Reverse Osmosis?

[gregorrf]

Is reverse osmosis really necessary in order to have Discus? A local fish store has some really nice Discus for a decent price. I have always wanted Discus and have done research, although it leaves me quite confused with all the conflicting information on water parameters. I called and talked to the guy that takes care of the Discus, and he is very knowledgable. He told me if I plan to use my own tap water to not even bother...that I need reverse osmosis water, then add minerals back in. Is that necessary? I'm just so confused - PH, how many water changes, etc...he said he does 25% water changes once/week. I could do that easy, but don't care to buy water.

[Kindredspirit]

He told me if I plan to use my own tap water to not even bother


Not true. I use plain ol tap water and add a declorinator, such as Prime. Make sure you do that ~

Read all you can read here ~ notice the "Discus Team" under one's advatar/ID ~ trust them:) as well as Polar Bear, Graham, Steve, Brewmaster, Jeep ~ you will get your handful of people you will guide you:D

Try to buy a group of 6 at once from the same source ~ Discus are schooling fish and aggession is spread out more so than if you were to get only a few.

You would be better off if you check out the sponsers here on Simply ~ I have found out in the two years I have had discus, that my lfs knows close to nothing about the care of discus. Nada. Zip. And often they can bring home some nasties:(

Find out what your pH is right out of the tap....keep it stable ~ mine is 7.2 but I think they do well in as low as 6 and as high as 8. Just keep it stable ~ no up and down...actually down fast, is bad....I think.

They really are not that easy to keep, honestly. If I can do it ~ anyone can:)

Post your questions ~ no matter how dumb! lol!

Marie ~ :balloon:

[gregorrf]

Thanks! I have come to this board for quite a few months mostly browsing. I haven't tested my water right out of tap, but I tested my 55 gallon tank last night and I think PH was 7.4. I do have hard water though and he said they like VERY soft water? What would I do for that - just add salt or what? How many water changes are needed - is one 25% change/week usually good enough, or is it really necessary to do 2-3 times/week? Does the age/size of the Discus make any difference in how easily they'll adapt to a new aquarium? The shop had two that were about 3 inches, maybe a little more and one that was about 2 inches...he was really cute and colorful for being so little, swimming around.

[KJoFan]

Hard water shouldn't be a problem unless you intend to breed. That's where the R/O soft water will come in. I have extremely hard water and a pH of 8.2 and my discus are fine! I age/heat my water and that's it. I don't even add Prime anymore as I only have chlorine in my water. But if your'e unsure of what your water has in it, definitely use a dechlor!

Water change schedule depends on size of discus among other things. Smaller=more changes. No discus like high nitrates (nothing above 10 generally) so once you get the hang of things, you can base your water change needs on nitrate readings if you like. I personally don't, I just have my schedule and stick to it. If someone is looking droopy they get more frequent or larger change. You get a feel for it after awhile. If you're looking for the 2-3" range, you should be doing something like daily of 50% or every other day of a higher percentage (75%+), imo.

I'll let someone else tackle your questions about age/size and acclimating to new aquariums. Smaller are more fragile/sensitive than larger discus but if you have good conditions going into your tank, you should be ok regardless, as long as you practice a little acclimation. :)

I don't know what your LFS is like but...buying discus from an LFS is usually not a good idea. In fact, your comment about a small 2" discus being cute and colorful makes me wonder if it's older than it's size would suggest. In general, discus don't color up much at that size, it takes time. So I would wonder about that if I were you.

Just some food for thought. :)

As an aside....whenever I go into one LFS near me and see she has nice 2-3" discus (that I know came from a reputable source) in her graveled R/O water only tank I wanna tell her she doesn't need to keep them in RO...in fact she's kind of doing a disservice to the little guys unless she's adding back minerals which...I don't think she is. :) Drives me nuts! :)

[gregorrf]

Thank you Karen!! What is the benefit of aging water? So with younger Discus you need to change water more often? And not doing so will stunt their growth? Or will it kill them?

I see you are in MN...do you know of any local places to get nice Discus at a reasonable price? (I am in WI, but right on the border, close to the TC area)

[KJoFan]

There's a couple benefits to aging water. If you're on municipal water, it's just a bit of a safeguard against anything crazy happening with your water. Since we're not in control of the supply they could add something our fish don't like from time to time. Second, if you heat your aged water to the same temp as your tank water, there's no change when you do your water changes. Less stress on the discus, especially when your'e doing large water changes.

Yes, younger discus should have more frequent water changes. If you don't, you probably won't get their full potential out of them. It probably won't kill them, but could stunt their growth. Lots of clean water seems to be the key to raising nice discus.

As for where I get my discus and places local to the TC area...I'll PM ya. :)