Discus Difficult or Not???

[Maltimomma]

I've wanted to have a discus tank, but a lot of people have said they have a lot of special requirements and care. I was in my lfs (not a chain store) yesterday and mentioned to the owner how I'd like to have them and she said they are not hard to care for as I had been told. Was she just trying to sell her poor little fish?

 

[Cynic]

Research, do the work (i.e. not skimp on water changes) and you'll be fine.

 

[foster53]

Pristine water conditions(lots of water changes), temperature around 82, and a varied diet is all that's required to keep them successfully. I was nervous about keeping them in the begining also. I ended up breeding, and raising them. Not that difficult, unless you get wild caught. They are a little tougher.

 

[Maltimomma]

Pristine water conditions(lots of water changes), temperature around 82, and a varied diet is all that's required to keep them successfully. I was nervous about keeping them in the begining also. I ended up breeding, and raising them. Not that difficult, unless you get wild caught. They are a little tougher.

Sounds like this I can do easily. I was researching Discus compatibilty this morning and it looks like most of the fish I currently have are compatable except angels. Of course I may have to get a third 55 gallon tank. I'm so excited that I can do this. My tanks currently have ph of 7.2. Is that a problem for Discus?

 

[janky]

Hey, I'm lookin to start a discus tank too! Hopefully we can piece together some info from each other's threads!

Here's what the website I browse says about discus water conditions:
79-86° F, KH 1-3, pH 6.1-7.5

So pH at 7.2 should be fine!

It seems like most of the people on here have had them paired with a few different breeds and not always under the most ideal conditions, yet they managed to get them healthy and happy! I don't want to deduce or over-simplify anything but it seems they're not as difficult as some people make them out to be as long as you stay on top of the water
Again, I'm still new, so take that with a grain of salt

 

[Maltimomma]

Hey, I'm lookin to start a discus tank too! Hopefully we can piece together some info from each other's threads!

Here's what the website I browse says about discus water conditions:
79-86° F, KH 1-3, pH 6.1-7.5

So pH at 7.2 should be fine!

It seems like most of the people on here have had them paired with a few different breeds and not always under the most ideal conditions, yet they managed to get them healthy and happy! I don't want to deduce or over-simplify anything but it seems they're not as difficult as some people make them out to be as long as you stay on top of the water
Again, I'm still new, so take that with a grain of salt

What other fish are you looking at putting in your tank or are you going with just discus? I keep going back and forth about it. I would like a school of about 6 discus and that is probably enough for a 55 gallon tank. I'll probably do a couple of bn plecos. Have you read anything about using sand? My lfs has discuss, but I haven't really looked at them because I didn't think I could have them. I know they are expensive no matter where you get them.

 

[janky]

What other fish are you looking at putting in your tank or are you going with just discus? I keep going back and forth about it. I would like a school of about 6 discus and that is probably enough for a 55 gallon tank. I'll probably do a couple of bn plecos. Have you read anything about using sand? My lfs has discuss, but I haven't really looked at them because I didn't think I could have them. I know they are expensive no matter where you get them.

I am considering gouramis, plecos, rams. I don't know how realistic that is, since I'm a total beginner - hence my other thread
The bn plecos seem to be the going recommendation for a tank that size with discus.
I haven't looked into sand, as I already laid my substrate... sand seems difficult to vacuum lol, so I just went with some bottom layer of finer gravel and larger rock substrate over the top...

I only saw 1 lfs that had discus and the store's conditions seemed kind of iffy. I'd be nervous to spend $50-60 each and bring home sick fish that die a week later

I was also considering ordering from liveaquaria since they have the checkerboard green-ish discuss I really want ... have you heard any good/bad things about them?

 

[Maltimomma]

I am considering gouramis, plecos, rams. I don't know how realistic that is, since I'm a total beginner - hence my other thread
The bn plecos seem to be the going recommendation for a tank that size with discus.
I haven't looked into sand, as I already laid my substrate... sand seems difficult to vacuum lol, so I just went with some bottom layer of finer gravel and larger rock substrate over the top...

I only saw 1 lfs that had discus and the store's conditions seemed kind of iffy. I'd be nervous to spend $50-60 each and bring home sick fish that die a week later

I was also considering ordering from liveaquaria since they have the checkerboard green-ish discuss I really want ... have you heard any good/bad things about them?

I've been looking at Liveaquaria also and no I haven't heard anything one way or the other. As for lfs, here Petsmart doesn't have them and Petco only has 2 different ones. The mom and pop lfs I go to does have them but like I said I haven't really checked them out.

You are right about sand being somewhat difficult to vacuum. I have black sand in one of my tanks and it is very pretty. I do like the black though. Think I'll look at the tiny black gravel. Toddnbecka here on AA sell bn pleco. I bought 4 calicos from them and I just love them.

I'm not sure which discus I want. I do know I want bright colors. Have you read about breeding them. It sounds like they just pair up and then you have to move them to a breeder tank and let nature take its course. I'm sure its not that simple.

 

[foster53]

I would avoid Gouramis with discus. they can tend to get a little aggressive when older. Discus can be housed with other fish(non aggressive smaller fish). they seem to do better in a species tank, with small catfish, or smaller Plecos. Try to avoid any fish that grow larger. Just my take on this from when I bred, and kept them. I have heard good things about Liveaquaria. You can also check out Aquabid, there are several reputable Discus breeders there. Like i said in my other post, Discus are not that difficult, and they are great fish to breed.

