Discus Beginnings

[Remora]

Hi, all! I’m new to SimplyDiscus, and have a few questions I’m hoping you guys can help me with. Firstly, this will be my first ever attempt at raising Discus. I’ve had tanks before, but because of the amount of time (and money) going to be invested in this tank, I’m kind of concerned(… okay, terrified…) that I’m going to do something terribly wrong and kill the fish. I don't want this love affair to end badly!

Tank Specs:
90g show/planted tank
Aquaclear 110
MarineLand BioWheel (60gallon)
90g Hydor heater (whatever wattage goes up to 90 :D)
Gravel

Right off the bat, I started doing my homework on Discus before I even bought the tank. The bad part is, I keep getting so much conflicting information! One source says to ONLY have Discus at a pH of 6.5 to 7.2. I’m doing a water aging test as we speak, and the initial tap comes out at about 7.2 to 7.5. The Aged water, left on the counter overnight, comes out at around the same. Is the pH really THAT important to be precise? Other sources say that as long as it’s stable, the pH doesn’t really matter all that much. How true is this? It won’t harm the Discus to be at 7.5 or 7.8? I read that Carol_Roberts keeps hers at about 7.8.

Another issue I’m having is deciding on a filtration system. I’ve been reading a lot of Carol_Roberts’ posts, and it seems like regular box filters like the Aquaclear are just fine! I have a spare Fluval 405 Canister filter lying around, but have heard that the bacteria takes over the oxygen too quickly (and that it’s a pain to clean, which I agree with!). Which would be better? I plan on doing about 40-50% water changes about every other day. The water will be stored in tubs under my tank, aged, and heated.

The Discus will not be alone in the tank. I plan on doing a small shoal of neon/cardinal tetras, and some Corydora catfish. And MAYBE two kuhli loaches. Maybe. I haven't toyed with the idea long enough. :p Any comments, suggestions, or crits on this combination?

I appreciate all of the help you guys can give me, and look forward to posting pictures when I get the tank all nice and set up! Any addition things I should be worried about, or any tips you could give me would be awesome!

-Rem

[Darrell Ward]

Don't fiddle with PH. Get a couple of Jager 250 watt heaters. Aquaclear 110's are fine for filtration. Only put adult discus in a planted tank. My 2 cents. :D

[Remora]

So putting in juvies would be bad for a lowly-planted tank? Is that because of the cleaning aspect, or is there something I don't know? ;)

[Darrell Ward]

Juvies need multiple feedings daily. It makes keeping the tank clean difficult. Juvie discus stunt easily, and if you don't keep the tank very clean, they will.

[Remora]

I see. Thanks for the input! I'll definitely keep that in mind. :)

[diamond_discus]

Welcome to Simply. If you are new to discus, I would strongly recommend you stay away from a planted show tank for now, and don't mix your discus with other fish, until you get a good handling with discus.

Home raised discus can adjust to higher pH ... They will be perfectly fine between 7 to 8.5 pH .. I live in Los Angeles and my tap water pH is between 8.0 to 8.5. The important thing is to keep your pH stable all the tap (both tank water and your new water for water change). One Asian breeder told me that discus will actually grow faster with harder water. If you are not into breeding and if your water is at mid 7 pH, I would not do anything to lower it.

I think it's better to have more filtration then less filtration.

BTW, do as much water change as you can and as often as you can. Clean water is the #1 thing for keeping discus.

You might want to read these 2 threads :
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=77966
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=78077

[mjs020294]

You will be fine with a planted tank IF you get the balance right and keep on top of it. We have a 90g planted tank, juts have lots of bottom feeders to take care of the leftover food. Our tank has five corys, 2 BN plecos, a yoyo loach (good for snails), and a few shrimp. I do a 30% WC each day and the tank takes care of itself. The glass is clean, and the substrate is very clean.

Your PH is fine BTW. Stable is the key.

