Thinking of getting back into discus again. Doing my homework.......

[Lab_man]

Hello, I used to breed angels and keep discus. I had much success with angels but not with discus. A few years ago I had to get out of fish keeping because life got too busy. Well life has only gotten busier, I got my daughter a 29 gallon tank for her birthday. This is where the madness crept in. I kept wandering over to the discus tanks while we were looking for fish for her community aquarium. The discus were not for her aquarium. They were for my aquarium that I had been thinking of starting someday.................................

I recall how much I love them. They were so majestic, hovering in the aquarium. Then darting to meet me when they saw me come into the room. I started with juveniles and ended with one very nice sized one, 3 mid-sized and 1 or 2 runts. It was a BB tank but we didn't perform enough WCs or feed enough. I kept them for about a year before I sold them to a LFS.

This time I am doing my homework and reading everything I can before I make the decision to get back into discus. Now I know how much work they are. I know that when you say 5 or 6 feedings you mean it. I know that you can't short the WCs or they will either die or languish.

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching and reality checks before I choose whether I get back into discus keeping or not.
I am a very busy person. I have a family, wife and 13-year-old daughter. My career is taking off and it takes a lot of dedication. I am also going to school part time, ME degree. Oh, I also am a bicyclist and runner. I run 15 miles per week and I bicycle to work, putting on 200 miles per week.

I have been reading on automatic water changing systems. This is the only way I could realistically be successful. I could do at most 1 WC daily. I would be able to feed twice manually and siphon the uneaten food at that time. Would an automatic feeder like the Ehimes (SP) be feasible?

I am very resourceful and have the means (within reason) to set up what is needed to be successful.
Oh, by the way, my pH is off the scale, approximately 9! With water hardness that is so hard you could break glass with it.

I am a big boy and can take it. Please tell me what you think, the good, bad and ugly.

[decoy50]

Like you, I've recently gotten back into fishkeeping after a long absence - last kept saltwater ten years ago. Things have changed!! Discus (thanks to the info on this site) no longer seem to be the impossible to keep fish they once were. I've been keeping angels & SA cichlids for about a year & will start w/ discus in the next month or two. What I've been doing to get ready is reading on here daily & trying different things to streamline my WC change process so that I can do large daily WC fairly quickly. I'm down to about 30 mins give or take on a 75gal. Instead of auto water changes, you might want to look into python water changers. Remove the water with the python, pump in fresh water from your aging barrel w/ a water pump...quick & easy. WC were always a pain with saltwater, but I don't mind them at all now.

[BobDaniel]

I am returning as well. I too have a 75 gallon tank and will also use a python water change hose. Last time I noticed how well the fish did with live daphnia, white worms and earthworms, and a home made beefheart/shrimp mix I feel I want to go that way again but with more live foods and a bit less beefheart.

I was thinking of using tenderloin this time to replace BH. I buy my tenderloin in the whole strip for about 35 bucks, denude it and cut my steaks. I get six or so... There are always small trimmings that would be good for fish but way too small to deal with on the BBQ. Getting a whole heart and doing all the work for 6 fish is not really worth the effort.

[strawberryblonde]

Hi there and welcome to the SD forums! =)

Actually, even with your busy lifestyle I think you could successfully keep discus without nearly as much technical work as you are thinking you'll need. Here's what I'd do if I were in your situation:

1) Buy a growout tank of at least 55 gallons for 7-9 discus

2) Cycle the tank using straight ammonia (check out your local hardware store for ammonia with no additives) and using 1 AC70 HOB filter and 2 large sponge filters. Add your heater too and a small piece of driftwood.

3) When the cycle is complete, purchase your discus from a reputable sponsor here on the forums. Buy discus that are 3.5" - 4" so that feedings and water changes are easier on you.

4) Purchase 2 corydoras at the same time...check with the sponsors to see who is selling them. These guys will eat any leftover bits of food for you during the day and they don't poop a whole lot. (no pleco's..ugh...poop masters!)

5) For the morning feeding, give them beefheart cubes and stand around to make sure that they eat nearly all of it...the cories will scarf up the bits, then just before you leave for work smash 3 cubes of Freeze Dried Blackworm cubes against the side of the tank for them to munch on all morning.

6) Use good quality discus flakes in an auto feeder for 2 more feedings during the day. I mix a variety of flakes for my discus and they love it.

7) Feed another beefheart feeding as soon as you get home from work at night, then go do your other family stuff.

8) Before bedtime, do a water change. If you want it to go quickly, and we all do... use 2 pythons for a fast drain. Vacuum out the crud on the bottom of the tank during the draining process.

9) During the daily water change, alternate your extra cleaning chores - day one, wipe down the sides and bottom of the tank, day two, rinse off the sponge filters, day three, wipe down the heater and rinse off the driftwood, day four, rinse off the filter foam in the AC70...and on and on. By splitting up the cleaning chores it goes quickly and they get the benefits of a super clean tank.

