Help Wanted & needed!

[discuswannabe]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and to discus. I don't have any yet but it's just killing me not to have some of these beautiful fish. Just a little background-I have angels and have been moderately successful with breeding and raising. So what I need to know is how do I get started the right way? My water is high in pH and of course along with that goes hard also. What kind of filters, plants vs no plants and I'm sure there are a lot of other things I don't know about. I think what concerns me the most is the water. One of my local LFS says she treats them the same as all the other fish in her store. I'm not sure how long she has had them but they looked healthy and were eager to come to the glass to check me out. If I have these fish I want the chance for them to breed. I have a 65 gal tank that I want to start with. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Donna

[DarkDiscus]

Donna,

Sounds like you should do fine with the discus. Get 6-8 fish and put them in that 65 gallon. Most of us here go bare bottom, as it is much cleaner. I would suggest an Aqua Clear 500 filter and 2 sponge filters run by air pump. Add 2 150 watt heaters set to 84-88 degrees for young fish.

Feed a varied diet - you can use beefheart, some pellet food, some frozen and even live foods like earthworms or blackworms. The more they eat, the quicker they grow. Be prepared to do 25% water changes, or more, daily. The more you do the better. To do the changes, you will likely want a holding tank to heat and aerate the water while being stored overnight.

The only problem I can foresee is the breeding part - it's tough to do in hard, alkaline water. You may need to invest in a RO unit, but that's in the future.

I would also suggest a quick tour around the site, try to learn as much as you can before jumping into the hobby and THEN trying to learn it all.

But someone who is good with angels should be able to master discus - just a few differences and a touch more work!

Good luck!

John

[discuswannabe]

Since I've had angels in this tank, I already have a 330 biowheel filter and a smaller kind (can't remember name), do I also need the sponge filter? I've seen the breeding cones that look like terra cotta. So can I put regular terra cotta flower pots (new of course) in with gravel and plants just to have some plants or it is best to have a completely bare tank? See, I'm just full of questions - give me a few more minutes and I'll think of some more! Donna

[DarkDiscus]

Donna,

You can use your existing filters, certainly. The sponges add extra biological filtration at a lof price, so they are a good idea, but hardly necessary.

You can go with potted plants, certainly. Many do so to good effect. The pots also can double as spawning cones...

But that's a ways away!

;)

John