

[Singin4Cnu]

Hey Guys,
I do not know if this is an emergency but I recently did an over hall of my discus tank. I am raising four babies in my 29 until I move and I will set up my 65. So anyway, I went from planted with driftwood to a bare bottom with the same driftwood. I also got some small clay pots and put a few of the plants in them (that way I have a bare bottom and still have some plants). So since Saturday, the discus have been hiding in the back corner, behind the driftwood (Before the over hall they were very friendly and greeted me every time I walked by the tank). The come out if I stay still but as soon as something moves they all freak out and run for the driftwood . I am wondering if this will go away when they get used to the idea of the openness of the barebottom or should I put something on the outside bottom of the tank so they have a little more security or should I just leave it until they get used to it?

Please reassure me.....

 

[ziggy2]

Mine are still jumpy. I moved them to a 110 planted tank about 2 weeks ago. They have just started getting comfortable. I was beginning to wonder. They should be ok after a while.

 

[Singin4Cnu]

So should I just leave it the way it is then?

 

[WyldFya]

Check your water parameters, and also, did you leave the lighting on the tank? If so, then take it off, discus don't like bright tanks.

 

[Singin4Cnu]

The water is fine. I checked the pH and Nitrites and I have an ammonia remover in the filter. I have a few cardinal tetras and if something goes wrong with the water they usually start to drop. Oh ya and I have the same lights I had on it before. They were fine with it before. I need some lighting for the potted plants. Should I get two Life glo bulbs so they arent so bright but have the right spectrum for the plants?

 

[Singin4Cnu]

I just had a thought. I had the ammonia remover in the filter when I took all the gravel out. Do you think the large amount of ammonia collected by the filter could be defeating the purpose and is now leaching ammonia into my tank? I have thought about just taking the ammonia remover out and just putting in another bio filter layer.. ?

 

[Singin4Cnu]

BUMP

 

[ziggy2]

I would add as much bio media as possible. With the amount of food it takes for discus and the scraps they leave behind, you need all the bio possible. The ammonia remover defeats the purpose. You have to have ammonia to create the bb. It should have been established before the fish were added.

 

[Singin4Cnu]

I let it run for a few months with just a catfish in it before adding the discus, so it was def established. Its just when I took out the gravel I thought maybe all the poop made a buildup in the filter and maybe could be causing bad water quality. I just cleaned out the filters mechanical filtering. Any other advice for a bare bottom with driftwood and potted plants and why my fish are so skittish now that I redid the tank ?

 

[Dkarc]

Is the bottom of the tank covered with anything, or is it just bare glass?? Discus will freak out a bit if they cant "define" a bottom to their tank. So take some printer paper and tape it up to the bottom of the tank, or paint it a nice light blue/white. It should help A LOT.

-Ryan