Lessons that can be learned.

[calihawker]

I hope that these threads don't end up just for the contestants and the hard core SD folks, (ya'll know who you are.) I truly beleive that the people coming to this site for the first time and want to learn about the hobby and do the best for their discus can learn such a great deal.

I mean look at the success of these 48 fish and the diversity of the contestants raising them. Does anyone have one that's slow getting going? I haven't heard. What is it that contributes to this success?

Quality stock.
Good shipping procedures.
Acclimation, or in most cases the lack there of.
Variety and quality of food.
Stable, clean water.

I know I'm mostly preaching to the choir, but I think it's for the benefit of those that want to do well in this hobby to understand how easy it really is if these very simple steps are followed.

All the contestants are doing an awesome job! Keep it up!!

[Chad Hughes]

I hope that these threads don't end up just for the contestants and the hard core SD folks, (ya'll know who you are.) I truly beleive that the people coming to this site for the first time and want to learn about the hobby and do the best for their discus can learn such a great deal.

I mean look at the success of these 48 fish and the diversity of the contestants raising them. Does anyone have one that's slow getting going? I haven't heard. What is it that contributes to this success?

Quality stock.
Good shipping procedures.
Acclimation, or in most cases the lack there of.
Variety and quality of food.
Stable, clean water.

I know I'm mostly preaching to the choir, but I think it's for the benefit of those that want to do well in this hobby to understand how easy it really is if these very simple steps are followed.

All the contestants are doing an awesome job! Keep it up!!

Steve,

Couldn't agree with you more here and I think you hit every point. Quality stock is a must. Look what we're working with! Shipping was flawless. Thanks Forrest, Kenny and Al! We are all feeding home made, top quality mixes. You can't buy this stuff from a LFS, at least where I live. For the most part, everyone is performing adequate water changes to facilitate the clean water mark.

I know I do things a bit differently, but I am using knowledge that I have gained over many years of fish keeping. Knowledge of water, it's quality and limitations is a must when pushing the limits as I do. I would agree with anyone who states that my approach is not the best for a beginner.

Like you said, for most this is not rocket science. There are some that have special cirumstances. The biggest ones that I have seen are water source issues. I'm a believer in grow out in tap water, but there is a limit in my opinion, as to how high you can go with TDS/GH/KH. Sometimes RO is a must. If you are on the other end of the spectrum and have no minerals in your water at all, you have to supplement. Understanding your water is probably the first step to success IMO.

Just my $.02!

Best wishes!

[Scribbles]

I totaly agree with you both! A little education can go a long way to saving $ stress and your fishes lives. For years I had just been doing the same old routines with my fish and aquaruims because it worked. Now, I think more about what everything does and why so that I can make better decisions as to my fish/tank care. LOL I used to chew out my students for answers like "I do it 'cause so and so told me to." or "That's the way I've always done it." I used to tell them that it was important to know how and why something worked not just that it will. Now I practice what I preached and my discus are the better for it.

Chris

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

sounds good Steve, Chad, Chris. I agree that its very easy once you have a full understanding of what to do, and a full understanding of how your water works. great advise guys!

[fishyj]

I agree with everything said. I have learned so much from this site and everyone here. At first I had a hard time understanding the water quality thing. I kept other fish with no problems (saying to myself) but the importance of water and good stock and good food = success. The nice thing about it is that I am still learning something different all the time.

[calihawker]

oops! I did the math wrong. That's 54 discus happy and healthy!

Sorry Ryan

[Marywouters]

I am still a beginner at keeping discus and I hope to learn a lot from all of you. Can you post your waterparameters every now and then?

Mary

[Armandi_Fishcarer]

Steve,

Well spoken, couldn't agree with you more! Fish keeping doesn't have to be as hard as people may think or talk about. Every time I talk to people about the hobby, they have never truly the info they diserve, or no-one got time to explain to them about it. Thats why now, I tell all about SD that I talk too!
True: Imagine the things I've heard;
- tropical fish, no heater
- w/c's no conditioner
- no w/c's at all, foul smell
- fish in a bucket, empty tank, scrub down everything
- as a co-worker & my sis did, empty tank & scrub with detergant
- plants always die, don't know why
- nitrogen cycle, whats that

All resulted in fish death, Why? It doesn't have to be that way!


Regards
Ahmed

[Ben75]

I hope that these threads don't end up just for the contestants and the hard core SD folks, (ya'll know who you are.) I truly beleive that the people coming to this site for the first time and want to learn about the hobby and do the best for their discus can learn such a great deal.

I mean look at the success of these 48 fish and the diversity of the contestants raising them. Does anyone have one that's slow getting going? I haven't heard. What is it that contributes to this success?

Quality stock.
Good shipping procedures.
Acclimation, or in most cases the lack there of.
Variety and quality of food.
Stable, clean water.

I know I'm mostly preaching to the choir, but I think it's for the benefit of those that want to do well in this hobby to understand how easy it really is if these very simple steps are followed.

All the contestants are doing an awesome job! Keep it up!!

I agree with you totally Steve. Keep up the good work mate all the best.