discus questions

joander123

joander123

what a fruitcake
Jan 12, 2007
1,034
0
0
Massachusetts
hey guys, im working on setting up a discus tank, i have never had discus before but i am wowed but their colors and looks. I do have a few worries however.....

1. I have read MANY articles and even books on the fish, and the overall fiew is that they are very hard to keep alive especially when under 4 inches, is this true and if so how can i make sure that mine will stay alive?

2. Is a 115g large enough to house discus? I believe it is but want to double check.

3. I know that discus need very clean water, i would plan to do weekly 20 % water changes as well as running a magnum 350 canister filter, along with 2 BIO-wheel 350s. Is this filtration adequate enough?

4. This fourth question here is a big question mark for me. It involves tank mates for discus. I have heard many different types of tank mates, but overall it seems nothing agressive, which would make sense. I have seen that people keep there discus with neons, i would have no problem doing this, but i have read in different places that even though the discus may appear very docile, the neons are too small and would eventually temp the discus to much and end up as lunch. Is this true? What other types of tetras go well with discus? I have a smaller schools of serpaes in one of my tanks right now and i think the colors go great with the discus, i have heard people say that serpaes are nippy, however mine dont seem to nip very much at all, maybe a little but between themselves and a pesky red tailed shark only. Would they be suitable? Also, i was thinking about some snails, to help keep down the nitrates? Im sure corys would be fine they never do much harm but my final question is i have a black ghostknife who is fastly outgrowing his 55g, would he be ok in here? i've never seen him be agressive towards any fish and i have watched him for endless hours at night. If it would put the discus in danger i would leave him out but i would like to have him in if possible.

Thanks for all the help its very much appreciated. 8)

Jay
 
1. ushually its discus under 3 inches. they are seseptable to the growth due to the tempature.if you want to highten the survival rate when you acclimate.. turn up your heaters to about 85 and dont turn on the lights for a week. garlic elixir also helps bood imunes systems.

2. that tank size is good for about 4 full grown discus

3. neons are often to smalll but many people do have them.. its really turns out to be a hit or miss. serapae and ghost knifes can go into the tank.. just keep an eye out on them.



search the forums on discus an youll get a wad of info...




sorry for the spelling
 
I would also look for fish that can tolerate the temperatures Discus prefer (my mistake when I got Discus)

I thought about German Blue Rams as tank mates,but many people feel they can be hard to care for too!

Good luck,,I too love the Discus's looks
 
cardinal tetras black neons can tolerate the higher temps..
I keep mine in water at least 84.

for young discus it is best to keep them inj a bare bottom tank..if you want plants use potted. water should be changed daily but you can get by with 3-4X weekly with young discus(they should be fed several times per day so it' easiest to maintain water with water changes.
domestic discus are not hard to keep..I raised some from 1-1.5" others were less than 2" last year.

keep the water clean with lots of water changes. I still do 2-3 pwc each week ..the tank will get at least 100% wc per week. my smallest water change is 30-40%...I don;t use aged water..but my water is usually around 6.8-7 pH kH 3-4 degrees

get a python water changer 30-40% changes are a breeze
in a 55 you can keep 5 adults several sub-adults(but you may need a larger tank later.)
 
ok, i will do more water changes 8)
another question, where do you guys get your discus? my lfs doesnt sell them because they say that they are to expensive and most people dont buy them, i could ask the to special order them for me but they would jack the price up real high, like im talking upwards of 150 for a 2.5 inch discus... i think i can do better than that right? Just wondering what you guys might think, i could order them online, but im still skeptical on that
 
I am probably somewhat of an anomaly on this board. My discus share their tank with two scalare angels, cardinal tetras, rummynoses, black neon tetras, two smallish clown loaches (not for long, as they're growing like weeds) and two corys.

I honestly don't think discus are hard to keep and over my time in the hobby (15+ years) have never lost any except to friends who just had to have some.

The biggest key, in my opinion, is water quality - Star-Rider's water change schedule is great. Make sure the water is warm enough, clean enough (the parameters are perfect) and changed often enough and your discus will be happy. A 115 gallon tank is plenty big enough for 6 fully-grown discus, IMO, so long as you're diligent about water quality.

Another key is feeding. Star again is right about feeding youngsters often. Also, search the forums for what posters here think about the appropriate foods and appropriate variety of foods. We don't all agree.

Last, but almost first, search the forum for quarantine procedures for new fish, or send Star a PM asking him about his (don't ask me about mine) and - and I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence or experience - make sure your tank is fully cycled and ready for your discus before you introduce your properly quarantined fish to their new home.

