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June 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Stocking discus...
Now I know it will be about 4 months before I get my first discus butI do want to know what "colors" to stock together.
Its going to be in a 58g (tallish rather than longish) oceanic tank.
Im figuring 5?
What I was wondering was in case I do decide to breed them, Is there an issue with mixing different colors? I know with keeping mbuna like I do having hybrids is a no-no. So I want to stock them properly the first time.
Also what I am going to do is put the substrate, plants, and let it run for a week or two (with established filter media) and if the cycle is okay ad a few cory cats to the tank. How many corys would go with 5 discus?
After the corys are settled, and parameters are "just right" I will then get my discus. I am hoping to do the swither-roo this next month since I can't do any heavy lifting I am stuck with just fooling around with the fish.... | 
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June 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| How large are you ordering them? It's my experience that juveniles don't grow or thrive well in planted tanks, which is why I'm planning to grow out juveniles until the 5-6 inch mark with daily water changes, and then transfer them to a 55. For a 58 gallon, I think 5 would be reasonable, although I may go with 4 for my 55 just to stock lightly. My plan is to go with 10 sterbais as tank mates, since sterbais tend to do well in high temps as discus do.
I'm not looking to breed discus, but from the research I've done on discus sites, it seems that mixing the colors is frowned upon by the serious discus hobbyists. I can't say for sure though. | |
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June 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by harpua2002  How large are you ordering them? It's my experience that juveniles don't grow or thrive well in planted tanks, which is why I'm planning to grow out juveniles until the 5-6 inch mark with daily water changes, and then transfer them to a 55. For a 58 gallon, I think 5 would be reasonable, although I may go with 4 for my 55 just to stock lightly. My plan is to go with 10 sterbais as tank mates, since sterbais tend to do well in high temps as discus do.
I'm not looking to breed discus, but from the research I've done on discus sites, it seems that mixing the colors is frowned upon by the serious discus hobbyists. I can't say for sure though. | What size tank would you use to grow them out in? It seems to me that growing juvies would be better than getting full sized discus. I am going to have a couple extra tanks on hand this weekend coming up that I can start bare bottom for juvies if need be. Of coarse the heaters, and filters will go in the garbage (they were my moms, and she bought the walmart specials) so for discus I would want a heater with a thermostat like my stealths.
I will def look up the sterbais and see if I like them!
I just didn't want to get into the discus and maybe one day decide to breed them and have all the wrong mix. So I guess I will switch to one color.
Thanks!!
Okay edit, I looked up the sterbais cory, and Im sold on them! Beautiful! | |
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June 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Well, I'm doing this because I failed at my first attempt with juvies so it is a matter of principle now, LOL. Plus, I'll like the challenge and I think it will be really satisfying (and MUCH cheaper) to be able to look at adult discus down the road and know that my hard work grew them out.
I'm going to use a 29 gallon tank to grow them out at first. I already have one and I figure that 3x daily feedings and daily 50% water changes will be easy in that size. My plan for now is to grow them out there until 4-5 inches, and then *possibly* set the 55 gallon up barebottom to see how much larger I can get them to grow. Once they reach a good size I'll back off on the water changes to 50% once or twice a week, add substrate and plants, and put them back in. We have so many spare tanks I can easily QT the cories for a month or so before adding them. I'll be keeping the temp at 86 like I did before.
I'm not going into this to breed at all (seems like more trouble than it's worth IMO), but rather just to end up with a beautiful display tank, so I am undecided as to whether I'll buy all the same varieties or mix them up.
BTW- I agree that sterbais are beautiful! I just love the orange on the fins. They have always been one of my favorite species of cory but I've never had an appropriate setup for them (my last discus tank was stocked well enough so I didn't add any). I'm looking forward to them almost as much as the discus. | |
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June 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by harpua2002 Well, I'm doing this because I failed at my first attempt with juvies so it is a matter of principle now, LOL. Plus, I'll like the challenge and I think it will be really satisfying (and MUCH cheaper) to be able to look at adult discus down the road and know that my hard work grew them out.
I'm going to use a 29 gallon tank to grow them out at first. I already have one and I figure that 3x daily feedings and daily 50% water changes will be easy in that size. My plan for now is to grow them out there until 4-5 inches, and then *possibly* set the 55 gallon up barebottom to see how much larger I can get them to grow. Once they reach a good size I'll back off on the water changes to 50% once or twice a week, add substrate and plants, and put them back in. We have so many spare tanks I can easily QT the cories for a month or so before adding them. I'll be keeping the temp at 86 like I did before.
I'm not going into this to breed at all (seems like more trouble than it's worth IMO), but rather just to end up with a beautiful display tank, so I am undecided as to whether I'll buy all the same varieties or mix them up.
BTW- I agree that sterbais are beautiful! I just love the orange on the fins. They have always been one of my favorite species of cory but I've never had an appropriate setup for them (my last discus tank was stocked well enough so I didn't add any). I'm looking forward to them almost as much as the discus. |
Hmm I will be getting a 29g tank out of the ones from my mom. Theres an idea... I could temporarly just clean the 58g down to bare bottom (going to have to change substrate anyways since its crushed coral right now) and grow them out in it, then go to the 29g for a holding time while putting the plants, etc in later down the road. | |
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June 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| You definitely could, as long as the water changes aren't too big of a deal. I have a Python and will be using tap water so for me it won't be a problem.  I'm sure with all the tanks you have, you have a Python too! LOL | |
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June 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by harpua2002 You definitely could, as long as the water changes aren't too big of a deal. I have a Python and will be using tap water so for me it won't be a problem. I'm sure with all the tanks you have, you have a Python too! LOL | Def have a python, after my first waterchange with my 55g that was the first thing I went out an bought.
