New member

[MarcusP]

Hello everyone my name is Marcus,
I am starting my adventure with keeping Discus. I have been reading and gaining great information about raising them. This forum is amazing and it has lots of info from very knowledgeable people. I have been in the hobby for some time, I have never tried to keep Discus. I'm sure I will run into some issues but thankfully I can come here and find any questions I may have.

I have 6 fish tanks
30 gallon
40 gallon breeder
55 gallon
75 gallon
125 gallon
180 gallon
3x 44 gallon brute cans for water storage
30 gallon brute for RO/DI water

I will quarantine them in the 40 gallon and grow them out a bit before I move them to the 180.

[danotaylor]

Welcome to the community Marcus! Sounds like you're ready to take the plunge.
Can you tell us about your water source and parameters?
What size & how many discus do you plan to begin with in your 40gal?
I do recommend purchasing from an SD sponsor for excellent quality, service and peace of mind.
Looking forward to tracking your journey mate. Bring it on :thumbsup:

[MarcusP]

Water from tap is 8ph aged its 7.8ph. KH is 3, TDS 98. Going to get 6 3 inch for sure... was thinking maybe I will get a larger grow out tank so I can get 10.

[jeep]

Welcome Marcus!! You have a nice variety of tanks going on there. If you know about QT then it sounds like you've done some research and are planning your first steps correctly. Do you know where you plan to get your discus yet?

Feel free to ask anything that comes to mind!!

[LizStreithorst]

A 180 will hold 18 Discus. If you want the number that the tank will hold use the 75 and change water like crazy. You may want to use both the 75 and 55 so it will be easier on you. I hope you have pumps to change water with and a good way to drain it fast or you will kill yourself.

If you've read around here we always recommended getting your fish (especially your first Discus) from the same supplier. Must less chance of cross contamination that way.

Best of luck. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

[eugenefish]

Like the other discus keepers here always said. If you want your discus grow up with nice round shape, good color and healthy. Feed them with FDBW and change water like crazy and your discus will reach their full potential. The same rules I used and followed to grow my baby discus and 2 years later, they are 7 inches round in my 210 gal.

127879

[LizStreithorst]

Where did you buy those fish, Eugene? It's close to what I'm looking for.

[CliffsDiscus]

What strain(s) because different hybrids have growthrate differences. You do have
have the option of trying to grow out evenly size or just trying to grow out the largest fish.


Cliff

[Gillmann]

Beautiful Fish, Eugene!!

[MarcusP]

I bought this :Superior Pump 91250 Utility Pump, 1/4 HP and have it all set up with a valve and some pvc pipe. I have really been reading a lot on these forums. I just ordered a lot of different types of foods as well from what people have suggested. I'm following the K.I.S.S guide lol, no plants and bare bottom for the tanks. I will for sure purchase them from a good breeder.

My wife and I went to one of the LFS here that had some discus. There was a dead one in the tank my wife pointed it out. The store owner was eating chicken :D. I was looking at some blue diamonds and my wife said she reached in and pulled the fish out of the tank with her greasy hand. She took it to the back and didn't even wash her hands! She continued to eat the chicken. My wife said we are not getting any fish from this place lol.

[fljones3]

Besides clean water, one of the most important items is quality discus. I would second getting them from a sponsor of this forum. I would also recommend for one starting out to purchase the largest you can afford. Much more hardy to the common learning mistakes from those starting out. Looking forward to seeing your progress! Welcome!

[peewee1]

To expand on that Frankie said. The advantage of buying from a forum sponsor is that the amount of testimonials for all of them amount into the hundreds. By buying larger fish minimize your chance of buying a runt or stunt fish. A five inch fish does not cost that much more than a 3.5 or 4 inch fish. Also you save on food costs that you would have paid to grow the fish from 3.5 to 5.5 inches. So the long term cost of the larger fish is adjusted by the cost of already expensive fish food. Larger fish may have a more developed immune system than the little guys do it would stand to reason that with a larger fish you would have less chance of a illness related death, which saves you money. Also there would be a savings of money on the medication that you did not have to buy in your attempts to save that potentially dead fish.

For example, 4.5 inch Kenny fish Penang Eruption $105 but 5.5 inch Penang Eruption $148. You par $23.00 per inch for the smaller while only paying $27.00 per inche for the bigger one. That' only $4.00 per inch more for the bigger PE!

