Boone, NC area?

[GlennR]

Hello,

I'm new here and thought I'd see who's near me. I used to keep Discus years ago and never realized how popular they have become. I'm adding on to our home and am planning a space for a tank between the livingroom & kitchen. It will located next to water & drain lines, which will be great. I'm planning on a 120.

I'm excited to refresh my memory & learn as much as I can here til I finally have it in place and set up.

Glenn

[Disgirl]

Hi Glenn! Welcome to SD! You will enjoy and learn so much here. I live in NC, almost on the coast though. There are two guys who live closer to you and maybe they will post here too! Your set up will be great!
Barb :)

[Darrell Ward]

Welcome neighbor! I live off of Highway 321 about 12 miles from Blowing Rock, near Lenoir. :) Discus keepers in our area are a very small minority. Chances are, if you tell someone around here you keep discus, they have no idea what you mean. We do have a Cichlid Society chapter that meets once a month in Hickory, but I don't attend often these days because I have night classes at CCCTI 4 nights a week. Let me know if you are interested, and I can give you the info.

[ChloroPhil]

I know it's a hike from Lenoir, but there's the Charlotte Area Aquarist's Society. www.aquacharlotte.org There used to be a number of discus keepers in the club when I was active. You'll be able to find folks from all over WNC going to the meetings.

Good luck,
Phil

[ifixoldhouses]

Welcome, I'm in the "Triad" area of NC Winston-Salem:)

[GlennR]

Good to meet all of you.

I have family around Charlotte, so I'll have to check out the group's calendar to see when their meetings are.

Darrell,
We almost are neighbors. I live just off 321 about 12 miles beyond Boone.

Have any of you been able to get your Discus to mate? That's something I'd really like to accomplish eventually, but know it's not easy.

I'm looking forward to seeing shots of your fish & tanks, and getting to know you all through your posts and maybe even meet some of you at the meetings sometime.

Glenn :)

[Carolina discus]

Glenn
I sent you a pm....the CAAS doesn't have many discus people anymore but they have asked me to possibly do another discus study group meeting in Febuary.....hopefully we can get more people to attend...we had 12 this year and it was a hit....

Hope that helps

Eric

[GlennR]

Glenn
I sent you a pm....the CAAS doesn't have many discus people anymore but they have asked me to possibly do another discus study group meeting in Febuary.....hopefully we can get more people to attend...we had 12 this year and it was a hit....

Hope that helps

Eric


I tried to respond, but didn't have the 5 post minimum yet.;)

I visit Charlotte pretty often and would like to check out your fish, probably in the spring. I'll get in touch well in advance to get an idea of when's a good time for your schedule.

I'd like to begin with a mix of varieties that are all the smallest selling size, so we can enjoy watching them grow. I figure we'll need a small temporary tank to get them to a healthy size before placing into a big tank. That's how I did it "way back when" I kept them before. I began with 7 fish in a 10 gallon or 20 gallon and fed them live brine shrimp until they could eat live white worms and frozen beef heart slivers. One jumped out, but the rest did great.

I've been reading about filtration here.....and everyone seems to have a different opinion. LOL That's the way forums tend to be. It makes choosing what's "right" a bit tough.
I used to use a Magnum 330 with only the micron filter & an undergravel filter. It seems undergravel is considered "bad" now, and nobody much seems to care for the Magnums either. They seemed fine, but I can see why folks feel UGs aren't favored much now.
I used to "play" around with reverse flow using the 330's outflow tube flowing down into the UG's tube. I probably tried it the other direction too. Seems like flowing water would keep "good" bacteria healthy. I don't care for the un-natural look of bare bottomed tanks, but understand the practicality for breeding.

I'm trying to understand the need for using "media" in filters when folks are doing massive water changes 2 or more times per week. I guess the main answer with filtration is "it all depends" on your specific setup.

Btw, do you folks visit any other Discus specific forums? I'm amazed at how many members are here and also that they seem to be from all over, not just the US.

Glenn

[saleen385]

Hi guys,

new to the site and thought i would let you know i am in NC also high point to be exact. don't have any discus or any fish at the moment. going to get a 125gal set up soon, just need to build a stand. I'm not new to discus as i've done some breeding over 20yrs ago but nothing since then. i emailed Eric, Carolina Discus to maybe go and check out his operation some time. Anyway thought i would say hello.

Jim

[Discus-n00b]

I know it's a hike from Lenoir, but there's the Charlotte Area Aquarist's Society. www.aquacharlotte.org There used to be a number of discus keepers in the club when I was active. You'll be able to find folks from all over WNC going to the meetings.

Good luck,
Phil

Theres still a couple of us flat fish guys there Phil, not as many as there used to be...but a few.

Hi Glenn and Jim, I'm in Columbia SC but often head to Charlotte for CAAS events/meetings. Its not a huge club, and not to many discus keepers but its heading in the right direction. We are just now getting some solid meetings and events set. You are more then welcome to join us we always love meeting new folks in the hobby.

Plus, Eric and I need to boost our numbers....us discus folk are outnumbered down this way! ;) Eric I still need to find time to visit your place haha.

[saleen385]

Matt,

Thanks for the invite, let me know when the meetings are and I will see if I can make it to one.

Jim

[Darrell Ward]

Yeah, we Discus "nuts" are a rare breed in NC it seems. When you get ready for some fish, I highly recommend Eric. He's a great guy to get fish from. I have a couple of tanks with his fish in them now. Besides, we need to support our fellow NC hobbyists. :)

[Discus-n00b]

Yeah, we Discus "nuts" are a rare breed in NC it seems. When you get ready for some fish, I highly recommend Eric. He's a great guy to get fish from. I have a couple of tanks with his fish in them now. Besides, we need to support our fellow NC hobbyists. :)

Agree with this. Had some of Eric's fish myself, plan to get more too. No problems at all.

[GlennR]

As I sit here watching it snow and the thermometer reads 10f it sure feels like I'll never get a tankful of Discus....

But....hopefully in the New Year I'll finish making sawdust and will have a place for a school of little fish. It's great Eric is within driving distance so we can pick them up in person. I'd much rather spend $ on fish than on shipping. There's no way I'd waste my time trying to get a few "here & there" from LFSs. Discus like to be in groups, and siblings all the same age work out much easier, happier, & healthier.

Getting them little is exciting too. It's like watching a bud open up into a flower as they develop and their colors come in.

[gills]

It's good to see more discus people in N.C. I have bred them in the past also but have been out of fish for a couple of years. I met Eric once a few years back at the Raleigh workshop. He's a nice guy.

[Carolina discus]

Thanks guys...I may be doing another discus workshop in Charlotte in Feb for CAAS....will keep you posted...
Eric

[GlennR]

Thanks guys...I may be doing another discus workshop in Charlotte in Feb for CAAS....will keep you posted...
Eric



Eric,

That would be great. It would be a good reason to escape the blizzards we're "enjoying" here this winter. :antlers:

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks guys...I may be doing another discus workshop in Charlotte in Feb for CAAS....will keep you posted...
Eric

Hopefully it happens Eric the last one was great! Everyone should make the trip if it happens. Eric if you need help with anything, setup, moving parts, etc let me know I'll be glad to help.