[Remora]

Welcome to Simply. If you are new to discus, I would strongly recommend you stay away from a planted show tank for now, and don't mix your discus with other fish, until you get a good handling with discus.

Home raised discus can adjust to higher pH ... They will be perfectly fine between 7 to 8.5 pH .. I live in Los Angeles and my tap water pH is between 8.0 to 8.5. The important thing is to keep your pH stable all the tap (both tank water and your new water for water change). One Asian breeder told me that discus will actually grow faster with harder water. If you are not into breeding and if your water is at mid 7 pH, I would not do anything to lower it.

I think it's better to have more filtration then less filtration.

BTW, do as much water change as you can and as often as you can. Clean water is the #1 thing for keeping discus.

You might want to read these 2 threads :
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=77966
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=78077
Thanks for all the info! I'll most likely just keep my plants in my planted community tank for now, and just focus on the water quality. I would, however, like to keep a couple of Cory cats around to cycle the tank and clean the gravel. Would that be a problem? It seems to me like it'd be more beneficial to the tank than anything.

[calihawker]

Hi and welcome!
Just reading this short thread with it's different points of view can, I think, be a little confusing to someone just starting out as I did a few years ago. Especially when it comes to the planted environment. There are experienced hobbiests who are very succesful raising discus in a planted environment (Chad Hughes will you please stand up:D) but your best bet is to raise juvies in a bb tank with LOTS of feedings and LOTS of water changes in order to reach thier maximum potential. That or add adults to the planted tank. Also I beleive (IMHO as it were) that you should get the planted tank well established before putting discus in there. That's assuming you're new to planted tanks as well. Stability really is the key.:)

The very first part of your questioning regarding ph is pretty much put to bed around here. You're 7.2-7.5 tap water is just fine, just make sure it's stable.

Good luck!

[DerekFF]

I'm pretty new to discus also and I've made a few newbie mistakes. I'd go barebottom till you have kept discus and understand their behavior and how they/their food affects their water quality. PH as others have stated is not an issue as long as youre within 6-8. Discus that are about 4+ inches are much easier to raise and are a little hardier for the beginner. Also QT!!!! Don't slack on quarantine or else you may pay dearly for it. Best of luck!

[Chad Hughes]

Rem,

Welcome to SD! You're about to get a lot of good information on this site.... Some of it is fact, some of it is opinion. You be the judge!

Thanks for the intro Steve! LOL!

If you have a solid handle on planted tanks and you can balance one, then you might be ready to grow out your jusives in a planted tank. They'll love it! Check out the American contest threads and you'll see that, over the course of about one year, each contestant has grown out their discus very well under different methods. I like planted tanks therefore I grew my juvies out in a planted tank. It's a personal decision in my opinion.

I have both planted and non planted tanks. Bare tanks are easier to clean and you can readily see waste. Planted tanks are beautiful and with the right mix of bottom feeders can stay very clean with minimal water changes. Do planted tanks take more than five minutes to clean? YES! That's got to be the biggest difference.

What I alwys preach is this....

If you have mastered the planted aquarium, put some discus in it! :D

There's nothing more beautiful!

Best wishes and good luck!

[Remora]

Maybe I'm getting the sizes wrong... I want to more or less start with (adolescent?) discus around the side of a fifty cent piece, or possible tennis-ball sized. Are those considered adols, or juvies? I definitely don't want to start off with adults, as I have a habit of wanting to watch things grow. :p

Water changing will definitely be done more often! :D

As far as planted tanks go, I've had one up and running for about a year now, and it's doing well. I've got some community fish in it, mainly tetras, barbs, and guppies. I don't use any kind of CO2 or ferts, but have strong as heck t5 lighting on it, and I'm taking clippings from my larger plants (Water sprite, anacharis) every couple of days, so it's all growing well. I don't want an extensively over-done aquascape like some of the other tanks I've seen. Just mostly a couple of anubias nana, amazon swords and water sprite. Nothing overly fancy like carpet mosses or micro swords, just something to add some color.

