Can you raise discus in slightly harder water (about 7.8 pH)

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PoopSmart

PoopSmart

Fire Eel
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Jun 26, 2007
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Basically the title, but I will give you some more detail...I have set up my 55 gallon planted discus tank and used 3 julii cories cycling it...if my pH is about 7.8 or 7.6 could I raise discus as small as 2 inches?? or should i get bigger hardier ones???

btw how many should I get if I just want the discus and the cories?

Any good breeders or dealers in the st louis area as well?
 
Discus Care
You may have heard that discus are hard to kept or that they are to demanding. This is not the case! Discus are very easy to care for if you can meet a few simple needs! First of all, We cannot stress enough temperature. Discus that are breed in captivity like a higher temperature than there wild counterparts. Breeders often keep there tanks 84-90 degrees, This helps ward off disease. In doing this generation after generation, the discus have grown accustomed to higher temperatures. Second, specific pH is not crucial, but the stability of the pH is imperitive for the survival of your fish. We keep our discus at 7.5 but we have seen many people keep them in tap water with a pH as high as 8.2! Those discus were acclimated slowly over a few hours, but days would be better but unrealistic for most.) We have kept discus at tap water pH at LFS (local fish store) and have no trouble. We use the drip method of acclimation and have had great success. The reason we stress stability of pH is that we have seen many people try and keep discus at 6-6.5 this is hard to do, and often ends in failure. This has really discouraged alot of people from keeping discus. Also, many LFS carry very low quality discus as a result of going though cheap wholesalers. The norm is to typically import cheap B grade discus to generate the highest profit margin for the store. This lack of quality fish availability can also be very discouraging. Discus do better when they are kept in even numbers, also they do not ever do well alone. they are social animals (just like people) and need to interact with other members of their species in order to thrive. Adult discus cannot be kept with juveniles. The adults secrete a hormone that will stunt the young one's growth. Now we have come to the water changes. Discus demand 40-50% water change weekly. Discus do not tolerate nitrate well and levels MUST be kept low. If you test for nitrates regularly, you can do water changes whenever the nitrate gets to about 20ppm (parts per million.). Do not forget to heat the water before you make your water change. Rapid temperature changes can be stressful!

In short yes you can raise them in hard water.

Kory
 
thank you very much. That is exactly what I needed to know, as my peat filtration was going horrible, and it couldn't even break my buffer in my tapwater, so my pH didn't lower at all.

I kept a single discus before, but it ended in failure and disappointment...

With this 55g especially for discus, I hope nothing goes wrong.

Btw I think I am getting some jack wartly discus from a lfs nearby...60 bucks a piece, but its worth it, they are quality about 3.5-4.5 inch discus
 
PoopSmart;1032359; said:
thank you very much. That is exactly what I needed to know, as my peat filtration was going horrible, and it couldn't even break my buffer in my tapwater, so my pH didn't lower at all.

I kept a single discus before, but it ended in failure and disappointment...

With this 55g especially for discus, I hope nothing goes wrong.

Btw I think I am getting some jack wartly discus from a lfs nearby...60 bucks a piece, but its worth it, they are quality about 3.5-4.5 inch discus
Click to expand...

Watley Discus are really nice. You can order direct from him also. If you have any other questions just post away.

www.wattleydiscus.com

KOry
 
Hi All... Don't mean to hijack this thread..feel free to make it a new thread if necessary...
But quick question regarding Kory's point about a single discus..
I have a 72gal bowfront with rainbow fish, bolivain ram and an adult??? discus. The tank was purchased used and the discus came with it. He was raised in a community tank for over a year by the old owner with a temp of 78 and only monthly water vhanges etc... I slowly raised the tank temp to 80/81, do weekly w/cs and monitor everything and everyone has seemed to thrive for over a year now. However I would like too add more discus.. he? is about 4 inches and appears to be full grown, about 2 years old and not stunted as the eye size is right for the size of the body.
Kory, you say they would be happier with other discus and while I would like to try that for the fish's sake as well as the visual impact, I am not sure how to do this... If I can't add younger fish with an adult do I just go by size... If I add only one 4 incher (they are very expensive here in the Ga mountains) will my guy kill the new invader to his territory?? I can not afford to purchase 3 or 4 adults at one time and can't sex discus to only add a mate... Any suggestions would be appreciated.. Thanks.. And again sorry if I hijacked the thread but hoped this info would be helpful to all.. Sue
 
4" is far from an adult. I can say, without any hesitation, that your discus is stunted. At 2 years (unless it is a heckel) he should be closer to 6-7" approximately the size of a small plate.
 
Hi Again
Wyldfya.. I guess he is small and maybe stunted he just looked well proportioned... anyways I have no idea how the previous owner dealt with his fish and that care may have stunted him.. but now my question is... if he/she is an adult ( I guess about 2 years old so an adult) but stunted or small, can I add others and if so what size and can I add just one?? Or is he/she meant to be the only king of a mostly rainbow tank..
Thanks for your imput... More is always welcome.. Sue
 
I'd get discus anywhere from 3-5" for him. A group of 3-5 of them would be choice as well. At small sizes like 3-5", they are generally relatively cheap.
 
Another note, when you do buy, make sure you buy from: a reputable local breeder, a reputable local importer, a reputable non-local breeder, or a reputable non-local importer (in that order).
 
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