Discus Info From Successful Discus Keepers?

Interesting!
Care to share your recipe/method?

Received vid from

I will post tomorrow, they look "Great", it appears I found my "Discus".

No ingredients nothing simply get fresh shrimp probably tiger shrimp or any variety that you would eat,put it in a blender after thoroughly cleaning their intestine.
If it was frozen let it thaw first so that the wetness will help it grind nicely. If you touch it with your hand you shouldn't feel any lumps!!!

I store it in freezer after every use and half kg of shrimp lasts for 2weeks minimum,if you want you can even make cubes out of it.

Out of my 8Discus two are finiky eaters that they prefer to eat only this!!!

Don't forget their shell though

 

highly recommend looking into 'Discus The Naked Truth" by Andrew Soh.

Whoa!
I did find a Kindle version for a lot less.
Just placed the order.

Thanks!

 

I do want to clarify that along with regular feedings of the freeze dried Black worms I feed my fish a lot of pellet type food and basically no flakes in last year plus.
Between different sized 'grow formulas' [ I use 4 ] and different sized Golden Pearls [again 4 sizes ] My fish are offered a filling variety .I also offer various frozen like cyclops ,daphnia ,blood worms and some brine shrimp but not a lot on the BS. It is both the pellets and frozen that allow me to add vitamins to their diet ..
My understanding is rams and discus have very common ground in feeds ,keeping and breeding .

 

Coralbandit is there a difference between the Australian and California black worms?

 

Coralbandit is there a difference between the Australian and California black worms?

I am under the impression that the Australian are better but have not one clue how that could be proved ?
They are expensive but the short end of my breeding and raising fish says they are worth it .Adults and juvis fill up on the worm like fry due on BBS . Till they are bulging ,but never with any issue.
My last purchase was a Kilo with 1/2 being with the spinach added [which is even a couple bucks more then without !] ..

 

"Great" info on the food. Thanks Everyone!
Okay! Maintenance of the Tank and Water changes?
I have been doing the 70-80% water changes along with cleaning the glass / hardware and vacuuming considered necessary for the "Discus". Whew! A lot of work. (A good hour).
While doing the last one it dawned on me, during my research it has been mentioned over and over again, how skittish they are to sudden movements along with noise. Will dart around when spooked possibly injure themselves and even jump out of the tank. So, can anyone share their routine, Do's and Don'ts?

 

My only problem in the beginning was turning the room light on after the tank light was out and the room was dark. Turning the light on would sometimes cause them to jump. Caught one midair one night. Almost slammed dunked it into the tank . Didn’t .
Answer for me was a school of tetras. Took the discus about a week to get used to the tetras. But than no more problems. The tetras constant movement calmed the discus.

 

Oh that bring up another good point though. When you get them, expose them to the least amount of light possible between the box and the tank (tank lights off too) and leave the tank lights off for at least 24 hours. The only light they should receive in the tank during that time should be from the room lighting.
They just spent a couple days in a pitch black box, bright light will stress them a lot at first

 

Thanks 86 ssinit and nikm128
Lights, my next question?
I have a Fluval Aquasky and Finnex 24/7 on the tank right now. Both on a programmable timer using my phone. I will need to figure out some type of ramp up for the brightness. Maybe put the Finnex on the 24/7 mode and then have the Fluval come on. How do you guys light your tanks?

 

I don't remember what it's called, but I have an aqueon light with white and multiple color settings. Give me a few minutes, I'll figure out what it is

 

I’m a big fan of the 24/7 lighting. All but one tank has them and all set on the 24/7 setting. Have the fluval go on for 4 hours in the middle of the day. But if the finnex is 48” long it should be enough. Don’t go high tech on plants.

 

86 ssinit
Exactly, what I was planning. No high tech plants. Just have to keep an eye on it since some users have had issues with algae on the 24/7 mode.

 

So, I purchased a 45 gal trash can to age the water, already had a pond pump. So I vacuumed the bottom, wiped the glass and changed the water, 45 mins.
Here is a pic of the tank after water change yesterday.

 

Tank looks great! What is the name of the plant in the center?

 

Thanks!
Aponogeton ulvaceus and aponogeton crispus puchased from Mcasella

 

Ok there’s 2 different ones in there. That’s why I didn’t get it. Looks good. Did the crispus come as a ball or just a root base? I have something similar.

 

Ok there’s 2 different ones in there. That’s why I didn’t get it. Looks good. Did the crispus come as a ball or just a root base? I have something similar.

Sprouted, with a bulb.

 

Here is a pic the day they were delivered just floating.
Both came attached to bulbs.

 

I don't remember what it's called, but I have an aqueon light with white and multiple color settings. Give me a few minutes, I'll figure out what it is

jmaldo I have an Aqueon Optibright Plus for my lighting

 

I have this plant that looks similar but has roots no bulb. Any idea what it is?

 

I have this plant that looks similar but has roots no bulb. Any idea what it is?View attachment 556203

It's aponogeton undulatus I guess not sure about sub species but definitely some kind of aponogeton...!

 

I thought the same thing but no bulb. I have 2 of them and they have a root system.

 

I thought the same thing but no bulb. I have 2 of them and they have a root system.

Not every aponogeton will have bulb mate!!

 

Thanks I didn’t know that. They were floating in the tank I bought them from. The guy said them weren’t aponogeton. Are these seasonal?

 

Thanks I didn’t know that. They were floating in the tank I bought them from. The guy said them weren’t aponogeton. Are these seasonal?

To my knowledge, plants which has bulbs are mostly seasonal as they store their nutrients on the bulb before dry out and once water hits them after dry period their proliferation rate will be higher using those nutrients. Eg: Lilly,Aponogeton,Lotus,etc.

If there is no bulb(Even several Aponegeton) they can grow year around but need good fertile soil to supply nutrients throughout the year.

 

Just an observation here.
During my research, it was recommended to the point of being mandatory to start with a bare-bottom tank. Never kept one, I decided to go that route except I have some potted plants. I have to admit I now understand the "Why'. Yesterday was the 2nd W/C I performed with them. Feeding 3-4x per day. Just surprised at how much waste they produce and realized how much actually would be camouflaged/hidden/disappear in the dark substrate I use in other tanks.
Learning all the Time.

 

Just an observation here.
During my research, it was recommended to the point of being mandatory to start with a bare-bottom tank. Never kept one, I decided to go that route except I have some potted plants. I have to admit I now understand the "Why'. Yesterday was the 2nd W/C I performed with them. Feeding 3-4x per day. Just surprised at how much waste they produce and realized how much actually would be camouflaged/hidden/disappear in the dark substrate I use in other tanks.
Learning all the Time.

You can use white sand on which waste won't creep in and it can easily be siphoned also don't forget the aesthetics it gives

 

Yes, a thin layer of white sand would be good once they are fully grown. All that waste adds up somewhere and affects the fish as they grow.

I actually like the look of my bare bottom growout tanks with potted plants. I also use floating plants.

 

I have this plant that looks similar but has roots no bulb. Any idea what it is?View attachment 556203

Looks like my aponogenton crispus



I have gotten a ton of baby plants from these. No bulb, they just grow from seed.