Hello everyone.......I have a 55 gallon tank and I am debating Discus. I have a breeder about 5 miles from me and he has all sizes from 15 to 150 bucks. They look much better than the ones from the lfs. Are they as hard as I've heard? What can I put in the tank with them? I was thinking of Oscars but they get so large and can be messy. Do Discus have personalitys? thanks in advance for any input you may have.... 8)
Dare I Discus???????
- Thread starter confusedfishy
- Start date
Hi confusedfishy. Here's what's in my tank:-
6 Juvenile Discus, 8 Corydoras, 12 Cardinal Tetra, a Banjo Cat, a Gold Nugget Plec, and a Fighter (Betta).
Obviously I'm not trying to recreate their natural habitat, just get fish that are compatible.
Discus are NOT hard to keep. Think about it, they like the highest quality water so if you're doing a good job with any other tank(s) you have then you are providing the good conditions anyway! *thumbsupsmiley* They need (when small) to be fed regularly each day and with a wide range of foods. E.g. mine get Frozen Discus food for breakfast (b4 I go to work) and then get 2 or 3 meals of either Tetra Prima, Hikari Discus food, Frozen Bloodworm/Brine Shrimp/Discus Menu foods in the evening when I return.
If the local breeder has some, go and ask him How Hard Are They to keep. I'm sure he'll tell you the same. I was apprehensive at first, but remember there is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it! 8)
When you buy them, look for the one's that are prominent in the tank (and pay a little more if you have to to get them). Make sure they are quite broad in the face when seen head on and are generally plump, not drawn in the body or face. It's better to start with good strong specimens in the first place.
As for personalities, yes they do. But the best thing is to see them shoal! You've seen many other fish shoal but nothing is as impressive as a group of such large fish doing it! Mine do the locomotion around the tank every once in a while! They, like oscars also get to recognise your face at feeding time, but this does take a while.
Hope this helps, and you're in an enviable position having a breeder nearby to get your livestock from.
Best of luck! *celebratesmiley*
6 Juvenile Discus, 8 Corydoras, 12 Cardinal Tetra, a Banjo Cat, a Gold Nugget Plec, and a Fighter (Betta).
Obviously I'm not trying to recreate their natural habitat, just get fish that are compatible.
Discus are NOT hard to keep. Think about it, they like the highest quality water so if you're doing a good job with any other tank(s) you have then you are providing the good conditions anyway! *thumbsupsmiley* They need (when small) to be fed regularly each day and with a wide range of foods. E.g. mine get Frozen Discus food for breakfast (b4 I go to work) and then get 2 or 3 meals of either Tetra Prima, Hikari Discus food, Frozen Bloodworm/Brine Shrimp/Discus Menu foods in the evening when I return.
If the local breeder has some, go and ask him How Hard Are They to keep. I'm sure he'll tell you the same. I was apprehensive at first, but remember there is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it! 8)
When you buy them, look for the one's that are prominent in the tank (and pay a little more if you have to to get them). Make sure they are quite broad in the face when seen head on and are generally plump, not drawn in the body or face. It's better to start with good strong specimens in the first place.
As for personalities, yes they do. But the best thing is to see them shoal! You've seen many other fish shoal but nothing is as impressive as a group of such large fish doing it! Mine do the locomotion around the tank every once in a while! They, like oscars also get to recognise your face at feeding time, but this does take a while.
Hope this helps, and you're in an enviable position having a breeder nearby to get your livestock from.
Best of luck! *celebratesmiley*
*twirlysmiley* *twirlysmiley* *twirlysmiley* Many Many thanks ratbag. You have answered many questions for me. Do you ever wonder "IS THERE ANY BODY IN THERE"??? I didnt realize there was a whole catagory for discus until after I had posted here ??? Any way, I'm glad to hear they have personality and beauty, what more can you ask for??? I'm about to s#@!* to get my tank set up, cause I know it will be a while before I can put any fish in. Got my gravel, heater and background yesterday, but no plants yet. Is it ok to add them after I get the water and gravel in? Also, 55gal is as big as I'm gonna fit in my home, so how many Discus should I think of starting with. I know they can get pretty big. I also have 2 angels that I will be putting with them, and will also try to get some kind of cats. I really appreciate all the info *thumbsupsmiley*
My LFS advised that the tank should be very well matured (like 2-3 months) before adding my discus. Bear in mind bigger fish = More waste so the bacteria colonies must be well established to get anywhere near coping with the added bioload. I have 6 in a 30 gallon (Imp.Gal!) but they will probably need circa 50 Gal in the near future as they could grow to 7" diameter. I would say the bottom line with 2 angels is get only 4 or maybe 5 Discus. The reason being the chance of getting a breeding pair of Discus is not high, but with 5 you stand a much better chance than with 2 or 3!