Finally, as to where to buy fish. I suggest that you do a Google search to see if there's a breeder in your area so that you can actually see the fish you might buy and get a chance to talk to the breeder about his/her fish. The breeder I found in my area also sells via internet, but I prefer picking out my fish in person. There are many reasons (mostly personal) for this, but in addition, seeing the quality of the fish, the quality of their environment, and getting some sense of what the priorities of the breeder are count a lot to me. Do some reading in books and on the net about how to select fish. Frankly, there's only one LFS I've ever been in where I would buy the discus they sell. There are lots of bad fish out there as I'm sure other discus people on this board would agree.
 
Sun Devil said:
I am probably somewhat of an anomaly on this board. My discus share their tank with two scalare angels, cardinal tetras, rummynoses, black neon tetras, two smallish clown loaches (not for long, as they're growing like weeds) and two corys.

I honestly don't think discus are hard to keep and over my time in the hobby (15+ years) have never lost any except to friends who just had to have some.

The biggest key, in my opinion, is water quality - Star-Rider's water change schedule is great. Make sure the water is warm enough, clean enough (the parameters are perfect) and changed often enough and your discus will be happy. A 115 gallon tank is plenty big enough for 6 fully-grown discus, IMO, so long as you're diligent about water quality.

Another key is feeding. Star again is right about feeding youngsters often. Also, search the forums for what posters here think about the appropriate foods and appropriate variety of foods. We don't all agree.

Last, but almost first, search the forum for quarantine procedures for new fish, or send Star a PM asking him about his (don't ask me about mine) and - and I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence or experience - make sure your tank is fully cycled and ready for your discus before you introduce your properly quarantined fish to their new home.

Finally, as to where to buy fish. I suggest that you do a Google search to see if there's a breeder in your area so that you can actually see the fish you might buy and get a chance to talk to the breeder about his/her fish. The breeder I found in my area also sells via internet, but I prefer picking out my fish in person. There are many reasons (mostly personal) for this, but in addition, seeing the quality of the fish, the quality of their environment, and getting some sense of what the priorities of the breeder are count a lot to me. Do some reading in books and on the net about how to select fish. Frankly, there's only one LFS I've ever been in where I would buy the discus they sell. There are lots of bad fish out there as I'm sure other discus people on this board would agree.
Click to expand...

an anomoly???LOL

I put a wild scalare in with my discus as there was no place to put him..he was hiding in a tank with other scalare..I saved him from near death as he was gettting into wild..and I mean wild fights with another male..angels..peaceful?? yeah..uhm..rrrright
I will say that you can put diescus with angels...but..and this is a big but...keep an eye on them..it has worked for me..but my discus are weird.
sundevil..I got the 4 pack from his own cobalt reds..he has a spawning pair that produce a tough discus
I'll see if I can muster a pic of him swimming with the discus

and yes..look to local breeders..

there are few LFS's where I would purchase discus..not after seeing them being raised by breeders

clean water is the biggie
you should see him now..swims with the discus and is happy as all get out..
 
ok, thank you sun devil, and star rider i have a question about water changes though. Star rider said to get one of the python changer systems which i could be wrong but its the one that connect directly to your sink for easy filling and draining? If so i dont completley understand how this works, i mean i understand how the water gets in and out of the tank, but i always condition my water before it goes into my tank?

Another question i would have is with the 6 discus, does that leave room for tank mates or just the discus? And also once they mature would a substrate be possible?

Thanks,
Jay
 
joander,
it's simple..when you condition water you normally condition the amount of water you are planning to add. since you are pre-conditioning the water.

with the python..you get the temp close and add enough conditioner to treat the volume of the tank..I use prime and for a 50 gal tank I would use 1 cap full, then add the water and conditioner at the same time.
in terms of your situation..you could add a few small target fish..and when the discus get to sub adult you can set the tank up the way you want..mine are in a planted tank.
to be honest..you can raise young discus in a planted tank..but the conditions aren't prime and you won't get large discus..in general.discus raised in a planted tank don't get as large as discus in a bb tank.
DKarc probably has large discus in prime conditions..discus can get quite large in the right set up.(very high quality food and very clean water)

this is not to say that discus in a planted tank are less healthy. mine are quite healthy but I doubt they will get much above 6"
 
ok, i guess that makes sense with the conditioning to just add the hole tank dosage never really thought of it like that.

I did run a few searches for discus hatcherys in my area and came up with NOTHING. I have only honestly ever seen one discus in a pet store, and a customer traded it in for a big old oscar. Im afraid i may have to buy online which i hate to do, but if its the only way its worth it. I have come across a few sites that i liked, one was called Kensdiscus.com and the other was SomethingsPhishy.com Has anyone ever ordered from either of these sites?

Jay
 
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