 

[Maltimomma]

I would avoid Gouramis with discus. they can tend to get a little aggressive when older. Discus can be housed with other fish(non aggressive smaller fish). they seem to do better in a species tank, with small catfish, or smaller Plecos. Try to avoid any fish that grow larger. Just my take on this from when I bred, and kept them. I have heard good things about Liveaquaria. You can also check out Aquabid, there are several reputable Discus breeders there. Like i said in my other post, Discus are not that difficult, and they are great fish to breed.

I intend to have bn for sure and cats. I'll have to reseach and think about other tank mates. Thanks for the advice.

 

[janky]

I'm not too familiar with the breeding options tbh. The more and more I learn about discus the more it seems that the tank will ultimately be centered around them specifically, and there is little compatibility. While I do like the discus, they get somewhat pricey, and you'll at least want to consider schooling... so plan on that as well.

I have a friend with a ton of cichlid fry so I'm really at a cross-road as to whether I want the cichlids or spend tons of cash on a discus/bn pleco only setup

 

[laoski]

go discus - i have discus for years and they never fail to amaze me. beautiful fishes - temperamental and with mood swings but defo the kings of the aquarium.

its not true the dicus are not compatible with other fishes or with angel fishes, actually i have an angelfish with the discus and for years - they both didnt gave me any problems - you just have to buy them all at once in the same size and keep everythign in control.

they both live naturally in the black water biotope (rio negro in the amazon) and as for fish compatiblity - here is an information about the blackwater biotope and the fishes that live together with the discus:

South American Blackwater Biotope Aquarium Setup

i recommend lots of roots as the discus loves to swim around them. the best combination of fishes i found are the simplier ones - discus plus tetras (neon, cardinal, black, rummy nose and serpae tetra).

 

[janky]

go discus - i have discus for years and they never fail to amaze me. beautiful fishes - temperamental and with mood swings but defo the kings of the aquarium.

its not true the dicus are not compatible with other fishes or with angel fishes, actually i have an angelfish with the discus and for years - they both didnt gave me any problems - you just have to buy them all at once in the same size and keep everythign in control.

they both live naturally in the black water biotope (rio negro in the amazon) and as for fish compatiblity - here is an information about the blackwater biotope and the fishes that live together with the discus:

South American Blackwater Biotope Aquarium Setup

i recommend lots of roots as the discus loves to swim around them. the best combination of fishes i found are the simplier ones - discus plus tetras (neon, cardinal, black, rummy nose and serpae tetra).

Yeah... sounds good. I have a lonely tetra in my smaller tank and I'm sure he'd enjoy a school of buddies if I moved him to the bigger one. That might be an option.

Hypothetical question; if I were to buy them all at once, wouldn't that create an ENORMOUS NH3 spike in the water after a week or so of them living/excreting/feeding in there???
I made that mistake in my small tank (introduced 6 fish at once) and now am paranoid about repeating it... lol

 

[Maltimomma]

Yeah... sounds good. I have a lonely tetra in my smaller tank and I'm sure he'd enjoy a school of buddies if I moved him to the bigger one. That might be an option.

Hypothetical question; if I were to buy them all at once, wouldn't that create an ENORMOUS NH3 spike in the water after a week or so of them living/excreting/feeding in there???
I made that mistake in my small tank (introduced 6 fish at once) and now am paranoid about repeating it... lol

I'm only starting to think about discus, but regarding adding a lot fsh all at once causing a spike in NH3, since you have to keep water conditions so good and frequent pwc for discus, I would think that wouldn't be a problem. I may be totally wrong

 

[BillD]

A few things that one should consider when choosing discus tank mates is temp. I haven't kept them for a while, but others who do keep them at a minimum temp of 84F. A fish that breeds at 72F, like a neon, would be a poor tank mate. A 55 is really only large enough for one adult pair.

 

[laoski]

sorry i havent cleared that a bit lol i was in a hurry to go to work.

well first of all - the aquarium water should be cycled completly before you add the fishes- start first with the small ones before adding the bigger ones.

it would depend on how big your tank is - i got an advice that 1 discus per gallon of water, so calculate your tank of how much capacity it can give to the discus. discus and angel fishes grow really large and neon tetras are the natural prey for the angels. if youre planning to have angels together with the dicus - buy them as juveniles so that they dont consider the neon as food as they grow.

i agree with momma, frequent water changes lowers the amonia or if you have a strong external filter - like eheim is good. you will notice large amounts of ammonia in your aquarium if you put first the little fishes - they will breath near the surface of the water - like gasping for air even though you have o2 in your aquarium. i have read too that low ph can lower the amount of ammonia in the water and if we are talking about low ph - its the discus. they thrive in low ph in the rio negro (see the link i gave you).

discus needs places to hide - they get spooked and scram and bump themselves in the aquarium if they felt any vibration near the aquarium.

but at the end of the day, it would be all in your hands, your experience will be your greatest teacher. our opinions/your researches are only guidance with you setting up your discus aquaria because we all have diff experiences and sometimes it works for us but not for others.

ps - i realized that recreating some similar environment - like roots hanging above makes the discus happy - they love swimming around it and hangs there when theyre bored.