Discus & Goldfish

[Willie]

My brother in law, who was born in China, used to keep fancy goldfish for competition. He kept one per 55 gallon bare bottom tank, to make sure the elaborate finnage was pristine for show.

I like that concept, but would never keep goldfish with my discus. Makes no sense to spend the effort to keep the water pristine then throw in a huge turd.

[bluelagoon]

My brother in law, who was born in China, used to keep fancy goldfish for competition. He kept one per 55 gallon bare bottom tank, to make sure the elaborate finnage was pristine for show.

I like that concept, but would never keep goldfish with my discus. Makes no sense to spend the effort to keep the water pristine then throw in a huge turd.

LOL...I like the way you express things.

[Vinni Smith]

Going on day 3 now with the goldfish in with the discus in the QT tank.

I am in no way trying to get out of water changes. Still doing them. However, it sure is nice not seeing poop roll around on the bottom in between the WCs.

Discus do seem to love this little guy. Kind of reminds me of when I used to keep salt water fish. If you threw a cleaner wrasse in with the angels, they would almost lay down beside the wrasse. It is not to that extreme with the discus, but it does remind me of it a little bit.

I am testing the water often and see no spikes in ammonia or nitrites. I really do not see this addition making any extra mess or load on the system at this point. Now, I would not put more than one in a tank, because I have kept fancy goldfish before and they can indeed make a huge mess. But so far, so good.

And yes, again, I am keeping up on WCs

[Vinni Smith]

Makes no sense to spend the effort to keep the water pristine then throw in a huge turd.

I love this!

[LizStreithorst]

Very nice post, OrangeG. I like your way of looking at things. It's focused on enjoyment of the hobby. We mostly have different Discus priorities here like growing them big and as perfect looking as possible for them or breeding them.

You should post more often. You offer a different point of view.

[OrangeG]

Very nice post, OrangeG. I like your way of looking at things. It's focused on enjoyment of the hobby. We mostly have different Discus priorities here like growing them big and as perfect looking as possible for them or breeding them.

You should post more often. You offer a different point of view.

Thanks Liz 😄

[OrangeG]

(Well I dont know what happened I pressed the edit button and what I said just went away. Anyways I will write again.)

Vinni, it's great that your discus are getting along well with the goldfish. Kinda reminds me of my goldfish.

The main thing is to enjoy the hobby. I have kept fishes for ages but I freaked out when my discus got sick. (Because they were expensive)😅. Everything went downhill. I lost 4 discus the same way (internal parasites). This time I got serious with medications and my 3 sick discus are on the road to recovery. I hope they get better.

I became tired with the hobby when my discus were dying one by one. But now I am enjoying the hobby once again (I hope they dont die on me).

My discus looks a bit a crappy and they dont look nice now but that doesn't concern me. I dont keep them for decorations, I keep them to grow a connection. A proper discus would look really nice but I dont mind a stunted discus (not that I would pay the same money as a good discus)

The point is how we can enjoy the hobby. 1 Goldfish will not cause any harm. He will also not benefit dramatically. But if someone wants to enjoy keeping goldfish with some benefits, I am 100% down with that. If someone grows massive discus in barebottom tank and breed them in their living room, I am down with that too. I'm not saying they are the same but depends on how a hobbyist enjoys his/her tank!

[Iminit]

OrangeG great post!! Yes it’s a hobby enjoy. Being a hobby it’s fun to try something out of the ordinary. Thanks Vinnie! Liz yes this site is it’s own thing. I read many posts about getting new fish and growing them out. What do you all do with them when you’ve grown them out? Do you sell them or keep them? Being new here I’ve been wondering .

[fljones3]

You can give them, you can sell them, or
Get more tanks, get a fish room, or get a fish house.

OrangeG great post!! Yes it’s a hobby enjoy. Being a hobby it’s fun to try something out of the ordinary. Thanks Vinnie! Liz yes this site is it’s own thing. I read many posts about getting new fish and growing them out. What do you all do with them when you’ve grown them out? Do you sell them or keep them? Being new here I’ve been wondering .

[LizStreithorst]

Interesting question, Tom I've wondered forever why, with all the people who have bought Barb's cones and show pics of their little wigglers, don't tell how they dispose of them.

As for me, I'm trying to develop my own strain. It's hard. I haven't sold fish here for years and years and back then I wasn't as selective as I am now. I have not yet sold a Discus of my own breeding here or anywhere else on line. I can't try to make a "name" for myself with fish that I wouldn't be proud to put my name on. I take the ones that don't meet my standards to my LPS. They love them there and they're more than generous to me when they sell them. They also take special care of them while the fish are with them.

[Vinni Smith]

I take the ones that don't meet my standards to my LPS. They love them there and they're more than generous to me when they sell them. They also take special care of them while the fish are with them.

That's pretty cool. That is what I do with my Pleco long fin BN. They give me store credit for them and very generous. I consider it a wonderful thing if your hobby can support itself.

[LizStreithorst]

My store gives me cash that is even better! I don't expect my hobby to pay for itself. It never has. It's not something I demand of it.

[peewee1]

(Well I dont know what happened I pressed the edit button and what I said just went away. Anyways I will write again.)

Vinni, it's great that your discus are getting along well with the goldfish. Kinda reminds me of my goldfish.

The main thing is to enjoy the hobby. I have kept fishes for ages but I freaked out when my discus got sick. (Because they were expensive)😅. Everything went downhill. I lost 4 discus the same way (internal parasites). This time I got serious with medications and my 3 sick discus are on the road to recovery. I hope they get better.

I became tired with the hobby when my discus were dying one by one. But now I am enjoying the hobby once again (I hope they dont die on me).

My discus looks a bit a crappy and they dont look nice now but that doesn't concern me. I dont keep them for decorations, I keep them to grow a connection. A proper discus would look really nice but I dont mind a stunted discus (not that I would pay the same money as a good discus)

The point is how we can enjoy the hobby. 1 Goldfish will not cause any harm. He will also not benefit dramatically. But if someone wants to enjoy keeping goldfish with some benefits, I am 100% down with that. If someone grows massive discus in barebottom tank and breed them in their living room, I am down with that too. I'm not saying they are the same but depends on how a hobbyist enjoys his/her tank!

Regarding the stunted ones. For many it is natural to "pull" for the little guy. The small, stunted, sick, and the less fortunate discus bring out the hope aspect of fish keeping for some I suspect. As a result they too have their place. I have one smaller than the rest that is either stunted or just a slow grower. When my children come to look at the tanks they always look for and comment on the little one first. Humans, by in large, seem to care about that which is small.

[OrangeG]

Regarding the stunted ones. For many it is natural to "pull" for the little guy. The small, stunted, sick, and the less fortunate discus bring out the hope aspect of fish keeping for some I suspect. As a result they too have their place. I have one smaller than the rest that is either stunted or just a slow grower. When my children come to look at the tanks they always look for and comment on the little one first. Humans, by in large, seem to care about that which is small.

Yea cause the little ones are the cutest to them. Same happens with me too. 😅

[OrangeG]

My store gives me cash that is even better! I don't expect my hobby to pay for itself. It never has. It's not something I demand of it.

Reminds of me Joey from king of DIY. He was making money by selling discus. Later he realised that it is taking away from his hobby and he didn't want money by selling fish so he stopped it.