I'm Getting Discus Fever...

[sudz]

Hey guys...

I was at Big als today... and i found a tank in a HORRIBLE way. They had a bunch of new angles... Very nice specimens, 30 dollars each. I saw one wedged between some driftwood and the glass. By the time i got someone to pull it out... it was floating around. Just for good measure, he started to remove ALL the driftwood. 8 more dead angles, and one dead discus. I was VERY sad from this. But it made me look at all the other discus. I could SWEAR the other discus were SAD. Their stipes turned darker, they got all melo and still, and huddled together in the center of the tank.
I looked at the other discus in the store, and fell in love... AGAIN.

The more and more i research into discus, the more and more i think "i can do this!"

My only roadblock is my gouramis and my Boesaumi rainbow fish. My gourami's I can pawn off to a friend, however, my boesman, i do not know how he would treat the discus. The rest of the fish will be ok. I've seen first hand congo's, Neons, Cardnials, Cherry Barbs, and Black phantom Tetra's in tanks with Discus.

I think i just want one. A center piece to my tank. I hear its best ot have 1, a pair, or more than 5 or 6. Pairs can be risky as they might fight rather than love, lol.

Anywho, My PH is at 7.6.

I bought peatmoss a while back...

I put it in tonight. The temp has always been at 83 (for the loaches) so thats no biggy. My hardness is acceptable, but not for breeding, just for show and grow-on.

I'll DEFINATELY have to get a python now I'm thinking i'll have the tank ready and stable by January. If I cant get constistant water conditions by then, I will not do it. They just seem so... In touch with their surroundings.

I'll use this thread as my "discus prepreation" thread.

Any comments/cautions/words of wisdom you can offer is MORE than welcome. Even if its a "Don't do it man!!!"

My water stats right now:

Temp 83-84
PH 7.6 (working on lowering)
KH 12 degrees
Nitrates 40 ppm (just before water change, 1 day after planting/kicking up a cloud from substrate)... its normally around the 10ppm mark
I have driftwood, and a moderate amount of plants as well

 

[tropicfishman]

I say go for it man, its worth trying and it sounds to me that you ahve been doing your research, if ya don't try you'll end up kicking yourself in the butt later on down the line, like you said, make sur etank is nice and stable and you should be fine, I love discus myself, I would love to keep them in my 75 but its not even close to housing fish and I wanna wai till I have more experience toying and keeping a suitable PH for them , water hardness etc. before I kill off a beautiful fish liek that, but I think your gonna be fine, good luck

btw when I say your gonna be fine, I'm not sure what the KH and GH of the water should be for discus, I just mean your doing all the right steps and you seem to be excited, plsu your doing your research and that really helps

 

[BrianNY]

I agree sudz. Go for it. Which Big Als were you in? I visited the one in York this year and was VERY impressed.

Discus will adapt to your water. Discus are a shoaling species and prefer company. Get 2 if you can.

 

[sudz]

I would want to slowly acclimate them... I've never done the drip method. I have a 4 gallon square bucket ...

As well, I guess i'll get medium sized ones... 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 inches, I read that they adjust to water changes the best, yet are still reasonably hardy (where as the youngin's can go south pretty quick)

My question is... How do you do this with the small amount of water you get from the fish store? Like... the original water they're used to?

I'm pretty sure that Big al's tanks will be close to mine, as they're water is "natuarlly" at 7.8 PH. They just put peat and driftwood to bring it down, as far as i can tell. I guess i'll have to ask them a bit more on THEIR setup.

*edit*

OHHH KAYYY... This is the reason why i haven't gotten a discus...
I put in peat last night. I test now, just over 12 hours later, and my PH went from 7.6 to 7. Doesn't that seem a little quick? i thought the peatmoss would take a week or so. :-| Its nice that its so easily adjustable though. I have a decent amount of KH too. I put the Fluval Peatmoss pellets ina nylon stocking in the back of my AC 70.

 

[BrianNY]

When you buy your discus you'll want to do the following:

1. Have them test the pH while you're there. The match may be closer to your tank water than you think. If it varies more than .5 from yours, use the drip method of acclimation.

2. You want to see the discus eating before you buy them. Select the most robust eaters from the tank and...... purchase whatever they are currently being fed.

To acclimate via the drip method, empty the fish and store water into the bucket. Make sure there is enough water to completely cover the discus. Start a siphon with airline tubing from your tank to the bucket. Tie the tubing in a loose knot, then tighten until the drip is about 1 drop per second. When the bucket is full net the fish and place in the tank. Leave the lights off for a day. It will help reduce the stress.

 

[sudz]

Thanks. Is it a common request to ask for a bucket of store water? as well... How do you keep it heated during the drip method? I have a 7.5 watt pad heater for my 2.5 gallon tank... that will keep it about 3 degrees warmer than ambient... but then thats only like 74*f.

