What it means to be a beginner.. then and now.

[DiscussDiscus]

I think a brief disclaimer is needed. There are methods and thought processes utilized in this story that -at the time- were the very best information or approximation of information my roomates and I had available. Looking back I consider myself (and at times, my fish) very lucky to have made it through these trials and tribulations, but at ALL times it was (and still is.) my earnest endeavor to provide the very best care to my discus -- even if I was a bit mis-informed...
With that, here is my story of what it means to truly be a Beginner.
------------------------------------------------------
So, I suppose I should give you some back-story. This is probably important because the timeline that brought me from bored young professional, to fish-keeper, to discus-keeper, to "i need a second job, its that serious" is shall we say, accelerated.

Six months ago my roommates and I were sitting down to dinner, and talking about how to "pimp out" our new apartment (Two story Victorian with way too much space for three young professionals with little more to their names than a degree and lots of computers.)

I had just spent the year in the Caribbean working as a deckhand on a 160ft sailing schooner. This was primarily comprised of sailing, diving, snorkeling and drinking cheap local rum.

Given that I had moved back to the frigid north (Massachusetts) I was determined to bring a bit of the water back with me, as even my family house on Cape Cod isn't enough to keep me happy when the snow is falling (as it is right now!)

I wanted a fish tank and was happy to learn my two roommates were receptive. We wanted to do things cheaply, so we kept an eye on Craigslist. I was searching for 20-40 gallon tanks (Thinking we should start slowly.) Meanwhile my roommate was searching in the 100+ Range. He found a 110 Tall that was going for a fantastic bargain ($100 with the Metal stand) and decided it was worth the plunge.

I'd never seen what 110 gallons looked like. I'd never seen what 75 gallons looked like, but once we set it up as a peninsula just past our kitchen counter, the new phrase for our fish-tank became, "Go big or go home."
And go big indeed. It was massive. Two of us struggled to carry it around (C'mon, we're computer geeks.) I remember wearing gardening gloves just to keep the bottom rim of the tank from hurting my hands too much just to lug it in from the car to the kitchen.

At a local fish-store that was well recommended by Google Maps, my roommate declared that the centerpiece fish for our tank should be Rainbow fish. I was about to be convinced into this until we turned the corner and saw the small 40 gallon planted discus tank the LFS keeps for their high-class fresh-tank clientele.

We couldn't wait, but the employees at the LFS pushed us back on purchasing discus, they told us we weren't ready, we should keep the tank for 6 months, we should try heartier fish first (Insert ensuing talk about keeping Tetras or Danio’s)

As fledgling newbies, they invited us to the local aquarist society annual auction, and to their dismay, one of the veteran members brought in (what I now know) a cull from what I suspect was his grow-out tank. It was about 4in, and set an opening bid at $25. We were the only bid, and jumped into the Scion and sped the 30 minutes home, while screaming at the driver at every unexpected jostle, or hard turn. In fact we went the wrong way down three different one-way streets to get home as quickly as possible.

The tank had been scrubbed for Coralite just 12 days ago.

(I'll give you a peek of our “prize” - http://picasaweb.google.com/georgetmoore13/Fishys#5233282190976041330 )

The owner of the discus had gone into painstaking detail to tell us about his water, he used Almond leaves and peat to color and adjust pH, he kept the tank about 6, and fed 5 times daily in a gravel only tank, and he rattled off a number of acronyms that we didn’t catch (but now know as Frozen Blood worms, Beefheart, Live Brine Shrimp, etc.) for food.

I laughed when we got home after he explained how he’d age and aerate his water, remembering that earlier that day we had done a “water change” which involved siphoning half of the tank into the sink (I will never thank myself enough for having the kitchen sink 3 inches from the side of the 110.) and then unceremoniously dumping a capful of prime, Flourish and other plant dosing in while running the back-yard hose in from the yard and cranking it on high. While the tank was refilling, one of us would grab the XL beating whisk, rinse it off in fresh water (gotta remove any soap residue!) and beat the water to ensure the prime and flourish were well-mixed.

The Tetra’s cowered in fear down below under one of the logs we had purchased.

The discus had been bagged about four hours ago in 6.0 pH water. Our tank was running about 7.2 (Tap water) and we knew some sort of acclimation was going to be needed. We floated the bag and all three of us whipped out our laptops and sat huddled around the kitchen counter googling the best ways to acclimate a discus fish. (If only we had found SD that night!)
During the 20 minutes that we floated the bag, we went through a couple different theories, and got our first encounter of how conflicting information can be. There were many who said after purchasing new fish online, they would go for the immediate toss into new water, and many who were strong proponents of slow acclimation through the drip process.

