discus beginner

[CoKen]

hi guys

i am very new to discus, and had just bought a tank, 40 gallons, with a canister filter (AE 808 model). the fish shop staff came to setup everything for me (as part of the package), he told me to keep the water for a week
before putting any discus in. i filled the tank with tap water, he also put in some chlorine remover and ammonia reduction to the tap water.

when should i adjust the PH level? i intend to adjust the PH level to 6, is this an ideal level for small discuss? if not, what is the good level. i am going to buy 8 1.5 inches baby discus.

as for the water changing issue, do i need to change the water 50% daily? if i change the tank water with the tap water, assuming i store the tap water over night before filling into the tank. what happen to the PH level? will the chlorine disappear after an overnight stored?

for a healthy discus, will its colour develop evenly (full body) as it grows? when the colour start developing? i saw some 3 inches discus, their colour only halfly developed, leaving the back part of the body plain colour (white), i was told that it will develop soon, is this true? or is it something wrong with the discus?

what are basic food for discus, some suggest beefheart, flake, red worm, etc...

your advise is very much appreciated.

rgds
Ken

[Doug A]

Hi Ken,

Welcome to Simply! This is a fantastic site with lots of information. Now on to your questions.

First off DO NOT adjust your Ph.When you start messing with your Ph you will only cause more problems for yourself. I raised my discus in Ph 8 and they did fine.

Water change is highly debatable. Many people (myself included) Change 50% daily when they are young. Some change their water more and some less. You will have to find what works best for you and your schedule. With young discus I would not go any less then 50% every other day.

You will need to find out if you have chloromines or just chlorine in your tap water. If you have just chlorine, yes it will/should dissipate overnight. You are better off using a de-chlorinator like Prime which removes both chlorine and chloromines.

Color development varies from fish to fish. Most discus will start showing color around 2-2.5 inches. Yes it is true. color generally develops from front to back.

Thats all the time I have for now. Gotta get to work.

HTH,

[Dissident]

Test you qater to be sure ammonia and nitrite are both at 0 before adding any new fish. I would cycle the tank well before adding a bunch of young discus, otherwise you are asking for trouble. 1 weeks is a very short time for a cycle if there is nothing in the tank.

[AADiscus]

Hi Ken and welcome to Simply!!!

Just like clownfish stated: Do not adjust your PH. You are taking a risk of stressing your fish out and having different water parameters every time you do a water change. You want to make sure your water parameters are close every time you do a water change. I would only mess with your ph if you are planning on breeding.

Wc's vary with everyone. I recommend a daily 50% with juvies. I'm a big fan of daily wc's. Some people differ though. Once you get your fish you can see how they do and go to daily, every other day, etc. Is your tank planted or bb? I would start out with a bb and then if you prefer a planted tank change it in about 3 months. Let your discus get settled in and used to you.

I would try to buy a little bit bigger fish than 1.5. I would start with at least a 2" preferably 2.5 - 3".

Color varies with the different strains. Alot will not start to color up until around 2.5". I have found that bd's (blue diamonds) color up earlier though.

Food: Make sure that you feed them a nutritional varied diet. IMO Flake, pellets, live food, FBW and beef heart are all good. If you plan to feed bh make sure that you will be doing a wc after wards. You want to make sure you get all the left overs out of the tank so that it doesn't foul the tank up.

[Audrey]

Keep their tank temp at around 84-86 degrees, too. You will also want to heat your aging water, to match that of their tank.

Audrey

[White Worm]

Not sure if someone said this but use the 1 discus to 10g rule (5 would be fine for 40g) since you are new to the hobby. If you try and cram high numbers into a small tank with little experience, you are asking for trouble and may end up with some sick or dead discus and you may also find yourself short about $100-$200. Tank cycle requires about 3-6 weeks to complete before it is ready for discus. Make sure you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates. Dont bother with PH changes until you are ready to breed. Prime is what most use for conditioning tap water before w/c. Storing water with heater, air (agitation), and conditioner prepares the water for the tank. It allows ph to stabilize and co2 to gas off which increases oxygen.

[gators111]

To add to dissident, 1 week is way too short to cycle a tank from scratch. Plan on a month to get it cycled. I advocate a fishless cycle with clear non-sudsing ammonia from the grocery store. About a capful, every other day should do the trick. After about 10 days, start testing for ammonia and nitrites, after 15-20 days nitrates should show up. Don't do water changes during this time. But use the down time to find good fish, research the hobby extensively, and search for a water aging barrell. After ammonia and nitrites are 0, do 100 % water change and put the fish in a day later.

