Where can I find

[glo]

A reputable Discus dealer "has to be online" there are none within 4 hrs or so of me that I know of. who if I am honest and say my Ph is 7.6 will tell me it is OK to get these discuss and they will be Ok in my tanks/ And...where do i find the smaller discus which I can buy 4 to 6 of to raise at a price I can afford this quantity..say 10 or so dollars each instead of 25 to 30. Thanks for any input.

glo

[Don_Lee]

Hi Glo,

Welcome to Simply Discus! The best source for breeder searching I have found is www.discus.pagina.nl or the breeder section on this board.
In terms of your water, you would want to know the composition of the water your breeder has kept the fish in. IMO and IME, 7.6 pH should not be a problem, but you should know the hardness of your water as well. Also, whether your water is "cycled" or not is a very important piece of water safety. If you do not know about these terms, check out the water section for more information.
The price you are looking to get fry at is rather low IME. You will have to find someone local who will sell fish to you at a very young age most likely, otherwise I cannot imagine that you will find fish that cheap. Also, remember that "You pay for what you get" generally speaking, and if you buy cheap fish you may be getting fish that are not entirely healthy or hearty.

HTH,

Don ;D

[dm]

Don is right, and I really don't think ANY reputable breeder will tell you that you acan not keep Discus in 7.5 pH. Should be fine.

[glo]

Thanks for the input so far.

Yes all my tanks are very well cycled. I currently have lots of angels and have been breeding them for a few months now.

From the beginners section I had read that as long as the Ph is constant to not mess with it. As I already do several water changes with raising angels, I am really familiar with the work involved and my water parameters. My Ph is constant at 7.6 out of the tap. so the news that I could keep Discus without altering the Ph was in fact good news. I bought a small test kit for gh and kh and both tested in the 300 range if I read it correctly. I do not have a water softener in my home...so this too would be how it comes out of the tap.

To be honest I really thought maybe it would be hard to find Discus at that price but thought I had read on this forum, ....but maybe not..... for a beginner to get the juvies for that price range so that they could get 4 to 6 and grow them out.

I am the sentimental type so I can get pretty close to "just a fish" which means I surely don't really want to kill of 4 to 6 fish or my wallet, either :o. its not that I don't trust the info its just that it seems to switch gears with so much of what is written in books etc.

So If I understand correctly a reputable dealer would know that as long as my Ph is constant I should be able to keep Discus in my tanks ok at 7.6 right?

Also if they are raised in a lower Ph would I need to buy water from my lfs that is at 7 to 7.2 I have been told and slowly acclimate them to the higher Ph or can I just take a beneficial amount of time to acclimate them to my tank water and expect them to do OK. At what size can I get them so that I could put them 4 probably in a 55 with some neons and fancy guppies. That would pretty much be the fish load for that tank.

Thanks
glo

[Wolf]

You can adjust them once you get home. If the ph of the breeder is lower than your ph, you can just scoop them out of the bag and toss them in the tank. Yes, it is no problem keeping them in your tap water and I wouldnt mess with it at all. If at all possible, try to bypass the water softener when you change water in the tank. You should be able to find some decent fish from a local dealer for $15 -$20 a fish. Be careful about what you buy though. It is a lot of hard work keeping these fish. After you have put a year of work into growing them out to adults, you will be upset at yourself you didn't spend the extra $5 a fish to get the better stock. I'm not saying you need to spend $50 a fish on juveniles but I wouldn't hesitate to pay the extra $5-$10 a fish for better quality.

[Carol_Roberts]

You're from Illinois?

[glo]

Yes I am from Illinois?

[Carol_Roberts]

I'm thinking there should be some one within driving distance. I don't think any of the breeders that have banners on our site would have discus for $10.00, but I could be wrong. Shipping is pretty expensive too. Go to the hobbiest section and contact folks in your area and see if they can help you. Or you can post a request in buy sell trade . . .

[Don_Lee]

I am from Illinois too Glo, if you want some names/ideas give me a PM and I will tell you some of the options in the area of Illinois I live. I live near Chicago, in Rockford.

Don ;D