Originally Posted by
Discus-n00b
There are a million ways plus some to do things in this hobby and we are all passionate about our way of doing things. However what works for some may not work for others. The good thing about forums is you can share your successes and failures with everyone to develop more knowledge and progression in the hobby as a whole. The even better part is you don't have to do what other people are doing. There have been multiple posts on here about a WIDE range of pH's and the success that has come from them, spawning and raising fry included (pictures as well). I think a lot of people in this hobby K.I.S.S. and take what is given to them in their area and work with it. As we ALL know pH fluctuations do more damage than a high or low pH at a consistent level would by themselves so tinkering with it is not the best option for everyone, especially someone entering the hobby who has been reading those publications from the 60s-70s that say there is only one way to do things and they start trying to drop their water to amazon levels. I don't care if you keep Discus or Guppies that's true across the board. I never check the pH in my Tropheus tank but I know its not at rift lake levels. Fish are starting to breed, show great color, and eat everything I give them....however I refuse to chase a number. I think with wild fish you may have a case for a lower pH, but with domestic bred fish that are further removed from the amazon than the dinosaurs are from walking the earth (not really but you get the idea) then I don't agree with that.
Is that to say that pH of 6 and 8 are on an even playing field? Maybe, maybe not. I think it is general knowledge that harder water causes eggs to harden faster and prevents fertilization success especially with an inexperienced male. But to say one is better than the other is naive. There are so many other factors at play here. Put an average unconditioned pair in a tank with pH of 6, have a decent spawn. Put a well conditioned pair in a tank of 8 and have a gigantic spawn. On the surface you would side with the pH of 8 tank. But dig deeper and we're talking fish health, vitality, breeding experience (does the male know what he's doing)....everything beyond JUST the water. What it boils down to is a vast amount of water parameters are acceptable for these fish and we should no longer live in the 60s where everyone thought the discus would drop dead with anything but bottled amazon water.
I thank these gentlemen for their early contributions to the hobby but the fact is time has sped past them and they are relics of a different era. Do some of their methods and teachings still hold true? Of course. Is that the only way? Not even close. Brings me back to the forum. Thanks to technology now we have connections with people from all walks of life all around the world from breeder to hobbyist and we can see the vast differences in keeping/breeding techniques. The information is out there, you have to be the one that chooses what method you adopt for yourself and your own situation. There is a well worn path already cut through the woods, but does that mean you can't step off of it and still find the log cabin at the end? Not at all. We're all humans, we don't like change so once we find what works for us we stick with it and as is clearly shown we are passionate about letting others know about it.
Let us get back to the topic at hand, pH and not having to tinker with it for discus.