Discus keeping

[windsurfer]

They have sensitive immune systems which can make them hard to work with and hard to get clean specimens in the first place. Even when LFS discus were cleared of internal parasites, I had some that just wouldn't grow because of damage to their digestive systems. Hexamita is a big problem and gill flukes can be really problematic too.

This is where the reputable breeder part comes in - if you find a good one with clean fish - it makes things much easier on you. I think that it's possible for an LFS to offer good discus - I've just never seen it done! The results that I've had with mail-order from breeders has been dramatic compared to LFS.

Food, think fresh and meaty - most people do some sort of beefheart mix. Live blackworms, frozen brine shrimp, blood worms etc. Most healthy discus will take dried food, but kind of burn out on it after awhile and need something fresh/live.

Water - warm - 84. Their pH can be over 7 and the water doesn't need to be super soft as so many would have you believe. My water has a lot of CO2 disolved in it, and I do have a lot better luck aging it before adding, but no RO is needed.

Breeding - this is where you need super-soft, or the eggs won't hatch! It's not that hard to get them to pair up and lay eggs. But as you know, the babies need to eat off of the parent sides for awhile, so getting a good pair of parents is tough.

Angels - If you really want to keep them with angels, it's possible, but the biggest problem I have is the angels outcompeting the discus at feeding time. I like keeping cardinal tetras, rams, checkerboard cichlid, apistogramma with them and let the discus be the king!

Mine did better in bare bottom tanks, but I've had some luck in planted too.

They are great fish - I learned a lot from keeping them for years. They push your limits as a fish keeper and teach you things.

good luck,
windsurfer

 

[windsurfer]

2. Quality of tap water available, ours is shockingly bad with an average of 8.2

I've grown discus from 2" to 6.5", had them pair up, and spawn in pH of 8.2. High pH doesn't equal bad quality at all.

windsurfer

 

[WyldFya]

Right now I do 25% weekly on our adult tanks and 25% 3 times a week on our fry tanks, so keeping up with that wouldn't be a problem at all. I do intend to invest in good stock which is part of the reason I want to make sure I know what Im getting into beforehand. It would really suck to spend hundreds of dollars on them and lose them all. It's good to know that they aren't as difficult as Ive been led to believe though.

Im also thinking of doing some angels because I think the two species would look great next to one another, so I'm curious how they get on in tanks together? I obviously wouldnt have my breeders together but since I'm likely going to have to use my parent's basement for this, Im going to have to have a few real nice planted displays as compensation for taking over their recently rennovated basement .

On the subject of food, I use spectrum omega grow formula now, the pellets are probably way too small for discus but I know they come in larger sizes. I was told that it was pretty much the best stuff available, would that be true for discus as well? We also feed a mix of live and frozen brine shrimp, frozen glass worms, freeze dried bloodworms, staple flake food and when we had cons, con fry, now just any fry we want to cull.

I imagine the above would be a sutiable diet for them as well?

Most of those foods won't do anything for you discus. Quality frozen bloodworms, beefheart mixture, Omega one Super color flakes, live blackworms, Tetra color flakes all make good foods. NLS doesn't work very well on Discus, as few actually take to it.

 

[WyldFya]

I suppose it depends on 2 things:

1. Where and how the discus were raised and what they were kept in/used to. If you were getting fish that had been kept in ro all their lives and suddenly a major swing +2 or 3 would give them a bit of a shock and have some affect on health.
2. Quality of tap water available, ours is shockingly bad with an average of 8.2

As for adding nutrients to the ro, this is something that we were recommended not to do when we started using the machine and although we did lose the odd fish now and again in the first year, we have only lost one fish in the last 12-14 months.
Is this something that the majority here would suggest to do even with no obvious problems?

My tap water is 8.0, and as stated earlier, pH isn't a big thing with domestic discus any longer. My tap comes out 8.0, my tanks stable pH at night is 7.2, and during the day comes down to 5.8-6.0. Vitamins are extremely important for the fish, without them, they will stunt, and can die a VERY premature death. Not a good idea to use RO without adding nutrients. The thought that discus must have RO and very specific pH's is an old time standby that no longer is valid.

 

[Yanbbrox]

My tap water is 8.0, and as stated earlier, pH isn't a big thing with domestic discus any longer. My tap comes out 8.0, my tanks stable pH at night is 7.2, and during the day comes down to 5.8-6.0. Vitamins are extremely important for the fish, without them, they will stunt, and can die a VERY premature death. Not a good idea to use RO without adding nutrients. The thought that discus must have RO and very specific pH's is an old time standby that no longer is valid.

Sorry guys if I've been a little misunderstood, I'm not trying to say that discus can't thrive in anything other than RO, I've seen many examples of people keeping and breeding in much higher PH, I was just making the point that it is one of the easiest ways to maintain stable water parameters.

I'm not sure how the water companies work over there but over here they can add all sorts to the mix with no notice and the only way to find out is by testing the water for everything, every time you do a change

 

[hillbilly]

Cary Strong, who is considered one of the top breeders of Discus in the US, says "always use the water you have, as long as it's good enough to drink, it's good enough for Discus". I agree. If my water supply was so bad I couldn't drink it without RO, I would move out anyway.

 

[Alistriwen]

Wyldflya what are NLS foods ? I don't know the acronym. Also, are you saying that all of the foods I listed would be no good? Even the live/ frozen brine shrimp?

 

[WyldFya]

NLS stands for New Life Spectrum.

Yes, most of the foods you listed won't do too much. The brine shrimp will work while the discus are young, but is hardly a good staple food.

 

[Alistriwen]

Thanks for the info. I'll look into getting better staples as it gets closer to happening.

My next question would be if anyone knows a reputable supplier that ships to Canada.