discus setup

[legobrik]

i am getting a 55gallon tank and putting discus in it. pretty much a community tank with some cat fish and wanted to know if discus need anything special.thanks for the help

[betaboi]

Extremely clean water, low to medium light to show colours best, and low to medium water movement, but no stagnant areas. You will defiently want to invest in a canister filter of some sort for these guys too since there is more media and would clean better than a HOB. Many people use reverse-osmosis water to fill the tank and add RO Right made by kent to replenish the needed trace elements for the fish. No very active tankmates, discus get spooked too easily, corys would be nice additions for bottom-dwellers. Angelmom or lloyd would probably be able to help you more.

[lloyd berg]

keep them at a higher than average temp.(my tank is 88). betaboi is right about water changes-you will get better growth results with smaller, frequent water changes(i do 25% twice weekly). extra filtration is always a good idea. r.o. water seems neccessary for breeding interests but i have good results,as pets, using tap water as long as ph is under 7(i save dehumidifier water. ph=<6)
shop for a private source when ready to buy. lfs supplied discus are a huge risk.OMHO, if the seller doesn't share an equal interest in your water parameters as you do his fish- then keep shopping. discus breeders are passionate keepers who are most likely unwilling to send their hard earned juvies to a bad environment.

[CrazieEddie]

Yes, find local breeders for them. They are cheaper and hardier than most LFS.

Test your tap water for Ph, hardness, alkalinity, etc. This would help you to determine if you need to go use the RO route. It will be even better if you find a local breeder and compare his water to yours. If it's the same, you should have no worries with them.

Regarding filtration, canister filters do offer more space for media, compared to HOB filters. Plus they also allow you to use inline heaters, so you don't have to worry about placing an ugly looking heater inside your tank. If you do go ahead with a canister filter, always oversize. Which means, since you will have a 55 gallon tank, look for a canister filter rated for 75 gallon, 100 gallon, or even more. To cut down on the strenth of the output, you can get a spray bar.

[legobrik]

what do you have to do to breed them. will they form pairs naturally?? and by lfs does a non chain store where all the fish i have bought from there seem hardy,(if they are still alive in my tank theyre hardy). i dont know how to get them anywhere else.

[AngelMom]

I would strongly urge you to get proficient with the fish you do have before you consider breeding any fish, let alone discus. Discus cannot take changing water parameters......some fish deal with it well, some OK, discus will not. Discus are not a hardy fish (mollies and most guppies are) and many do not fare well just from being transported home. Unless your LFS obtains prime specimens, you need to look elsewhere.

[CrazieEddie]

LFS usually obtains wild or from other breeders. If from the wild, they would probably not last too long in your aquarium if not kept in the same environment as which they came from. If it came from another breeder, the breeder maybe 20 miles or 2000 miles away, with different water parameters. Shipment of the discus is very stressfull, which is why you should observe the discus in the store for a week or so.

If you obtain from a local breeder, you can often visit their setups and get a sample of their water to test if it's anywhere close to yours. This way, you can prepare your tank environment for the discus.

When I bought fish from a breeder, I collected 5 gallons of the same water he used. Although I bought pl*cos and not discus, I was carefull with them, since one of them cost me $100 (USD) for about 1". When I got home, I poured the water into my 5 gallon quarantine tank, turned on the filter and heater, which was set to the proper temp. Then I did the proper steps to introduce the plecos to my tank, I then floated the bag to allow the bag temp to match the aquarium temp. Then I released the plecos in the tank. Since it was the same water, I had no problems. Then I removed a small portion of water during water change/tank cleaning and slowly dripped conditioned water from my tap, into the 5 gallon tank. Eventually, the fish will get acclimated to the same water as mine.

[lloyd berg]

i would hardly consider mollies and guppies 'hardy'. unless,of course, hardy in c.a. means "cheap and easily replaced".
most first buyers of discus buy conveniently at a local pet store. so...if they are swimming as a group, feed well at viewing, have fins extended(not clamped to their sides), and are not dark in colour- then they will be good stock as any. discus are naturally curious and should approach the glass unless startled. is scared, they will retreat as a group, but should return to the front glass within moments. if they hide..disassociate from the others...sit on the floor...or their colours are too darkenned...then the are sick.
avoid wilds as a first time pick-no matter what fish you choose.

[CrazieEddie]

What she may have meant by hardy is due to the fact that mollies and guppies can survive high stress situations during a shipment and also survive variations of water parameters. I'm sure if given the same stressful situations to most other fish, especially discus, they would not be able to survive.

[lloyd berg]

yeh.....she may have meant that...

[AngelMom]

CrazieEddie is correct....when I said guppies and mollies are hardy, I meant that they can go through a considerable amount of stress (either during transportaion or due to water conditions) and still survive. Given the same treatment, discus usually don't fare too well. Part of the problem I see here (and on other boards) is that folks have problems with live bearers (some of the hardiest fish in the hobby) and still want to try fish that are more delicate. IMHO, it is best to learn to keep the hardier fish alive and healthy before attempting more sensitive fish to avoid frustration to the hobbyist and illness/death of the fish.

[lloyd berg]

well said, amom....and i certainly don't mean to intentionally 't' you off or 'dis your (as usual) good>great advice. but everybody needs to start somewhere. asking questions in places like 'here' should be comfortable. and an easy going place to move forward on any fishkeeping topic.IMHO. we all move forward too fast....but we all desire to move forward. ;)

[AngelMom]

You didn't upset me Lloyd.....I just wanted to make sure everyone understood where I was coming from. Sometimes, in an effort to be brief (as I have a tendency to ramble at times) I don't write enough! :D

[lloyd berg]

ramble on,girl. i am always eager :) to read your posts...