10) Once the water change is complete, smash 2 more cubes of freeze dried blackworms (FDBW's) on the side of the tank, wait an hour and turn out the lights.

Once they reach 5 -6" it's time to put them into their display tank. At that point you can add a fine layer of sand, more driftwood and a few plants if you want them. Most here tie anubias to the driftwood, or put plants into pots in order to keep the bottom clean. You can also QT and add more cories plus a few other discus friendly fish.

Again, if it was me I'd aim for a 90 gallon display tank since more water means a more stable tank.

Other Notes:

For your water changes, it's going to be much quicker for you if you use an aging tank. Buy a 50 gallon rubbermaid tank and outfit it with a heater, a big airstone and a fairly good pump. Fill it at night after your water change, then let the water heat and aerate for 24 hours. The pump will get the water into your tank in a big hurry...thereby cutting down on the time you have to sit around watching it.

For the growout tank a small piece of driftwood is really nice to add some pizazz to the look of the tank and so long as it's small and easy to remove, it's no problem to have it in the tank with sub-adult discus. Just rinse it well under running water once or twice a week to get any slime and food bits off of it and you're good to go.

Also for the growout, don't give in to the temptation to put sand in the tank. Just paint the bottom of the tank white or offwhite (on the outside of the tank) and you'll be thanking yourself each time you do a cleaning. LOL

[Lab_man]

Decoy 50 and Bob Daniel, glad to hear that you are getting back into discus as well. Keep me informed on how things are going, maybe we can learn from each other.

Strawberry blonde, (I like your name), Thanks for the copious information on discus keeping. Do you mind if I ask how long you have been keeping discus and how many tanks and discus you have?
I have to say, I was expecting a bunch of replies discouraging me from undertaking this endevour. Rest assured, I have read your reply several times.

One of the issues I have is that my pH is approx 8.8, I haven't tested my water hardness yet but I know its hard. I have a RO/DI unit that I used when I was raising angels and discus. I've read a lot on SD regarding pH and some say to leave the pH as whatever you have. Does that apply to pH of 9???????
I will be utilizing an aging barrel or two to cover all my WC.

Now, where is the best place to find a 75 or 90 gal tank? What are some brands you recommend? I've heard a lot about Oceanic but I can't seem to find a supplier.


Thanks again.
I love this web site!

[DiscusDrew]

Well you won't get anything but encouragement from myself either. It IS feasible that you could make this work, and in my fish room/hatchery if I didn't use auto feeders I would lose my mind at times, and surely not be as successful with breeding as I am. I would love to give a longer more encompassing response in due time but pretty busy at work but I will maybe this evening.

I do want to answer your recent question though. I breed and raise discus in aged tap water with an aged Ph of 8.2, not as bad as yours but still very high. And my TDS is around 320 or so, so again very hard water. I use RODI water when I am hatching discus fry, once they are attached and hatched its right back to aged tap, in fact I find it best to do so. One of the most common themes I see when making my rounds in the disease section of the forum and helping people there, is people changing their water, using buffers RODI chemicals medications salts, you name it. There's a time and place for everything, but what you HAVE to remember is that above all else discus care about consistency, more so than any particular water value. So even with a high Ph I honestly would not modify it at this point. I would age it, and airate it, and change a lot if water. But I would not resort to modifying it to what you THINK may be advantageous. After all, remember these are domestically bred discus (this all is assuming your not doing wilds), they have been a long time out of the soft acidic Amazon :). I can't say honestly I know anyone with a Ph of 9 that I would consider an expert breeder or raiser... But I do know two that have a Ph of 8.8 and TDS measuring over 400+. They use the same approach I just mentioned.

[ronald sherman]

i have a question a inportant 1 i've already bought everything needed too start a 75 gallon discus tank, as well as a 28 gallon, 4 either quar or if skilled enough breeding i already have 4 tropical fish tank's going and when i do my water changes it with a python 25 ft lenghth but use the same python replaceing the water can someone exsplain the easyiest way too set-up a barrel and i assume too math the temp and ph?

[ronald sherman]

i have a stupid question what type of pump is used too pump the water from the rubermaid into the discus tank? any ph adj with the water in the rubermaid

[strawberryblonde]

Strawberry blonde, (I like your name), Thanks for the copious information on discus keeping. Do you mind if I ask how long you have been keeping discus and how many tanks and discus you have?
I have to say, I was expecting a bunch of replies discouraging me from undertaking this endevour. Rest assured, I have read your reply several times.

One of the issues I have is that my pH is approx 8.8, I haven't tested my water hardness yet but I know its hard. I have a RO/DI unit that I used when I was raising angels and discus. I've read a lot on SD regarding pH and some say to leave the pH as whatever you have. Does that apply to pH of 9???????
I will be utilizing an aging barrel or two to cover all my WC.

Now, where is the best place to find a 75 or 90 gal tank? What are some brands you recommend? I've heard a lot about Oceanic but I can't seem to find a supplier.


Thanks again.
I love this web site!

