Bill

I've been reading up on these guys, and they are so beautiful... I'm seriously thinking about getting them in the future. My pH is 7.6, with moderate hardness - I've read that high pH, although not ideal, is actually okay for discus (one of my LFSs breeds discus here, too, I believe), so that shouldn't be a problem. I'm more worried about my tank dimensions... discus can get 8-10" in diameter, and obviously they therefore prefer taller tanks. But my tank is only 14" high and 14" wide. Would this be okay? it's also very heavily planted and the nitrates are kept very low.

My tank (43g) is actually overstocked at the moment (although mostly will very small fish), so I wouldn't add one now, or in the very near future, but if I have success with keeping rams again I might narrow my community down a little and maybe make it a discus tank, with a pair or three discus, a few rams and some rummy-nose and cardinal tetras.

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Cheers

~Bill

susitna-flower

Hi Bill,
I am sure people with lots of discus experience will respond, but my understanding is that Discus need pristine water conditions. The tank has to be cycled, which yours is, but the Nitrates have to be kept down to 5 or lower. LOTS of water changes, and many people use RO water filters. Most of what I have read about though is for breeding, and maybe a community tank wouldn't need to be as exact.

My suggestion is to READ up on them before you change your tank all around, it sounds lovely now.

bandito974

they must be pretty hard to Keep, I have yet to visit a fish shop that has them for sale !
I have looked all over the dallas Ft worth area

Allie

Our LFS has them up her all the time. Maybe they just aren't popular where you live.
I'd love to keep Discus but I am not ready to spend $50-$80 on a fish which is overly sensitive to a lot of stuff. I am not experienced enough for discus. They are so gorgeous tho.
All you can do is research before you decide...I know daily water changes are a must.

bandito974

daily water changes?? yea I san see why they are not as popular as other fish in TX
They are beautiful, but I don't give my kids the attention I'd need to give discus!

Bill

Thanks for the advice, guys

Susitna: Yeah, I really like my tank as it is right now, so I'll only be changing it around - gradually - if lots of my fish die.

But keeping nitrates at 5ppm sounds like a challenge, since that's the measurement I get out of the tap... keeping them blow 20 is hard enough! They do sound very challenging, and I'm not sure I could cope with that many water changes.

I might do a Tom Barr though, with another tank, and do the uber-heavy planting, light stocking thing. Some breeders have kept discus using that method for several years without water changes. Definitely a project for the future, though!

Allie

We do every second day with out2 100g+ tanks...it's to help the fish grow better. Clean water=growth.

bandito974

They are a beautiful fish that requires almost too much attention, I couldn't feel comfortable going away for the weekend and just tying them to a tree.
I still wish I could keep some though, maybe one day when the wife passes on, the kids go away and forget about me, and the dog runs off i will be able to keep some!

Gunnie

I too was very interested in discus and decided to research them before getting any. I looked around and found a website that pretty much can tell you anything you want to know about them. The folks are very nice there and know their stuff! I decided after hanging around there awhile that discus might be in my future, but not now. Go to www.simplydiscus.com for some great information, and don't forget to come back to FishLore when you're done with your research!

bandito974

There is a Place in Arlington Tx, that sells them for 99.99 each and some breeder pairs for 399.99
Is that the normal going rate?
B

Rbacchiega

Discus now are alot easier to take care of than they were even 5 years ago. I change the water in my discus tanks once a week, removing 25-30 percent of the water. In terms of tank dimensions, you should be alright Bill.

From what I've seen from your posts, you keep up with the maintenance on your tanks so I don't imagine discus should be that much more difficult.

The big thing is getting them to eat and getting the water conditions right. They preffer it slightly more acidic, so I use Neutral buffer and discus buffer (both by seachem) and am maintaining a ph of 6.8 with no problem. You'll find that corydoras as well as most tetras will thrive in this water condition as well.

Look for my post "Rbacchiega's 55 gallon discus tank" and let me know if you have any questions!

fishrule101

how can they not have them in dallas fort worth area? if you go to waco they have them at the North Waco Tropical fish store.