Discus

[discusaquarium]

Hey all, is there anyone out there who keeps Discus? I haven't seen many Discus people out there. Come on out guys! Just tryin to get a Discus thread going here to get some ideas for my tank, I think I'm going to re-do it, i need to add more plants to it. Oh well, drop me a line if ya'll want to.
Joe - discusaquarium
http://www.geocities.com/discus_aquarium

 

[Bettaman shane]

luv your site i want to start a discus tank one day ;D

 

[ronrca]

Very good and informative site. I think that I will go into discus someday also. My lfs has some baby discus.

 

[ronrca]

Would discus do good with tiger barbs? or gouramis?

 

[discusaquarium]

eh, maybe. it depends how agressive your tiger barbs and or gouramis are. If they pick on the Discus then it will not be a happy situation in the tank, if you have any doubt, try it, just be careful. It all depends on the fish, just keep in mind that Discus want to be the OWNER of that tank.
Joe

 

[ronrca]

Well, right now I have a 30G with 5 Tiger Barbs, 10 neons and 2 Blue Rams. The rams are the boss in that tank. I have a 90G that I am just cycling (hope to be done in a couple of weeks) that I might put some discus in. I thought that I would start with 2 plus 10 neons,15 barbs, 4 Pearl Gouramis, maybe some dwarf gouramis, all which are babies. The temp is 80F. Would you recommend it? What about the temp? Is that too cold for discus?

 

[discusaquarium]

the temp is a little low, but if you could push up a few degrees depending on plants and such, then go ahead. 82F is a good temp to be at. Everything sounds great to me,...go for it man!
Joe

 

[clothahump]

Dicusaquarium, how come all the so called experts reccomend you put in a small shoal of discus, to stop them fighting, is it the same as bettas hundreds in one tank will not fight because they do not know who to pick on first. 8)

 

[discusaquarium]

Generally there will be a dominant Discus in the tank or maybe a pair/couple, and then there will be the bottom of the line. Its like a heirarchy basically, the biggest are usually the most dominant and get first choice on food, but the others still get plenty of food. This will happen if you have 3 Discus or 300, there will be a dominant fish in the tank, but it will not be severe, i mean, its nothing ever harmful.  8)

 

[discusaquarium]

lol some can be quite expensive, but they are well worth it. almost any planted tank that has a little higher temp. can handle them so yeah, maybe someday...lol
Joe

 

[clothahump]

Ronrca, personally I would not even dream of putting barbs in with discus, unless you have got money to waste.
They would probably terrorise the discus nipping fins etc.
If you do decide on discus there is a really good book available: Discus in the community aquarium by Bernd Degen.
Read this first and save yourself a lot of money and heart ache. 8)

 

[discusaquarium]

well put. lol ;D

 

[ryanp15]

Barbs wiht discus??? I wouldn't think so. ;D

 

[discusaquarium]

What kinds of fish do you all have? I have a bunch of Discus, cardinals, cories, redeyes, silvertips, ummmm ottos,(cant seem to find any SAE's), and god knows how many plants. Planted tanks are so much more appealing than the plastic plants....just my opinion though... Joe

 

[ryanp15]

I have flagfish and corys. I also have some plecos. I just started a planted tank and I have always had plastic but now I will never go back to it. ;D I love thes plants.

 

[ronrca]

I guess I'll have to leave the barbs out! No big deal! I went to PJ's petstore on Friday and checked out the discus they had. The prices knocked me out! They had a full grown Wild Heckel something and also another kind for $150 each  :'( :'(! > There;s no way Im buying a fish for $150 dollars. My lfs has some baby discus and I'll have to check out how much he wants. I might just have to stick with the barbs until I win the lottery!   :

 

[clothahump]

When you win the lottery, do not purchase discus under 2", they will seem cheap, but are more trouble than they are worth.
I would suggest 3" as a good size to start with, they will cost you more, but will be slightly easier to care for. 8)

 

[discusaquarium]

I would buy at about that size too, maybe @ about 2.5". If you buy them smaller, they will adapt to water conditions better and will not be picky eaters. It's half the fun raising them yourself. I don't think you will really be able to find anything under 2" unless you go to a breeder, which i would reccomend, they are much cheaper and are usually a hell of a lot cheaper too. Heckels are pretty, but they require more work because they are the true wilds. I'd look for a domesticated breed first, then if you like the Discus enough, get some Heckels. Blue turqs and red turqs are the easiest to grow and breed...just thought i'd add that. It really depends where you get the fish from though...hope i covered everything lol
Joe

 

[ryanp15]

I went across the border today into Indiana and found a discus for $40. That's not bad but way to much for me! I can't see paying that much for a fish. I will when I have the money someday. I will be rich and not so famous. ;D Good luck huh I will just have to wait. ;D

 

[ronrca]

I would pay up to $30 right now. Umm, my wife will let me buy a fish up to $30 ! Therefore I dont have much choice. I love buying baby fish because then I can see them grow and also I can enjoy them longer.