Hi again,

No discouragement here! To answer your first question, I started out as a total newbie to discus keeping last January. I started by reading everything I could find, ended up here on the forums and found my home. =)

I began with 5 4" discus in a 54g pentagonal tank that I found on craigslist. It was cheap, but the design was horrible for water changes. I made a few mistakes in the beginning by trying my best to raise them in a lightly planted tank. It worked and they grew well, but oh my gosh what a lot of extra work it was.

I switched them to a 115g tank that I also found on craigslist after 2 months and fell in love with the light sand, 3 plants in pots and one piece of driftwood theory. They were 5" by then. I also added 4 more discus (from the same sponsor) at that time.

They are now all considered to be jumbo discus. I had the advantage of working from home, so I could do 2 water changes per day and didn't need an auto feeder (I've adjusted the types of foods for each feeding to your special needs), but other than that, my method of raising my discus was the same as what I'm recommending for you.

I truly believe that part of my success in raising dinner plate sized discus in a little over a year is due to the type of discus. They are Stendkers that I bought from Discus Hans here on the forums. They aren't a higher grade discus, just his normal fish.

On the other hand, I'm currently testing my theory that Stendkers grow out huge by raising a tank of Golden Sunshine and 1 Carnation pigeon from another sponsor (John's Discus). I'm using the exact setup that I gave you - 55 gallon, 6 feedings a day and one huge water change. So far they are growing like weeds, so it might just be my "hard as nails, high pH" water in Idaho that makes the difference. =)

No matter which sponsor you choose from the forums, you're going to get high quality, very healthy fish and they'll easily reach 6+ inches within a year so long as they get fresh water each day and lots of feedings. 2 flake, 2 beefheart and 2 FDBW feedings seems to work perfectly with my discus.

I wouldn't worry too much about your pH. Discus just like stable pH and the domestics don't seem to care on bit what the hardness and acidity of it is. My pH varies during the year, but is never less than 7.8 and approaches 8.4 - 8.6 in the winter months.

Head to craigslist to find a tank. You can usually find a nice 75 - 90 for around $100. Sometimes you even get lucky and get one with some nice extras! My display tank came with a spare 55g, a sump, glass top and fantastic lighting....all for $300.

[DiscusDrew]

Well first off I would suggest using the search bar and doing research in here. But to answer your questions, if you read my post.... NO PLAYING WITH PH. Can't emphasize that enough.

Easiest way to start aging water:
1) get a rubbermaid brute storage container (size enough to do at least 50% change in tank)
2) get an air pump, air stone, heater, and air line.
3) fill barrel with water from python, put in the air stone hooked up to the air pump, and the heater which should be set to the same as tank temperature. Allow this water to air with air and heat for at least 12 hours, preferably 24
4) get a mag drive pump, eheim pump, or a sump pump that does NOT USE OIL. Also get potable RV water hoses, DO NOT USE REGULAR GARDEN HOSE.
5) Your ready to do water changes!, use python to drain the tank, then prime and refill using the sump from your holding barrel, then simply replace the water in the holding barrel, preferably using a different line that is not used to drain the tank. You want to keep the aging barrel clean.

[DonMD]

Strawberry and Drew have given you enough good advice to get you going. The only thing I would add is that no matter what, you have to make your water changes painless, otherwise you'll slack off. I have a gravity system, so I use two syphons at once on my 125 gallon tank, and I've plumbed a line up from the sink in the basement to the tank in the dining room, behind the wall, so with a quick hose connector all I have to do is plug the syphons in and the water drains in minutes. Then a good submersible pump in the make up water barrel in the basement (heated water) to refill, again through plumbed lines in the wall so that I don't have to string out hoses. I sit at the dining room table working on the computer while doing the w/c's, and I always get done before I'm finished reading whatever I was reading. Good luck.

[a volar]

welcome Lab_Man....... there you have it, I love this forum..... Toni and Drew you guys rock!!

[Lab_man]

Where are some of the preferred places to buy your aquarium supplies? Any that give discounts for SD people?

[xxbenjamminxx]

Kensfish.com is where I order alot of my stuff from. Great service, prices, and fast too boot as well.

Sent from my Milestone X2 using Tapatalk

[bogia99]

if you have an external filtering box , on the return hose, you can buy an extra long hose to extend its reach to the nearest "window" :). When it is time to dump the water, just lift the return pipe and place it outside the window (after turning the pump off first). I capture that gray water for the garden. For fresh warm water, I run a hose directly from the bathtube to the tank (no water aging for me).

Eheim feeder is a great time saver. You can program it up to 4 times and two rotations each time + adjustable food dispenser gate opening.

[decoy50]

You can find water barrels on CraigsList as well. The largest Brute container I could find locally was 33 gallons. I bought two 58 gallon barrels this weekend I found on CL. Search either "water storage barrel" or "food grade barrel".

[BobDaniel]

I have always like the Eheim brand water pumps. They have enough power to move the water and I don't think I ever had one fail on me. I must have bought seven or eight in the course of my lifetime (lost most in a house fire in 1995).