can hard pH kill discus?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Discus can thrive in a wide range of pH ranges. My personal tanks are running 8.3, which is straight tap water. There have been a few reports of them doing well in slightly higher pH. Consistency is key. So long as the pH remains stable from water change to water change, they will do fine.

-Ryan
 
i live in florida and i use irragation water for water changes for my discus. and the water in florida is very hard and high in ph. bought my discus from jack watley in miami and the care taker there said he uses same water. had my discus for over a year now no problems. they just dont breed as easy in hard water i think

152.JPG
 
I think it depends on if you are getting tank reared discus or wild caught as well. I keep domestic discus in my source water which has a pH of 8 with no issues, I have no tried wild caught discus.
 
Tank raised discus are more tolerant of hard water than wild discus because they have evolved and adapted somewhat from the many, many generations of captive breeding and crossing. You probably wouldn't be able to keep wilds healthy very long in such water.
 
I used to keep wild discus in my tap water at 7.5 or so. The fish thrived. I even filled the tank directly from the tap (I added de-clorinator of course) and even in winter when the tap was was cold the discus would swim in the get from the water hose. The most important thing is to do regular water changes and feed them correctly.
 
Hmong_Xiong;2768231; said:
I think some people use soft water for dicus because they want to breed them. I raised my dicus in 7.2 PH
That isn't necessary. Some discus breeders have high pH yet their discus were able to spawn. I think Jack Wattley has high pH in his tapwater and still manages to breed them.
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com