Lots of questions-new to discus

[lwillis22]

I have been into reef aquarium keeping for about 2 years now and I absolutely love fish tanks. I just recently bought a 240 gallon tank housed with 8 discus that I planned to take to the LFS and convert my current 125 gallon reef into the 240 and take the discus to the LFS. Well, I have kept the discus and they are still in there 240 gallon tank. I love them! So, I have decided to keep them but I am going to move them to a different size tank. I have many questions in how to keep these beautiful fish and hoping someone on here will help me out.
1. Can I use substrate? The tank came bare bottom but I think it would look much better with sand on the bottom.
2. How can I get the PH down? Mine is up to 8.0 and I have been doing water changes every other day with r/o water and just today bumped it up to about 30-40 gallons of water changed (had been doing ~20 gallons)
3. What kind of wood is safe to put in there tank?
4. I want to move them to a 110 or 90 gallon tank. What is the best way to move them? I am hoping to be able to use the same wet/dry filter only smaller pump and use the water from there current tank. Will this be ok for them?
5. How often and how much water should I change?
6. How often and what should I feed? I have currently been feeding discus bio gold pellets and frozen blood worms.
7. Are there any lighting requirements?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide,
Lori

[a volar]

Welcome Lori.
you can start by reading here: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?86009-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Getting-Started-with-Discus

[discuspaul]

First off, what size are those discus ? I'm assuming they are adult, or near adult - i.e. over 4" - correct ?
To start with, do some homework - learn what it takes to keep discus successfully - read the Stickies here in the Discus Basics section.
Ok, let's try to answer your questions in order:
1. - Yes, you can use substrate - you just need to be a bit more diligent with your tank cleansing routine, particularly if you want to keep a planted tank.
2.- For now, don't worry too much about getting the pH down. So long as it remains fairly steady between tap & tank on an ongoing basis, you should be ok.
3. Pretty much any type of aquarium-safe wood is OK to use. In fact, over time this will tend to gradually lower the pH.
4. - With 8 discus, it would probably be fine to move them to a 90 or 110 gal tank, but that's not essential. If you do move them, just be sure the tank they're going in to is approx. the same pH and temp of where you're moving them from.
Use of the same filtration/media that's now doing the job should be fine.
5. I'm assuming all along here that you won't have any large crew of tank mates in with them. If your tank has substrate, and is perhaps lightly planted, and the fish are over 4" in size, then you should comfortably be able to keep the fish healthy and well with 2-3 - 50% or more wcs per week.
6.- If they're as mature as we've talked about above, then 2-3 moderate and varied feedings per day should be sufficient. Use what you have been, but try diversifying by adding frozen shrimps, mysis or brine, good quality flakes, freeze-dried black worms, etc. Check the available foods out at your LFS.
7. Nothing special - they don't need bright light - low/medium/moderate lighting will be just fine.
Best of luck to you - take care of those beauties.

[discuspaul]

Many thanks for your referral to my guide, Ismael

[a volar]

Many thanks for your referral to my guide, Ismael

You are very welcome Paul......... But I disagree with you, that’s not a "guide” that is a "master piece" :)

[discuspaul]

WOW - That's a real nice kudo - appreciated.

[dkeef]

Paul u the man to go to for newbies...just like i did...thanks

[discuspaul]

Thanks, David, that`s very nice.
Now, hopefully, Lori will have something to say.

[DiscusPamela]

I'd love to see pics of your discus when you have the time. :)

[discuspaul]

If you meant my discus, Pamela, here's 3 sets of pics of my various tank set-ups over the last couple of years.
All of the fish are, or were originally, approx. 3" juvies grown out in planted set-ups:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/3RedSnakeSkins
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/lolliblues

[DiscusAB]

U will no problem keeping discus... reef tank r 100 time harder.
You can lower ph by letting gas air out... about 24hr than test... if it still up... use peat moss

[Elliots]

RE: DiscusAB. At pH 8.0 you really may not need to get the pH down. Discus need constant pH. If you adjust the pH by too much or too often you may cause problems. If you decide to breed Discus I have no comment about the pH because I only keep them, I do not try to breed them. Breeding Discus may need a lower pH but I do not know.

[lwillis22]

Thanks everyone for some great advice. I will take the time to read that link, thanks. Yes, most are the fish are 3-4", two of the fish are about 2". Well, good I won't worry about the ph so much then. How come so much water changes? So I should let the water set for 24 hrs before using it? Does everyone use r/o water or tap water. I would love to do a planted tank but no experience in that at all. I plan on keeping only discus in the tank. If I do substrate do I vacuum it out with a siphon every few days with the water changes?

Thanks again for your help and when I get everything switched over I will take some pic's.
Lori

[camuth8]

You need to do a lot of water changes because discus are very sensitive. Other fish don't need as many water changes but discus need them to stay healthy.

I use tap water instead of r/o water. I don't have experience with r/o so I don't know which one is better.

I have a semi-planted tank and I can tell you, keeping a planted tank is harder than you think. I still have a hard time maintaining plant health as it's expensive, but also very hard to take care of.

When I do water changes, I always siphon the sand to keep all the gross stuff from getting to clogged up. If you tank isn't too dirty, you probably don't have to do it every single water change. (I have a lot of light on my tank)

Good luck with discus :)

[freude88]

I used to use RO water because I thought they needed a low ph. After some time and research I found that it is most important to "age" your water before putting it in your tank and don't play with your ph. I have an 8.0 ph and my discus are doing great with my tap water. (I gradually converted them to tap from RO).

To age your water you need to agitate it for at least 24 hours. Most people use a simple air stone. I f you check your ph before you age your water and after wards you will see why it is not good to just dump it in directly to your tank. My ph comes out of the tap at 7.4. That's a lot of stress for a fish to handle as the water settles. I also add a heater to the water so it is the same temperature as the tank water. You can also make it easier on yourself and add a pump connected to a hose to fill your tank up with.

You will definitely siphon out the substrate the same time you do your water changes. You will find that Discus poop a lot! Not to mention if you don't it will wreak havoc on your water quality and their health.

Your going to get addicted to these fish! Have fun!

[DiscusPamela]

If you meant my discus, Pamela, here's 3 sets of pics of my various tank set-ups over the last couple of years.
All of the fish are, or were originally, approx. 3" juvies grown out in planted set-ups:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/3RedSnakeSkins
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/lolliblues

Your discus are gorgeous Paul. :)