Too bad.. A discus breeder in your neck of the woods just got out of the business. MtShasta dicsus.. he had some nice ones. If you're up for a long drive I'd look up International Discus in Daly City.
Smaller discus require a lot of food and clean water. That is why it takes a lot of work to grow them in a planted tank. Food and organic waste tend to get trapped in the gravel so there's a lot of gravel vacuuming that needs to be done. I know your plants are supposed to gobble all that stuff up but they may not consume all of it.