ive been warned against discus ever scince i started in the hobby due to there sensitivity to water quality.....how hard are they truly to keep?? I have a 95 gal im planning to do angel/community fish, how hard would it be for me to keep discus?
How hard are discus to keep, really?
- Thread starter Footballref50
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Not hard AT ALL if you're a good responsible fish keeper. I'm always shocked to find out most people can't manage to keep even Goldfish alive and they're super hardy. I've had my discus around 8 months or so they're in a 150 g community tank, weekly 65% water change, nitrates stay below 10 ppm at all times (as all my tanks do), varied diet, 81 degrees, super hard water.....and they've more than doubled in size, eat anything and everything, lay egss constantly.
If you're in the habit of doing weekly water changes and give any fish a big enough tank, you'll do fine. If you're one of those people that puts off water changes for 3 or 4 wks then chances are any fish (including Discus) won't do well. As with all fish-you just have to care enough about them to go the extra mile and not be a slacker
If you're in the habit of doing weekly water changes and give any fish a big enough tank, you'll do fine. If you're one of those people that puts off water changes for 3 or 4 wks then chances are any fish (including Discus) won't do well. As with all fish-you just have to care enough about them to go the extra mile and not be a slacker
Really????? Coz i was told that i would need to do water changes every 3 days......? Coz i have a large enough tank with a great ammount of filtration......But every now and then i do lag and take up to 4 weeks bewteen water changes.....And i was under the impression discus require soft water rather than hard water....?
Key is to start with good, high quality stock...as well as having husbandry practices to maintain their quality and health. This involves warm water, frequent water changes, and good food. Discus do not need soft water with a low pH. My personal hatchery has been running for many years with a pH above 8.0 with moderate hardness. Clean, stable water is what's most important. ONLY reason for soft water and low pH is when you have a breeding pair (spawning/hatching issues). Water changes are dictated by multiple factors. Stocking density, filtration, foods fed, size of discus (juvenilles vs adults). If you were to have a large tank, and understock it, overfilter it, feed clean foods (no beefheart) and have adults....you could get away with water changes once every week or two (50%+). Opposite is true if you have juvenilles. They need far more care and attention. Much more frequent water changes. There are many variables to discus husbandry, but the basics are all the same....clean, warm water, and good food.
-Ryan
-Ryan
ok, so i guess my ?(s) is/are this/these; A: How often will i need to change the water? and B: Will i have to buy buffers and all to create the correct water quality? and C: lastly, by good stock how do u determine this and is there a difference in hardiness in colour variances?
If you want a lower maintenance discus tank you need to fallow a few rules. Tank bred discus do not need soft water or a certain Ph, as long as your not on one extreme or the other. They just need stable clean water, this may mean you have to age your water before water changes.
-Keep temp at 82-85
-buy adult fish!! (simplydicsus.com has some sponsers that sell amazing adult discus stock, I highly recommend Ken. Plus he is in Cal, so you might even be able to go pick them up, he can also help you with anything you need to know). Yes adult discus are expensive, but you will spend more money feeding and caring for young discus then you ever would on the intial price of adults.
-Understock the tank (a minimum of 5 discus though)
-Over filter the tank
Even with this you still need to do one %50 a week water change with stable water. If you cannot do this then do not mess with discus. Plus no large aggressive fish with them. Discus go best with other discus.
If you purchase juvie discus, you will need to feed 4-6 times a day, do at least %50 water changes every 3rd day with every other day being much better. You will also be best severed with a bare bottom tank until they are adults. If you do not do this they will not grow properly and will quickly become stunted do to not enough feeding and water conditions. Nothing looks worse then a stunted discus.
Discus are amazing fish and well worth the effort. I wouldn't trade mine for anything else.
-Keep temp at 82-85
-buy adult fish!! (simplydicsus.com has some sponsers that sell amazing adult discus stock, I highly recommend Ken. Plus he is in Cal, so you might even be able to go pick them up, he can also help you with anything you need to know). Yes adult discus are expensive, but you will spend more money feeding and caring for young discus then you ever would on the intial price of adults.
-Understock the tank (a minimum of 5 discus though)
-Over filter the tank
Even with this you still need to do one %50 a week water change with stable water. If you cannot do this then do not mess with discus. Plus no large aggressive fish with them. Discus go best with other discus.
If you purchase juvie discus, you will need to feed 4-6 times a day, do at least %50 water changes every 3rd day with every other day being much better. You will also be best severed with a bare bottom tank until they are adults. If you do not do this they will not grow properly and will quickly become stunted do to not enough feeding and water conditions. Nothing looks worse then a stunted discus.
Discus are amazing fish and well worth the effort. I wouldn't trade mine for anything else.
that's what i thought man! I'd love to do it and think i could, but i think angels will be much easier in the long run! I have a 90 or 95 gal show tank with tons of filtration....(emperor 400 and a fluval 405)
There's no set number of days when you "have to" do a water change. All the advice you were given was wonderful. You're concentrating too hard on "how much how often" when there's too many variables. You have to know how fast your nitrates (the end result of the biological cycle) creep up. I'm a firm believer that ALL fish are best kept in low-nitrate water (under 10 ppm), Discus included. But it's as important to Oscars & Angels, too. It sounds like you're confusing good water quality with filtration. Filtration takes care of ammonia & nitrites, water changes only is what lowers your nitrAtes (with an 'a'). You can have 15 high powered filters on a tank and it's not going to lower your nitrates, only water changes will do that.
It's all BS. Give them clean, warm, and stable conditions, high protein food, and remember to start with quality fish, and you will be successful.random fish guy;2683097; said:
