I need some advice...

[chinoz]

;D I currently own a 20 gallon tank, i have 3 discus in there right now but being separated by divider..because they are a bunch of meanie ;D Im planning to purchase either a 125 gallon tank or a 55 gallon and I will also buy about 3 more discus (1.5") from my LFS. Ok, should I go for the 125 or 55 gal? and if i put these fishes in one tank, will they fight again? will the bullies pick on my new baby? :-\


Thanh.

[Very Fishy]

The bigger the tank, the better. Go for the 125 G ;D

[TKD-MAN]

The bigger the tank, the better. Go for the 125 G ;D

I agree :)and the more fish the better about 12 in a 125G.
:bounce: :bounce2: :drummer:

[Carol_Roberts]

Personally I'd get the 55 first and then the 125. ;) Six small discus will feel lost in a 125. Then you'll have three good tanks. The 20 can be used as a hospital/quarantine tank.

By the way, I'd like to suggest buying discus from a breeder or hobbiest. You will get healthier, prettier discus from a breeder.

[FrankLuvsDiscus]

;)Go for the 125 ! In order to make it so the little guys don't get lost or can't find much food utilize your devider to keep them in an area around 60g or so.


20g for hospital tank totally

[BlueTurquoise]

Note on agressiveness: I would remove the divider and let them be once you've got the larger tank. The bullying is natural and gets less and less with time. Around the 3 week mark they should have developed a "pecking order" and be less agressive towards eachother however the agressiveness never really stops. Mine after 1 year are still at eachother sometimes. It's natural discus behaviour.

Of course within reason! If they are tearing eachother apart that's a different story however I think it will never get to that stage.

Chong

[Smokey]

wise words Chong. The same expierence when I got mine. Placed them in a 33 - BB. they would huddle together, swim together, feed together. As they grew; one was always the first to eat, period. Nothing has changed now they are adults ! Pecking order . yup!!!

Even when i separate the discus , one always takes command.

Smokey

[95jeepxj]

Why is it that everyone here on this forum seems to pick on the LFS. Saying that you will get healthier fish from a breeder is a pretty bold statement. I have just spent the last 8 months helping some friends build an aquarium store. I have been reading this forum for about 2 months now and I have learned a lot about discus and I am grateful for that. We have started keeping discus very sucessfully, and they are very healthy, eating like pigs, and they have been growing quite well in 29 gallaon tanks with plants and gravel. We also have locally bred guppies and angels on the same system.
Just remember, without the LFS where are you going to get your daily and emergency supplies. When your heater or filter blows out are you going to wait a week for it to come mail order.

Go with whatever tank is in your budget, and what you have room for. IMO it is silly to buy a 55 gallon tank when you can afford and have room for a 125. Over the years I have spent so much extra money on bigger and bigger and bigger tanks more filters, heaters etc. Even when you get the 125 you will eventually want something bigger.

jake

p.s. I'm not trying to start anything here, but it is very annoying to me when people advise against the LFS. Not all Local Fish Stores are created equal. It's a shame when people think that wal mart and pet smart are the LFS. Yes there are some bad stores around with people that don't know the difference between a Marine tank and a freshwater tank.

[Smokey]

Very good words. As one who does the maintance on the tanks, at a LFS ... I can atest to the dangers of buying from one.

MPE - they do not understand the need for water changes.
Quote - why change water, we sell fish to fast.

New fish shipment ... just dump the fish and water into the tank.

Medicate ... add salt.

Quarentene NO time selll the fish

Remove sick fish ... only when it is dead.

Clean the filters ... why bother.

Etc.

Now, personally speaking, I got into trouble when I did water changes to minimize the ammonia / NITRITES.

NEW TANKS. NO BIOLOGICAL ... Throw all the fish in.
Water changes cause disease. { actually ICH was rampent].

Sell , Sell, Sell.


Since I have taken over the maintance, it has been a battle convincing the owner that 1960's technology is now longer adequate.

