oh, 80gJoe I have a ?

[Skittyfish]

Please tell me at what water parameters you keep your Discus? I am really, really, really thinking about getting 3-4, just as soon as I get my CO2 going and get my tank stabilized.

What temp? What ph, kh, ....?

TIA

[NJ Devils Fan]

I can help you with temp, but that's about it. His temp is 86 since that's how warm it has to be for the discus. The p.h is acidic, around 6.4ish. I am pretty sure that is what he has said in the past.

[Fishiebusiness]

I'm sure if you kept a discus at 82, it wouldnt keel over and die.

[thom336]

the water for discus should idealy be 80% RO water, mixed with 20% dechlorinated tap water. alot of discus keepers change up to 10% of the water daily. The ideal parameters for discus are....
pH 6.5 - 7
GH 8 - 12
KH 6 - 8
30C/86F
Those are the conditions that you should aim for, as discus are very 'picky' about their water conditions.

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by Fishiebusiness
I'm sure if you kept a discus at 82, it wouldnt keel over and die. Discus need to be kept above 82 degrees. For me, 84 is the lowest, 87 is on the high side. I have 2 heaters, it's good for the tank size, as well as good in case one fails.

What sized tank do you have?

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by thom336
the water for discus should idealy be 80% RO water, mixed with 20% dechlorinated tap water. alot of discus keepers change up to 10% of the water daily. The ideal parameters for discus are....
pH 6.5 - 7
GH 8 - 12
KH 6 - 8
30C/86F
Those are the conditions that you should aim for, as discus are very 'picky' about their water conditions. Also, you should add Kent's R/O Right and Kent's Discus Essential. There are similar products out there, but those are what I'm using. :) They love their Tetra Color Bits and a variety of frozen (thawed when feeding) foods..

[125gJoe]

And, I should add, they are nice looking fishes.. :)

http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL59/715239/1597696/18743023.jpg
http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL59/715239/1597696/18742998.jpg
http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL59/715239/1597696/18742968.jpg

[slipknottin]

Originally posted by thom336
alot of discus keepers change up to 10% of the water daily.

Many discus keepers change quite a bit more than that daily. Jack Wattley changes 40% of the water in his discus system daily. He recommends two 25% water changes weekly.

[Skittyfish]

They will go in my 72 g. I know that I will have to trade in my ottos, and probably the cory (he's rather fast). So, there will be one Angel, maybe the 5 Serpae and 5 Head and Tail Lights, (they are getting rather old), and maybe some more clown loaches. I have soft water (right now kh is 2, and ghis 4). Ph is all over right now. I have an Eheim Pro II 2026, and an Aquaclear 402 powerhead w/ quickfilter (going to add CO2 DIY reactor to the output of it), also use HOT Magnum after 50% weekly water changes. (no RO/DI though). I do have Black Water Expert, if needed, and live brine shrimp to feed them, plan on getting a beefheart and fixing it to freeze. Hmm anything else?

[thom336]

and John Smith recommends 2% a year...but then his never been able 2 keep a fish alive for any great length of time.

[jiggerpolebill]

Those are the conditions that you should aim for, as discus are very 'picky' about their water conditions.

i thought discus were very picky about water quality. ive never kept them or looked into keeping them, but all our LFS's have restrictions and disclaimers regarding the discus sales.

john smith kept discus??!! wow! he really was a great pioneer! i wonder what size of tank he and pocahontas kept?

[NJ Devils Fan]

jiggerpolebill, thats what he said, they are very picky about their water conditions.

[125gJoe]

Getting and using R/O water certainly seems to help, but I'm not sure it's a requirement. Ph's of 7 and lower are good. Higher temps are needed. Weekly (at least), water changes are needed and 30% to 50% is fine..

They'll eat most all foods, Beefheart, BloodWorms, Brine, Tetra Color Bits, other flake food..

And, a good diatom filter used after water changes is nice..

With that, what is the pickyness degree? I'd mention, not nearly as complicated as a saltwater set-up. Before getting Discus they seemed to have a mysterious and complex way of keeping them...

:)

[jiggerpolebill]

thats the way the lfs here makes them out to be. they make it seem that its near impossible to ever get the water quality perfect for them and, even if you do, that you'd never be able to maintain it.

[goldfish freak]

There are alot of myths when it comes to keeping discus.

[thom336]

jigger...sounds to me like your lfs is talking itself out of sales there....

[125gJoe]

I counted 10 LFS's and none had quality Discus. Only recently did one of them carry decent Discus. Another store mentioned he can't keep them in stock... I've noticed this over about a years time visiting different stores here.

[Skittyfish]

"IF" I decideto go with Discus I will either have to go to Pets**** or have a LFS order them for me. The only problem I have with getting them ordered here is that I really won't know what I am getting until they come in. But I can't afford to go online and order them because of the shipping cost involved (2 hour drive to the nearest airport).

I have to get my CO2 going and get my pH stable first. Right now I am slowly raising my KH from 1.2 d/kh to at least 3. I only at 2.23 d/kh at the moment. Hopefully I will get all the parts in this week and will have it up and running by next weekend at the latest.