siamese blue

Hi. I would like to get some discus, witch discus will you say is good for a beginner like me. I have had angel fish, siamese fighter fish and danios before. So I know a little about keeping fish.

btate617

I don't want to sound rude but you should look at a different fish. Discus are a tough species to keep even for some experienced keepers.

Brian

siamese blue

Thanks, what other fish would u suggest, I got a 2 smaller tanks, in the one i got a siamese fighter, and the other one i got mollies.

agabr123

it really depends. for just a 20 gallon tank i would go with 5 tetras (rummynose, neon, cardinal, glolight, black or white skirt, etc), a pearl gourami, and four corycats for the bottom.

if you decide that you want to keep discus, i'd suggest nothing smaller than a 75 gallon tank. the tank will have to be VERY well established (set up for months, aside from the cycle, before you can start adding discus) and have absolutely pristine water. discus keepers generally do water changes every day or every other day. i know Slug keeps discus, you may want to post a message on his page and ask him for more info

welcome to fishlore!

siamese blue

Thanks, we got a filter system in our house, I use that water for my fishtanks.

I think any way I must go with some other fish and not discus. Thanks again.

agabr123

you're welcome!

oh, and even for your filter system i'd still add a water conditioner if you don't already. i dont know how effective those systems are at removing ammonia, chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals, so to be on the safe side i'd add a water conditioner such as prime or stress coat + (the plus is important, there is also a regular stress coat that does something different from the +)

siamese blue

Thanks a million. I will do that.

mikey079

yeah siamese blue,
discus is a fish that you wouldn't want to get started with in this hobby.
not only are they hard to keep they can also be very costly. and they like to be kept in groups of 6 and more. if i were you i would get started with like swordtails, guppies, tetras,
mollies, angelfish, etc..... besides just getting started it's very likely that some may die on you. and you wouldn't want to see a 60 to 120 dollar fish floating one morning would you?

Jess

Unless you buy the little guys and grow them out yourself. : ) It can be done.

dvc_r

agabr123 is right, I just finished a 50% water change for my Discus. I do it every two or three days!

Matt

Discus are a very hard fish to keep even for some very experienced aqaurists and some discus keepers still have trouble after keeping them for years.

Start off with FW tropical fish then advance to cichlids then eventuallly as you gain knowledge maybe convert to discus.

Hope this helps you,

Matt

Jess

I also change 50% twice a week. You just get used to it.