I have spoken to other lfs ... and maintance seems to be the last requirement.

NOT ALL LFS FALL INTO THIS CATAGORY ! HOWEVER, HOW MANY ACTUALLY DO !

Yes, I do agree with you . A nice new lfs can be excellant, a good supply of fish. And a source for the mechanicl equipment.

P.S. we do not stock any fish that retails for more than $3.00 to $5.00, reqularly. We do have some lovely Africans ... the customers say wow , but $10.00 for a fish, no way. Haven't sold one of them in 3 months.

This is only my personal expierence and my personal view.

Maintaining a lfs is a full time job. Lots of work.

Smokey
[maybe that is why they hired me.] lol.
I love my little job. Why --- because I get to meet some very nice interesting people. AND - I get to pass on all I know; which is usually what I have learned from my own expierence and from forums ... like SIMPLYDISCUS ... the extreme fish forum !!!

[ReeferKimberly]

I think they should ONLY hire people like smokey and the members of this board. we need more knowledgable staff in there. i went to petco yesterday and asked for some acriflavine, they didn't know what it was ;D :-[
kimberly :-*

[95jeepxj]

That would be the difference between a good LFS and one who looks at it as just a business. We do weekly water changes on all systems(freshwater gets 60%ro/di saltwater gets 100% ro/di), we monitor levels every day, we do not just dump water into our systems(you ever see whats in the bags when the fish get delivered) all fish get netted in. We quarrantine all saltwater fish for a minimum of 3 weeks before they go out for sale. We also have hospital tanks set up for freshwater fish. We do not have all of our tanks on a central system, there are 7 separate freshwater systems so disease will not spread beyond the system (much easier to treat 8 tanks than 80). Gravel gets vacuumed with water changes and mech. media gets cleaned-replaced if needed.

Our philosophy is not to sell a sick fish to anyone. Whats the point? If someone brings a fish home and spreads ich to their whole tank, then you loose that customer forever and probably more customers.

We also have fish and corals ranging in price from $1.99 to $159.99 (sold a nautilus the other day for 150. We regularly sell saltwater fish for 50 and up.

Maintaining a LFS is an awful lot of work, but if it is your only means of an income you better well take care of it or you won't be there very long.

jake

[Willie]

Jake;

Let me challenge your suppositions.

You indicated that the LFS keeps their discus in a planted tank with gravel and these fish are maintained on a central system with angels. Both of these are no-no's for advanced hobbyists. You can't keep a planted tank clean enough to raise discus, certainly not in a LFS. You've got angels on the same water system, so a disease with one species will cross infect the other. The same system keeps guppies, so you've got low temperatures and salt in the water. None of these parameters make sense for discus.

I happen to like my LFS and stop by frequently, but I don't buy discus there. When I sell them discus, I know they don't quarantine them from other discus -- it may also be pointless with their central system anyway. They don't feed their fish, so my discus get a little more stunted every week. Its not that LFS owners are anything but hard working, dedicated people. Its that discus are too specialized to be handled by most LFS.

If you ever go to San Francisco, stop by Fairy Lake Discus Palace. They specialize in discus and all the discus tanks are separate and self standing. You can see breeding pairs taking care of babies all over the store.

Respectfully, Willie

[April]

i have a lfs who are great for most species of fish. they self import and bring in alot of neat fish from the amazon. including hte wilds. they have had some nice ones..but as the weeks go on they get more and more emaciated and dark. they bring in domestics and each time they slime up and huddle. it goes round and round. i get alot of my tanks there and other stuff. great for meds.and i trade fish to them. but not discus.
if a lfs is knowledgeable about discus and dont mix nets and water and different shipments and do wc and feed them well..theres no reason they shouldnt be able to . but.they cut corners or dont know better. and of course overcrowding.
think they need to hire a discus person in each store.
willie saw my lfs.
we also had one exclusively for discus. hes gone now..closed. but it was impressive. as he imported quite decent discus and was very careful about disease. clean tanks and healthy fish.