Considering discus

[Cthulhu]

Hi!
I just drifted to this forum in order to learn more about discus, as I am currently setting up a 95g freshwater aquarium. It used to be a reef for many years, but in the end it required too much time, especially those damn water changes which were a royal pain for a tank this size!

So this will soon become a planted tank, and my current obsession is aquascaping. My real focus for this aquarium is really plants and aquascaping, the fish are secondary.

Keeping discus had never crossed my mind until recently. I have always thought of them as hard to keep and requiring special conditions and lots of maintenance, so I never give them a thought. And anyway my only freshwater aquarium (25g) was way too small.

But now I'm thinking, why not? Discus shouldn't be any more trouble than any other type of fish. CO2 will keep the pH below 7. Daily automated 10% water change with RO/DI water, with some GH Booster dosed daily to maintain the right KH/GH, will provide the stable conditions that discus need.

So I'm gonna read some more about these wonderful fish, and maybe in a few months I'll end up with a group of discus in my aquarium!

[Altum Nut]

Welcome to Simply Discus Cthulhu.

My only suggestion at this point is to read up a bit further before you jump in to Discus. Because of the lack of smaller w/c's your planning...go with adults. Another thing is PH is not a real factor but what's important is to keep it stable.
Water quality is always a factor when keeping Discus whether it be wild's or domestic which is why the many of us go heavy on multiple w/c's.
Keep us updated on whatever you decide to do.
...Ralph

[DLock3d]

Welcome to Simply Discus Cthulhu.

My only suggestion at this point is to read up a bit further before you jump in to Discus. Because of the lack of smaller w/c's your planning...go with adults. Another thing is PH is not a real factor but what's important is to keep it stable.
Water quality is always a factor when keeping Discus whether it be wild's or domestic which is why the many of us go heavy on multiple w/c's.
Keep us updated on whatever you decide to do.
...Ralph

+ 1

[Cthulhu]

The more I think about it, an amazonian biotope really appeals to me. I would have it running for at least 6 months before I get any discus and in the meantime I'll be sure to get only suitable tankmates like rummy-nose tetras, corydoras, pleco.

One of my concerns is the lighting, I have really strong lights, could this be a problem? I've read that discus prefer softer light but can get used to stronger light.


Because of the lack of smaller w/c's your planning...go with adults.

10% daily is not enough??

[Larry Bugg]

A planted tank would not be a discus biotope. There are no plants in the areas of the Amazon that discus live in. Tree roots and sand.

10% daily is not enough?? - Research - start by reading all the stickies in the begginer section.

[Jeff O]

The more I think about it, an amazonian biotope really appeals to me. I would have it running for at least 6 months before I get any discus and in the meantime I'll be sure to get only suitable tankmates like rummy-nose tetras, corydoras, pleco.

One of my concerns is the lighting, I have really strong lights, could this be a problem? I've read that discus prefer softer light but can get used to stronger light.



10% daily is not enough??

Most of us do 35-50% daily with one weakly 90-100% change.
-Jeff

[Poco]

A planted tank would not be a discus biotope. There are no plants in the areas of the Amazon that discus live in. Tree roots and sand.

10% daily is not enough?? - Research - start by reading all the stickies in the begginer section.

+1

[Cthulhu]

A planted tank would not be a discus biotope. There are no plants in the areas of the Amazon that discus live in. Tree roots and sand.

I didn't know that! I have been looking at planted amazonian biotopes... I knew those that had discus were not 100% strict biotopes at least because they were not wild ones. But I thought discus lived in placed like these. I still have a lot to learn about these fish, that's why I'm here!
Well, I don't aim for a strict biotope anyway, but going mostly for a planted amazonian would be the best way to make sure I get plants that live well in the higher temperatures that discus need. I will not want wild discus either and I will probably cheat on other fish species too.

I have read most of the stickies in this section (except those on choosing the fish, I'll get to this later).
Almost everything about water changes was on how to do it, not so much on the amount.
I could easily increase my WC to much more than 10%, but that just seems way too much. Why do you feel you must change up to 50% daily?

[Larry Bugg]

It really depends on what age discus you start out with. With adults you could be just fine with a 20% change daily or a 50% change every 4 or 5 days depending on the bioload. If you are thinking about starting out with young discus and growing them out then that is another story. While young discus can be grown out in a planted tank it takes a great deal of work and isn't usually recommended. To grow out young discus to their full potential requires heavy feeding and lots of water changes. A planted tank complicates this even further because it is really difficult to get a planted tank really clean after these feedings. Your opening sentence said the reef was too much time and the w/c was a pita. Sounds like a planted tank with young discus is a set up for failure for you. I would recommend either using a separate tank to grow out the discus in a BB tank or purchasing discus that are in the 4 1/2" range at a minimum.

[Skip]

I have read most of the stickies in this section (except those on choosing the fish, I'll get to this later).
Almost everything about water changes was on how to do it, not so much on the amount.