The way I coped with the wait for the fish was to grin and bear the first 3 weeks and then add some Cardinals. After a month or so get some cory's, they're a cracking fish to watch! :
I didn't get the discus until the tank was setup 3 Months. BTW what's your filtration gonna be? I started with an internal but decided that I'd splash out on a canister for their tank as they also don't like a lot of current in the tank.
Also, how experienced a fishkeeper are you? I'm not greatly experienced but have read loads and have suffered many many mishaps in my short few months fishkeeping. That's why I was confident enough to try, I've treated with meds etc. and am happy to do so if the need arises and I have a knack of spotting changes in behaviour quite early on. I have a stressful day at work and come home to sit infront of the fish for an hour or so to "chill out" and make sure they're OK.
READTHIS!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812046692/qid=1028491845/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2
_1/002-4360621-3771210
It's a great book about every aspect of Discus and it's not a heavyweight, I read it in two evenings. It's a worthwhile investment.
The way I coped with the wait for the fish was to grin and bear the first 3 weeks and then add some Cardinals. After a month or so get some cory's, they're a cracking fish to watch! :
I didn't get the discus until the tank was setup 3 Months. BTW what's your filtration gonna be? I started with an internal but decided that I'd splash out on a canister for their tank as they also don't like a lot of current in the tank.Also, how experienced a fishkeeper are you? I'm not greatly experienced but have read loads and have suffered many many mishaps in my short few months fishkeeping. That's why I was confident enough to try, I've treated with meds etc. and am happy to do so if the need arises and I have a knack of spotting changes in behaviour quite early on. I have a stressful day at work and come home to sit infront of the fish for an hour or so to "chill out" and make sure they're OK.
READTHIS!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812046692/qid=1028491845/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2
_1/002-4360621-3771210
It's a great book about every aspect of Discus and it's not a heavyweight, I read it in two evenings. It's a worthwhile investment.
Sorry confusedfishy, just found your post in the intro section. (Emperor 400 filter). Don't have any experience of them (I'm in the UK and they don't seem to have crossed the water yet!) Can you put alternative filter media in it? It seems as tho it has only sponges. I would add (As I have) some of the Eheim/Fluval ceramic rings as they provide better nitrobacter development. And if your water is pretty hard (Mine is something like 17Gh (Comes out of the tap in chunks!!! *twirlysmiley*) then I'd add some peat moss too to try and soften the water.
If I was you I'd ask the breeder where you get them how he treats his water, and what he recommends.
As far as companions go, I keep mine with cardinal tetras, apitogrammas and ancistrus. This works well. Some people do ok with angels, some struggle with diesease, maybe that's due to water quality management. Discus are greedy, but slow feeders in my experience - other more active cichlids may or may not hassle the discus, but will probably outcompete with them for food and freak them out. Oscars etc. would be right out - too active, greedy.
Lots of people like to keep them with L number plecs - both enjoy warm, high quality water, but ideal L number involve much higher water flows than most discus can handle. My local LFS owner keeps a 250 with discus and zebra plecs, and they seem to get along, but he says he'll soon get rid of the discus and crank up the flow to breed the zebras.
As far as companions go, I keep mine with cardinal tetras, apitogrammas and ancistrus. This works well. Some people do ok with angels, some struggle with diesease, maybe that's due to water quality management. Discus are greedy, but slow feeders in my experience - other more active cichlids may or may not hassle the discus, but will probably outcompete with them for food and freak them out. Oscars etc. would be right out - too active, greedy.
Lots of people like to keep them with L number plecs - both enjoy warm, high quality water, but ideal L number involve much higher water flows than most discus can handle. My local LFS owner keeps a 250 with discus and zebra plecs, and they seem to get along, but he says he'll soon get rid of the discus and crank up the flow to breed the zebras.
