Our Discus Timeline

Okay so we don't have that big of a timeline for owning discus, but a lot has been learned. Also let me start by saying that none of our discus are "show quality" and most of them were purchased at the LFS and a couple of them from a local hobbyist off of craigslist. I know that a lot of members here won't be too happy to hear that, but we love our fish all the same and we think we've done a pretty good job of selecting some healthy specimens.

So about 9 months ago when we moved into our condo, my fiance got the idea of getting a fish tank. She wanted to see some "prrreetty fishies" and after a little bit of research on the internet and some books she decided on Discus. I had never kept Discus in my years of fishkeeping, but I was up to the challenge. I researched a bit online and read some books before picking up a nice budget tank on craigslist. A 55 gallon acrylic tank. We started off with 5 Discus to start: 2 Red Melons, 1 Wild Brown, 1 High Body Blue Diamond, 1 Snakeskin? Please correct me if I am not ID'ng these fish correctly.


Thought these fish were going to die by the end of the week. They were dark, constantly hiding, and did not eat.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01050.jpg


http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01063.jpg

After about a week and a half I finally got all of them feeding on frozen bloodworms. Here they are emerging from their shell.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01060.jpg

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01055.jpg

This guy did not make it. He ended up with a cloudy eye so I quarantined and treated him in a separate tank. Eventually stopped feeding and died. Too bad because I think he could grown into a nice fish. :(
http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01068.jpg


http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01070.jpg

Later added this guy to the tank. One of our "nicer" discus.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01072.jpg

Finally acclimated! The gang out in full force waiting to be fed. :D

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01083.jpg

One night during dinner my fiance noticed the melons huddled in the corner. Upon closer inspection we noticed eggs!. Woo hoo! We have a pair! They've bred about 10 times since then and the eggs always get eaten. :(

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01098.jpg


http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01099.jpg


I was originally going for a low tech plant setup, but that didn't work out too well with the fish growing out and all the water changes. Plants started dying off, so I did away with a few things to create more space.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01506.jpg

On my birthday I made an impulse buy. ;)

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01516.jpg

More fish, more tank space! Picked up another craigslist bargain buy. Traded in my 55 and 50 bucks for this 90gal. Needed a lot of work though.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01507.jpg

I need WOOD!

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01531.jpg

Picked up a few pieces in the hills. Glad I know where this stuff grows. :)

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01533.jpg

Some steel wool did an excellent job of cleaning the pieces.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01540.jpg

Another addition and our biggest discus in the tank. He's a gentle giant.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01543.jpg

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01551.jpg

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http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01560.jpg

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Fully furnished and enjoying their new home.

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The lone loach. Don't know what kind he is.

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01571.jpg

Up until last week, we thought our melons were lemons lol, until I woke up one morning to see this. Eggs with dark centers, and i do believe I see one wiggler emerging. But the eggs ended up disappearing somehow. Not sure if they got eaten or fell off. Hoping to move these guys into their own tank soon so they can do their thing without any interruptions. Our next chapter in fishkeeping. ;)

http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/DSC01574.jpg

Feeding Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfkrP...ature=youtu.be

Well that's our voyage so far. I'll try to keep SD updated with any changes or additons. Hope you've all enjoyed. Comments and feedback are welcome.

Jason

Nice job!

You seem to be doing very well debuting your discus addiction. And your tank looks great. Keep up the good work.

Looking good guys. Glad you're happy with what you have! That's the most important thing in this hobby.

Thank you for the great pictures! I especially enjoyed the video!! I'm new to Discus and really like their great personalities. Congrats on the beautiful fish and tank and good luck with future spawns.

Pretty darn good for starting out my friend, a few stunted guys in there which is to be expected from most LFS, but your care looks to be very good and as such you will be amazed at the stock if you choose to check out some of the sponsors here and their fish. That checkerboard pigeon looks pretty good though, idk where he came from but he has pretty good shape and eyes and such.

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Originally Posted by discuspaul

You seem to be doing very well debuting your discus addiction. And your tank looks great. Keep up the good work.

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+1 Your tank is looking good, and your coping with your addiction very well!! That is much more then I could say at the beginning of my discus adventures.

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Originally Posted by Wjmulder

Nice job!

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Originally Posted by discuspaul

You seem to be doing very well debuting your discus addiction. And your tank looks great. Keep up the good work.

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Originally Posted by DLock3d

Looking good guys. Glad you're happy with what you have! That's the most important thing in this hobby.

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Originally Posted by baeya

Thank you for the great pictures! I especially enjoyed the video!! I'm new to Discus and really like their great personalities. Congrats on the beautiful fish and tank and good luck with future spawns.

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Thanks for the kind words guys! I've learned a lot on this site using the advanced search and reading all the stickies. I really wanted to do my homework and make sure I was going to be serious about the hobby before putting up a thread.

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Originally Posted by DiscusDrew

Pretty darn good for starting out my friend, a few stunted guys in there which is to be expected from most LFS, but your care looks to be very good and as such you will be amazed at the stock if you choose to check out some of the sponsors here and their fish. That checkerboard pigeon looks pretty good though, idk where he came from but he has pretty good shape and eyes and such.

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Thanks DiscusDrew. The white faced melon and the high body blue diamond are surely stunted. They haven't grown ever since I got them. The yellow faced melon and the checkerboard pigeon are still growing strong. Those two also have the biggest appetites. All of the others have peaked off in growth. And yes the pigeon is also from the LFS and is the king of the tank. I think I know what to look for now; small eyes, round body, thick head and an aggressive appetite. :)

I'm glad you didn't take that as mean :) because I did not intend it that way, I was completely serious when I said it looks better than just about every beginner tank i've ever seen. I just always hope that people continue to grow and learn in this hobby, and as a few basic points you hit it head on. Foreheads should be thick and full, round symmetrical body shape, the eye should fit at least 7 or 8 times if you Drew a line vertically through the center of the eye. Also continuity of pattern, but at the end of the day what maters is that you like them. After all, I still have my first two discus, stunted yes, but they also represent a time of learning and education, before the madness of this hobby caught me by storm... Somehow two tanks became 12, Idk what happened its all a blur haha.

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Originally Posted by DiscusDrew

I'm glad you didn't take that as mean :) because I did not intend it that way, I was completely serious when I said it looks better than just about every beginner tank i've ever seen. I just always hope that people continue to grow and learn in this hobby, and as a few basic points you hit it head on. Foreheads should be thick and full, round symmetrical body shape, the eye should fit at least 7 or 8 times if you Drew a line vertically through the center of the eye. Also continuity of pattern, but at the end of the day what maters is that you like them. After all, I still have my first two discus, stunted yes, but they also represent a time of learning and education, before the madness of this hobby caught me by storm... Somehow two tanks became 12, Idk what happened its all a blur haha.

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Drew, I didn't take your comments mean at all. I was prepared for some criticism when I first started the thread. Like you said, as long as I'm happy with them, that's all that matters. Stunted discus need love too. LOL Thanks for the compliments. They mean a lot.

12 Tanks!? I barely have the space/time to maintain 2 tanks. I wanna say I'll get there someday, but I don't think I will. LOL The most tanks I've ever owned was 4.

Very nice,just starting myself and already addicted.
Keep up the good work.

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Originally Posted by DiscusDrew

I was completely serious when I said it looks better than just about every beginner tank i've ever seen.

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That's what I was thinking. When I started I had never heard of Simply, and had tons of disease issues. Looks to me like you've got the most important part of discus keeping down ~ water changes and maintenance. Looks great!

Wow!!
Looks real nice..