Bigger is better?

[Spyke]

Hello all! I'm no newbie to fish... But with discus I'm a little lost. I have about 20 aquariums running at my house. And run the fish section at a local fish shop where I keep everything: salt, shrimp, odd, rare, bread and butter fish, and even discus.

But here is my dilemma, and I ask for some good input. I have an opportunity to get some great discus from an individual who got them from Hans and Kenny. Both for me and the store. I think he keeps them in tap water since they are kept with yellow lab cichlids. Anyways. I am interested in getting a breeding pair from him, or a pair and a spare just for fun. I have a 90 tall that I just set up with some established sponge filters, a power head and a small hob filter. Should I put the discus in the new 90 and attempt to breed there . Or should input a pair on an established 20 tall which would allow for easier water changes, and easier area to control for breeding. Both of these are bare tanks also. I have an RODI unit
so I can control my water params any way I want. But I want this to be easier rather than difficult and I don t want to kill these fish by switching them into a new tank. Thanks





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[timmy82]

The 90 would be good for pairing up a group of discus and the 20 tall should be ok for a pair. Myself I like a bit larger 29 for my breeding tanks but see how you go with what you got.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

If you are going to be a first time discus breeder, I would highly suggest reading the "Breeding" section of the forum.

I use 20 gal tanks for pairs with a sponge and a HOB filter (AquaClear 30). I also do 50 to 75% water changes daily on the pair. You will also need to get quality foods to feed them as well. If the pair comes from Hans, ask about his Beefheart mix and flake foods. Also look into freeze-dried blackworms.

I would save the 90 for more than a couple discus as you can put about 8 to 9 adults in there.

[DiscusPamela]

I would save the 90 for more than a couple discus as you can put about 8 to 9 adults in there.

...since we know once he's hit with the Discus bug, he's going to want at least 8 or 9 more. LOL Could use it as a growout tank too if you get a successful spawn.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

A 90 is too big for a grow out tank for young juvies. maybe when they get past the 3" size and you have enough water to continue with daily water changes. I would just put adults in there.

[Chicago Discus]

Hello all! I'm no newbie to fish... But with discus I'm a little lost. I have about 20 aquariums running at my house. And run the fish section at a local fish shop where I keep everything: salt, shrimp, odd, rare, bread and butter fish, and even discus.

But here is my dilemma, and I ask for some good input. I have an opportunity to get some great discus from an individual who got them from Hans and Kenny. Both for me and the store. I think he keeps them in tap water since they are kept with yellow lab cichlids. Anyways. I am interested in getting a breeding pair from him, or a pair and a spare just for fun. I have a 90 tall that I just set up with some established sponge filters, a power head and a small hob filter. Should I put the discus in the new 90 and attempt to breed there . Or should input a pair on an established 20 tall which would allow for easier water changes, and easier area to control for breeding. Both of these are bare tanks also. I have an RODI unit
so I can control my water params any way I want. But I want this to be easier rather than difficult and I don t want to kill these fish by switching them into a new tank. Thanks





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yellow lab cichlids would not be my first choice as tank-mates so with that said, the first thing I would do is try and figure out what temperature he's been keeping his discus at. after the temperature thing has been established try and match the temperature that they are currently at then start slowly over the course of a week get the temperature up to a normal range which is around 82-84. After that I would put your discus pairs and the rest of the them in a quarantine tank and get them use to your routine and make sure you have healthy pairs to work with. And while your in quarantine mode I would start reading all the threads on breeding and keeping Discus healthy and active....Hope this helps ....Josie

[Elliots]

My personal feeling is get a bigger HOB filter for your 90 gal. You probably can't have too much filtering.

[Spyke]

Thank you all for the help an input. That's what I was thinking when I got my 90 up and running. It may just be too much for a pair and a spare. So I'll try my hand a breeding. Plus keeping the water parameters in order will be easier in a 20. My RODI unit is wimpy and with huge water changes like that there is no way I could keep up on a 90. So I guess I'll move my juvie Africans out if the 20 an into the 90 and let the pair have the tank to themselves.


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[Spyke]

Here is the set up. All ready to go and freshly painted. The water parameters are a little off at the moment. Ph, kh, gh, and ammonia even. But nothing a little RODI water won't fix. I think I'm either going to replace the pot with a terra cotta tube or PVC pipe. I don't feel like I need a cone for my first attempt.
And here is my male I'm getting! So ready!







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[GrayLadyPat]

notes from a newbie:

I wish you the best in your breeding venture...BUT...

...if you have never kept discus before, you might try just keeping them for some months before you breed them. They're not guppies. You can't just throw them in a tank and expect them to flourish. I have raised a lot of fish over the years, some of which were a challenge. I can tell you from personal experience that I thought I was well informed, and found out very quickly that I knew NOTHING about keeping discus. I've had them for almost a year now, and I am still lost in some cases. I would hate to think of the results I would have (if I were to breed) if I hadn't gone through the learning process of simply keeping discus.

As I said, I wish you the best, but I would put off the breeding for a bit.

Oh, and watch your source water params. I am not sure if the Springfield supply is on the White River watershed like mine (I'm upriver from you about 2 1/2 hours by car) but the treatment facilities are really struggling with all the growth in the area. The source parameters are changeable, to say the least.

Cheers and best wishes for your venture!!

[Spyke]

Thanks lady pat. Bit I have kept them before in my shop. But I guess I never paid my own $$ for some. And I will just be keeping them... Until they breed.! Lol. I have been doing Way more water changes than they are used to. Almost everyday, with 50/50 tap and RODI. And I will slowly be increasing the amount of RODI to tap to soften the water.

I've gotten them to eat now (they weren't for the first few days) with live black worms and mosquito larvae. They also have gone after a little bit of Ken's BH flake and my own frozen turkey/shrimp mix.
I guess we'll see how things progress. And of they do spawn, you bet ill post it in the breeding section. And here Is a pic of the happy pair in their new set up.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1372313605.991973.jpg




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[tonytheboss1]

Nice pair. Slow & easy does it. Good luck!!! "T"