Anyone here keep Discus Fish?

[sal-t-dawg]

I've taken an interest in Discus fish and would like to know if anyone here has them now or had them in the past?

 

[nightfire]

i used to keep them....why whats up?

 

[NeveSSL]

Discus are actually what steered me to saltwater. I heard they could be finicky like salt water and I thought, "Well, if I'm willing to try them, might go saltwater instead." And then I saw a mandarin. At that point, I was done!

I'd still like to do discus one day. I love planted freshwater tanks.

Brandon

 

[zef004]

I have in the past. If you really want to start a tank up I got about ten books about everything you need to know. Lmk

 

[nightfire]

once you have done satwater its easy to deal with discus as they are like saltwater and need more care then other types of fresh water fish.....to me they are the prettiest fresh water but to me one of the only ones.....take zef up on the books as they are fish ya shouldnt just mix in with just any others

 

[sal-t-dawg]

Do they have to be in a planted tank?

 

[mixer911]

I currently keep Discus at my dad's house. It is a 220 gallon tank with a Stingray and Angels also. They do not have to be kept in a planted tank. The hardest part about them is keeping their water quality stable. They also have to have warm water. I keep my tank at 83.5*.

If you want to get quality fish, order from http://www.wattleydiscus.com/ I have been to his place in Miami and it is the stinkiest and hottest place I have every been in, but he has thousands of BEAUTIFUL discus. He breeds them and is known world wide for his discus. You actually wont talk to Jack because he was bought out (he's really old now), but the fish are still amazing.

 

[tahojones]

Yes, I have kept them. Before I got into salt, I was into freash water and had lots of freash water tanks over the years. I bred both angels and discus, at one time. Some will eat their eggs, but sometimes you can get a pair or two that will raise the fry IF your water is great (they like a PH of about 6.8 and water plants like large sword plants, and other broad leaved varieties. They will also place their eggs on a piece of slate (better for removing the eggs, in case they begin to eat them). The fry eat the slime from the parents bodies. they secreet a sort of "milk", for the little ones, but you can buy a substitute food. It is important to have them by their selves or with other discus. There is nothing more satisfying than to watch them with their brood.

 

[franklypre]

Are you wanting to breed or just enjoy? Breeding is a PITA, they are not to difficult to keep IME. Just make sure the tank is well cycled and has plenty of cover, and do you WCs.

 

[sal-t-dawg]

I have read that they like plants like the ones described above and Ive also read that bare bones tanks are fine also. The plan thus far is a bare bones tank with sponge filters, three quarter RO water, a quarter tap and lots of Stresszyme. Ive read to stay away from canister filters if possible. For now they will be just for watching. What frequency of water change is acceptable? Straight RO/DI or ?

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

I kept tanganykan cichlids for years and never used RO/DI - used the water right out of the tap. They are some of the most demanding of the fresh water fish (and many look oddly familiar now that I have salt water fish). I used a canister filter too (Eheim 2217) - the trick is to keep them clean (but not too clean if you know what I mean, since that is your mechanical/chemical/biological filtration). I did water changes every week.

 

[sal-t-dawg]

Looks like timely and consistent water changes are the key. Along with quality food. What would you say is the ph level of water out of the tap or RO/DI ?

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

Here are a couple of the Tanganyikan Cichlids I had.

 

[Fishtails]

One of my discus. Looking at pictures makes me want to do another planted.

Tank setup. Never did a WC I can recall in the 8-9 months it was running.

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

PH of the water I think depends on your water source. My tank actually did better when we moved to the boonies out here and went on well water. (Fresh) Water parameters were always rock solid - because our water out here is really hard. All Cichlids require salts of some sort. I recommend Seachem - as they make salt mixes for the various lakes/rivers these fresh water fish come from. Duplicating their environment (the water) is essential to healthy fresh water fish.

 

[franklypre]

low ph is for breeding, they actually grow faster in a ph of 7+, just don't want any ammonia. Beefheart is the best food.

 

[sal-t-dawg]

Thanks for all of the great advice! I got them home this evening and they seem to be doing great! I'll post some pics within the next day or two.:fish1:

 

[mixer911]

+1 on the beefheart. Mine also LOVE bloodworms. And like Jennie said, the hard water out here (she lives close to me) seems to keep the parms stable.

 

[luckyfish]

Carl where did you get them?

 

[Pickupman66]

INteresting. i have always loved discuss and really wanted to turn that 225 I sold into a FW planted tank, but the Mrs would have none of it. one large tank was enough for her.

on a side note, we may be getting a little 10g tank with some guppies and little underwater frogs for Austin. I remember having many batches of guppies as a kid.