Are Discus really that hard?

[Kingcichlid87]

my oph straight out the tap and conditioned is 7.2

so i gotta try and get it to be stable at around 6.5

anyone have any suggestions on what would be the best way to do this.

i heard bogwood lowers the ph a little bit is that true

 

[Wingman-Goose]

I would say they are difficult. I set up a tank and put in 6 at once all the same size.

The temperature and water had all been set up to be good for discus. However, I got one that over competed for food and got big quickly which killed or stunted the others. I am now left with 3 after 8 months but one is currently on its way out.

Previously I had 3 in a tank and had the same aggression which is why I got 6 this time to try and stop it. They can be hardy but I found do not thrive.

Great fish but would suggest having more than 6 and a very intense maintenance schedule. I have read a bare bottom tank with no other fish other than discus makes it simpler but I chose not to do this. I researched a fair bit and struggled and do think luck can be a factor with discus.

I would welcome anyone else's comments on my experiences!

 

[Jesselav1233]

I had a bad experience with them my first time where they all died from a plague but now I have mostly Hans discus and they are doing great in a heavily planted 55 gal. Personally with the ph I use peet moss granules but I don't think it actually changed my ph at all but I did read it causes the waters to stay more stable and I keep it in my filter I would say 7 is okay even though its high for what discus want as long as they acclimate slowly I would def recommend Hans discus as well

 

[baron1282]

jesselav12333

You got some nice looking fish!! I am still working on my 29 gallon Salt Water tank that I am very excited about and looking forward too. Tonight I am picking up one more bag of live sand for it, and on the first comes the live rock and water.

As for the Discus, I will give it more thought, as I might go ahead and buy a 55 gallon tank and go ahead and do Discus when I move. I think I want three fish tanks in my life. I am planning on a 75 gallon or 125 gallon. I do like fresh water Discus.

 

[Scottyhorse]

WHEN you set it up (hehehe ) make sure you set up a build thread! When in the long away future I have a vet clinic, I want to have a discus tank in the waiting room. Keep the cats away!

 

[Jesselav1233]

I'm telling ya if u do your research and put your time in with some extra water changes to keep it clean you'll be successful with discus they are by far my favorites they interact with me much more then any of my other fish. (I think they're smarter) but don't tell anyone when I tell people that they just laugh at me.

 

[StrawberryBlonde7]

I just acclimated my four new juvenile discus into my tank , very exciting and unnerving

 

[Jesselav1233]

I just acclimated my four new juvenile discus into my tank , very exciting and unnerving

Can we see pics of the little guys? How are they doing?

 

[paytertot]

Yes, pics!

 

[StrawberryBlonde7]

I just put them in this tank last night . They are still very skittish. I'll post when I get a better pic. They not have all their color yet be thy are still babies 3 or 4 months old.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

Not hard per se.
They just require a bit more STRICT maintenance.

Discus are sensitive fish. And they cannot tolerate poor water quality, unlike hardy fish.
So you have to be a little more dedicated if you want to keep them healthy and thriving.

 

[Jesselav1233]

Not hard per se.
They just require a bit more STRICT maintenance.

Discus are sensitive fish. And they cannot tolerate poor water quality, unlike hardy fish.
So you have to be a little more dedicated if you want to keep them healthy and thriving.

+1 that's exactly how I feel not really harder just more work if u know that going into it and think your able to keep up with it you should be okay

 

[Teakwood]

Hm I have some angels now, I think discus will be my next project, I think I would like to get a tank to grow out some and then have some angels and discus in a tank together.

 

[Teakwood]

My husbands gonna freak

 

[Bubble_B0y]

keeping Discus.

- You cannot be lazy
- You cannot be complacent

Follow these simple rules. And you will be rewarded with beautiful fish.

 

[StrawberryBlonde7]

Will discus eat baby crayfish?

 

[jasonm]

I have been looking into the too, I do not have a breader near that raise discus so I have Ben looking online and somethingphisy.com seems to have good deals on there fish, but I have notfound anything on the company. The name is kind of scarey.

 

[Teakwood]

I have been looking into the too, I do not have a breader near that raise discus so I have Ben looking online and somethingphisy.com seems to have good deals on there fish, but I have notfound anything on the company. The name is kind of scarey.

You should check out simplydiscus. It's a forum as well, I use tapa talk to access it. There are a ton of reviews from somethingphishy. But even based on the reviews to be honest if I didn't have someone local and I had to ship I may have tried them out, based in cost alone. Reviews are very mixed.

 

[Cynic]

I've recently acquired 5 young discus for my 55G and just thought I'd share my thoughts on my experience.

Firstly, I started with 3 discus. This was too few and saw a lot of bickering and aggression between the discus.

Secondly I did a bare tank but I failed to paint the bottom of my tank. As a result my discus were disorientated and often swam/rested at an angle.

Adding two more discus has had a remarkable effect on the group, they're much more social towards me and each other.

Adding substrate has given the group much more comfort and are all swimming perfectly.

Here are my first three

 

[Autumnsky]

I had a bad experience with them my first time where they all died from a plague but now I have mostly Hans discus and they are doing great in a heavily planted 55 gal. Personally with the ph I use peet moss granules but I don't think it actually changed my ph at all but I did read it causes the waters to stay more stable and I keep it in my filter I would say 7 is okay even though its high for what discus want as long as they acclimate slowly I would def recommend Hans discus as well

Beautiful fish!