The LFS owner I've been talking to is really knowledgeable in both fresh and saltwater environments. He's given me alot of really good pointers, but some of what he says contradicts the information I receive here. Maybe I'll just keep my soon-to-be Discus tank a bare bottom for now, and add gravel later once I get the hang of it. :D

Chad! I'd LOVE to see some of your planted tanks. Are there pictures floating around on SD? :cheesy:

[Chad Hughes]

You bet!

Here are a couple of links....

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/album.php?albumid=97

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumdisplay.php?f=170

Browse through the contest threads..... all of thos pics except for the most recent update are all of my 110 gallon planted tank. I raised these fish out from about 3" to nearly 7" to date. Still growing! :)

Best wishes!

[diamond_discus]

It's a big difference between a 50cent and a tennis ball ..
If you want to grow out discus, I would recommend getting a group of 2" discus from a good source (get a group of 6 if you can).

Discus needs tank water temperature to be in the mid-80s or even high-80s for juv. This high temp might not work too well for your guppies.

I have t5 light on a couple of my tanks and my discus are fine with it (although other might disagree for having the light being too bright).

If you can go barebottom, I strongly suggest you do so in the beginning .. You can always convert that to a planted tank later. If you read other threads here in this forum, you will find that there are so many issues that might kill your expensive discus.

Good luck.

[Remora]

Chad: Beautiful tank, and even more beautiful fish! I hope I can get as good as you!~

Diamond_Discus: :p I didn't plan on putting my guppies in the Discus tank, nor putting my Discus in the planted tank! It's much too small for them, as it's only a 20 gallon. The planted tank will remain alone, and I'll do a bare-bottom tank as you suggest, and move my way up. Thanks for the information, you've been a big help getting my head around this.

I've also changed my mind on the set-up. Seeing ashow I want my Discus displayed, my family and I have decided to use the 55 gallon tank in the living room as the Discus set-up. I'll keep it bare-bottom (for now), and get a couple of juvies to feed a ton of food to, and do lots of water changes for. :D

Again, a big thank you to everyone who's posted. I'm going through that "excited-but-scared" tingling stage right now about taking this plunge!

I'm hearing alot of good feedback about the AngelsPlus flake foods. I plan on feed lots of bloodworms, brine shrimp, beef heart, etc, but would the flake food be good to get them on while they're young? Especially if I have to give them the medicated flake later on in life?

-Rem

[diamond_discus]

Rem :

It's always good to feed your fish different variety of food .. so that they won't be that picky. Flakes from AngelsPlus and Kensfish are both very good. For my personal experience, I found that beefheart mix is indeed the best food for fast growth .. not just big size .. but "thick" .. The problem is that beefheart will foul your water a lot and therefore you will have to do large daily WC. That's another good reason to go barebottom .. if you plan to feed beefheart.

I feed frozen blood worm, flakes, pellets, frozen brine shrimp, Mal's Freeze Dried Black Worm and beefheart mix.

Yeah, I know how you feed ... excited .. but yet .. scared .. Feel free to ask lots of questions .. There are many experts here who can help you with almost anything. I learned a lot from them here at Simply.

-Larry

[Darrell Ward]

Chad: Beautiful tank, and even more beautiful fish! I hope I can get as good as you!~

Diamond_Discus: :p I didn't plan on putting my guppies in the Discus tank, nor putting my Discus in the planted tank! It's much too small for them, as it's only a 20 gallon. The planted tank will remain alone, and I'll do a bare-bottom tank as you suggest, and move my way up. Thanks for the information, you've been a big help getting my head around this.

I've also changed my mind on the set-up. Seeing ashow I want my Discus displayed, my family and I have decided to use the 55 gallon tank in the living room as the Discus set-up. I'll keep it bare-bottom (for now), and get a couple of juvies to feed a ton of food to, and do lots of water changes for. :D

Again, a big thank you to everyone who's posted. I'm going through that "excited-but-scared" tingling stage right now about taking this plunge!

