I've just recently purchased a bunch of fish and I'm trying to find the right food to feed them. I've got 4 apistogrammas, 2 german blue rams, 3 discus, 5 glowlight tetras and 4 corys. I am feeding them sinking cichlid pellets, frozen dried blood worms and tropical flakes. The discus are not eating enough and neither is the german ram. Food suggestions?
Food time
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The profiles here give feeding information. I hate to sound like a broken record; however, we really need to know your water parameters, tank size, did you add them all at once, etc.
Water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and less than 5 ppm of nitrates. pH is about 6.5. The tank is a 46 gallon tank. I added the glow lights first, Cory's next, appistogrammas and finally the discus and the rams. Everything was added on different days except the discus and rams and most of the live plants. Right now water is around 80-81 Fahrenheit.
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Well, Discus are one of the most difficult freshwater tropical fish to support. According to the profile shown here on the site, a 75 gallon is suggested as the minimum. The inch of fish per gallon has it's limitations. Fish need a certain amount of room depending on their habits and behavior. By virtue of the requirements of the Discus and having so many dwarf cichlids in the tank, I don't think you're off to a good start. Perhaps 1 male dwarf cichlid to 2-3 females would be OK at first. Eventually the male and one of the females would bond. Then the remaining females would need to be rehomed. I really don't mean to sound blunt; however, these are my opinions meant to help you. If you are in a position where you cannot change your situation, I would refer to the fish profiles shown here on the site. Some of the live foods seem to work insofar as increasing fish's food interests. Best of luck.
Thanks. I do know the discus will become too small for the tank. Right now they are very small and will move them to a better tank when they begin to get bigger. The I have 3 different kinds of dwarf cichlids in there each with one male and one female. Is this going to be ok? At this point I think it is too late to take the cichlids back.
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It could work. I have had single male and female situations that didn't cause problems. My advice is based on the "typical" scenario. Providing plenty of areas for the fish to separate themselves would be helpful.
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I too do not like raining on other's parades, but we are all here to help each other, and not being honest is not going to achieve this. And there may be new aquarists reading these threads, assuming they too can make the same mistakes if we say all is well.
It would certainly be better to have more discus, minimum 5 or 6. As they mature, they will assert their natural behaviours, and a larger group allows this to work itself out better. Adding fish to the existing group several months down the road may or may not work, larger tank or not.
Second issue is the temperature. Discus should have warmth. Jack Wattley, who probably knows more about discus than anyone alive, says 82F is absolute minimum. The apistogramma may be OK with this--what species do you have? But the glowlights will not. And most corys will not last; Corydoras sterbai is one that will, which is why it is frequently suggested for discus. But the majority of cory species prefer cooler temperatures, 76/77/78F being absolute max, as for the Glowlight Tetra. Please check all this in the profiles. And if you do, you will note that 82F is the high limit for Glowlights. But fish should not normally be maintained permanently at the high end of their range; they are better mid-range, with the high end being OK temporarily, as during summer heat waves, etc.
Another aspect is fin nipping by tetra. Many species will take advantage of the sedate discus and apistogramma to nip their fins. And, the smaller the group of tetra, the more inclined they are to do this. If you are going to stay with the discus and apistogramma, on this issue alone I would re-home the glowlights now.
Byron.
It would certainly be better to have more discus, minimum 5 or 6. As they mature, they will assert their natural behaviours, and a larger group allows this to work itself out better. Adding fish to the existing group several months down the road may or may not work, larger tank or not.
Second issue is the temperature. Discus should have warmth. Jack Wattley, who probably knows more about discus than anyone alive, says 82F is absolute minimum. The apistogramma may be OK with this--what species do you have? But the glowlights will not. And most corys will not last; Corydoras sterbai is one that will, which is why it is frequently suggested for discus. But the majority of cory species prefer cooler temperatures, 76/77/78F being absolute max, as for the Glowlight Tetra. Please check all this in the profiles. And if you do, you will note that 82F is the high limit for Glowlights. But fish should not normally be maintained permanently at the high end of their range; they are better mid-range, with the high end being OK temporarily, as during summer heat waves, etc.
Another aspect is fin nipping by tetra. Many species will take advantage of the sedate discus and apistogramma to nip their fins. And, the smaller the group of tetra, the more inclined they are to do this. If you are going to stay with the discus and apistogramma, on this issue alone I would re-home the glowlights now.
Byron.
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