new to discus...

[zzbudzz]

hello , i just bought 2 pigeon blood red's last saturday and put them in my planted community tank. the discus seem to be doing well. they finally come out when i'm in front of the tank and are eating very little compared to the other fish.which are 18 neons , 5 swords tails and 3 cleaner fish.i found this site after i bought the fish so i have alot of learning ....i did learn one thing so far, i should buy atleast 4 more discus?

[Dissident]

Tells us more about your tank (size, lighting, CO2, NH4/NO2/NO3, age of tank, filtration, etc) before you jump into 4 more discus. Also some info regarding the fish would be nice (size, where you got them), a few pics of the tank and fish would be helpfull too.

[AADiscus]

Welcome to Simply! You will find all kinds of information on Discus here. If you have any questions don't hesitate to post and ask. There is also a section on planted tanks so that would be a good place for you to start since you currently have a planted tank. Best of luck and post some pictures of your new fish. :)

[lhforbes12]

Bud,
Welcome to Simply!
As Dissident mentioned, you need to give us more information before we can help you properly, answering his questions will go a long way towards that.

Larry

[zzbudzz]

well the tank is a standard 55 gallon with 80 watts of light(too little)and filstar xp3 filter. it's about 2 months old with dyi CO2.i have soft water & ph is 6.8 out the tap.(well water)i put in 10ml flourish a week and 10 ml every 3 days of leaf zone. now my plants are doing pretty well.they are growing slow and steady.the discus ate flakes very well this morning.i've read that i should age water before i put it in my tank,but i have been using a python hose right out the tap.now be nice to me if i am totally screwing up ,but the fish seem to be doing fine....for right now. at least i did move my 3 angels out of the 55 tank before i put in discus.

[Jeckel]

What is the water temperature? Many people here say neons will die at the temps most appropriate for discus (mid-80's). I would think the warm water might stress the swordtails, too. I'm not sure what the "cleaner fish" are, so don't know if they are compatible with your discus.

I'm glad to hear your discus are doing well so far.

Jerry

[used2bBubbles]

Hi, zBud. Lots to learn about discus, but you'll do just fine. There are a lot of people here that will help you.

You said you heard you were supposed to age your water. Is your pH stable? That is one of the reasons why some of us age our water. I have a 45 gal tank filled with just water, a heater, and a filter. When I do my daily wcs, I take the water from it by using a pump, then I refill the tank with my python.

Check your pH and see if it is the same right out of the tap and a day later. (Also check for other chemicals, etc.)

Kathi

[zzbudzz]

well , i'm learning on the job:) i did find out that my well water ph changes after a large rain ...so i did add some tafu<sp> rock to help buffer my kh to help stablize my ph.does this sound right? my water test have seem to agree with my thinking.i wish i had the money and space for another tank like a 90 or 120:) oh my temp is 82 and everything and everybody seems to be doing well right now.my LFS told me not to do a 40 or 50 % wc ,he said if i did i WOULD KILL THE FISH?

[used2bBubbles]

zbud, I've found out the hard way people at the lfs often don't know what they're talking about. When I got my discus, they were juvies about 2 1/2" and I did 30% wc daily. I don't know how big yours are.

The general rule of thumb for discus is no less than 10 gallons (of tank) per fish. If you bought 4 more you would really be pushing your limit, especially with additional fish. You'd be asking for problems.

I would bump the heat up to 84 degrees. . .

I forgot to tell you a lot of fish hobbyests use the large heavy duty Rubbermaid plastic trash cans to age their water. You'd need a pump to get the water out (or hand bale it, I guess) and a heater and aerator.

If the discus are doing well and the rest are, too, that's a good sign. You're learning, just like we are do.

[AADiscus]

82 is the very minimum you want to keep them at. That is what I keep breeders at. Other tanks are keep at around 86.

Your lfs gave you incorrect information. IMO Doing LESS wc's is not doing your fish any good. Discus love wc's. Especially large ones. Our babies and juvies get 100% per day. 50% in the morning and 50% at night (sometimes more).

You can add a few more to your tank. Make sure they are around the same size of the ones you currently have. You might want to take out the other fish so that your load isn't to heavy. Discus are schooling fish and do better in large groups. Say... 6-8. Water is one of the key things to keeping discus. Parameters and wc's are very, very important.

[Alight]

I keep up to 8 large Juvie or adult discus in a 55. But then that requires 75% water changes every day, minimum, even in a planted tank with only 80 watts of light.


1) OK, first recommendation--put plants in pots, get rid of the gravel, go bare bottom if these are young discus (less than 4 inches).

2) Given that you probably won't do #1, get a very good gravel vac (your python will do the job with the gravel vac attachment), and gravel vac the heck out of your tank every day. You'll have to change at least 30% of your water when you do this 'cause that's how much water you'll have to suck out to clean the gravel well enough. Might as well do the rest of the water change then, too.

3) Get 4 more discus from the same source as your first 2.

5) create a feeding zone, maybe a strip 5 inches wide and 12 inches long in the front of your tank where you have very little if any gravel. Feed here so that your discus can "graze" on the food and eat anytime they feel like it (this is from 1" - 5" fish, not adults). Clean this area about 2 hours after each feeding to keep it spotless.

6) Get a good nitrate test kit, and calibrate it. Get a good ammonia and nitrite test kit, and monitor all three of these for the first month or so. Make sure ammonia and nitrite are always zero. If they are not, ask for help here.

7) Keep nitrates at 10 ppm or under by doing water changes when they get higher than 10 ppm.

8) Feed tetra color bits, hikari frozen blood worms, mysis shrimp, and other foods recommended here (see the foods section). For juvies, feed them 6 or more times a day.

9) raise your tank temp to at least 84 F. Your neons will likely not survive long (a month or 2 at the most) at this temp, so be prepared to either pull them out, or fish them out as they die.

10) monitor for nematode and tapeworm infestation--many discus are imported with both of these pests. Do a search on the disease section to find out about these.

11) if you do all of the above, enjoy some really beautiful, fast growing, disease free discus.

Welcome to Simply Discus

Al Light

[aqua]

It's a good sign that the discus come out when you approach the tank. You should feed the discus other types of food besides flake. Discus don't grow well with just flake food. If your discus and other fish are happy with tap water straight out from the sink, then you don't have to store your water. Personally, I think you should not change your routine with the water change or water temperature. Why? All the fish in the tank are healthy and happy and the plants are growing well. Why change the system when everything is flowing smoothy?

My 2 cents

[zzbudzz]

thanks for everyones advice.my discus ,neons,swords and plants still seem to be great.i think i might move most or all of my swords to anther tank in a little while.i added 40 more watts of light about 5 days ago and it seems like my plants turned a deeper shade of green and have grown a good bit.but i have noticed a few very small algae blooms growing on some leaves...?

[lhforbes12]

Bud,
Al's advice above is just about perfect IMO, if you want to have good success raising your discus.

Larry

[Kindredspirit]

and less problems in the long run ~ where you are not kicking yourself in the butt cuz you did not follow such a simple course of action ~ Seen it happen time and time again:(


Post some pictures! And welcome to Simply Bud!

Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/29/29_4_51.gif

[Kindredspirit]

Discus love wc's. Especially large ones.





I am so glad to hear this Angela! Even tho I knew it ~ cuz I do it! 50% and that is when I am PAY ATTENTION ~ usually itz more ~ and they DO love it!

Willie does 100% as well ~ I think I have seen pics of them all lying flat! Impressive ~


( you are my hero Angela! )

[steve.ryall]

FLIP FLOP....FLIP FLOP.....FLIP FLOP.....FLIP FLOP :D :D