I'm hearing alot of good feedback about the AngelsPlus flake foods. I plan on feed lots of bloodworms, brine shrimp, beef heart, etc, but would the flake food be good to get them on while they're young? Especially if I have to give them the medicated flake later on in life?

-Rem

I would advise to get more than "a couple" of discus to start. Discus do better in groups. Spread out the aggression. Discus do pick on each other. Do a small group of 5 or 6 in that 55, and your fish will do a lot better.

[Remora]

Darrell Ward:
Mmhm, I planned on doing about five smaller Discus, a couple of corydora catfish, and a small shoal of neons (no more than six or seven). I never planned on getting any less than four or five Discus. Do you think this would be okay, or would it be overstocked? Should I only do four discus, to be able to have the neons and the corys?

[rickztahone]

Darrell Ward:
Mmhm, I planned on doing about five smaller Discus, a couple of corydora catfish, and a small shoal of neons (no more than six or seven). I never planned on getting any less than four or five Discus. Do you think this would be okay, or would it be overstocked? Should I only do four discus, to be able to have the neons and the corys?

if you are serious about changing water frequently, e.g., at least 4 times a week, then i would say to get 6 discus for a 55. it spreads out the aggression well and it keeps the battle for food more active in the group, IME. i have also kept 4, and it worked, but i think the 6 would be ideal. you have to keep something in mind though, you will most likely end up with some discus that will not grow out to their full potential, and you have to be prepared for such an outcome, hence the 6 which puts you a tad overstocked. again, WC's (water changes) are the key, followed with good quality food, angelplus being one of them WRT flakes. like mentioned prior, BH (beef heart) is one of the greatest foods to feed for fast growth, but you won't believe the mess it makes, and you have to be ready to clean after a BH feeding.

please feel free to ask more questions, there really are many experts here which will guide you in any, and i do mean ANY discus related situation.

[Remora]

I'm not necessarily as worried about how -quickly- they grow, as long as they're healthy and happy. :o Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see them get big quickly, but I wouldn't want a stunted discus. Water changes will be a big part of tank care, no doubt, and four times a week sounds about right. Will I have stunted discus if I only get five?

And thanks so much for the support! I try to do the best I can and gather all of the information I can before I even get the tank set up and running. Knowing that you guys are around to be able to help get me headed in the right direction really means alot. :)

[calihawker]

I think the only other good advice that hasn't been given here is where you get your discus from. I believe the quality that you can get from the various sponsors here are far superior to anything I've ever seen in a lfs.

Good luck!!

[Darrell Ward]

Darrell Ward:
Mmhm, I planned on doing about five smaller Discus, a couple of corydora catfish, and a small shoal of neons (no more than six or seven). I never planned on getting any less than four or five Discus. Do you think this would be okay, or would it be overstocked? Should I only do four discus, to be able to have the neons and the corys?

You can get away with 5 or 6 discus along with a few "little fish", as long as you keep up with water changes. Keep in mind neons sometimes die off one by one in higher temps., so do some varieties of cories. Cardinals are better choices. Honestly, if I were going to start off with juvie discus, I would keep them alone until they grew to at least 5". Things can go wrong with juvies, and you could find yourself medicating the tank, which could kill your other species.

[tcyiu]

Welcome. Lots of good advice here.

Here is one anecdote I would add. The juveniles that I grew in a barebottom tank are NOT acclimated to little fish. One time, I had to fix a leak with a bulkhead fitting on my main tank. SO I moved all the adult discus (who grew up in a community setting with little fish) and the cardinals and the cories to the grow out tank. The juvenile delinquents started chasing after the poor cardinals. Now I'm scared to move them over to the main tank not knowing what they'll do at night when the cardinals are sleeping.

