Why are my discus so reclusive?

[shekes]

In my experience and from what I read, if discus have enough opportunities to flee and hide in their tank, they dont. Discus become "reclusive" if they have no place to hide. But your description of your 56g and it's maintanance sounds like it offers all they need.

I have been successfully keeping discus for two years now. I allow only about 7g of water per discus, UGF only and monthly 80%WC, and my discus thrive and breed.
So maybe it is the crab!

As to beefheart: that's just what discus eat!

 

[chat]

fiddler crab may be the problem,

let try feed the discus with frozen blood worm,
may be activate them and tame them too.

 

[LoTech]

My experience:

Dither fish help a lot to bring them out.

Some discus are just plain shy.

One tank was in a busy area where people would abruptly walk close by - none of the discus were ever happy until I moved them to a tank where they could see me coming.

 

[teamdynasty691]

My experience:

Dither fish help a lot to bring them out.

Some discus are just plain shy.

One tank was in a busy area where people would abruptly walk close by - none of the discus were ever happy until I moved them to a tank where they could see me coming.

i disagree, dither fish will not do anything wih discus besides give the tankmates. Discus should not be shy and should always be welcoming. Discus are easyily scared which is why u had your problem they were scared to much.

 

[SimmonM]

Where is your tank located? Is it a high volume traffic area? I ask because shadows by the tank could scare the fish. I've raised discus on a few occasions and on my second try I was really puzzled as to why my fish seemed so much more skittish as compared to the first set of Discus I raised. A friend recomended that I move my tank to somewhere with less traffic and it worked.

My Discus are slow movers but for the most part are always in motion.

 

[RedestWing]

One thing I have learned is Discus just have their own Traits. Some are shy while sum are always begging for atention. B4 I got rid of my Discus I had them in the Family Room which is ALWAYS busy from Company and they loved to interact with people. Don't get me wrong, I have had a few who just did not like life in general (Mostly Wilds) but what you are doing seems to be fine, except you need to have them on a better Diet than just BH. Adding some Cardinal might bring them out a lil more... Might make them feel a lil more Comfortable

 

[abpositive]

Wow I wish mine were this way. Also my gold ram was dead when i just got home....Ive had these discus for about 3 months now, the golden is about 2.5" and the other 2 are about 4". I change the water weekly sometimes maybe every 2 weeks... When I feed them they dont eat much, and the only thing theyll eat is beefheart. I need to get them on a staple food (dry). How long have u had yours carpediem? whats your setup?

Well, you just answered your own question. The dead Ram likely means that you have water quality issues. rams need nearly perfect water quality.
I have a 100g and a 125g both stocked with lively, healthy active Discus, because I do VERY frequent water changes on both of those tanks, I have another Discus tank in another room, that only gets a water change every week and half and those Discus run and hide. I was also told by the breeder that huge weekly water changes will keep them active and curious. So, that's one expert that said it, AND you have my personal experiences too.
Hope this helps!