I could easily increase my WC to much more than 10%, but that just seems way too much. Why do you feel you must change up to 50% daily?

read a little more about water changes..

clean water equals healthy fish..

clear water is not always clean

[matt56]

You never specified the size of the discus you were trying to get. If you get 5-6"+ discus you won't have to do the large daily water changes as they don't have much more to grow. As juvies they need the water changes to keep the water prestine as you will be feeding them up to 6 times a day with high protein food, which would foul the water in no time. If you go with adults you won't have to do this. If you are going with a set up as complex as that do not get juvies 3-4". Unless you grow them out in a seperate tank that is bare bottom, and then transfer them into the planed tank. Not trying to ruin your plan, just want you to be aware of this stuff. All this info can be found in the stickies in this forum so if you haven't already I would read through em all. Hope this helped!

Bugman typed faster then me LOL.

[star rider]

There you have it , in a nutshell

Juvenile discus should be raised in a bare bottom tank with heavy feedings and daily water changes for optimal growth.(key word here)

in regard to biotope...Discus Biotope will range..so it's not to say there are no aquatic plants... they do prefer heavy cover, dark tea-stained(aka blackwater-tanins)
usually with sand bottom and round rocks, root tangles

they do tend to occupy flooded 'plains' during the rainy season aka breeding season. here you will find submerged live trees/shrubs or plants adapted to these yearly floodings.
often 'biotope' tanks may include some plants(vals) with subdued lighting often tea stained, sand bottoms with round rocks and branches....often the viewpoint of the artist setting up the biotope ;)

[discuspaul]

Is this you, Ed, from AC ?
If so, it's good to now see you active as a long time sd member. You'll no doubt have learned a lot in your time here - as I did - although I'm quite sure you've already done all your homework now that you're keeping discus.




There you have it , in a nutshell

Juvenile discus should be raised in a bare bottom tank with heavy feedings and daily water changes for optimal growth.(key word here)

in regard to biotope...Discus Biotope will range..so it's not to say there are no aquatic plants... they do prefer heavy cover, dark tea-stained(aka blackwater-tanins)
usually with sand bottom and round rocks, root tangles

they do tend to occupy flooded 'plains' during the rainy season aka breeding season. here you will find submerged live trees/shrubs or plants adapted to these yearly floodings.
often 'biotope' tanks may include some plants(vals) with subdued lighting often tea stained, sand bottoms with round rocks and branches....often the viewpoint of the artist setting up the biotope ;)

[Cthulhu]

Thanks a lot guys!
I'll follow your advice and get adults. I usually like to get my fish as young as possible and watch them grow, but in this case juveniles seem much more difficult to maintain.

I still have plenty of time to make sure I get everything right before any discus enters my house. I hope to have completed my setup in 2-3 weeks. Then I will be mostly growing plants and making sure everything runs smoothly, and trying to put my hands on some nice driftwood. I'll probably get some fish but not much. By late spring/early summer I will go to the river to get rocks and do the real aquascape. Then more fish. The discus will come a few months after.
That's the plan!

I still think more than 10% daily water changes is too much, but I will see when I am there. And if more is needed, it's a simple matter of programming a timer to keep a solenoid valve open longer.

How long do discus live? I guess it can be well over 10 years in good conditions?
How old are discus when they reach their maximum size?

[discuspaul]

If you want to be successful keeping discus, you'll soon realize that 10% daily water changes are not too much, particularly if you get young juvie fish to grow out.
Discus are said to live up to 10 years or longer under good conditions, but I don't believe that very many make it that far.
Discus usually reach maximum size, if properly grown out, somewhere between 12 to 24 months of age, although some may continue to grow a little more, albeit slowly, beyond that time frame.

[star rider]

Is this you, Ed, from AC ?
If so, it's good to now see you active as a long time sd member. You'll no doubt have learned a lot in your time here - as I did - although I'm quite sure you've already done all your homework now that you're keeping discus.

Hi Paul, yes it's me...I was active years ago when I concentrated on discus.. I moved to P.Altum and spent a considerable amount of time and research before I tried my hand at Altum..as you know..I have been successful with the Altum, still my all time favorite SA Cichlid...
I decided to venture back into high quality discus...I figured since I'm constantly working with my Altum and my Discus tank is right next to it.... ;)

good to see you here

[Poco]

Ed, did you manage to spawn Altum?

Apologies for hijacking the thread.

[Cthulhu]

Discus are said to live up to 10 years or longer under good conditions, but I don't believe that very many make it that far.

I hope I will be as successful with my tank and have long lives fishes, as I have had these last years with my 25g. I currently have 5yo lampeye killies, 10yo corydoras, 5yo dwarf african frogs, and 3yo amano shrimps.

And I have learned so much more lately, and I have a much better setup for my 95g, so hopefully this one will go even better!



Apologies for hijacking the thread.

It's a pleasure to lend you my thread! :D

[star rider]

Ed, did you manage to spawn Altum?

Apologies for hijacking the thread.

no, not at this time.. the P Altum generally develop slower and are still under 2 years old (will be 2 in aug) .

I am hoping that they may at the very least attempt it..but time will tell.