The point being that as juveniles, acclimating them to school of cardinals might be a good idea.

Tim

[Eddie]

I think the only other good advice that hasn't been given here is where you get your discus from. I believe the quality that you can get from the various sponsors here are far superior to anything I've ever seen in a lfs.

Good luck!!

Ditto, go with a sponsor.

[dbfzurowski]

Hey,
dont forget to paint the bottom of your bb tank.

[Remora]

I think the only other good advice that hasn't been given here is where you get your discus from. I believe the quality that you can get from the various sponsors here are far superior to anything I've ever seen in a lfs.

Good luck!!

I actually toyed with the idea of buying from Ken, since he seems to be "The Discus Guy" around here. Lots of good feedback, and I hear nothing but praise about him. I'll probably do that, then. :) Thanks!

The local guy, as I mentioned before, is a very good guy. I've bought freshwater and saltwater fish from him, and never had any problems, so when I called and confirmed about Discus, I nearly jumped for joy, lol. Thing is, though, he gets his strains all sorts of mixed in, so there's no real telling what you're gonna get. I'm mostly looking for Manacapuras, Pidgeon Bloods, White BUtterflies, and the normal Blue/Red/Green Turquoise.

[diamond_discus]

I actually toyed with the idea of buying from Ken, since he seems to be "The Discus Guy" around here. Lots of good feedback, and I hear nothing but praise about him. I'll probably do that, then. :) Thanks!

The local guy, as I mentioned before, is a very good guy. I've bought freshwater and saltwater fish from him, and never had any problems, so when I called and confirmed about Discus, I nearly jumped for joy, lol. Thing is, though, he gets his strains all sorts of mixed in, so there's no real telling what you're gonna get. I'm mostly looking for Manacapuras, Pidgeon Bloods, White BUtterflies, and the normal Blue/Red/Green Turquoise.

You can't go wrong with Kenny.. He's indeed "The Discus Guy".
However, if you have good local source, I think it's good too. It's especially convenience that you don't have to pay for extra shipping and buy as little as one or two fishes at a time.

You should be able to find PB and Turquoise from local LFS .. However, if you are looking for other strains, you might need to contact one of our sponsors. Just do your homework, compare the pictures from our sponsors against your local LFS .. you should be able to tell the difference. Ever since I start buying discus from our sponsors, I never go to any local LFS anymore. I am one of the lucky guy to find Kevin (Lucky Tropical) to be local to me. Perhaps you can find a local sponsor too. Where are you at ?

[Remora]

You can't go wrong with Kenny.. He's indeed "The Discus Guy".
However, if you have good local source, I think it's good too. It's especially convenience that you don't have to pay for extra shipping and buy as little as one or two fishes at a time.

You should be able to find PB and Turquoise from local LFS .. However, if you are looking for other strains, you might need to contact one of our sponsors. Just do your homework, compare the pictures from our sponsors against your local LFS .. you should be able to tell the difference. Ever since I start buying discus from our sponsors, I never go to any local LFS anymore. I am one of the lucky guy to find Kevin (Lucky Tropical) to be local to me. Perhaps you can find a local sponsor too. Where are you at ?

I'm in Mount Rainier, Maryland, right on the MD/D.C line. PG County, if that helps. The place I go to is called Tropical Lagoon in Silver Springs.

[wesleydnunder]

Some great advice here, Rem. I got my first 50 cent-sized discus from a breeder in Tomball, Texas who kept, bred and raised discus in well water that was virtually liquid rock. Discus are tough fish and can adapt to a lot of different conditions. The discus were some of Schmidt-Focke's hi-fin brilliant greens. The adults were absolutely stunning chrome green color. Her advice to me when I confessed to being a discus newbie was, Keep 'em warm, keep 'em fed, keep 'em clean. I'm still followin' that advice.

