New to the group and need help please :-)

Hello my name is Suz I am currently getting my fish tank made and I have kept fish before and been a slave to water change but seriously do i have to change the tank water on my discus tank every 3 days???????? I am going to buy adult discus and house 4 only I will keep a very thin layer of sand on the bottom of the tank and minimal plants due to the bacteria load I have read about.

I live with rain tank water so am thinking maybe not the fish for me :-( any advice would be appreciated thanks

suz :bounce2:

Hello Suz, Welcome to Simply!

Discus are not that hard to keep as long as you learn the basics and understand that they do require more maintenance that many other aquarium fish. Many people change water every day, others not so much. Discus are best kept in groups of 6 or more, any less than that and you risk aggression and compromising their immune system. Young discus are best kept in a bare bottom tank in order to achieve maximum growth and health...

I suggest you do a bit of reading here in the beginner section before deciding if discus are right for you, and I suggest you begin by watching this video. Then feel free to come back and ask as many questions as you have... http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...TCH-THIS-VIDEO!

Discus are not easy fish to keep. I understand what your trying to do by buying adults. But buying adults is not growing out adults. Buying adults your getting discus that are grown at optimal conditions. These fish have lived with daily water changes and many feedings. So taking them and doing less will stress them out! If you grow them your self you stand a better chance of getting what you want. As young fish you will have to do the water changes 6+ months. When they reach the4-5” size you can start slowing the wc. Go every other day till you reach ever 3 days. I wc 3 times a week 50+%.

A store by me just took in a breeders fish. 4 beautiful discus at the6-7” size. And about 50 young discus. They got them on mon and they were stunning and allready sold. I went there on fri they were still there and in major distress. Only 5 days! All the young fish were fine. All in different tanks.

When people say adults are easier to take care of it’s because there their adults and they’ve trained them. Now I’ve never tried it but you may be able to train adult discus for the longer wc but that too will take time.
How big is your tank?

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Originally Posted by suzwalk01

Hello my name is Suz I am currently getting my fish tank made and I have kept fish before and been a slave to water change but seriously do i have to change the tank water on my discus tank every 3 days???????? I am going to buy adult discus and house 4 only I will keep a very thin layer of sand on the bottom of the tank and minimal plants due to the bacteria load I have read about.

I live with rain tank water so am thinking maybe not the fish for me :-( any advice would be appreciated thanks

suz :bounce2:

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Hi, Suz! Something about the Discus must have attracted you to consider the notion of keeping them. You did not say the size of the tank. I began keeping them for breeding purposes at least 30 years ago. I only had a book to guide me then. Two fish, 20 gallon tank with peat moss in the filter to get the pH so the water was akin to tea in color, no chemical test kit, and I do not recall preforming too many water changes. And that was it. Now because of this forum and all of the smart people who here I have modified my approach.

I drove from Seattle to San Francisco to purchase my first 12 fish from a breeder Henry Chan, his business is still there but I am not sure about Henry. That was the only fish I ever had to buy because future generations always kept me in fish.

Now, it's different. I started back up with 5 fish from, in my opinion, the foremost seller of fish Kenny who sources his stock from Forrest in Malaysia. Fish from Stendker (German) and Forrest (Malaysian) seem to be held in high regard. I did not know about the 1 fish for each 10 gallons and the frequent waster changes rules. I do not yet agree with the 1 for 10, I tend more to 1 fish to 5 gallons, but to make that happen the water changes are important I have learned. Plus good filtration, I still add the peat moss to the filter, and sufficient aeration.

With all of that said. I make water changing easy for me. If you test the rain water and you find that the ph is below 8.0 you should be okay. Ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite would be best at 0. I change about 10% daily. Because of what I have read on this forum I have converted to a bare tank and I have gone away from feeding beef heart. The uneaten beef heart can cause the need to increase water changing. I have read it enough times now that I am onboard with the 6 fish mentality. In all I would say that if your tank is 40 gallons or larger go with the 6 fish.