;D Hi Wayne, you have raised some good points on the feeding side of things. Discus do get "Spooked" quite easily. I used a trick with the feeding in the first week or so (When they were less confident than they are now). Drop some food in for everyone but the discus (something they will eat like flakes or tetra prima) and a few minutes later drop in some frozen discus food as I've found that not only do the others not want to eat again so soon, but they also hate the Discus food and won't eat it.
So long as you start out with more agressive specimens when you buy your Discus, they'll fend off other fish and literally fight for their food anyway!
quite easily. I used a trick with the feeding in the first week or so (When they were less confident than they are now). Drop some food in for everyone but the discus (something they will eat like flakes or tetra prima) and a few minutes later drop in some frozen discus food as I've found that not only do the others not want to eat again so soon, but they also hate the Discus food and won't eat it.So long as you start out with more agressive specimens when you buy your Discus, they'll fend off other fish and literally fight for their food anyway!
Thanks for the info ratbag and wayne...As soon as I get time I will visit breeder and get as much info as possible, he also has books on discus for sale there. As for filtration, the emperor 400, the flow pump directs 400 gal per hour, has bio-wheels (2) has 2 refillable media containers and 2 emperor filter cartridges with black diamond activated carbon, its suppose to be a pretty good unit. Maybe you can help me out on this: I was wondering about taking some "stuff" out of my established tank, to speed up the process of cycling. Like the old catridge, and some gravel??? Whats the deal with the products out there that are suppose to make the water safe "stimulates fish slime coat, remove metal, chlorie etc..."???
Do you mean you aren't already using something? You MUST dechlorinate the water before adding it to the tank. In the UK the two popular options are Stress Coat and AquaSafe. I much prefer AquaSafe for the simple fact that it tints the water blue so I can see roughly how much I've added (can't be bothered with filling the cap 10ml at a time) and it seems to make the water a little greasy to the touch. <- The slime coat additive. I use Stress Coat at the mo. as I got a deal on a large bottle of it (a years supply no less) at the clearance sale in a LFS.
As for transferring bacteria, I'd do the filter sponge as the bacteria will likely be pumped into your water from there and was also advised to use something called Bacterlife by Waterlife products to help promote bacteria. Apparently it's one of the few that doesn't give a false reading when you test ammonia/nitrite.
As for transferring bacteria, I'd do the filter sponge as the bacteria will likely be pumped into your water from there and was also advised to use something called Bacterlife by Waterlife products to help promote bacteria. Apparently it's one of the few that doesn't give a false reading when you test ammonia/nitrite.
My tank is still empty :'( No water as of yet... Spent the weekend cleaning it. Now all I have to do is get hubby to help me get it in the house and on the stand. have gravel, filter, heater, test kit and something called "Start Right"....says "MAKES WATER SAFE FOR FISH IMMEDIATLEY" it's a water condt and removes chloramin and chlorine???? Will fishless cycle, do not believe such claim!!!! Just gathering info
K, gotcha now *thumbsupsmiley*
The fishless cycle always seemed like a good idea as it's (potentially) quicker but I haven't got that much patience! ;D
Anyway, as Wayne says, go and have a chat with the Breeder re. his Discus. I read a lot on the wwweb about Discus and their need for low PH and soooooft water. It scared me, PH from tap is 7.8! and hardness is criminal.... >
The LFS (Who I trust implicitly) said they keep them at PH 8 and in pretty hard water otherwise no-one would buy them due to the hassle with the water condition. The Discus expert there (Nice guy called Andy too funnily enuff!!! ;D) said he's bred them in local water! The bible according to web messageboards (not just this one) claims that's virtually impossible......
We'll prove it soon!
C YA
The fishless cycle always seemed like a good idea as it's (potentially) quicker but I haven't got that much patience! ;D
Anyway, as Wayne says, go and have a chat with the Breeder re. his Discus. I read a lot on the wwweb about Discus and their need for low PH and soooooft water. It scared me, PH from tap is 7.8! and hardness is criminal.... >
The LFS (Who I trust implicitly) said they keep them at PH 8 and in pretty hard water otherwise no-one would buy them due to the hassle with the water condition. The Discus expert there (Nice guy called Andy too funnily enuff!!! ;D) said he's bred them in local water! The bible according to web messageboards (not just this one) claims that's virtually impossible......
We'll prove it soon!
C YA