[Remora]

Some great advice here, Rem. I got my first 50 cent-sized discus from a breeder in Tomball, Texas who kept, bred and raised discus in well water that was virtually liquid rock. Discus are tough fish and can adapt to a lot of different conditions. The discus were some of Schmidt-Focke's hi-fin brilliant greens. The adults were absolutely stunning chrome green color. Her advice to me when I confessed to being a discus newbie was, Keep 'em warm, keep 'em fed, keep 'em clean. I'm still followin' that advice.

I really do appreciate all of the help these guys are giving me, and will definitely do my best to keep these beautiful fish healthy and happy. I first came across these fish in a LFS about a year ago, and my eyes went about as big as they could go. I grabbed my dad's arm and went, "Omagosh... Daddy, what are THESE?" (I'm a big daddy's girl.) I've been admiring and researching on them ever since. Only now have I decided to take the plunge. :p

[diamond_discus]

Rem:
If you are indeed in Maryland, then indeed you are in luck. Check with Discus Hans. He is from Maryland also. Hans has great Discus. Don't even go to LFS anymore .. LFS only have limited stock and selection. Our sponsors has all kind of strains and size. Just visit his place and you won't be disappointed. Hans will give you great advice as well.

Personally, I never buy fish from him .. but just checkout his forum section and view the opinions from others .
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumdisplay.php?f=114

-Larry

[mjs020294]

Hans rocks, and his Discus are second to none. I have four Juveniles in QT and they are absolutely beautiful.

[Chad Hughes]

If Hans is close to you, by all means go visit him and see what he can do for you. Keep in mind that there are many other beautiful strains out there that Hans doesn't offer.

Asian bred discus are amazing and the strains that are available are numerous. Albino strains are gorgeous. It's all a matter of taste and what look you are trying to achieve. For High quality, affordable discus I would give Kenny a look. His shipments impress me every time I look at one and his prices are fantastic!

Keep your options open before you commit and go with a sponsor!

Best wishes!

[Remora]

Diamond_Discus and Chad:
Thanks alot for the info! Actually, two of the stores that are affliated with Hans (Scales and Aquarium One) are located within half an hour from me! I might make a trip to both of them some time during the next couple of weeks while my tank is cycling, and have a look at what they have to offer. I'll also take a peek over at Kenny's website, and contact him to see what he has in stock.

I've got the tank all set up and running, just gotta wait for it to cycle properly.

[rickztahone]

Diamond_Discus and Chad:
Thanks alot for the info! Actually, two of the stores that are affliated with Hans (Scales and Aquarium One) are located within half an hour from me! I might make a trip to both of them some time during the next couple of weeks while my tank is cycling, and have a look at what they have to offer. I'll also take a peek over at Kenny's website, and contact him to see what he has in stock.

I've got the tank all set up and running, just gotta wait for it to cycle properly.

i don't mean to disrespect but why waste your time going to Hans' distributors when you have the man himself so close. he can show you what discus can feasibly achieve as far as growth goes. he has some youngin's as well

[Remora]

i don't mean to disrespect but why waste your time going to Hans' distributors when you have the man himself so close. he can show you what discus can feasibly achieve as far as growth goes. he has some youngin's as well

None taken! While the distributors are much closer to me, Hans' place is about an hour and a half. It's alot farther, compared to the twenty minutes/half hour. Though you do have a point, I'm thinking more in lines of stress on the fish.

[rickztahone]

None taken! While the distributors are much closer to me, Hans' place is about an hour and a half. It's alot farther, compared to the twenty minutes/half hour. Though you do have a point, I'm thinking more in lines of stress on the fish.

trust me, the fish will not be stressed for an hour and a half. plus, hans knows how to pack them. put it like this, there are people that have driven hundred's upon hundred's of miles just to see Hans' place. if you don't now, and you get into discus heavily, trust me, you will eventually end up going to see Hans

[diamond_discus]

Agree with Ricardo .. I mentioned Hans, I was suggesting you to go directly to Hans. .. If you are new to discus, you are going to get lots of advice from him. Why pay extra if you can get directly from Hans. 1.5 hrs should be fine for the fish, if you don't mind driving.

