Are discus right for my water?

[discuspaul]

I'm probably not getting the 90g unfortunately as I haven't heard from the person who has it, they will probably end up in my split 75, which is fine. Thank you for the list of what to look for. After reading and comparing I see what you mean now. I think once I can swing it Hans' store sounds like the absolute best option. How many should I get at once? Like should I get all 5 at once or wait a little bit in between adding a couple? Also, for filtration I know in a fully planted tank you can under filter, but since this would only be a couple plants how much filtration am I going to want? And what kind of current do they prefer? I would probably go for a rena xp3.

If you get your discus from Hans, which I strongly recommend you do, and you want to start with 5, get them all at once (strains & sizes of your choice - it's a real plus to be able to select them all on site yourself, with Hans' help).
If your tank is lightly planted & decorated, you needn't be too concerned about filtration (overly strong filtration is not essential) - just be sure your tank is fully cycled beforehand. As for circulation/water flow/current, discus prefer light water flow so you needn't concern yourself with strengthening it.
Just do fairly frequent, large changes of fresh conditioned water, clean your tank well with each wc, and feed high protein foods (lightly) 2 or 3 X a day if they're 3" 'ers or so, and only once or twice daily if they're larger than that.
Good luck with your discus project, and don't hesitate to PM me anytime if I can be of further help.
Regards,
Paul

 

[M00n3at3r]

If you get your discus from Hans, which I strongly recommend you do, and you want to start with 5, get them all at once (strains & sizes of your choice - it's a real plus to be able to select them all on site yourself, with Hans' help).
If your tank is lightly planted & decorated, you needn't be too concerned about filtration (overly strong filtration is not essential) - just be sure your tank is fully cycled beforehand. As for circulation/water flow/current, discus prefer light water flow so you needn't concern yourself with strengthening it.
Just do fairly frequent, large changes of fresh conditioned water, clean your tank well with each wc, and feed high protein foods (lightly) 2 or 3 X a day if they're 3" 'ers or so, and only once or twice daily if they're larger than that.
Good luck with your discus project, and don't hesitate to PM me anytime if I can be of further help.
Regards,
Paul

Thank you kindly!

 

[Star_Rider]

wow.. this was a good read and good info from Paul.

I keep mine in 75 minimal tanks not high tech.. I raise my discus in smaller 29G tanks..

I tend to go for smaller 2 " (tho sometimes they are not even that size) with babies the set up require diligent care and daily water changes(50%).. I like to have driftwood in bare bottom tanks as it tends to let the discus relax more(IMO)
when the babies hit the 4" mark they are usually destined for a display tank.
my Alenquers have formed a pair and the odd fish will go into the display.
discus are very interesting and inquisitive ..in the display tank they feed from my hand...

 

[discuspaul]

wow.. this was a good read and good info from Paul.

I keep mine in 75 minimal tanks not high tech.. I raise my discus in smaller 29G tanks..

I tend to go for smaller 2 " (tho sometimes they are not even that size) with babies the set up require diligent care and daily water changes(50%).. I like to have driftwood in bare bottom tanks as it tends to let the discus relax more(IMO)
when the babies hit the 4" mark they are usually destined for a display tank.
my Alenquers have formed a pair and the odd fish will go into the display.
discus are very interesting and inquisitive ..in the display tank they feed from my hand...

Many thanks for your kind remarks, Ed.
If I may add here, Ed is experienced and very familiar with keeping discus, so he therefore knows very well what to do to raise small young discus successfully.

So, for those of you who are novices to discus I respectfully suggest you gain significant knowledge & experience of keeping larger-sized, more mature discus before trying your hand at growing out very young fish with lesser-developed immune systems. As Ed mentioned, this does require much more care & attention than keeping more mature discus which have already been grown out carefully by experienced discus-keepers.
Hope you don't mind my adding that, Ed.

 

[Star_Rider]

not at all Paul.

the practice of raising and keeping young discus does require a lot of attention. water must be clean and the young discus must be fed several times per day. this results in daily water changes of 50%.. many breeders use aged water for this.
BTW, I learned how to do this by learning how to care for Young P.Altum..often you feel like you are walking on eggshells with these as they require even more care than domestic discus..but the general idea is the same.
Discus flourish in clean, warm water.. practice this and you will be rewarded with healthy vibrant Discus.. all you need to do is visit a thru and thru Discus keeper..look at their stock and be impressed..
a properly raised discus will simply amaze you with their shape and size.. and yes they are darn near round in shape when fed and kept properly.

I personally cannot afford the quality of discus you get from Hans..but without question the stock he has is definately superior to anything you will find in a LFS.

I bought my stock from a reputable source as young 2" discus , knowing what would be required of me to do this properly.

out of 10 Young Discus I lost 2..one jumped out of the tank when I wasn't home when it hit 3" the other I lost to disease or bacteria..when the discus did not respond to treatment.
I'll try to get pictures tho my camera skills leave much to be desired.

 

[ktrom13]

Ive seen Hans' discus firsthand at my lfs. Amazing colors, great shape and all eating and appear healthy. Im a fan of discus but i dont have the time or correct setups for them. Take your time and learn from OTHER'S mistakes. Last thing you want is a football fish( stunted/unhealthy discus tend to get football shaped). Goodluck!

Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[wesleydnunder]

Some awesome info here, MOOn3at3er. You won't go wrong following it.

Mark

 

[Ranger]

TEMPERATURE! I think the other water parameters you mentioned are good enough BUT 79F is too cool IMHO, at least 83F preferable 86F or even more.

And yes water changes.

BTW did I mention TEMPERATURE! Discus need it warmer than almost all other tropical fish. Many others species can not thrive or live in water that warm.

Don't forget to do water changes so the water is really clean.

Oh yea before I forget to mention the most over looked water parameter with Discus : TEMPERATURE, when I finally figured that out my Discus stopped slowly dying and started growing, unfortunately it was not all the same ones that I started with

 

[discuspaul]

To add to what Ranger said, I would recommend that young, smaller discus (less than 3") be kept @ 84-86 F (no more than 86, except in exceptional treating circumstances), whereas more mature discus or adults should generally be kept @ 82-83.