Clear up some stuff Wattley preaches, please.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
L

lujor

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 8, 2007
664
1
0
Here&There
I have been researching discus lately and have been reading a lot of Jack Wattley's columns in old TFHs. I have a couple questions. First, Jack seems to think that changing the water as much and as often as possible is the way to go. I know he is the ultimate authority, but where do you draw the line? What is really necessary? With my other tanks I do weekly (sometimes twice a week) 50% WCs. Is this insufficient for discus? Jack also says that if you are doing enough WCs you don't really need filtration. If I set up a discus tank I will certainly be using filtration. Does this affect the required amount/frequency of WCs? I am not looking to skimp on their care, but I can't guarantee I will be able to do daily WCs. Does this mean discus are not for me?
The other thing that I am a little confused about is his refering to the size of the eyes in relation to the body. He says that when selecting a discus you should look for one with relatively small eyes. Are relatively large eyes a sign that the discus is stunted? Do the eyes continue to grow even when the body is stunted, therefore indicating an unhealthy fish? Some other reason? Anyone clear these up for me? Thanks.
 
Anyone?
 
discus are a very clean fish. what filter are you running? honeslty with discus you can get away with doin a water change every 2-4 weeks. and 50% seems a little much if doing it every week
 
I don't have any now. I have an empty 60gal hex and am about to get it set up. The hex shape isn't great for a whole lot of species, and I am interested in discus so I am trying to learn more about them before I take the plunge. I do a 40-50% weekly change on my RBP tank and my community of preds and my small growout.
 
a hex tank is good for fish like that. a AC110 will do but im more of a canitser filter guy. a canister filter will actually be overkill for discus but thats good. more filtration is better. there cheap to
 
I have an undergravel for the tank, and an Emperor280 if I need it, but I will probably use a Fluval404. Prob no undergravel cause I want to do plants too
 
undergravel dont do anything. ya the fluval is a canister so youre good. no need for the 280. the fluval will be more than plenty
 
In my experience discus are a fairly easy fish to keep as long as you give them what they want and unfortunately it involves lots of water changes. Discus demand clean water. I think where most people run into troubles is from their water conditions they keep their fish in. With the size of tank that you are thinking about putting them in you could get by doing something like 50% water changes 2X a week with smaller 2-3 inch fish, but as they get bigger that would not be adequate enough for them to thrive and not just get by. In my opinion you might get away doing that for a while but sooner or later it will come up and bite you in the ***.

I think what Wattley meant by looking at the size of their eyes is geared more towards getting them from pet shops. I have never purchased a discus from a pet store and I will probably never either. There are just way to many uncertanies doing it that way. I have rarely ever seen a pet shop keep their discus looking good and high quality discus rarely ever make their way into a pet shop either. Most will get their discus from a local breeder that wants to get rid of their poorer fish and you never know what you are going to get. Thats why looking at the size of their eyes is a relatively good way at telling a fish's age once you know what to look for. I know what I said isnt the rule but more often than not it is what you typically see with pet shops.

I have never liked keeping discus in a tank with something other than a sponge filter. I just think that the benefits of a sponge filter far outweigh all other filters....better O2, calmer waters, cheaper etc....I realize that they are not the filter to use in a planted tank so if thats what you are going for then the fluval would be the one to use. I have never been a firm believer in keeping juvenile discus in planted tanks. Everyone who likes discus dreams of having some beautiful planted tank with discus including me, but in my experience and other discus keepers is that juvenile discus dont grow like they do in a bare bottom tank. My suggestion is that if you cant wait to grow up some discus then you will have to spend the big money on some adult discus and if its a display tank that you want then I suggest you try to get all males cause if you have a mix they will try to breed.

I dont want to come off as some douche who think he knows it all. I have been keeping and breeding discus for 10+ years and telling you some of the things that I have had success with. The more larger water changes you do the better. Discus are not all that picky with ph and tds and whatnot as long as you keep it constant. That means aging water to the same ph as in your tank especially if you are doing it on a daily basis. The only time that you will need to worry about the tds is when they start breeding otherwise dont mess with the water cause it will only cause you headaches. Clean water and a good diet are the most important factor in raising discus and as long as you give them that they will pretty much take care of themselves. If you arent prepared to do a minimum of 3 water chages...maybe 2 of you do 95%...then discus arent for you. Thats the bad part of discus is they need the extra attention. I spend at least an hour and half a day doing water changes on my discus tank but to me that worth it. People get by with doing less with their discus but for me I dont want to take that chance. Hope this helps a little. As with any fish there are thousands of ways of doing things and this is a little bit of how I do them my way. Good luck if you decide to go with discus....they are well worth it
 
Well one reason for extra wc is because with young fish you should feed 3-6 times a day and that can cause for some dirty water. I do a 40% on my discus tank almost everyday. I skip a day here and there they are fine.

If you get older 5"+ discus you will not have to feed as much or do as many wc. So you save money in the long run when you get larger fish.

Clean water and good food is the key to keeping any fish healthy and happy.

They say discus can get stunted very easy. I think lots of it comes down to genetics and stress or lowest on the pecking order. The one that gets picked on more might not eat as well and there for will not grow as well.

The eye thing is something I find kind of silly. Yes a very large eye on a 2-3" fish could mean stunted. Most wild discus have larger eyes then domestics. Breeders are now looking for discus with smaller eyes and breeding them. So small eyes are more a trait in some strains. If the fish does not look right not in proportion then you know something is not right.
 
I love the idea of a discus tank, and I don't mind giving them a little TLC, but I maintain 3 other tanks, have a family, work, work for the kids' school, and have an NFL addiction. Maybe I should find something else if they can't do well with weekly 50-100% WCs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom