Originally Posted by Tom

I am not a discus expert but I think they need a much lower pH of about 6.0-7.0. I have heard they can be very picky eaters and there are some fish that can go with them, like bettas.
Tom

Originally Posted by capekate

Hi Armadillo
How nice it must have been to be able to find a store called Discus Centre!! wowowow.. I'D be in heaven too! You know, its really not that hard to have discus fish. Tho I am new to Discus with about a month under my belt. But with the care that you give to all your fish, it would work out alright. Discus need someone that is going to maintain the water quality they require. Granted I do not do 2 - 3x's a week of wc's, but sometimes it is required to do so. Nicole has alot of experience with her Discus and maybe she will be able to respond when she is online.
1 & 2) Yes it depends on what size tank you plan on using. I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than a 30 gal for Discus. I think that a 30g can support two discus at adult size or possibly three if your pushing it.
3) PH at 8.0 is ok. The main thing to remember is not to keep trying to change your PH level, that in itself is detrimental to the health of your fish. You wouldn't want the water to be too acidic enough to burn the fish tho. A lot of Discus owners have their PH at 8.0 and report success.
4) I have cardinal tetras in with mine. It seems that is the choice of many that keep Discus. Because of the high temp you need to keep them at, which is around 82*-86* it will limit you tankmates. I have had Angel fish in with my Discus with no problems, just the occasional aggression that a lot of cichlids show. Once my angelfish pair off, I will be moving them for the reason they get pretty territorial. Right now I have a divider in the Discus tank and keeping the Angels and Discus separated, as I just got new Discus who are pretty shy.
5) They are not picky eaters at all, unless there is something wrong with them. I feed mine, Hakari frozen brine shrimp, Hakari frozen Krill, Omega One freeze dried bloodworms. I now have a stock of live brine shrimp that I'm feeding them as well.

I would think that they would be hard for folks to take care of that are not willing to give them the attention they need. That is the folks that do not change the water often, those folks that do not test the water and those folks that do not vacuum their gravel.

So it is not impossible to keep Discus, I was worried at first myself, but all is well and I really love them.
I would love to see more folks here having Discus and joining in the Discus forum, sharing information!

Hope I was some help for you! ~ kate

Originally Posted by nicole

Oh yeah I didn't mean for you to rush out and buy them at the drop of a hat..just merely words of encouragement and fun.
Nicole~

Originally Posted by Callum!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Callum!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by armadillo

I think she means right against a wide bay window.

What sort of algae eaters do you have in your discus tank?

Originally Posted by Callum!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by nicole

I have bristlenose in mine,plecos are good with discus..Ohhh I'm not sure.I mean is she going to have a background on the tank? Because that would be a good way from stopping direct sunlight going straight into the tank itself...I dont reckon it would be a problem..actually that would look really nice...in summer turn heaters down a notch..there is allways a way

Originally Posted by Sabi

Hey Armadillo! You beat me with this! I'm still trying to get a second hand 30/40gal for discus! I've started my research though and i see you got all the help you needed!
Goodluck!
Wow! Cape kate, i didnt know ph 8.0 would be fine! All what i read says 6.0. Good thats another thing to file away! I read that its better to buy 4+ so as to let them pair up as its difficult to sex them, right?

Originally Posted by capekate

Hi Sabi
I got that information on the PH level at SimplyDiscus and they are pretty right on with their advice and knowledge. Ive learned alot from them. Well, you really don't have to 'pair' them up. Not being able to tell the gender well, you can end up with 4 females or males anyway. So I wouldnt worry about that. Just pick out some Discus that you really like and let nature take its course. One thing that Nicole mentioned about the gender information was that the males have a more pointed upper and lower fins, whereas the females are more rounded. Also read that the males eyes are a much brighter red.

They are happier in groups since they are shy fish. I started out with three and they were fine and happy. Now I have seven. Even if you could only fit two in a 30g, they would be happy. Personally I wouldnt put more than two in a 30g tank.

For all those folks that are worried that they wouldnt be able to care for Discus, I have to tell you all you have to do is keep the water clean, at a higher temperature and thoroughly clean the gravel every week. Even twice a week water change is fine. Im still doing a once a week water change and the tests are coming out great. That is not the advice from most Discus owners however, so dont go by that, just wanted to let you know that even with a once a week 50% wc your Discus will be fine.
PH levels can be from anywhere of a 6.5 all the way up to an 8 and they will do just fine.
It gets difficult if you want to breed them, then you would have to really maintain a higher water quality and give them special attention as you would if you wanted to breed any tropical fish.
Good luck with your decisions and searches for tanks.... I really do hope we get more Discus owners on board here!
~ kate