Discus Fever

[Gnome]

to all discus experts,
I need some info about discus, like how big will they get, water parameter, suitable tank, food, breeding, temperament, where they come from, discus variety, all those little things, suddenly I got this fever after looking all those discus tanks on AGA 2002...do you know a good site about discus and some discus pics...Thanks.

 

[Vyache]

Sounds like you are ready to buy a book! There is a pretty good one called Discus Fish by Thomas A. Giovanetti, available at most big book stores such as Barnes and Noble. It's got a great section on filtration and water chemistry (pH and Hardness) that I would recomend for any fish keeper.

 

[Gnome]

Ic Thanks Vyache
do you keep discus in your tank?

 

[luvfishies]

www.simplydiscus.com

http://www.xs4all.nl/~fvdhart/english/eindex.htm

http://www.discusobsession.com/index1.html

 

[Gnome]

Thanks Luv,
that's very informative links.

btw I read that discus is very sensitive to vibrations, I'm thinking about getting a tank in my living room but there is a sound system 150watt w/ 5 speakers and a subwoofer, will it be a problem?

also I read somewhere that discus can't tolerate even the slightest nitrates so how you and other aquarist manage to have beautiful and lush planted tanks when there is almost no/none nitrates (the recommended level of nitrates is 5 to 15ppm for planted tank right?) and since you have to change the water at least twice a week?

and I have a problem w/ hard water since they like soft water( 0-3 dGH) I have 6 dGH tap water also I have a problem in reducing the hardness in my 15 gallon tank(8-9 dGH) how to solve this problem..is it ok if I keep them w/ that high GH? ...help please...

 

[RedTurquoise]

Relax Gnome! Discus are not as 'difficult' as most people make them sound!

Here is my discus 'setup'! At the moment I'm growing out some babies in my 30G! It is a bare bottom meaning there is nothing in it. THe water parameters are 7.6ph, 100kh and gh! I do 50% water changes daily and feed 5x times a day (that is why the massive water changes). I only use my tap water and age it for at least 24 hours preheating and aerating.

I also have a planted tank with discus, water parameters being 7.2ph (CO2 injection), 140gh and kh! I do weekly 30% water changes.

My advice to anyone wanting discus is do not mess with your water chemistry! Stress and disease stem from varying water parameters such as ph, temp, hardness! The next important factor is clean water meaning 0 ammonia/nitrites and nitrates below 20ppm!

Only if you are attempting to breed must you be concerned about hardness!

 

[Gnome]

Hi red, long time no see...
how big are the babies now?
how many are them?
did you get them from breeding your discus pair?
have you ever lost a discus before?

Well next year, I'm planning to keep a discus/pair in 20 gallon tank but I don't know which type will be good (is it 20G 20H G, or 20XH G?)
Thanks.

 

[sraiss8210]

i was thinking about someday keeping discus once i become more experienced in the hobby, but my tap water is 8.0ph! but the water in my 29 gal community tank is about 7.6. this is probably too hard for discus, huh? i bought a book on discus called "back to nature". it has a lot of great pictures, i could look at it for hours!

btw luvfishies i love your 55g discus tank! i would love to have something like that someday.

 

[Gnome]

Why don't you try to lower that down w/ CO2?

 

[RedTurquoise]

Hi Gnome,
The babies are coming along. Most of them are around 2.5" with the largest being over 3". I actually sold 3 of them so far but Im not ready to sellt the rest yet. I have 8 left. The smallest, the runt, developed hex and he stopped eating. The poor little guy would not eat for 3-4 weeks. He did die from lack of food. Total discus that died now is 5. Live and learn. My first experience with hex.

With getting a tank, remember that surface area is very important as this will help with gas exchange. Especially with discus who can take the heat, this gas exchange becomes very important. Since one of the babies developed hex, Im treating the whole tank. Hex dies at temp of 94F so for 10 days in tank will be at 94F.

sraiss,
I recommend you visit simplydiscus and pm Pascal. She lives in Austrailia and her water is very hard. Again, like I mentioned before, discus can live in hard water with high ph's. I have heard of people keeping discus in 8.5ph water. They do fine. Consistancy is the most important.

 

[Gnome]

Gas exchange? you mean O2 exchange?
so which one is the best for discus for 20 gallon tank..the one w/ a most open surface area or the least open surface area?
Thanks.

 

[RedTurquoise]

Gas exchange is dissapation of C02 and introduction of 02! The tank with the largest surface area will give more gas exchange.

 

[-Joe-]

ronrca....long time no see! glad to hear you got into discus. i'm startin to pick it back up but i've got my eye on another tank.....120 planted btw this is discusaquarium.....i just changed the name cos it got old

 

[RedTurquoise]

Hi Joe! Welcome back and its good to hear from you again! How are your discus doing?

Im really getting into discus I guess! My wife would say Im nuts about discus! End of August I was lucky to purchase 12 1.5" red turqs from Toronto that Im growing out now. At the moment, I'm designing and planning to build a rack system for about 6 tanks with automatic wc's. I building the first tank as we speak and will slowly build 5 more over the next few weeks. Then I will be ready to purchase more discus and hopefully get a few pairs to breed myself.

So how are you doing?

 

[Gnome]

red, how big are your discus babies now?
do they form a mated pairs yet?
how long does it take?

I'm thinking about getting 30 gallon tank and 3 discus,
but I'm still confused about how big should I get the discus? I'm afraid they are too big already to form a pair!