If you want to contact Kenny, just call him after noon PST.

-Larry

[Darrell Ward]

If I that close to Hans, I would have to ride up there just to see his setups. Hundreds of tanks of discus, really impressive. :D

[Remora]

^__^ Hans' place it is, then. I'll probably make a trip up there sometime soon. Thanks so much!

[keno]

For the sake of an hour, please go see Hans. If you get discus at a LFS God knows what they will have been exposed to.

If they mix German and Asian Discus then you have a high chance of getting the discus plague, which will most likely wipe your discus out.

Hans will give you the best advice when it comes to discus, chances are the LFS will give very bad advice(I know there are exceptions to the rule)

And if you are really into discus, a trip to a place like Hans or any other good breeder will surely be worth the trip that you will remember for a long time :)

[Remora]

For the sake of an hour, please go see Hans. If you get discus at a LFS God knows what they will have been exposed to.

If they mix German and Asian Discus then you have a high chance of getting the discus plague, which will most likely wipe your discus out.

Hans will give you the best advice when it comes to discus, chances are the LFS will give very bad advice(I know there are exceptions to the rule)

And if you are really into discus, a trip to a place like Hans or any other good breeder will surely be worth the trip that you will remember for a long time :)

Actually, Steve (LFS owner) assured me that all of the parents and fry are tank-raised in Virginia. XD So I'm pretty sure DP wouldn't be a big issue if I decided to go with them. But chances are, I'll end up going with Hans' fish. I've seen photos, and they look marvelous. :D

[keno]

Best of luck with your new discus where ever you get them, I envy you, starting down the discus road for the first time, I have found it an extremely rewarding hobby.

This is also the best website to find information about discus, and its one of the few forums (on any subject not just discus) I have found that 99% of its members are respectful of eachother and there are no wars here, even though there are differing opinions on many subjects.

[Remora]

Best of luck with your new discus where ever you get them, I envy you, starting down the discus road for the first time, I have found it an extremely rewarding hobby.

This is also the best website to find information about discus, and its one of the few forums (on any subject not just discus) I have found that 99% of its members are respectful of eachother and there are no wars here, even though there are differing opinions on many subjects.

Glad to hear that it's a very tight-knit community. :) Most other forums would just as soon put someone down as they would give them advice! I'll definitely keep everyone posted, and post plenty of pics once I get everything set up and running. ^_^

-Rem

[diamond_discus]

Glad to hear that it's a very tight-knit community. :) Most other forums would just as soon put someone down as they would give them advice! I'll definitely keep everyone posted, and post plenty of pics once I get everything set up and running. ^_^

-Rem

Yeah, Rem ... pics ..pics ..pics ... We all love to see lots of pics .. You are going to be busy with your new hobby ... Take good care of them ...:)

[bartmanrob]

Chad,

Where did you get your driftwood? I have fresh water lakes nearby but I am afraid that it could harm the fish. All I can find online or in stores are smaller 6-10" pieces. Just curious.

Thanks,
Rob

[Chad Hughes]

Chad,

Where did you get your driftwood? I have fresh water lakes nearby but I am afraid that it could harm the fish. All I can find online or in stores are smaller 6-10" pieces. Just curious.

Thanks,
Rob

Rob,

Collected it over the years from multiple sources. If you need some larger pieces, I could part with some. Let me know....

[calihawker]

Chad,

Where did you get your driftwood? I have fresh water lakes nearby but I am afraid that it could harm the fish. All I can find online or in stores are smaller 6-10" pieces. Just curious.

Thanks,
Rob

I think you can boil or bleach just about anything till it's dead. Bleach then boil?

[Chad Hughes]

The pieces that I have came from natural water ways and were boiled. :)