Discus for my dad

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
fattubwhale said:
So sorry to hear of your loss, My condolences to you and your family!

Keeping discus is not as hard as people make it seem or rather what you read on the web and on forums! 20yrs ago it was hard!!! Now a days discus are so hardy they adapt to many different water parameters. (unless your working with wilds) As long as they are properly acclimated, quarantined, provided with a high protein/variety diet, large water changes and can keep the water clean and pristine you shouldn't have any problems :)
What i would do is invest in a few more juvies so you have at least 5-6 they would do much better and will be happier in a group that size.
With young juvies you should offer them a hight protein diet like beef heart a few times a day a perform at minimum of 80-100% water change daily with full tank wipe downs till they reach 4-5". If your going to run a canister filter i would use a pre filter sponge on the intake like FMH advised.
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I found a sponge that i put on the intake. I made a homemade food that they seem to love. Is it normal for them to breathe really fast? I need to get a few more, the biggest one will sometime chase the other two but not too much. Im doing 50% wc daily and feeding 4x. I feed my mix, bw and beefheart. I use each one daily and my food twice.
 
Rachel.Cody said:
I found a sponge that i put on the intake. I made a homemade food that they seem to love. Is it normal for them to breathe really fast? I need to get a few more, the biggest one will sometime chase the other two but not too much. Im doing 50% wc daily and feeding 4x. I feed my mix, bw and beefheart. I use each one daily and my food twice.
Click to expand...

The sponge will make a great deal of a difference with keeping the waste out of the canister! Just rinse it frequently. When you get them into a larger group it will help with the aggression. The rapid breathing can be anything... Stress, lack of oxygen, parasitic and or flukes. Just keep a eye out on them as long as there eating, swimming and showing color you should be ok.
 
Hmm.. For some reason the picture of your tank is not coming up for me. Do you have an airstone? The warmer than usual water will hold less oxygen than cooler water, so I always run an air pump. It could also be something to keep an eye on like whale mentioned.
 
Doesn't sufficient surface agitation (like from the filter pouring back it, or "rippling" the surface of the water if the output is under the surface) oxygenate the water enough... or at higher temps is a pump still necessary?
 
I have a large air pump running an airstone and a sponge filter in the tank. There is lots of oxygen in there.
 
ok, I thought I remember seeing an air stone, so lack of oxygen probably isn't it. Start reading. Not sure if you are aware of Simply Discus, a forum dedicated only to Discus. LOTS of info there, especially in their disease treatment
and emergency room section. I read a lot there. Unfortunately I feel they are too condescending to newbies, so I don't ask many questions.
 
[QUuOTE="stalefish83, post: 7279969, member: 137856"]Doesn't sufficient surface agitation (like from the filter pouring back it, or "rippling" the surface of the water if the output is under the surface) oxygenate the water enough... or at higher temps is a pump still necessary?[/QUOTE]
I think the size of the tank along with the number of inhabitants dictates whether or not it is actually enough, but warmer water does hold less oxygen.
 
I am very sorry to hear about your father. My condolences to you and your family.

So far I think you are on the right track in terms of parameters, water changes, and filtration. The only real concern is the number. Three juvenile discus may become a problem. You're already seeing a bit of chasing and that is going to get worse as they settle in and grow. At 3 - 4" they can be really hard on one another. It will be more subtle than other SA cichlids -- one discus isn't going to maul another to death the way a festae would, for example. Instead, a dominant discus will constantly nip/chase a weaker fish until it gets stressed and hides. This stress puts the fish in a compromised state where its immune system is likely to falter. Four would be better. Six to eight would be ideal.

The rapid breathing could be a few things. Make sure there's not too much flow in the tank. Check to make sure there are no nitrites or ammonia. Make sure nitrates are 10ppm or less. It could also be flukes but this would be accompanied by your fish "flashing" or scratching themselves on things in the tank. If you see your fish quickly rub its nose or face on things like heater cords or airline tubes, then dart away, this is what we call flashing and it usually means the fish is irritated by something. Gill flukes can also cause them to only breathe out of one gill.

Good luck on your discus journey. They are not hard to take care of, they just require your attention when it comes to a few key things, namely water quality and temperature. Don't get discouraged if your first batch don't turn out the way you hoped. There's a learning curve. It took me a few tries to really learn how to grow out a nice discus. They can be frustrating, but they are also really rewarding.
 
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