We did not have any tubing with drip-valves, and thus were stick with either chucking him right in, or trying to “manually approximate” slowly allowing water in and out of the bag. We decided to pour about 1/10th of the bag’s water content out and refill with tank water every 10 minutes for two hours. We all had work in the morning and it was already nearing 1am.

We did the first 1/10th change, and then the second and sat down at the kitchen table to resume googling. It was then I heard my second roommate gasp and point. The spray-bar on our tank had pushed the bag against the center-piece of the top rim of the tank and dumped the discus into the tank.
He floated there, stunned, for a few seconds and the shuddered and began to do slow, lazy circles in the tank.

It was now we noticed that in the bagging job, he had been injured (you can see it in this picture.) One of his lower fins is twisted at a crooked angle. Six months later it is still twisted, although it looks like it may fully heal one day as it is certainly less severe than it once was.

Due to his hardiness with our heavy-handed care, and his hurt “leg” we dubbed him Achilles.

Next: The first month as Discus-Keepers.

[DiscussDiscus]

The first month as a Discus-Keeper

Now, depending on how I recount things, it is very easy to believe that we have a 110 gallon tank with one fish and one fish only: Achilles.

I will come right out and say it, that the health and well-being of my discus is paramount to anything else that may share living space with it. Whether that be other community fish, light cycles, water parameters, etc.

We were very concerned about our water quality, and I can honestly say that I tested using the 5in1 strips and the separate ammonia tests with enough frequency to go through an entire bottle of each about every 2 weeks.

Despite the relative size of the tank compared to the bio-load that Achilles would need, I started a daily 30-gallon water change schedule. This was, at the time, primarily to make up for the fact that the tank had not completely cycled and we were still seeing very small traces of Nitrites in the tank. (I know, I know....)

We adopted a system, which we called the "Woohoo Day Alert." As the first to rise, my responsibility would be to go downstairs immediately and make sure Achilles survived the night. Once I had confirmed he was alive and well, I would shout "Woohoo Day" at the top of my lungs so my roomates knew we were still in business. To this day I have only had to say "Boohoo Day" once, and it was a discus I knew wouldn't make it, so I am thankful for that. This ritual lasted at least for a month, and was primarily brought on by what I will refer to as "Late Night Water Quality Emergencies."

Since we did not know what it "looked like" when a fish would sleep, we were constantly coming downstairs at night to see him lightly colored and either sideways, or resting on the bottom. We would immediately wake up all the roomates and test the water parameters. Whether it tested well or not (and you NEED to test 3-4 times in a row to make sure you aren't getting faulty test results!) I would generally pace back and forth for 15 minutes and then perform a 2am emergency 50% water change (trust me, your fish do NOT like being woken up to this, but I convinced myself that somehow Achilles and his tankmates were better off being disturbed with clean water, than whatever water ailment afflicts sleeping fish :)

The other great obstacle during his first months with us was his food. Although his previous owner had gone through a laundry list of food that he ate regularly, we could not get him to eat for us. Whether it was the way we prepared his food, or just his way of teaching us what it meant to own discus (much like owning a cat, neh? :D) he would rarely engage food with the gusto in which the discus at our LFS would.

I tried everything. I used garlic-guard, entice, I warmed the frozen foods, and chopped them into smaller bite-sizes, I threw the cubes in whole, I tried to hand feed him, feed him from a cone, feed him and run out of the room, feed him and talk to him -- the response was generally the same.

Achilles would be mid-lap when the food "splashed down" into the tank. He would generally finish his lap and then turn his head towards you and give you his classic "cocked-head" look and then swim up to the food (no great hurry.)

Once he was there, he would look at it helplessly as it would fall past him. He would half-heartedly pursue it until it hit the ground, and then he would look back at you as if you say "You feed me this trash? do you KNOW I AM A DISCUS?"

It honestly took 3 months to get him eating aggressively, and even to this day, he always looks at you after eating with that same penetrating stare "I can't believe you serve me this rubbish" while his mouth munches up the last of the tetra colorbits, or brine shrimp.

Next: Sickness with Discus

[DiscussDiscus]

Sickness with Discus

Sickness may not be the correct term. Achilles has never been truly sick. In fact, we have often joked that Achilles has just one weakness, and that is that he might die. The leveling stare he gives you whenever something is wrong is always a reminder to me that he is telepathically relaying, "If you don't fix this, I'm just going to off myself."

