Discus -oh yeah!

My boyfriend has decided he wants to get into discus. I have wanted to try them out for awhile now. So we are going to turn the 44g corner tank into a small discus tank. It's nice & tall. It's already cycled, 2 months old. The water's perimeters are geared for angels who live in near discus in the wild. I am doing a lot of research on discus. To make sure we have all we need to keep em happy. I had to share b/c I have been wanting discus so badly.
Eventually, we're getting another big tank 66g+ for the african cichlids. We want to do the 120 gallon planted discus. Depending on how our experience go with them in the 44g, I may get my dream tank minus the blue diamond discus. The price of them even locally are WOW.
I just had to share. I know that you guys are the only ones who share my excitement.

 

Good Luck Allie!

 

HI Allie
I'm so happy for you!
I know that you have been talking about getting Discus for awhile now.
yeeeaaaa! ;D
Any advice or help I can offer...I will. Just remember, they are not as hard as some folks make them out to be to keep. just change that water every other day or at least every third day. Feed them really well... about four- six times a day, especially the juvies so that you don't have any runts and odd ball shapes... and keep the temp at least 84*. ;D I would also suggest getting them all at the same time, so that you don't end up with any bullying.. but you will anyway, as they are cichlids and like to dominate the tank. But they always pick on the new kid in the tank, and that is why I would suggest getting them at the same time,and same size.
Good luck! I can't wait to hear more! ;D

 

Wow -- congrats and good luck! I've love to try Discus someday, when my experience and pocketbook warrant it I can't wait to see them (lots of pics)!

 

HI Allie
I'm so happy for you!
I know that you have been talking about getting Discus for awhile now.
yeeeaaaa! ;D
Any advice or help I can offer...I will. Just remember, they are not as hard as some folks make them out to be to keep. just change that water every other day or at least every third day. Feed them really well... about four- six times a day, especially the juvies so that you don't have any runts and odd ball shapes... and keep the temp at least 84*. ;D I would also suggest getting them all at the same time, so that you don't end up with any bullying.. but you will anyway, as they are cichlids and like to dominate the tank. But they always pick on the new kid in the tank, and that is why I would suggest getting them at the same time,and same size.
Good luck! I can't wait to hear more! ;D

Thanks Kate. I will be asking you a lot of questions.
okey: Oooh here's one now.... How many should we get for start? The tank is high but not a long tank. The discus at the lfs look about 3-4".

 

Yeah only experts can handle discus, I thought of discus for my new 30 gallon but I didn't buy them because of the care and treatment they require. they r very sensitive but very pretty.

 

awesome ..cant wait to see pics..congrats!

 

Congrats! I love discus & hope to have a big tank for them myself one day. Can't wait to see your discus!

 

Thanks Kate. I will be asking you a lot of questions.
okey: Oooh here's one now.... How many should we get for start? The tank is high but not a long tank. The discus at the lfs look about 3-4".

HI Allie, I would think that you can start with at least 4 in that tank.
;D

Yeah only experts can handle discus, I thought of discus for my new 30 gallon but I didn't buy them because of the care and treatment they require. they r very sensitive but very pretty.

HI Neville, need not be an expert to be able to care for Discus.
All you have to know, is to keep the water clean with frequent wcs. feed them good quality foods and often, keep the temperture up in the tank. Its not as hard as some folks make it out to be at all.
They need to be in a stable mature tank and the nitrates need to be kept below 10.

 

HI Allie, I would think that you can start with at least 4 in that tank.
;D

That what I figured. Thanks Kate.
We are far from experts. We just tried a lot of fish over the past while. I am only trying discus b/c I know they aren't hard as most people think. I think it the wild caught discus are the ones who could be the hard fish to take care of. I have been reading a lot lately even bought a book on them.

 

Yay! Good luck!

 

So were are starting with 4 Discus in the 44g...then when we get the 120 gallon into a discus habitat and get another tank for our Africans. We will be getting 4 more and adding them in the 120 gallon all at the same time.

 

Sounds like a great plan to go with, then all eight would be introduced to a 'new' tank all at once. Good idea!

 

Sounds like a great plan to go with, then all eight would be introduced to a 'new' tank all at once. Good idea!

 

My boyfriend is off with the aceI 1" babies and the gold calvus which we are trading for some discus...oh and the blue dolphins too. The are slow growers and we have more males than females. He may or may not come home with discus...we have a tank which is suitable for them and we've add more things to help with their water conditions etc...
If they look healthy, not stunted or anything wrong we may wait until the next shipment. SO the BF is checking them out first then coming to get me so we can pick out 4 or more depending on how much we get on our trade.
I am so excited I can barely type, lol. ALL kinds of new fishies this week.

 

My boyfriend is off with the aceI 1" babies and the gold calvus which we are trading for some discus...oh and the blue dolphins too. The are slow growers and we have more males than females. He may or may not come home with discus...we have a tank which is suitable for them and we've add more things to help with their water conditions etc...
If they look healthy, not stunted or anything wrong we may wait until the next shipment. SO the BF is checking them out first then coming to get me so we can pick out 4 or more depending on how much we get on our trade.
I am so excited I can barely type, lol. ALL kinds of new fishies this week.

