All you discus experts...

Tom · June 10th, 2007

what all would I need to start up a discus tank? I am thinking of getting some discus in the future. Maybe a red turquoise, a turquoise, a cobalt, a snakeskin, and maybe a pigeon blood.
Tom

Jim · June 10th, 2007

well, right off the bat you'll need a really big tank for 5 discus. And I've been told a reverse osmosis filter is a must. I thought about getting some myself, so I've read a lot about discus... they're really sensative and need a LOT of care. They're also expensive so I'd highly recommend doing your homework before you start shelling out the big $$$.

nicole · June 10th, 2007

I'm no expert but yeah you would need a decent size tank, something wth good depth.A lot of breeders use RO water but basically if you know how to care for freshwater tropicals discus are no different.Check out simply discus.com they have lots of good info there.The best info I could pass on to you is you'll need good filtration (I'm running one external and two internal filters) be prepared to spend time maintaining the tank.

Tom · June 10th, 2007

What size of a tank would you recommend? Thanks for all your help, I will also wait for any other people to respond.
Tom

bmRboY · June 16th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom

What size of a tank would you recommend? Thanks for all your help, I will also wait for any other people to respond.
Tom

A 50 gallon should be fine... But of course, the bigger the better... 20 gallons per adult discus is preferred but if they're still small it's better if you have them in a smaller tank as it won't spook them too much... get at least 6 to 8 small ones... they seem to do better when there's a lot of them...

MelissaF672 · July 27th, 2007

One good thing i've learned through my experience just recently starting a Discus tank is add whatever other fish/decorations you wish to have in there with them at least 2 weeks before you get the discus themselves. That way when you have shy new Discus you don't disturb them by adding or removing anything from the tank. Another benefit is you'll have time to observe your other fishies and make sure they're healthy before putting them with pricey discus if you don't have a quarantine tank.
Locally our pH is kind of high (7.6 - 8.0!) After running water through my RO filter, conditioning it and letting it set for 24 hours it seems the PH drops to almost 7.0 actually... i didn't know it could do that ANYWAY! For Discus i thought that was waaay too high and i'd never be able to keep them until i found a local Discus breeder whose bred and raised discus locally for 8 years.
I suggest buying from someone locally is you can.
I bought from him because i didn't have to worry about changing my ph to suit their needs, he's managed to breed them in our local water. So far so good, i think they're doing okay they're happy active swimmers and eating like little piggies.

YAY FOR DISCUS!

Tom · July 27th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelissaF672

One good thing i've learned through my experience just recently starting a Discus tank is add whatever other fish/decorations you wish to have in there with them at least 2 weeks before you get the discus themselves. That way when you have shy new Discus you don't disturb them by adding or removing anything from the tank. Another benefit is you'll have time to observe your other fishies and make sure they're healthy before putting them with pricey discus if you don't have a quarantine tank.
Locally our PH is kind of high (7.6 - 8.0!) After running water through my RO filter, conditioning it and letting it set for 24 hours it seems the PH drops to almost 7.0 actually... i didn't know it could do that ANYWAY! For Discus i thought that was waaay too high and i'd never be able to keep them until i found a local Discus breeder whose bred and raised discus locally for 8 years.
I suggest buying from someone locally is you can.
I bought from him because i didn't have to worry about changing my ph to suit their needs, he's managed to breed them in our local water. So far so good, i think they're doing okay they're happy active swimmers and eating like little piggies.

YAY FOR DISCUS!

Thanks. I am still waiting till I get a large enough tank to support them and not be stressed by anything else. I know of a guy who breeds them and sells them in his house. He does that with a lot of his fish.
Tom

MelissaF672 · July 27th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelissaF672

One good thing i've learned through my experience just recently starting a Discus tank is add whatever other fish/decorations you wish to have in there with them at least 2 weeks before you get the discus themselves. That way when you have shy new Discus you don't disturb them by adding or removing anything from the tank. Another benefit is you'll have time to observe your other fishies and make sure they're healthy before putting them with pricey discus if you don't have a quarantine tank.
Locally our PH is kind of high (7.6 - 8.0!) After running water through my RO filter, conditioning it and letting it set for 24 hours it seems the PH drops to almost 7.0 actually... i didn't know it could do that ANYWAY! For Discus i thought that was waaay too high and i'd never be able to keep them until i found a local Discus breeder whose bred and raised discus locally for 8 years.
I suggest buying from someone locally is you can.
I bought from him because i didn't have to worry about changing my ph to suit their needs, he's managed to breed them in our local water. So far so good, i think they're doing okay they're happy active swimmers and eating like little piggies.

YAY FOR DISCUS!

Thanks. I am still waiting till I get a large enough tank to support them and not be stressed by anything else. I know of a guy who breeds them and sells them in his house. He does that with a lot of his fish.
Tom

Wonderful! I've never been so obsessed about any other kind of fish as i am now about these little guys. Snakeskin's are soooo beautiful. They're such an elegant fish, absolutely gorgeous. Good luck!

Tom · July 27th, 2007

I would have to come across a large tank with a great stand and everything for a great price. The guy also has some rare(for here) cobalt blue, and some other beautiful ones.
Tom

MelissaF672 · July 27th, 2007

i came accross a 60 gallon tank set in Petco one day that was 40% off just because it was missing one of two hoods. I got LUCKY and saved a bundle.

If you ever consider used tanks sometimes you can find some great ones on E-Bay.. i wouldn't mess with shipping i look for local pick up only deals. There's ALWAYS someone who got in over their head or got tired of caring for their fish tank and just want to get some money for it and get rid of it.

Tom · July 27th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelissaF672

i came accross a 60 gallon tank set in Petco one day that was 40% off just because it was missing one of two hoods. I got LUCKY and saved a bundle.

If you ever consider used tanks sometimes you can find some great ones on E-Bay.. i wouldn't mess with shipping i look for local pick up only deals. There's ALWAYS someone who got in over their head or got tired of caring for their fish tank and just want to get some money for it and get rid of it.

For used equipment, there is a great petstore that would cover that here for me and they clean up the used stuff again before they sell it.
Tom

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