Buying New Discus

[Discus Rookie 2017]

Hi guys,

I am considering buying some red melon discus to add to my new tank but I am not sure if they are of good quality or not, what do you guys think? Also, do red melon discus turn red when they mature? Attached are the two discus I am considering buying.

[Gregkarr09]

Whats your current set up? What are they going into, tank size, tank mates, substrate, planted, bare bottom? Those look good they are young. If you feed good food and keep good water quality with lots of water changes, they should turn out to be great. Also depends on the genetics they come from. Are you getting them from a breeder or a LFS? Wish you had a better pic of the one on the bottom. I would like to see his fin completely extended. Almost looks like it's not developed correctly, could just be the angle though. Good luck.

[Discus Rookie 2017]

Hi there, thanks for replying. It is a new 90 gallon tank. Filtration is 1000L/h with additional air pump at 400L/h. Bare bottom with potted plants and some driftwood. Only have 2 bristlenose in it currently. These two fish are imported not sure genetic wise.

[Paul Sabucchi]

In that setup you can have 7-8 discus, decent number to avoid bullyibg. 2 on their own is inadvisable and it would be best to purchase all the fish at once from the same origin rather than mixing in installments

[Paul Sabucchi]

In that setup you can have 7-8 discus, decent number to avoid bullyibg. 2 on their own is inadvisable and it would be best to purchase all the fish at once from the same origin rather than mixing in installments, whereby you risk introducing bacteria/parassites against which some fish have no defences.

[Discus Rookie 2017]

How do I deal with the sudden increase in bioload if i purchased 7-8 discus all at once?

[Paul Sabucchi]

You first do a fishless cycle with ammonia (at about 4 mg/l - se the stickies about fishless cycle). This will take a few weeks, but the process cam be accelerated by the use of appropriate bacterial starters

[Second Hand Pat]

You will do large daily water changes when you add a large bio-load to an existing tank. You will want to do this with anyway when raising young discus. It would be worth your time to do a bit of research before getting discus. Start in the beginners section with this thread http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...CH-THIS-VIDEO!. Welcome to Simply
Pat

[Willie]

I get concerned when I see multiple strains in the same tank. Multiple strains come from multiple farms and bringing them together is very risky. The first fish has an oversized head that will not get better with age. The second fish is better.

I encourage you, and everyone else, to buy from our sponsors. Buying from importers, etc., provides you with no recourse when problems arise.

Look for my recent post on a shipment of red fish, Willie

[Discus Rookie 2017]

Thanks everyone!

[Ryan925]

I get concerned when I see multiple strains in the same tank. Multiple strains come from multiple farms and bringing them together is very risky. The first fish has an oversized head that will not get better with age. The second fish is better.

I encourage you, and everyone else, to buy from our sponsors. Buying from importers, etc., provides you with no recourse when problems arise.

Look for my recent post on a shipment of red fish, Willie

How do you know that different strains are from different farms ?

Don't importers like Kenny import a large variety of strains from their sole supplier ?

[Willie]

How do you know that different strains are from different farms ?

Don't importers like Kenny import a large variety of strains from their sole supplier ?

When you see multiple strains with superb quality, does it make sense that they come one farm or multiple farms? The only importer I know that has fish from only one farm is Discus Hans, because he is the exclusive supplier for Stendkers. Everyone else is likely getting fish from a broker who works with multiple farms or, in some cases, working with multiple farms directly. Even then, the importer is astute and does not mix fish from many strains together.

Willie

[Phillydubs]

OP Where are you located ?

Why not order online and go direct to a sponsor here ??

[Discus Rookie 2017]

I am in Australia, not sure if there is anything reputable breeders around here.

[Ryan925]

You should talk to Joe. "Two Utes"