Discus?

[Ekliptix]

Have you ever kept these? I was thinking about it, but they're pretty $$ and I'm not sure if they have much character.

I also suspect that they are not too hardy.

Thanks

[Rex Karr]

I've never kept them, but I think I can give you some accurate info on them. The basics are a tank of 55g+, try to keep it bare but a thin layer of sand is acceptable, a pH of 5-6.5 is prefered, 30-50% water changes are required twice a week, and tankmates are best restricted to small tetras and dwarf cichlids. Its not a lot. But I'm pretty sure its accurate. I normally woudn't have posted anythingthing because as I said I've never kept them, but I don't think any of the other members have kept them either.

[Ekliptix]

they sound needy.

thanks for the info.
I guess one plus is that you could keep live plants w/ them(if there was enough sand).

[Rex Karr]

Yeah, I believe they are pretty picky. But they are beautiful.

[mk_ultra]

they are needy but not overly difficult.What rex described is how many breeders maintain their tanks (minus the extra fish).
PH 5.5-6.5
temp 78-82
gh- 5-10

they grow well if weekly water changes ae constituted. they excrete a growth hormone that regulates their growth. they need extremely good water quality. a filter with a micron pad (keep it slow they don't like currents) and a weekly water change go a long way. in a 55 i would change about 5-10 gallons. they are carnivorous so they will eat your small tetras.
you can try to setup up the tank like an amazon (rio negro) biotope.

hope this helps

[BadAndy]

I keep a discus in a 29 gallon tank. The general rule with discus is 1 fish for every ten gallons of water. If you want to breed discus then you will probably want optimal water conditions which are:
ph - 6.5
temp - 82-85 degrees F.
soft, acidic water

The general upkeep of discus is waterchanges, waterchanges, and more waterchanges. The more you change the water the better your fish will be. If you could change 10% of your water everyday then your discus will probably be very healthy. Feeding can be difficult for a discus if you spoil it with too much live food. Of course if you feed it live food everyday then it will only eat live food - but it will be in great shape. It is best to feed a high quality flake food with sporadic feedings of brine shrimp or black worms.

I find that discus are very hardy and very personable but it takes a lot of patience. i try to change my water once a week but I've gone as long as a month and a half without changing the water (its awful but its the truth). I very rarely feed my discus live food. i feed my discus hikari flake and the hikari red discus pellets. Plus my water is so hard that i cannot change its ph(7.8-8.2) without a ro unit which is more money than i would care to spend. In fact, if you buy a juvenile discus it is better for them to be in harder water because they need the minerals to strengthen their bones. My substrate are small sized pebbles - but I would think that any substrate would work with them. They are mostly a surface dqwelling fish.

As far as tankmates go- there are a lot of fish that can live with a discus. Mostly loaches and catfish though. Any corydoras catfish should be fine and I keep three of them in my tank but I plan on building a nice school eventually. Any midsize, peaceful schooling fish should be okay with a discus and it will probably help calm your discus because they can be a little skittish (they would act as a dither fish). I would stay away from cardinal tetras though- they eat them like candy when they get larger. I had a school of harlequin rasboras cycling my discus tank but I misjudged the size of my discus and when I floated him in the water he would strike at the rasboras through the plastic. I quickly moved my rasboras to another tank.

My discus is not only the most beautiful fish i have but it has one of the best personalities. It is always at the front of my tank and comes to greet me regularly. It also right at the top of the tank when I feed. I am extremely happy with my discus. At first I was put off by all the information that was readily available about discus, but most of that information was - "if you want to breed discus"- not "if you want to keep discus". it took a little extra effort but i was able to find that discus are not as fragile as averyone things. As with any fish you will probably want to buy from a reputable dealer.

Hope this helps.

BadAndy

[mk_ultra]

People do seem more concered with breeding then with general care. At least the internet reflects this.

Have you tried Peat moss to soften your water? I use a bag and some Kent Precise 6.0 for some apistos. keep my ph around 6 and 4 GH.

[BadAndy]

Will peat moss lower my Carbonate hardness? That is where my problem lies. My carbonate hardness is so high that it really doesn't make a difference if i try ph buffers or any kind of pillow softener. None of it works.

BadAndy

[mk_ultra]

I'v used Peat moss and distilled water (which contains no mineral hardnes). You can also use RO or an RO mix of water. Discus are hardier than you think. Try younger ones so they can grow and they are cheaper. a hardness of around 4 is fine with them. if you can get your ph to drop (via peat or any other mode) you hardness will drop.
Jack Watley himslef says he has had Dscus in 7 ph water.

[BadAndy]

I was alwyas under the impression that you shouldn't just use distilled water or ro water because there are no nutrients in the water for the fish. You should always use an ro or distilled water mixed with your tap. I don't have enough money for an ro unit or to buy enough distilled water. and I don't have enough time to make all the distilled water that I need. So, i live with my water the way it is and my fish seem fine.

BadAndy

[mk_ultra]

more power to you. Young discus especially need the water hardness since this suppies there body with trace minerals. if they are raised in somewhat soft(although still hard. say 6GH) they should be just fine.

[Animal]

Hello people new guy to the forum. I am an experienced Discus nutter. Can't have enough!
So Discus, you want to keep them? They are no harder than rift lake cichlids. They like top water quality, so do Discus they just prefer the other end of the scale. That said, I keep my fish in a pH of 7.5, gh 6 dGh, kh 4. I like to change water every other day, but sometimes it's only done once a week. When the kids where but nippers I'd change 50% everyday, without fail.
I prep my tap water by filtering thro' carbon and warming it up before it goes into my tank. IME/O Discus need to be in a loose shoal. 6 fish at leat is a min. As for tank mates. Yep they can have a go at small fish such as tetras, but if you have enough you can put discus with cardinals. I had around 30 with my Discus, looks great! Corries and bristlenose plecs are good to. As are most dwarf cichlids. I had a nice pair of Nannacara anomela with my Discus. Great little fish they are. So anyway, here is a shot of my Discus.

[Karl]

WOW:jaw: beautiful tank and discus!

[Animal]

Tanks alot :)

[cichgirl]

Beautiful tank, great discus! Great thread-- good info.. Thanks alot all, now I have to talk my husband into another tank! :D

[Rex Karr]

Great tank and fish, Animal!

[Animal]

Thanx people :)

[conig]

Animal
what type of filtration are you running? looks like a sponge filter.

[Animal]

Hey sorry,it's been a while.
I run an internal fluval 4(old type) as prefiltration and I have one of the ecco externals from Eheim.
The fluval has the regular sponges and the eheim from bottom to top is, coarse sponge, bioballs, ehfisubstrat (biomedia) and fine filter floss.

[maxtmill]

Hi there, Discus expert! I have had 2 three inch red pigeon blood discus for about a week, & they are doing great.:me: My question is, do you know of a reputable on-line site to purchase discus reasonably? Live Fish Direct has been a good place for me to buy cichlids, but their discus are very expensive. Somethingsphishy website is one I was looking at, but very odd. Their prices are very high for some of the more common cichlids, but some prices on their discus are cheap! I can't figure that one out!:hmm: Thanks for any advice!