hi,m Macca from cairns ,Qld, hi I wonder if anyone can give me some advise, I am just about to fill a new 6ft tank, and put in six discus fish , fairly small, bred in the shop and keep together. I have not had much luck with these fish , i:dance: bought heaps ago and they starved themselves to death. Many thanks, Macc
Discus Question
- Thread starter macca
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First welcome to AC....next what are the water parameters of the tank...what will be your waterchange ritual. What other kinds of fish would you keeping w/ the discus, what kinds of food will you be keeping them. First your tank needs to be fully cycled before you think of putting discus in there...they are sensitive to ammonia, and nitrites especially. They prefer rather soft water, and can be kept in neutral to slightly basic water (7.0-7.6), but prefer more acidic water if you're planning on breeding them(5.0-6.0). Waterchanges need to be on average two 50-75% weekly. Water temp needs to be in the range of about 80-86. Tank mates need to be small and not pushy or fast moving as this will stress the discus out and cause them not to eat (cory catfish are excellet and most tetras are okay), but IMO (in my opinion) i prefer to keep them in a species only tank. Are you going planted or not? If no plants then may i suggest bare bottom for the simple fact that it is much easier to clean and get all the debris out that will cause ammonia build-up. I typically feed a wide variety of foods to my discus, from frozen brineshrimp, mysis, and beef heart to a high quality pellet food. I might also suggest keeping medication on hand for when you need it. Discus are prone to get certain types of parasite due to the slightest of stress. In a 6 ft tank you can keep more than 6 discus if you wanted, but keep in mind that they need about 10 gal (40L) of water per adult discus. Good Luck and let us know how things go, hope this helps some...i'm no expert but I have been keeping discus for a little over a year now with some success, there are many people on here that have been keeping them a lot longer than I...maybe they will respond with some added information for you.
good info.
there are many differing opinions on how to keep discus.
typically tank bred/domestic discus are pretty tough.
wilds on the other hand are a whole different ball game.
domestics can actually be kept in a pH of 8 but the gH should be less than 10(6-8 is better yet)
the bid thing is to keep the pH stable and to have 0 ammonai and 0 nitrites..keeping the nitrates <20 is also good..they can survive in higher nitrates but they may be subjected to stress.
they should also be kept in warm water for young discus the temp should be 84-90..yes 90..I keep my young discus at 86-88 tho(preference).
they do need to be fed frequently and a mixed diet(vtwin made good suggestions) clean all uneaten food asap..again daily water changes are best but at least 4-5 X per week.
I prefer to keep dithers with my discus..when you pick them out..pick out the most active feeders and the largest you can find in the tank.
I suggest finding a local breeder to have a better chance of strong stock.
there are many differing opinions on how to keep discus.
typically tank bred/domestic discus are pretty tough.
wilds on the other hand are a whole different ball game.
domestics can actually be kept in a pH of 8 but the gH should be less than 10(6-8 is better yet)
the bid thing is to keep the pH stable and to have 0 ammonai and 0 nitrites..keeping the nitrates <20 is also good..they can survive in higher nitrates but they may be subjected to stress.
they should also be kept in warm water for young discus the temp should be 84-90..yes 90..I keep my young discus at 86-88 tho(preference).
they do need to be fed frequently and a mixed diet(vtwin made good suggestions) clean all uneaten food asap..again daily water changes are best but at least 4-5 X per week.
I prefer to keep dithers with my discus..when you pick them out..pick out the most active feeders and the largest you can find in the tank.
I suggest finding a local breeder to have a better chance of strong stock.