I thought i was ready to purchase some discus for my 125 gallon tank but now i am really confused. I am reading that they need an advanced level of care. On live aquaria, i have the right temp in the tank at 78, ph of 7.0, but as of kh i never heard of that so can somebody clue me in... I have in the tank now, 1 male angel, rams, corys, platies, and tetras, so i am sure they will be compatible. If anybody has discus experience could you fill me in on what kind of care they will need compared to my other fish...Thanks
Interested In getting discus but really need some info
- Thread starter Hagermanfd
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Lupin
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- Sep 21, 2006
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- Paul
What you need is doing plenty of water changes. Thrice a week of 40-50% will satisfy them and is much better than weekly. Increase the temperature to 84-86 degrees Fahrenheit only making sure your cories and tetras will tolerate it. What species are the cories and tetras?
Always buy the discus from your local breeders, not the pet stores. Their quality is far better with the breeders than the pet stores. Who knows where the pet stores obtain their stocks. If the water conditions of the discus initially are close to yours, you should have no problems acclimating them. They are quite hardy, contrary to beliefs, however, they must never be neglected in terms of water conditions and tank maintenance as they are still rather vulnerable to various diseases and prone to stress.
Always buy the discus from your local breeders, not the pet stores. Their quality is far better with the breeders than the pet stores. Who knows where the pet stores obtain their stocks. If the water conditions of the discus initially are close to yours, you should have no problems acclimating them. They are quite hardy, contrary to beliefs, however, they must never be neglected in terms of water conditions and tank maintenance as they are still rather vulnerable to various diseases and prone to stress.
www.simplydiscus.com
I did some investigation as well. This site has all the info you could ask for.
I did some investigation as well. This site has all the info you could ask for.
for your first discus go with a larger adult 3.4" + not a young fish 2"and less as the adults are no as delicate as a young one. You water should be soft which is what KH tests are for.
with older discus they can adjust to your water conditions and are not as needy it over all care.
read theses threads :http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=46982
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=33300
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=28937
These will give you an idea as to what you are getting into with the King of The Aquarium
with older discus they can adjust to your water conditions and are not as needy it over all care.
read theses threads :http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=46982
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=33300
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=28937
These will give you an idea as to what you are getting into with the King of The Aquarium
:iagree: Some good advice already given! Don't worry about changing ph or hardness of water. Keeping things stable and clean water is of utmost importance. My discus are kept 83-86, ph 7.6, conditioned municipal water and they are doing great. Have two spawning pairs in the show tank producing wrigglers.
actually i find the young discus more able to adapt to shipping etc.
with young discus you need to feed freequently and remove the uneaten food. this si one reason for several water changes per week.
as they mature you won't need to change water as frequently I do 2 per week with 40% changes at each water change, mine are in a planted tank.
you will need to be leary of tank mates. many of the species don't fare as well in this warm water. the rams and angel should be ok but you need to be aware of mixing the angel with discus. if the angel is older it may out compete the discus and the discus may be shy when first introduced to you tank.
you shoult Qt your discus for at least 1 month before adding to the main tank.
I don;t believe discus are as frail as many would have you believe and with proper care they should be fine.
with pH7(neutral) the water you have should be fine.
kH is carbonate hardness. it is a measure used to determine how much carbonte hardness yourwater has. it is a tell tale sign of how stable the water will remain.
with young discus you need to feed freequently and remove the uneaten food. this si one reason for several water changes per week.
as they mature you won't need to change water as frequently I do 2 per week with 40% changes at each water change, mine are in a planted tank.
you will need to be leary of tank mates. many of the species don't fare as well in this warm water. the rams and angel should be ok but you need to be aware of mixing the angel with discus. if the angel is older it may out compete the discus and the discus may be shy when first introduced to you tank.
you shoult Qt your discus for at least 1 month before adding to the main tank.
I don;t believe discus are as frail as many would have you believe and with proper care they should be fine.
with pH7(neutral) the water you have should be fine.
kH is carbonate hardness. it is a measure used to determine how much carbonte hardness yourwater has. it is a tell tale sign of how stable the water will remain.
Smaller fish ship better, regardless of whether it's discus or not, and adapt better. To say older, larger fish adapt better and are less needy is wrong.
Also, they do NOT need to be kept at high temps unless you're breeding them and they do NOT need to be kept by themselves. Any peaceful community fish that doesn't nip fins other than algae eaters and possibly otos are good candidates for tank mates for discus.
Also, they do NOT need to be kept at high temps unless you're breeding them and they do NOT need to be kept by themselves. Any peaceful community fish that doesn't nip fins other than algae eaters and possibly otos are good candidates for tank mates for discus.
good advice all around, i will look into getting some adults at first and see how that goes, about the water changes, they say 50% a day, but that seems like a lot to me, wouldn't that take out the beneficial bacteria, cloud my water and say stress the fish if i do this everyday? In my 55 galllon i do water changes prob. 20-30% every sunday and all my fish are just fine, parameters are great, and such but it just seems like discus are a bit more work if i am not mistaken, correct?
large water changes will have little effect on the benficial bacteria..most of those reside on objects and in the filter .yes discus tend to be a bit more work..they thrive in clean water..if you get adults they can get by on smaller water changes but you need to do more than 1 per week.
how many depends partly on bioload of the tank.
I have 7 with an angel and a couple rams in a 75..this tank gets 2 40% changes per week. the discus will get use to it..and any stress from the water change far out weighs stress due to poor water.