Achilles has had a couple of strange things, and I've always tried to get answers for them, although most people who keep discus have told me they are probably nothing.

During his second month with us, Achilles would get a single white pimple/cyst on his slime coat for 1-2 days at a time every week or so. It never got worse than that, so I held off doing a PP cycle, although I purchased it to have it on hand in case I ever saw more than one appear.

He would flick his eye/gill against a plant/wood occasionally (once a week perhaps) enough to be confused whether it was behavioral or indeed a parasite, again I held of medicating as I continually was advised by the LFS to try not to medicate unless absolutely necessary. (I also have believed that a little sniffle or cold here or there is natural and eventually makes the immune system stronger.)

The final thing that always concerned me was his eyes, they've always been black pupil with a dark background. He has never had a red or amber ring, and while I have never been able to link this to a sickness, it has always bothered me because its been a reminder that he isn't a great fish -quality- fish, among other things.

For these reasons I held off purchasing more Discus from our LFS. This was also encouraged by the fact that all of the discus they had ran in the $100 range for under 3 inch juveniles. We conducted many road trips to surrounding fish stores but continually found that the health of the local discus far surpassed that of the stores further away, although the better health certainly was reflected in the health of the fish.

I looked into ordering fish online, but I wasn't at a point yet where I would be willing to commit the money to pay for the shipping, and still had yet to find Simply to know where I could reliably find quality discus.

----

Cut to six weeks ago when I saw an odd posting on Craigslist. A gentleman was looking to sell 9 juvenile discus 20 minutes from my house for $150. I was ecstatic, I emailed him with a load of questions to ask, and hoped desperately that the one question I asked first was "These are juvenile fry from a spawning pair I have."

I felt confident that if he had bred them and grown them to their 2 inch size that they would have been healthy discus with a good shot of turning out nicely.

What I came to find out, was he was simply in the hobby and tried Discus on a lark but decided that he would much rather have an Arowana. Because he had no special attachment to the fish, he purchased the Arowana online (12-13") and plunked it into the 55g tank with the juvenile discus.

When I saw the fish first, it was the day after the Arowana arrived, and although they were visibly intimidated by the Arowana who swam tight circles along the back of the tank like a baracuda, they were eating well, had solid feces and of the 9, 3 were in great shape, 3 were in fair shape, and 3 were borderline in poor shape from stress.

I decided to rescue them. I couldn't understand how someone would treat his fish so abusively, and knew that if I didn't purchase them, that he would eventually throw them out, or they would become snacks for the Arowana in short order. I asked him several questions about their age, as I suspected they might be stunted, or poorly shaped, but honestly did not know enough about the hobby at the time to be able to see them for what they were: More culls.

I went to my trusty LFS and made some emergency purchases. By now my fish collection had grown to a 20, 30,40, 110 fresh tanks and a 75 reef. I repurposed the 20 gallon to be a BBottom tank, and following a mixture of instructions from the LFS and SD, I bagged up all the discus and brought them home to nurse them back to health.

Next: New Babies, Achilles gets jealous.

[DiscussDiscus]

New Babies, Achilles Gets Jealous

The first three days with the 9 juveniles was so exciting, I can only hope to someday be able to take my skill in this hobby to the point of raising fry.

I kept the quarantine tank at 87F, and promised myself I would keep them in quarantine for 4 full weeks before introducing them to Achilles. My allegiance has always been to him. I was particularly concerned about anything that the Arowana might have brought into the tank, but the feces was solid and all were eating at the Craigslist owners house, so I didn't start treating on meds immediately.

The first two days I kept the tank completely covered with a blanket, the tank was pitch dark. I would wait until night-time and turn all the lights off downstairs and then slip my head under the cover like a puppet theatre. Through the very dim glow of the heater I would watch them drift back and forth, and in my head I would count them, over and over again.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9... 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

If I ever got 8, I'd count them two or three more times to be sure. Then I'd count the number that were swimming. I was so worried to lose a fish, although I knew the likelihood of losing at least one was high, and had decided that for the price I got them for ($10 a fish) losing up to 5 would still make them a good "deal" so it helped me make my decision. Even after keeping Achilles for 5 months, I wasn't confident enough in my ability to provide for this type of fish to risk spending $100 a fish and lose them.

