How Do I Add More Discus Properly

[Atomicmiss]

790097901079011790097901079011Well my main tank is fixed after the Discus Buffer incident and I've finally come to somewhat of a resolution with my lfs. They are replacing one of my discus that died because he was sick when I bought him but now I'm nervous. Originally I had 2 with the intent to purchase 3 more a month or so later (I wish I was richer lol) but now I only have one discus in a tank with 3 dwarf gouramis and 2 albino Cory's. He seems really happy and I'm nervous about only introducing one Discus. Has anyone had luck with this? I have my qt tank set up and all ready to go just in case. I've found a good breeder for my next 3 but I'm not sure now how soon ill be able to purchase them, at best it'll be 10 weeks or so after the qt process.

Should I just stick to my one Discus? He schools with the gouramis like he's one of them.

I really want to do this right so ill take any advice :)

One more question, during the qt process do you deworm your discus and treat if its healthy?

Oh, one last thing, does my new fish look healthy and proper? Opinions please!!
Thanks for the help :) he came to me ammonia poisoned unfortunately.

55 gallon fully cycled
Temp 84
PH 7.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Not planted 1 in sand substrate

If anyone could recommend a breeder in Alberta I would love to check them out :)

[DiscusLoverJeff]

What size is your orignal discus?

After QT, you can add him in the tank. If you are only adding one at a time its ok.

[Trier20]

If you have a good breeder near you I'd just wait for those and ask for store credit for the fish. That will be enough to get you and sponge filter and other stuff you'll need to QT the next ones you get before you add them to your tank. When I QT I don't deworm. Some people do and some people don't. You'll get mixed views on this.

[Atomicmiss]

My Lone Ranger is 3in or so :)

Unfortunately I can't get a store credit... I wish I could because I would by my canister filter but I've purchased everything else already. I never dewormed my discus but I've been reading all the mixed views. My goal is just to keep them alive! (I guess I'm still feeling a little disheartened after my lfs fiasco)

[Second Hand Pat]

I would suggest to not get any more fish from the LFS even thru they "owe you one". Simplify your discus life and get them from the breeder.

[Atomicmiss]

That's what I was debating, I figured since I already had the qt tank ready to go I'd give it another shot but at the same time I can't stand this store anymore and I'm willing to eat my loss.. I was so frustrated with them and their lack of accountability and responsibility they almost killed the joy I had with my fish :(

[Trier20]

My Lone Ranger is 3in or so :)

Unfortunately I can't get a store credit... I wish I could because I would by my canister filter but I've purchased everything else already. I never dewormed my discus but I've been reading all the mixed views. My goal is just to keep them alive! (I guess I'm still feeling a little disheartened after my lfs fiasco)

Well shame on them. There a few lfs that I trust and do good by my standards of business ethics. This store must be one of very few in the area?

[Atomicmiss]

Yep! I can only find discus in 2 stores here, the other one was the one who helped me through all my problems because I kept getting the run around. When my fish was showing signs of illness 2 days after he was purchased they did everything they could for me to not bring him back... And then tried to pass the blame to what I could be doing wrong. Funny thing is when I went back soon after their new discus tank was full of black lifeless sideways snakeskins... Not what I purchased but they were in the tank mine were in before, my best conclusion is either the tank was contaminated or their breeder is awful! It was incredible what I had to go through and even though I lost the fish 3 weeks ago I'm still required to bring in a water sample. Customer satisfaction is key for me to do business and the manager here has not only ticked me off with it but their head office and franchise owner is ticked off too... Not enough to do anything above and beyond and that will prevent me from shopping there in the future though!

[Trier20]

There was a lfs in town here that tries to tell me he could buy nice round 5" for $18 and that's what he offered me for mine. I haven't gone back.

[Atomicmiss]

No doubt!! It drives me crazy how some lfs have no business dealing with discus, if a 5" discus was $18 I would have started my hobby a long time ago... And have a lot more jewellery!!

[Atomicmiss]

Well against my better judgement I went back to my lfs like I was asked to do. I was asked to bring in a water sample for my new one even though it died 2 weeks ago, all they checked was my ammonia levels and when I told her it will read between .25 and 0 because I use prime. She told me she's never heard of that and told me I have a bad ammonia problem so I asked why I had to buy Seachem ammonia alert then on their recommendation (it reads 0). The manager talked down to me, berated me and his staff, told me he's never doing this again for me and had someone actually escort me to the door with my new fish before they stopped and asked if I wanted to buy something else. Yeah, can I please spend hundreds of dollars in your store each month like I was doing? Um NO! Just to make sure their parameters were correct I checked the water the second I opened the bag and there was 3ppm ammonia!! I can't believe it!!

For those that don't know this store has steered me wrong from the get go, gave me the run around when I bought sick fish and wouldn't return calls when one died. The franchise owner is quite upset about the way I've been treated. All I wanted was an apology (it was a pet) and either a store credit or a new fish. Now I have a new fish with possible ammonia poisoning.

Oh and they only had one tank out of 3 with healthy discus AGAIN!!

Sheesh!!

[Trier20]

Well against my better judgement I went back to my lfs like I was asked to do. I was asked to bring in a water sample for my new one even though it died 2 weeks ago, all they checked was my ammonia levels and when I told her it will read between .25 and 0 because I use prime. She told me she's never heard of that and told me I have a bad ammonia problem so I asked why I had to buy Seachem ammonia alert then on their recommendation (it reads 0). The manager talked down to me, berated me and his staff, told me he's never doing this again for me and had someone actually escort me to the door with my new fish before they stopped and asked if I wanted to buy something else. Yeah, can I please spend hundreds of dollars in your store each month like I was doing? Um NO! Just to make sure their parameters were correct I checked the water the second I opened the bag and there was 3ppm ammonia!! I can't believe it!!

For those that don't know this store has steered me wrong from the get go, gave me the run around when I bought sick fish and wouldn't return calls when one died. The franchise owner is quite upset about the way I've been treated. All I wanted was an apology (it was a pet) and either a store credit or a new fish. Now I have a new fish with possible ammonia poisoning.

Oh and they only had one tank out of 3 with healthy discus AGAIN!!

Sheesh!!

Just light it on fire and save the world. Jk but seriously! If your in contact with someone above the store manager I think you'll end up on top and he'll end up with a boot up his a$$......hopefully. I would the contact franchise owner and explain what happened and then about their ammonia levels that you tested when you got home. I can't imagine being treated in such a way. I've been disrespected in a minor way but nothing like this. You probably handles it much cooler than I would've. Someone would've ended up with their head through a fish tank and the wall behind it lol

[Atomicmiss]

Ahahahaha I was tempted but I figured I'd buy a domain, wrote about them and out rank their site :) at the risk of offending people I was told by my friend who watched it that she had to check the year and my color to make sure we were in the 21 century!! I wrote to them on twitter because that's where I was dealing with head office. Luckily they are already upset about how it was handled. I'm so happy I found a much better store that guarantee their discus and they've been helping me through everything even though I didn't buy from them. Those two things alone are worth my business!

The place I was dealing with actually told me next time I buy discus from them they will not guarantee them.... They really are clueless if they think that will make me shop there again!

[Cullymoto]

If anyone could recommend a breeder in Alberta I would love to check them out :)

www.canadianaquafarm.com
Stop buying your discus from LFS!!! they are all horrible in alberta!!!!!!
Not only are the discus sick and dying, but they are incredibly overpriced. For the cost of 2 adults in stores near me, i get 4 higher quality fish from Rick and the cost of shipping.
... Everytime I am forced to go to a LFS for supplies, i see several specimens of the "rare black discus"

[Atomicmiss]

Lol okay okay!!! I figured there HAD to be someone in Alberta that knew what they were doing... I checked out The link and will be getting my new discus from him, those are some beautiful and healthy fish! I can't wait!! (Just have to get this new one out of qt first)

[Cullymoto]

If your interested in cheaper shipping for the same fish as Rick, he has a reseller in Calgary. I do not know it off hand but you could surely contact him and ask for info.

[Atomicmiss]

If your interested in cheaper shipping for the same fish as Rick, he has a reseller in Calgary. I do not know it off hand but you could surely contact him and ask for info.

Thank you :) I'll be getting in touch with him soon!

[discuspaul]

I would strongly recommend you get your discus directly from Rick @ Canadian Aqua Farm. He's an excellent supplier of high quality discus, and he ships exceptionally well all over Canada. Who knows how the reseller in Calgary treats & maintains his fish after he gets then from Rick. Many folks have been sadly disappointed in the deteriorated quality of discus bought from a reseller.
Not saying the one is Calgary is not a good one, but why take the risk ?
He'll probably be charging more than Rick for each fish, and that would likely offset Rick's shipping cost, or at least partially offset it.
Better to pay a bit more, and get healthy, quality fish directly from a well-experienced, careful breeder & importer like Rick.
I get all my discus from him.

[Atomicmiss]

Good point! Ill be much more careful this time, Rick has some beeauutiful Discus and I'm excited to deal with him. The Discus I have now are 3.5 to 4 inches, can anyone tell me how long before they grow to adult size? I feed them 4 times a day and do daily wc's. The water is slightly hard (143 ppm) and I test my water daily to avoid surprises :)

[discuspaul]

That depends on many conditions.
A 3.5"-4" discus that is well fed and well-cared for under ideal water quality & conditions should grow around a 1/2" per month from that size on in - so it would normally take 6 more months or so to add 3" approx., or more, when it would generally be considered to be of full adult size, more or less. Growth patterns are not at all precisely estimable or predictable, so results cary vary considerably. Genetics are also a factor here.