jesp Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 Hey AA, I've been rethinking discus since I ruled them out as too difficult to own 4 years ago. What are the best discus care sheets? What are some misconceptions? What are the ABSOLUTES of keeping them? What are your recommendations for getting some? ie: get a couple and see how you do with them? get them young? get a certain type which is hardier ......etc etc etc. I have read up on them, but I am just unsure what to believe. I just have a hard time trusting the internet. (I might be wrong, but do you need to feed smaller ones 5 times a day?) Thanks a bundle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baller403 Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 Ive been keeping discus for years and have kept all kinds of discus and all i can say is give it a try and dont worry too much about superior water quality like some will claim, but proper aeration is a must. I've never lost discus even while vacationing for months at a time but lost quite a few when the airhose fell in the water. and just keep them with community fish eg. tetras and rams. Also you should feed the juveniles more frequently or they will get stunted. This happened to me as i first started to keep discus and worried about bloat, their eyes kept growing as their bodies grew slow untill they looked deformed. I dunno i might be wrong but i've grown discus almost to the size of dinner plates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelle31 Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 You also need to do waterchanges. Food alone will not grow them large. Feed different types of food beefheart,Bloodworms,live worms,flake. PM sent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 If I were you I would spend some time on the Simply Discus Forum / there is a lot of information on that site regarding Discus that you can trust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SourceAquatics Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 What are the best discus care sheets? Simply Discus What are some misconceptions? Discus are cichlids and are hardy fish, if kept in good water and fed good food What are the ABSOLUTES of keeping them? water changes, water temp, food What are your recommendations for getting some? I have kept them on and off since I was 12 years old, they are the most beautiful fresh water fish in world. ie: get a couple and see how you do with them? dont start with any less than 6-8 fish, start off with a bare bottom tank and nothing smaller than a 60 gallon tank for 6-8 of them get them young? the larger you buy theml the less likely they will die on you. i'd recommend nothing smaller than 3-4" get a certain type which is hardier? get the ones you like the most, all discus are pretty hardy. buy from a good source and buy from clean tanks. make sure the discus you buy are eating BEFORE you bring them home,the better the quality of discus, the better they will thrive for you. Feel free to ask any more questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 What are the best discus care sheets? Simply Discus What are some misconceptions? Discus are cichlids and are hardy fish, if kept in good water and fed good food What are the ABSOLUTES of keeping them? water changes, water temp, food What are your recommendations for getting some? I have kept them on and off since I was 12 years old, they are the most beautiful fresh water fish in world. ie: get a couple and see how you do with them? dont start with any less than 6-8 fish, start off with a bare bottom tank and nothing smaller than a 60 gallon tank for 6-8 of them get them young? the larger you buy theml the less likely they will die on you. i'd recommend nothing smaller than 3-4" get a certain type which is hardier? get the ones you like the most, all discus are pretty hardy. buy from a good source and buy from clean tanks. make sure the discus you buy are eating BEFORE you bring them home,the better the quality of discus, the better they will thrive for you. Feel free to ask any more questions. Very sound advice and comments..... I would not trade my Discus tank for anything... I have a total of 13 and want to add more / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesp Posted August 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 Thanks for the advice everyone. I really do appreciate it. So, my set-up is a 90 gallon. 4 feet long, 22 high and 18 wide.....I am pretty sure that is right. I have a Filstar xp3, which is good to 175 gallons. I have also considered hooking up my eheim 2215, good to 90 gallons, along with it. I have a great air pump too. I can understand the recommendation to keep a bare bottom but I was really really hoping to get some black gravel, nice pieces of drift wood and plant that thing up. I have 180 watts of lights for it too...... Any thoughts on the set up? And how strongly is a bare bottom tank recommended? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel al Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 I keep sand in the bottom of some of my discus tanks without any issues. Ray at Source Aquatics has the best discus available, they're healthy & very, very colorful. I've bought several from him & they're great fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 (edited) The battle of bare and planted with substrate... I personally think both are fine... I have a planted tank with a lot of tangled branchy wood / the look apeals to me and the fish seem to like it I have seen a few bare bottom tanks that looked great with the Discus being the whole picture.... so I can apreciate that as well. So I believe its personal prefrence! Edited August 7, 2010 by corrosionjerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SourceAquatics Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 id start with bare bottom if you are new to discus as cleaning is much easier. once you get the hang of them, then start adding what ever you want for substrate and decor....just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesp Posted August 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Are discus not shy fish that like to have things in the tank to make them feel secure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 If you're getting 3-4" fish from a breeder, chances are they're used to a bare bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelle31 Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 (edited) All the breeders I know go bare bottom. As mentioned above easier to clean,cause if small you need to feed lots to grow proper. I have gotten Discus from the best Great Lakes Discus and Discus Hans. Your tank will be fine,I don't think you'll need the extra filter or the airstones but keep them handy. You don't need a crazy amount of light either. Get a group of discus and start learning. Remember STABILITY is and CLEAN WATER is KEY!! And don't buy one discus here and one there,buy them all from one source. Edited August 8, 2010 by Pelle31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolution Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 (edited) I would definatly stay away from gravel unless you are a gravel vaccuming maniac (good at it). Gravel traps too many organic compounds, which has to be removed often by way of a hydro vac. I personally do not like bare bottom tanks either; I don't like the look. Sand on the bottom is how I go and it has a very important benefit. Sand provides a great breeding ground for beneficial bacteria to consume organic waste, which I believe helps to prevent the build up of fungus and pathogenic bacteria. Sand bottoms are easy to clean, because most debris congregate into one or two tight little spots and it's easy to just siphone them off. Other than with wood eating plecos, i find no debris builds up to be siphoned off, but that also has to do with the fact that you'll never see uneaten food in the bottom of any of my tanks. If you go with a really thick sand bed, like 2-3 inches this will give you the added benefit of a natural denitrator. Just add a dozen cories, brochis or even 6-12 banjo cats to help keep the top inch and a half of the sand well oxygenated. I would use the 2215 as the foundation of the biological filtration and the xp3 for some added biological filtration, mechanical filtration, and added water movement. Edited August 8, 2010 by Evolution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesp Posted August 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Interesting. Evolution, you would go with the 90 gallon filter as the base, and the 175 gallon filter as extra? I guess you really like eheim canister filters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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