Discus Planning

[phoenixflame24]

Hi, I have been planning a discus tank for a while, but I do not own any discus yet. I was wondering if anyone could help give me some recommendations for breeders. I do NOT plan to use RO water so I would love some healthy tank breed discus hopefully raised in tap water. Did I mention healthy? I would like to get discus from a good reputable breeder that does all they can to ensure health. My friend buys goldfish from a breeder that does random weekly skin swabs and checks under a microscope for various infections/illnesses. Thoroughness like that would be so awesome, though I doubt many ppl do that.

[fljones3]

Check any of the sponsors here on the site. I recommend Kenny. Awesome to deal with, and great fish!

[Willie]

It's great that you're planning first, compared to buying discus and asking for help later. Making water changes frequently is the biggest challenge. Thinking about how you can position your tank so that W/C is simple to do. If you're buying 2" fish, consider the need to make 100% W/C to achieve full growth potential. Once you can do that, the rest of it is pretty easy.

I've had good luck with fish from Kenny, Hans and Josie (Chicago Discus), all forum sponsors.

Happy fishing, Willie

[danotaylor]

Jess where do you live? There is nothing like being able to visit a sponsor in person and pick your own fish. Having said that all of them are reputable at shipping.
I live close by Dennis from Dennis's discus fish in Bowling Green Ohio and had a great experience purchasing from him last year. All fish have great color shape and health. He just received a new shipment 3 days ago that should be posted up for sale in the next couple of weeks. If you reach out to him now you might be able to have the pick of the batch.
all the best to you on your new discus journey!!

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Jess, if you are really up for a challenge you could try some hobbyist fry. Al (brewmaster15) who owns this forum has some killer fry. Now we generally do not recommend new discus keepers try and raise discus fry but some do and are quite successful. Welcome to the forum :D
Pat