HI Allie
that is exciting news for sure! I hope that they have some great looking Discus there and you go back and bring some home! Cant wait to hear the good news.... and of course... PHOTOS asap! lol..
Good luck! ;D

 

HI Allie
that is exciting news for sure! I hope that they have some great looking Discus there and you go back and bring some home! Cant wait to hear the good news.... and of course... PHOTOS asap! lol..
Good luck! ;D

There was one lone fella there. The fish room manager told us that he'd have more in next week. That'll give us another week to get the condition of the tank more for discus.

 

kewl! And then you will be able to bring home more than one!

 

kewl! And then you will be able to bring home more than one!

Yup 4 is what I am hoping I can find. I hope that our lfs discus are in good condition.

 

Wow, discus are my final fish as for fish keeping, I love how they swim, it really makes it worth it seeing them. I don't have any of course but have seen them in beautiful tanks. Good luck and keep your water quality as pristine as possible.

 

Wow, discus are my final fish as for fish keeping, I love how they swim, it really makes it worth it seeing them. I don't have any of course but have seen them in beautiful tanks. Good luck and keep your water quality as pristine as possible.

Thanks..that shouldn't be a problem here. We do extra water changes on most of our bigger tanks anyway. I love discus too.The colors! I find it interesting that they are so shy.

 

They are simply stunning, I'm sure you'll raise some beautiful and happy fish. Good luck and keep us posted (pics, lol)

 

Thanks..that shouldn't be a problem here. We do extra water changes on most of our bigger tanks anyway. I love discus too.The colors! I find it interesting that they are so shy.

HI Allie
They are pretty shy in the beginning but once they get to know your face, they will actually come to the front of the tank to greet you ( and too see if you have any food for them lol). One thing tho.. is that they are very easily spooked. You can't make any fast sudden moves around them, they will take off and flash all over the tank, hitting the glass, canopy, decorations til they settle down. Its amazing the little things that can make them spook like that. When I cleaned off the glass on one of the tanks one of the Discus took off hitting everything! It was so sad... I had forgot to make slow movements around them. :-\

 

Mine aren't too jumpy unless the lights are off, or I close the top too hard while they're picking at the floating bloodworms!

They were a little jumpy at first, but they're full-grown adults in a spacious planted tank, so that would certainly account for them calming down.

If you're going to be getting smaller discus, especially in a tank of that size, I'd recommend 2 or 3 daily feedings of high quality flake or pellet and HikarI frozen bloodworms, and a temp. of around 86 to 88. Daily or bi-daily waterchanges would be best. This will ensure that when they are fully grown that they are absolutely the best Discus you could ever have.

Of course, you can take it a little easier--1 or 2 feedings a day of just higher quality dried foods and the occasional frozen bloodworms, and WCs every 2-3 days, though for growing out younger Discus WCs are a must.

When you're buying them, look for the signs of proper Discus shape and coloration--they should not be peppered or have an Angel-like mouth, where the mouth is fairly far away from the forehead and 'chin'. Actually, just look at my signature (bad angle in the avatar) for pictures of good Discus.

I wouldn't recommend buying them from a store if there is a breeder in your area--check out the Sponsors on https://www.simplydiscus.com to see if there is one in your area. You may or may not be able to get them cheaper, but you can gaurantee that the fish you buy are healthy.

 

Mine aren't too jumpy unless the lights are off, or I close the top too hard while they're picking at the floating bloodworms!

They were a little jumpy at first, but they're full-grown adults in a spacious planted tank, so that would certainly account for them calming down.

If you're going to be getting smaller discus, especially in a tank of that size, I'd recommend 2 or 3 daily feedings of high quality flake or pellet and HikarI frozen bloodworms, and a temp. of around 86 to 88. Daily or bi-daily waterchanges would be best. This will ensure that when they are fully grown that they are absolutely the best Discus you could ever have.

Of course, you can take it a little easier--1 or 2 feedings a day of just higher quality dried foods and the occasional frozen bloodworms, and WCs every 2-3 days, though for growing out younger Discus WCs are a must.

When you're buying them, look for the signs of proper Discus shape and coloration--they should not be peppered or have an Angel-like mouth, where the mouth is fairly far away from the forehead and 'chin'. Actually, just look at my signature (bad angle in the avatar) for pictures of good Discus.

I wouldn't recommend buying them from a store if there is a breeder in your area--check out the Sponsors on https://www.simplydiscus.com to see if there is one in your area. You may or may not be able to get them cheaper, but you can gaurantee that the fish you buy are healthy.

Thanks. Yeah we noticed that our lfs discus aren't great. A friend of ours is telling us not to bother unless we use the 120 gallon for them right away & not getting lfs discus. We can't right now, the 120 gallon is a Lake MalawI african cichlid tank. It's going to take awhile to change up the tank's perimeters for the discus. So maybe we will wait until someone has some for sale. I know we can't rush these fish so I am going to be patient. So maybe discus will be in a month or so. But I want to try...maybe we'll order some who knows? It's frustrating...I want a discus tank now.

 

FYI--unless you're buying Heckels or some wilds, most breeders and suppliers keep their Discus in water with neutral pH and whatever kH/gH.

 

FYI--unless you're buying Heckels or some wilds, most breeders and suppliers keep their Discus in water with neutral pH and whatever kH/gH.

 

Hey Allie! I'm waiting for updates, bets of luck!

 

Hey Allie! I'm waiting for updates, bets of luck!

It's going to awhile but not too long I hope. You know I will have updates. hoto: