Cold Hard Facts for the Hobbyist...

[jackie1258]

I find myself neglecting my housework because I would rather look after my discus.

[ahmari1]

excellent, very true.

[Quintin]

I sometimes sit on simply discus at while doing water changes and sneaking my fish treats.and i never liked fish at all thought all u gt was guppies and gold fish, then my wife ordered sum discus for her shop from a importer and i stole 2 (killed 1 he was fine in the nite and dead in the morning).now i have a 4 foot tank with 8 various discus some fine some stunted. 1x 3foot cichlid tank with 2 parot fish (which i stole from my wifes shop once i found out how they were created) now dont condone the selling of them as its cruel.2 oscars 1 blue ramzie 2 albino convicts and a yellow malawi.the cichlid tank also gets spoiled with daily water changes and treats.and my daughter has a tank with 2x goldfish some neons,guppies,danios and a siamese fighter male.And it gonna get wors as i want to get another 4 foot with 10 juvies of the same breed grow out and pair up.then want to get 6foot long by 3foot high by 3foot deep tant for my best discus and mabey a 20cm ghostfish or angels (barebottom).
This discus hobby is becoming a way of life for me too

[DISCUS STU]

Great! I love the one about quarantine. Learned this lesson more than once.

How about, inevitably you'll buy some small "Rescue" Discus from a LPS (local pet shop) for $15.99 that grow out to look better than some of the much more expensive fish you bought from a big name breeder.

[ericNH]

Well I've just registered with SimplyDiscusand this is the second thread I've looked into, after the Welcome Who Are You and Where Are You From thread.

Good place to start. Inspiring OP and responses!

[Rachael702]

Thanks for that! Laughed so hard I nearly cried.
"There's a good likely hood that discus are not right for you and your life style." ... You may stay in the hobby anyway because you know if you do leave the hobby..."you will think about that Flat fish everytime you see a fish tank!"

[n0kjf]

Greetings,
I just joined the forum this evening. I am thinking about getting back into discus after a 10 year interruption. I might be able to contribute an idea I came up with to reduce the potential for overflow in your aged water storage. I used a trash can to hold filtered / treated water. I created a system of pipes to hold a toilet float valve. Like many of you, I've watered my carpet more than once. Now I can leave the water on with no more fear of an overflow than you worry about your toilet tank. I've included a DropBox link to the original photos that were taken in 1997.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3z4nj07sl...uodjIufga?dl=0

I hope to learn much from the group and I'll contribute when I have an idea or two.

Thanks,
Lew Heifner

[duscusnovice]

painful lessons i hope to avoid at all cost

[Dahlyvh]

Great thread

[candymancan]

where is the one about how rude fish people can get ? I've been online since the 90's and im on countless forums and I gatta say fish tank people can be some seriously rude and downright nasty people... I agree the hobby gets addicting I have 8 fish tanks myself and one with 8 discus in it.. but I don't let it get to my head

[RolnwitdaDISC]

hoping to minimize my losses

[n0kjf]

After watering the carpet, it might grow, I rigged up a toilet float valve in my water barrel. Works great and is reliable.
Lew Heifner

[CaliSlave4Discus]

16) You will learn to quarantine - one way or another...

Agreed

[loltune]

Once the secret of keeping discus is out. They will become very very popular and the their population will explode and eventually become food for us like Tilapia. It sounds gross for now but who knows. Still I wonder does it taste better than Tilapia. Haha jk

[navarro1950]

Another real truth is we ALL buy fish with the expectations of keep our fish alive for the duration of their life span but, unfortunately Al (brewmaster15) is correct with everything he has printed and it is truly the Cold Hard Facts.