[Jarrod]

Hi Ken and a BIG welcome to Simply!!...You are getting some great advice on getting started with these wonderful creatures!..Do alot of research on the forum in the "stickys" in the various discussion forums and learn all you can from them..then as you read and learn and apply them to your tanks you shouldn't have too many problems..as to the water changes myself I do 50-75% water change a day on my 55 gal with 6 2.75" discus in it. I feed them a varied diet of flake food, frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp and frozen beefheart mix that I made up from a recipe that Carol Roberts posted as a sticky in the forums..I can't remember exactly which one it was in I believe it was under food and nutrition tho but don't quote me on that...lol
You have found the absolute best forum to have joined IMHO to learn and share the pleasures and even some time the heartaches of the hobby..everyone here will do their very best to help you in every way they can to make things go right and help you stay on track to keep your dish healthy, happy, and as vibrant as you want them to be. Again WELCOME to the hobby and the Simply Family...I call it family because to me that's what they have become...feel free to ask any questions you have about the hobby and trust me when I tell you you will get straight up answers from those that can help..along with alot of support..
Take care and enjoy!!
Jarrod

[bexi20]

i have five discus they ran like crazy when i walk in front of them. every time they see me they scare and one stop eating, any suggestion? i'm have 46 gallon and do i really need a uv light?

[Dissident]

i have five discus they ran like crazy when i walk in front of them. every time they see me they scare and one stop eating, any suggestion? i'm have 46 gallon and do i really need a uv light?

Start your own thread. Don't hijack CoKen's :D

Other than that Give them a little food here and there as you pass by. Soon enough the will associate you with food.

[bexi20]

i'm sorry i don't know to start a thread. i didn't mean too do that

[pcsb23]

bexi,

its ok, and its easy to start a thread too!. btw welcome to simply!

At the top and bottom of each page when you go into a section you will see a button with New Thread on it. Click that, type in a subject, then in the bigger box type your question. Try and include as much basic info as possible, like tank size, how its setup, filtration water params etc. That way people can help quicker.

Enjoy your stay here!
Paul.

[pcsb23]

Hi Ken,

As other here have said, welcome. You are getting some real good advice, particularly where the cycling of the tank is concerned.

Patience now will be richly rewarded later.

Enjoy,
Paul.

[Dissident]

i'm sorry i don't know to start a thread. i didn't mean too do that

No worries ;)

[Jarrod]

Bexi as they've said no worries buddy...we all have to learn as we go on a new forum..so it's not a big deal really...but it's mainly about a bit of learning is all..Welcome to Simply and we're glad you're here!!...Enjoy and hope all your fish and tanks grow and prosper for you!
Jarrod

[diskboy]

like most say 1 week is to short for cycling. unless your like me with ammonia 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, and p.h 7.4 from straight TAP>>!!!!

[CoKen]

hi Guys

it was just so impressive to receive your advise and your welcome, thank you very very much. these are going to brighten my mind.

i will keep cycling the tank another 2 weeks or so, i went to the breeder last night, the discus fly are still very young, i wont have the discus until another 2 - 3 weeks time.

i will also get some other small fishes to join the tank, so that the tank wont be too mono tone, ie, only discus. i know not all fishes can get along with other due to some factors, like water condition, or aggressive to other fishes. what small fishes will you suggest to add in without creating conflict with the discus?

rgds
Ken

[Kenny's Discus]

i have five discus they ran like crazy when i walk in front of them. every time they see me they scare and one stop eating, any suggestion? i'm have 46 gallon and do i really need a uv light?

Usually if you can find a way to place the tank higher up this problem can be resolved...provided if your fishes are healthy in the first place of course. Discus are quite sensitive of noise(low bass lol) above their head.

Hope this helps.

Kenny
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//showthread.php?t=45944

[White Worm]

A school of cardinal tetras goes well with discus and breaks up the "monotone". Some keep rainbows or angels or gouramis. When you start out though, it is better you concentrate on just the discus and then expand with other fish after their own 3-4 weeks of quarantine.

[White Worm]

Diskboy... It would be nice if thats all we had to worry about when it comes to tap water. Just because your water is good, doesnt mean your tank is cycled. You have to create the bacteria in your bio filters which breaks down the fish waste. With 0,0,0, you may just depending on wc's unless you give your tank time to create and complete its own cycle. You are also forgetting to mention that there are many other items that could be deadly in tap water.

[diskboy]

i know about that but i was just saying and there is nothing bad its a well fed by a fresh water spring

[White Worm]

Then yes, i wish we all had tap water like that. If you have city water, things can be very difficult. Regardless, the tank nitrification cycle is not completed in a week no matter what water you put in there. After fish create waste, your cycle will break down ammonia and nitrites. If your tank has not cycled, you will have to rely on wc's until the cycle builds up enough to handle the load of the tank occupants.

[Dissident]

Please listen here and do yourself a favor and don't under estimate the benifits of a well-cycled tank.

Too often we see people, new and old, add discus to a poorly cycled tank and have nothing but problems.