 

[Esra]

I've had my 4 for a few weeks now and can honestly say they're not as touchy as people say.
I have my temp at 28C and my PH sits stable at about 7.6.
Weekly PWC's and they seem very happy.

They start out shy and won't come into the big eating frenzy but after a couple of days they come around and are fine.

My 4 hang out together and mainly with the angels.

All are growing and have great colours!

Check my info for the fish i keep them with.
Never had any problems with biting or them being scared by fast moving fish.

Easily my fav fish.

 

[sudz]

With Angels? they don't fight over food? I have read explicity to not keep them with angles. Doing so WOULD be nice, as i have 2 juvenile ones
Keep me updated as to how they're doing Do you have any pictures?

 

[Esra]

Nah no pics at the moment. My water has some crap in it (made a thread about it).
I can take some though if you want.

They do fine together.
No fighting at all.

They actually seem to prefer each others company, maybe because they're both kind of slow moving.
I read the same thing so when i added them i kept a really close eye on them to make sure but there were no problems.

They look great swimming together.

 

[sudz]

wow! thats good news. B/C my angels are in a 15 gallon right now, but pretty soon, they'll need a bigger tank (i.E. my 44 gallon)

What i'm THINKING of doing... Is kinda a switch.

I'll move my 2 angles 2 clown loaches and 5 German rams to my 44 gallon, and move my 3 Black Phantom Tetra's, 3 dwarf rainbows and my one blue gourami into my 15 gallon.

I'm sure my cherry barbs, Cardinals, Neons and Clowns won't mind the discus.

So all in all, i'll have this in a 44 gallon with 2 discus:

2 Discus
2 Angels
3 Cherry Barbs
3 Clown Loachs
2 False Siamese Algae Eaters
5 German Blue Rams
7 Cardinals, 3 Neons

Is it looking overcrowded?

In my 15 gallon, i will have:

3 Dwarf neon rainbowfish
3 Black Phantom Tetra's
2 Blue Gourami's

Its seeming understocked. The gouramis may get big. I may just sell them alltogether (the gourami's) They're mainly th eonly semi-agressive fish i have. They're real fight starters, they are. I have them seperated now, b/c they faught constantly in the 15. Now its more heavily Planted, so may give it another go.

 

[BrianNY]

I realize that people are going to do what makes sense to them when it comes to mixing species. There's a difference between what can be done and what should be done. Keeping discus and angels together is rolling the dice.

Angels are carriers of culmanaris and capelleria. An angel can live it's entire life with these and show no ill effect. Put a discus in the same tank, have anything that induces stress in the discus and you WILL lose the discus.

IMO a great fish like the discus doesn't need another focal fish in the tank. Why would anyone spend so much money on a fish and risk disaster?

 

[sudz]

... The angels will stay in the 15 gallon. I felt that the 44 gallon would be pretty crowded anyway. I want to tone down the load on the filters, and the number of fish in it. It would make it more manageable to maintain.

 

[jamesrm]

I do not think your B. Rainbows will be an issue, they are the centerpiece of my community tank at my office and they are very peaceful.

 

[sudz]

My worry about the rainbow fish also pretains to water parameters. I'm hoping to get the tank to 6.8 PH, (its steady at 7 right now, with one cup of Peatmoss pellets in a stocking) and i read that rainbowfish like it alkaline. All my other fish are fine with a bit of acidic water.

My plans have changed slightly: On the weekend, I had a few power outages, and apparently, my thermometer on my 15 gallon (which has/had 2 small loaches) was stuck OFF. I caught the tank at a VERY chilly 70, with everyone alive. I then slowly raised it in 3 degree increments over a span of 24 hours to get it to 81 (i know it doesn't match the 3 degree increments, but you get my drift) Well, last night, both loaches Appeared fine, a full day after the temperature was restored. However, this morning, I found a loach with its stomach eaten out of it on its side at the front of the tank. :-( I'm guessing a 12 degree shocker (tank was formally at 82) for a day was just too much for the little guy to handle. :-( The other one seems to be holding on, though he looks like he's thinning a little.

 

[happygirl65]

You could get a ups (uninterruptable power supply) to help you out. It could run your heater for a long time during power outages. The more you plug into it, the less time you will get out of the battery overall, but if the temp is your main concern and maybe an air pump, you should be able to keep it steady for quite a while during an outage. I have seen them in computer section of stores for $30-$50 and on up.

I am thinking of doing that infact because we too get power outages for a few hours at a time, and the ambient room temp even drops when the power is off. So far my fish have not suffered, but it makes me nervous everytime. It would be better IMO to avoid the stress of it. (for me AND the fish lol)