Cheap discus!

[delmore]

In the last 6 month there were some threads regarding the merrits of buying inexpensive discus - the type of discus that most breeders would have culled. Some of them were $10, probably less than the cost to raise them to 3".

How did they work out? Please mention:

*What are you feeding them?
*What are your water changes - frequencey amount
*pH
*temp.
*Do you use RO water or change the hardness/pH of the water? *What other fish are in the tank and what size tank?
*size of the tank

 

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by delmore
....inexpensive discus - the type of discus that most breeders would have culled. ....

That part of your post made me take notice....
Some would say it is not good keep "culled" Discus as they most likely have defects such as oval shaped, not a true round shape, runts, etc.. They would continue and mention it's not good to perpetuate 'flawed' or deformed Discus.

I have seen this discussion at another website devoted to Discus keeping and breeding. I don't have much opinion on keeping culled fish, but some totally despise the thought of it....

Just a thought... Now back to the topic....

 

[delmore]

There was a big discussion on this. I would hope the only "defect" was color.

I think it is intriguing that some folks have purchased discus for around $10, and have kept them in community tanks.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the most common reason for culling fish is the color not being desirable. Deformed fish are less common.

 

[Cearbhaill]

I think it is intriguing that some folks have purchased discus for around $10, and have kept them in community tanks.

That would be me, and I am very happy with them. Not show quality I'm sure but they look mighty fine to me.

*What are you feeding them?
Live blackworms, frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, frozen Wattley Formula, frozen Ocean Nutrition #1, spirulina wafers, Tetra Color Bits, New Life Spectrum dry.

*What are your water changes - frequencey amount
I change 25% once per week

*pH
Neighborhood of 7.2

*temp.
85ºF

*Do you use RO water or change the hardness/pH of the water?
No but I do age and aerate the water- it's naturally pH 7.2 and around 3-4 KH.

*What other fish are in the tank and what size tank?
90g tank also contains Cardinal Tetras, Diamond Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Cories, Farlowellas, Otocinclus, and Ghost shrimp.

 

[vance]

i want to get some discus. the prices are pretty steep but if the ones you got look good id be interested. where did you get them from?

 

[Cearbhaill]

You talkin' to me ?
I got mine on Aquabid

 

[PumaWard]

I got my two discus ($10/ea.) from a local pet shop. They aren't the greatest looking discus as of right now, but one's only 2'' while the others 2.5'', so I will have to give them some time before I decide on their quality.

I've had so many problems keeping discus (and lost much money) that I won't pay over $15 until I have more experience under my belt with these fish. I spent $25/ea. on my first pair(one lived 6months however) , and on another one, then another pair, then $110 for 10 babies. Granted they all died because of my mistakes, but the 2 I have now ate dry food within 3 hours after being released. One got over ich within a day and now both are happy and healthy. They've taken lessens after my angels in begging even .

Anyway, in my opinion, a first timers goal shouldn't be to have "perfectly shaped/colored/sized" discus, it should be keeping happy healthy ones. You can't worry about the other qualities when you don't even know if you can keep them alive. The other thing is that some people love the fish but can't afford the ones displayed online, so the cheaper, less than perfect ones are a great alternative. Not to mention you can save the poor things from the evil pet store .

 

[PumaWard]

Also,

I have them in my (overstocked ) 38g with 3 angelfish, 8 glowlights, 3 kuhlis, 4 otos, 2 kribensis, and 1 A. staecki. It's a heavily planted tank and I'm going to do 2 water changes a week, but thats to more or less promote growth. I add 1g peat filtered water after every 25% water change to keep my ph lower (tap 7.8) to around 7.3. My water hardness is ~6 degrees kH and 8-9 degrees gH. Besides flakes I feed crushed shrimp pellets, freeze dried tubifex, freeze dried krill, frozen brine, brine flakes, and hopefully soon some Sera Discus pellets or Hikari cichlid pellets and frozen bloodworms. Temp stays between 84-86F.

(sorry, didn't answer all the questions )

 

[Captain Hook]

Do you have to keep discus at really high temps like 85? What about a little lower, say 79-81?

 

[JesseJ]

The higher temp is what they are used to. That's close to their natural habitat is. They will probibly survive in cooler water but you'll need to keep a close eye on them. The stress from the temp difference could cause other problems.