question for the discus keepers

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april_tiffany

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Jul 21, 2005
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I am not new to the aquarium hobby by any means, but this is my first time doing discus. I have researched extensively and I only have one remaining question. If I am keeping discus with other fish (I plan to have a school of cardinals and some cory cats), is it better to add the discus first, last, or at the same time? It is a 75 gallon planted tank, well established but with no current residents.
 

PumaWard

In loving memory of Meeko
Jul 23, 2003
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Get the discus first, and quarentine them in that tank for at least 3 weeks. Allow them to get established well. Then add your other fish. Be sure to quarentine them at least 4 weeks, as quarentine of all fish is vital in a discus tank.

HTH
 

NatakuTseng

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts
Jan 3, 2004
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cichliddomain.com
You need to quarantine all of the fish before adding them. Do the discus first, then I would suggest the cories, and then finally the cardinals. All a month inbetween for adaquate Q time. Read over the article i have in my signature as well. If you have any questions give Puma or myself a PM and we will be happy to help, we both are very expirienced with keeping discus.
 

april_tiffany

AC Members
Jul 21, 2005
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Thanks for the advice! I've been reading, reading, reading, and more reading. I get back from a vacation the first week in august and am gonna go ahead and buy my discus then. Cross your fingers!
 

davesanchez

exoticfishfactory.com
Hi they’re congrats on taking the plunge with Discus. My suggestion would be to get tank bred Cardinals and Cory cats. Discus are not as difficult to keep as you may hear as long as you keep them clean. Meaning not to expose them to parasites they may get from other fish. My suggestion is to get tank bred cardinals and Cory Cats. Even with them you will still need to quarantine them but you stand a far better chance of success. Also get your Discus if you can from a reputable breeder. Especially a local one. Discus are not difficult to breed and if you do a search on the Internet you will find many , many breeders out there. There are bound to be a local source. If you cant then a reputable breeder is your next best choice. Pet shop Discus I do not recommend. Most people who fail with Discus do so because they began with sick fish to begin with.

Dave
 

april_tiffany

AC Members
Jul 21, 2005
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Dallas Discus is the only local breeder I could contact. I saw there was another breeder (exotic aquatics maybe?) but I couldn't find contact info online. I definitely want local grown since the stuff out of our faucet is practically gravel. I'm thinking 1/2 RO and 1/2 tap, but I would do more discussion w/ the breeder as well. Any other breeder recommendations for DFW breeder?
 

PumaWard

In loving memory of Meeko
Jul 23, 2003
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Water perameters aren't very important except when you want to breed. Don't worry about buying locally, but Dallas isn't a bad place. There are no local discus hatcheries or importers near me, I have to get everything shipped. It isn't that big of a deal. Excellent sources for discus are:

http://greatlakesdiscus.com
Http://discusfarm.us
http://sunrisetropicals.com
http://chuckbam.com/DragonFish/dragondiscus.htm
http://www.gulfcoastdiscus.com


Also, just out http://discusasahobby.com and go into the for sale section.

HTH
 

dave76

Home Zookeeper in Training....
May 13, 2003
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Midlothian, TX
dodaniel.tripod.com
April, you might try pet village in duncanville. they dont have the widest selection of discus but I can attest to the fact that the ones they have are in good health and they have had them for a long time. The owner is down to earth and will work with you on prices. I got three bolivan rams from him last week. He had them marked as 11.99 apiece but I got all three for $25. They use a half. Its a great store if you want directions PM me.
 

NatakuTseng

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts
Jan 3, 2004
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cichliddomain.com
Avoid any LFS discus unless you know exactly where they get them, I don't care how healthy they look. In the end there is a very high chance you will have problems with them. With Discus you pay for what you get, and you need to look long and hard into the reputation of the places your getting them from and get good solid advice from people that keep the fish. If you really are serious about getting into discus visit http://www.discusasahobby.com and start asking questions. There are many breeders and importers that are constantly on the board to help. Aquaria central is not the place to be getting good info about discus. There are very few of us that know what there is to know about discus, and many people that think they know what they are talking about when they don't.

Keeping discus is not hard, but you need to have the ambition and desire to give them the things they do need.

Dave, your right Discus are not hard to breed. However what you failed to mention is that raising quality fish from egg to sellable fish is not an easy task. It takes a lot of time, effort, and extremely good knowledge of the fish, as well as the ability to get input from others who know the fish even better than you. Discus are a totally different animal when it comes to raising fry than 99% of the other cichlids out there.

As to the tank raised tank mates suggestion, you will not encounter anymore problems with wild caught cardinals or cories for that matter if you follow the correct Quarantine proceedures, which you should be doing no matter the source of the fish.
 
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