Personal experiences/tips on keeping Discus

clean warm water..lots of water changes!keep your PH low or same as the lfs where you buy...Hardest fish Ive ever kept,I find saltwater way easier.But discus are beautiful fish and fun to watch,read read read and have fun! Good luck to ya!
 
Discus can be tricky sometimes, sometimes not. I think a lot has to do with the quality of the fish. They like warm soft water with a low ph. Good filtration but low current. They do better in a dimly lit tank and with cover like floating plants. If you want tankmates calm ones are best. They can be slow to get to food so can be out competed in that. The biggest thing is the water quality. Young fish need a lot of meaty foods fed often so they need a lot of water changes. Daily to every other day 50% or more. As they get older they eat less but it is still meaty foods. 2 or 3 water changes of 50% or more is recommened, thou some people get away with less.
 
I highly recommend a bare bottom tank if you are going to get juveniles. I started with just a thin layer of pool filter sand & within 2 weeks removed it. You need to feed them often & they poo A LOT. Daily or at least every other day water changes.

Also a group of 6 would be a good minimum, discus are schoolers & need several to displace the aggression. Or a mated pair. Allow 10 gallons per adult discus.

There a couple good discus hobbyists in Oz from what I've read on simplydiscus, Rod & Darrel, good healthy fish make things much easier.
 
Awesome thanks for the replies.
discus might be a fish to look forward to, I might be too newbie for them yet.
I am having success with my angels, maybe them first :)
I have only been into this hobby for 2 months, and have bought 6 second hand tanks. 6ft one yesterday.Totally addicted, but the fish well being come first, so Discus will be a goal. Lots of platys, lol as still much to learn.
I love this forum!
 
Dont listen to people about daily water changes....that is absurd. Who the hell wants a fish that you have to do a water change everyday?? Every thread I read about discus on this forum you get these people that apparently have nothing better to do than hook up the python and change water. Dont overstock your tank, run good filtration and dont overfeed. I follow those guidelines and only change 50-70% once a week...sometimes i will even go two weeks....the fish are fine and happy.
 
juvies will require more waterchanges than adults since they can stunt easily, so many people do the daily waterchanges while discus are in their juvie stage to prevent this stunting and allow themselves to stuff the guts of these fish so they grow to potential without buggering up the water quality...

barebottom tanks are the easiest to get clean and if you want awesome discus i would recommend heavy waterchanges and heavy feeding(that is if you are buying juvies)... if you are buying adults.. you can feed lighter and do less waterchanges

but then again it is up to you about how you hope your fish turn out
 
Heavy water changes are driven by the amount of feedings. This thought process that discus require massive water comes from breeders that have large numbers of discus. There is no way to keep alrge numbers of discus healthy in a hatchery without significant water chagnes.

As long as your tank is not way overstocked and you're not feeding them every time you walk by the tank, you'll be fine. 6 discus in a 55 gallon tank will do great on 3 to four feedings a day and a 90% weekly water change. As mentioned above, over filter the tank and supply plenty of air.

Another thing that was mentioned above is quality stock. Be sure that you get excellent quality, healthy discus to start with. Without good stock, you're going to have problems.

Hope that helps!
 
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