Just how hard are discus to keep?

[teamdynasty691]

I think everythings been summed up but in referance to the large frequent water changes breeders do that becuase thats what they have to do to get the discus to breed. Also they do it for best grow rate on disucs so they can sell them faster. The frequent water changes are nessasary thought

 

[DonnieVDiscus]

I have a 60 gallon plantedDiscus tank with built in overflow and a wetdry underneith. I Use RO and Tap to bring the TDS to about 150ppm. Nitrate is about 10ppm. I do water changes of 30% three times a week. my fish are doing fine, Iv tried keeping Discus in our tap water around here buts its too hard , Its about 800 TDS the discus get stressed out and wont eat.
And another note problem with breeding discus in hard water is that they will breed but alot of the times the eggs will be unfertle. I just wanted to tell you about my adventures with discus its been great !!!

 

[pheedbak]

Discus are not difficult to keep.

I agree with most of what has been said here so far... I will add that captive bred Discus can fare well in more neutral pH water but wild caught fish generally do not. Wild Discus (Especially Heckel) do not do well in these conditions. They need a low pH and low hardness. The trick though is that a low pH can kill your nitrifying bacteria and cause an ammonia spike within MINUTES! I feel that this is what scares most people away. That is why I would recomend a captive bred fish that can tolerate the higher pH.

I agree with the post earlier that store bought Discus are usually no good. Local breeders are usually the best bet.

I also agree that Discus do best in small groups instead of community tanks.

Hope this helps

 

[RedestWing]

You can't have Discus if you do not have a large school of Cardinals But anyways......Discus are easy to maintain as long as you keep up good water quality.

 

[Pellegrino80]

If you really want Discus you could try buying some for cheap from this site below.

http://www.somethingsphishy.com/index.php?cPath=21&ad=AquariumFishDiscus

From my experience they are not difficult fish like many have claim that they are. As long as you keep 20%-30% water changes every week they will be fine. I've kept discus with PH that was to high and they were doing perfectly fine at PH 7.0 to 8.5 also. They say to keep PH low around 6.0 because natural instincts Discus knows that they cant lay eggs at higher ph and will not breed. For breeding you need PH at 6.0 to 6.5 and temp above 90F to 92F in order for the eggs to hatch and the frys to survive. It's best to keep discus's temp above 86F to 88F this helps prevents ich from reproducing and Ich and some other dieases can't surive above this temp. Some people keep thier temp above 90F all the time, but the problem with this is that it increases their metabiliom and makes them grow faster, and will need air stones at this higher temp because of lack of oxygen.

 

[SusieQ]

Hi there... It sounds like you still need to do quite a bit of research.. That's good as you are asking first... Along with the info given here please explore the site simplydiscus which is devoted to keeping this special fish... Then decide if you have the commitment to keeping these special fish.. While some of the info maybe a bit much because some of the folks are trying to raise the very best discus rather than just discus for a display tank, they are a wealth of insite and opinions.
Discus are social and should be kept in groups of at least 6 if possible.. and can easily be done in your 110.. Discus keeping has a learning curve and I suggest you try keeping them by themselves for awhile before teaming them with tankmates that might be too much for them.. they usually don';t like boisterous tankmates..IME, if you plan on adding angels etc.. let the discus claim the tank as theirs first.. Once you have healthy discus used to you and your tank then after qt the angels you can add them.. HTH Sue

 

[Kolossus]

If you really want Discus you could try buying some for cheap from this site below.

http://www.somethingsphishy.com/index.php?cPath=21&ad=AquariumFishDiscus

From my experience they are not difficult fish like many have claim that they are. As long as you keep 20%-30% water changes every week they will be fine. I've kept discus with PH that was to high and they were doing perfectly fine at PH 7.0 to 8.5 also. They say to keep PH low around 6.0 because natural instincts Discus knows that they cant lay eggs at higher ph and will not breed. For breeding you need PH at 6.0 to 6.5 and temp above 90F to 92F in order for the eggs to hatch and the frys to survive. It's best to keep discus's temp above 86F to 88F this helps prevents ich from reproducing and Ich and some other dieases can't surive above this temp. Some people keep thier temp above 90F all the time, but the problem with this is that it increases their metabiliom and makes them grow faster, and will need air stones at this higher temp because of lack of oxygen.

Hi there... It sounds like you still need to do quite a bit of research.. That's good as you are asking first... Along with the info given here please explore the site simplydiscus which is devoted to keeping this special fish... Then decide if you have the commitment to keeping these special fish.. While some of the info maybe a bit much because some of the folks are trying to raise the very best discus rather than just discus for a display tank, they are a wealth of insite and opinions.
Discus are social and should be kept in groups of at least 6 if possible.. and can easily be done in your 110.. Discus keeping has a learning curve and I suggest you try keeping them by themselves for awhile before teaming them with tankmates that might be too much for them.. they usually don';t like boisterous tankmates..IME, if you plan on adding angels etc.. let the discus claim the tank as theirs first.. Once you have healthy discus used to you and your tank then after qt the angels you can add them.. HTH Sue

You guys do realize that this thread is almost three years old right? (Just letting you know...I hate when that happens to me)

 

[chEvstErino]

You guys do realize that this thread is almost three years old right? (Just letting you know...I hate when that happens to me)

hahahahaha!!! dude i know!!! HILLARIOUS! i wonder how the guy who wrote this thread is doing at this moment.... 3 years from the time he made this thread?!

FUNNY THOUGH

 

[revkkoolaid]

LMFAO!!! 3yrs old. I started to post and then went back to see if anyone on the 2nd page had already said what I was going to.

 

[Casper]

thread necromancy?

At any rate, don't buy from that website listed above. I've read alot of horror stories and there are much better places to buy discus.