My family gripes because the copper python attachment is permently on my kitchen sink from all the waterchanges I do. | |
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June 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by steveangela1 Def have a python, after my first waterchange with my 55g that was the first thing I went out an bought.
My family gripes because the copper python attachment is permently on my kitchen sink from all the waterchanges I do. | YAY! Hubby and I aren't the only ones then!  | |
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June 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| make sure the sink doesnt get stopped up, I use a washtub sink in my laundry room and my little girl threw a washcloth in there and 5 minutes later I noticed water running down the hall,almost ruined my hardwood floor. | |
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June 30th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| 5-6 would be a good number. More if you want, depends on how much work you want lol.
Colors are just what they are. Colors. Its the same species of fish, you will be fine mixing and matching to your own personal preference. I will say this however. Problems arise (For serious keepers/breeders/etc) when a Pigeon blood discus is bred with other strains. PB based strains are where the black "pepper" on discus comes from. Not lethal at all, but very unsightly. But no, there is nothing wrong with mixing color forms.
Sterbais is a good choice, they can take the high temps discus like. | |
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June 30th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Slug 5-6 would be a good number. More if you want, depends on how much work you want lol.
Colors are just what they are. Colors. Its the same species of fish, you will be fine mixing and matching to your own personal preference. I will say this however. Problems arise (For serious keepers/breeders/etc) when a Pigeon blood discus is bred with other strains. PB based strains are where the black "pepper" on discus comes from. Not lethal at all, but very unsightly. But no, there is nothing wrong with mixing color forms.
Sterbais is a good choice, they can take the high temps discus like. | Thanks!
I have seen some colors I liked more than others. My husband is trying to get over the sticker shock of the fish.... OH well, its just like saltwater, its not cheap. | |
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June 30th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| You buying them from an LFS or breeder? If its a breeder are they local or are they being shipped in? If its a breeder may i ask who? Feel free to PM me, I know good ones and bad ones out there so i was just curious. I just like everyone to get a good fair experience and some people out there want to take that away.
They are quite expensive, but its all in the color/strain and breeder. I always see 3-4" fish go for $20-35 each from breeders. Same color fish at the LFS will go for $60+. Also breeders usually hold quality over LFS.
And generally speaking, the spotted fish and Albinos tend to go for quite a bit more then the classic strains like Red Turqs, Blue Diamonds, etc. So choose your strains carefully if you want to watch the wallet! :P
Let me know if I can help in some way, i can always point you in the direction of a few names. | |
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June 30th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Slug You buying them from an LFS or breeder? If its a breeder are they local or are they being shipped in? If its a breeder may i ask who? Feel free to PM me, I know good ones and bad ones out there so i was just curious. I just like everyone to get a good fair experience and some people out there want to take that away.
They are quite expensive, but its all in the color/strain and breeder. I always see 3-4" fish go for $20-35 each from breeders. Same color fish at the LFS will go for $60+. Also breeders usually hold quality over LFS.
And generally speaking, the spotted fish and Albinos tend to go for quite a bit more then the classic strains like Red Turqs, Blue Diamonds, etc. So choose your strains carefully if you want to watch the wallet! :P
Let me know if I can help in some way, i can always point you in the direction of a few names. | Thanks, I have one store in mind that I know carrys discus hans discus, but I don't want to pay 50$ a peice at a lfs. I seem to get burnt when buying fish from stores. If you know some people in the local southeast us area (we live about 30 min north of Knoxville tn). I would love to get their names, if I have to get them shipped the least distance is best.
I was going to ask, with our tap water being 7.2 med hardness, I planned to use driftwood, florite (for plants), and peat in the filter. Will that keep my water pH okay for them? | |
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June 30th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| pH should be fine. As long as it doesn't swing to much then it will work. Just acclimate them properly and slowly.
I know of one guy that resides in Charlotte that i'll shoot his info over to you. He's a good friend of mine and usually has a nice variety of sizes and strains for sale. If anything its a good start and just something to check into.
Hans fish are nice, but i find a lot of the LFS don't do them justice. Hans will most likely take care of you if you went directly to him. He's in Maryland. | |
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July 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Slug pH should be fine. As long as it doesn't swing to much then it will work. Just acclimate them properly and slowly.
I know of one guy that resides in Charlotte that i'll shoot his info over to you. He's a good friend of mine and usually has a nice variety of sizes and strains for sale. If anything its a good start and just something to check into.
Hans fish are nice, but i find a lot of the LFS don't do them justice. Hans will most likely take care of you if you went directly to him. He's in Maryland. | Thanks, I can def keep the ph stable.
I got the pm, I will def be checking him out! Def like the idea ordering from Athe Carolinas, there is one guy that does mbuna that is wonderful and shipping is pretty low stress at that distance considering. Im not dead set on Hans but, if I can get them directly then its possible. | |
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