On day four, the blanket came off, but I laid strict ground rules for the roomates. No turning on the lights in the kitchen, no running the dish-washer or being too loud in the house. At this time the only light that they received was the glow from the 110, which was half a food away, with Achilles swimming about.

By day four, however, the smallest of the nine was no longer actively swimming or eating, and his color still had not improved from an ashy grey. I never knew what type of Discus he was because he was always so dark. I called the LFS and the one member of the store who keeps Discus told me that sometimes you need to whack a fish, but at the same time, sometimes a discus needs to be reminded to live.

I knew in my heart of hearts he was going to die, but I didn't have the heart to make the decision for him, so that night I reached into the tank and lightly touched his side, forcing him to move away from my hand. I did it once more time with my forefinger and then shut off the light on my 110, hoping It would be a WooHoo morning. It was not. I found his poor body wrapped around the intake, the now 8 juvenile discus had performed their fish ceremony already and were giving the intake a large amount of space. I fished him out of the tank, put him in a plastic bag and put him in the rubbish bin. Within moments the young juveniles were begging for food again, so it was a short-lived mourning.

To this day, I don't fully understand how the refraction works in fish tanks. I am certain my fish can see out, as they know when I enter the room (In fact they can tell the difference in sound of me walking down the stairs, versus my roommates) but I do not know if they can see out of their tank and then into another. I can only assume they must.

From the first week, Achilles would spend 90% of his time now hovering on the side of the tank nearest the 20 gallon, and staring at me as I conducted the daily water changes, and multiple feedings. I am certain he got jealous as he became moody, more aggressive to his community tankmates, and began to eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING as quickly as possible.

By the end of the third week, I was growing tired of leaving the juveniles away from Achilles, and I was starting to feel more guilty for spending so little time on my other tanks, but between doing 6ish feeds a day on the 20 gallon, and 1-2 water changes, along with 30 minutes "observation for sickness" periods, I was stretching my schedule thin with work.

I began doing water changes from the big tank into the 20 gallon to get all of the fish on the same water chemistry, and at 4 weeks to the hour, they were in the 110.

Next: The influence of SimplyDiscus.com

[DiscussDiscus]

The Influence of SimplyDiscus.com

And finally, the entire reason I've posted all of this, the section that actually is what has been bugging me, but I didn't feel right posting my beginner question without all the backstory. I am sure many of you won't make it this far, but in the interests of giving my fish a fair verdict, I had to at least give them an adequate defense :angel:

It was about the same time that I put the juveniles into the 110 gallon that I found SimplyDiscus and began to literally inhale all of the information. One of the things that caught my eye the most was the first annual contest, and I was heartbroken to not see as frequent postings as I wanted, because I knew I'd have many of the same questions as these fish-keepers.

One thing that came out of watching the contest and examining the photos, and that of the university, is it became very clear to me that the discus I own (and love.) are culls, every last one of them. Whether it is bug eyes, a "football" body, eye size or mouth/chin/nose shape, not one of them is truly a show discus.

I read the posts on whether people are in support of culling fish for the future of the hobby, or keeping those omelets that are "less than perfect." and heard the overwhelming voice of the community to strive for excellence in our fish and our hobby.

I too am slowly coming around to that. While Achilles is the exception, I often find myself looking at my juveniles now and wishing my golden crystal could grow into the XL that Triton just sold last week, but knowing that the genetics and early life of the fish will likely never allow it.

My roomates and girlfriend have become very attached to these fish, and I know it will be an uphill battle to slowly replace the stock with better quality Discus, but I'm beginning to believe it will be ultimately worth it.

The expection still lies with Achilles and I'm not sure I'd ever want to part with him except for natural causes, or demote him to being a quarantine-tankmate, etc.

What are your thoughts?

Regards,
Lee

[Darren's Discus]

Lee,
great post.as your knowledge grows your hobby changes in all things in life i think this great saying applies "people dont plan to fail,they just fail to plan" and unfortunately too many people rush into Discus without any research or knowledge about what is required to keep the king of the aquarium in their optimun condition.All to often we see post from newbies needing help because they were given bad advise or did not do any research,it's easy to walk into your lfs and say that looks nice and before you know it your walking out the store with the Discus in the bag without the knowledge to care for it.But as you have done start small enjoy keeping them and read,read,read.You now know when you buy more discus what you need to look for ! Enjoy this great hobby !


cheers

[Eddie]

Awesome story Lee, loved it. The best part, had me rolling on the floor!


While the tank was refilling, one of us would grab the XL beating whisk, rinse it off in fresh water (gotta remove any soap residue!) and beat the water to ensure the prime and flourish were well-mixed.

OMG, that was hilarious!!

Sounds like your on your way my friend. Achilles sure seems like a great Discus.

Eddie

[rickztahone]

while this was the longest post ever i did read it all :D. SD has provided me with the same feeling you currently have which is "how did i not stumble upon this site sooner?". i'm a beginner as well and have taken proper steps to making my discus as comfortable as possible. I, like you have read, read, read about how to properly care for them and till this day i ask all types of questions which at times seem silly (ok, most of the time) but sometimes the simplest questions have a ton of verbiage that you might not have been aware of. i'm glad i found SD and that there is a supportive community here to turn to. thanks to all of those that help with the small stuff as well as the big

[mikel]

Wow, this is one long post. I think we all go through a period like yours. It's really nice for you to post this. Fun read! mike

[Graemevw]

Indeed, good read, thanks :)

Im just setting a tank up now, ready for my first discus adventure. Its good to hear other peoples first experiences.

[DiscussDiscus]

Thanks for all the kind replies. I had a ball writing it, and in retrospect spend lots of time chuckling over it myself :) There were times in the summer when the water was too hot and we'd chuck ice-cubes in, or too cold and we'd slowly add hot water in one corner while feeding the fish in the other. Things that i'd never do now, but somehow were enough to keep trucking then :)


I'm currently scouring the bargain bins for a nice 55 and a CO2 setup. Once I can get those, I'll work on picking up 6-8 beauties from one of our wonderful sponsors here on SD and figure out a way to accommodate them once they are grown out properly :)

Regards,
Lee

[DLock3d]

Awesome post man. I'm new to Discus too. Fortunately, I'm not THAT new. :D

[DiscussDiscus]

I took a few quick snapshots of the fish this morning after the water change. I've noticed my fish seem to be a bit lethargic after eating live blackworms and believe I may stop feeding them (just started adding them into the mix a few days ago.)

Although that post is old, I've never had problems with worms and would rather not start if I can avoid it...

http://tinyurl.com/8b9mdy

[Hattawi]

Great post. Certain bits were very funny.

I would keep Achilles and slowly replace the culls. Try to sell them if you can.

I wonder how dicus taste like if you will cook it ;) j/k

[DiscussDiscus]

Hattawi,

I showed the post to my roomates and I think that is a plan we can move forward to. I think sometime after the new year I'll be able to make the move..

... who knows, maybe for the second annual competition I can be contender! :D

Regards,
Lee

[rickztahone]

I took a few quick snapshots of the fish this morning after the water change. I've noticed my fish seem to be a bit lethargic after eating live blackworms and believe I may stop feeding them (just started adding them into the mix a few days ago.)

Although that post is old, I've never had problems with worms and would rather not start if I can avoid it...

http://tinyurl.com/8b9mdy

those rummy nose look great. i have 7 but plan to add about 20 more.

[dpt8]

Hey, where did you buy that great piece of driftwood !!! ?? Great story.. a lot of motivation to write such a piece. You, Triton and the Massachusetts gang HAVE to come to our next New England Discus club meeting. Al will announce it soon and it will be very close to you. Come and let's all learn more together. There will be many people there that post here plus Guru, my Master, Al. David T

[Kindredspirit]

Great post, Lee!

You should get in on the next Discus Challenge ~ See exactly what the Gentleman is made of:)

[DiscussDiscus]

Kindred,
I've sent the brewman a couple PMs regarding the second round, I've got a few ideas I'd like to try (including a webcam!) so heres hoping I can make a "splash." :)

dpt8,
I'd love to attend the next Discus meeting, count me in!

I spoke with Triton over emails back and forth when I saw he was in Wayland from his recent sale. As for the log I got it at an LFS near me - Skiptons Pet Center -- if you head out there, its a "show-size" log. They have some very dedicated staff and in all honesty are probably primarily responsible for me not nuking a couple fish in the early weeks/months.

I must admit, its a very exciting time for my fish-tanks :)

Rickz,
I've had great success with the rummynose, and they're a great tight school in the tank, especially wrapping around the columns on the log! :)

[rickztahone]

Rickz,
I've had great success with the rummynose, and they're a great tight school in the tank, especially wrapping around the columns on the log! :)

my rummynose do the same, they are a tight schooling fish. also, i love that they warn you when the water parameters are not ideal. they should always have a red nose