[Iminit]

Hey Marcus Welcome! Ok being these are your first there’s a few ways to start this. You allready are a fish keeper so you know what your doing. Yes it’s easier to go with bigger fish. But it’s more fun to grow your own. If you want to start easy get your 6 bigger fish 5+” and add them to the 180. Feed and care for them and get to know the fish. These will be expensive so pick some nice fish. Find a seller that has many fish you like. So when your ready to buy more the selection is there. Than if you decide there for you. Buy your next 10 at the much smaller size and grow them out. Now you’ll have the fun of many feedings and daily water changes. These fish are like no others. These fish are demanding! Good luck :).

[eugenefish]

I got those discus from Rick from Canadian Aqua Farm. However I think he only ship discus within Canada.

http://stores.canadianaquafarm.com

[eugenefish]

Beautiful Fish, Eugene!!

Thank you Gerald :)

All the hard work of changing water pay off when you see them swimming in front of you.

[Gillmann]

Eugene, did you get these from a Canadian source, or did they come from away? :D

[danotaylor]

Eugene, did you get these from a Canadian source, or did they come from away? :D

From Canada, follow this link; http://stores.canadianaquafarm.com

[eugenefish]

They are from Canadian Aqua Farm like Daniel said. Rick who is the owner and hand pick all the baby discus for me. I bought them when they were one month old. Spending the next 2 years to feed them well with beef heart, FDBW.....and many many daily WC :) and they end up like the pictures I posted.

[MarcusP]

Here is how my tanks look. I received the discus they're still timid will try to get some photos of them. I ended up getting 10 of them, 3 Blue diamonds, 3 Marlboro reds, 3 pigeon blood and they gave me one free.

[danotaylor]

Cool Marcus. Where did you end up getting your discus? Fish room looks great! Post some pics of your new arrivals once they settle :thumbsup:

[peewee1]

Here is how my tanks look. I received the discus they're still timid will try to get some photos of them. I ended up getting 10 of them, 3 Blue diamonds, 3 Marlboro reds, 3 pigeon blood and they gave me one free.

Marcus, you told us what the 9 were but not what the freed one was. Did that one arrive in a mystery bag?

[danotaylor]

Maybe it was a squid lol

[peewee1]

Maybe it was a squid lol

Don't tell me that he may have paid a quid for a squid? Now that would be stupid.

[MarcusP]

Got them from the iFish Store. The free one was a Ghost Discus they all arrived alive and seem healthy. They still seem a bit timid, my daughter thinks its funny how they glide across the bottom.

[coralbandit]

Nice fish room Marcus .
A late welcome to Simply .
I look forward to see your tanks and all your fish .

[danotaylor]

Don't tell me that he may have paid a quid for a squid? Now that would be stupid.

Poetry in motion...is like a tonic or potion...so soothing to the emotions :thumbsup:

[peewee1]

Got them from the iFish Store. The free one was a Ghost Discus they all arrived alive and seem healthy. They still seem a bit timid, my daughter thinks its funny how they glide across the bottom.

You are a poet and don't know it. But your feet show it. They're Longfellows.

[MarcusP]

Just came home from work they are all hiding by one of the sponges :flame: Not sure whats going on I changed the water before work. They have only eaten once since they arrived on the 10th. I am not sure if they are still getting use to things or what.

OMG these picky little jerks, I turned the light out and now they're eating. The light I am using was on the lowest setting.

[fljones3]

Welcome, and nice fish room. Leave the light off for a few days with just the room light on. Not as pretty but allow the discus to acclimate to the new surroundings. What are your tank parameters and feeding?

[MarcusP]

I left the light off for today, I'm sure like you said it will take some time since its a new environment. My water is fine I have been doing 100% every day. I also added some salt to their water since some here have recommended it. For feeding I tried discus bio-gold and I also tried some California black worms but they didn't even touch the worms. They did eat the Bio-gold though, I have other food that I have bought them. I guess I will try something else tomorrow.

[danotaylor]

I don't remember if you said if you were aging your water? Do you temp match? 100% daily changes with unaged &/or unheated water could be stressing your discus, especially if the pH diff between your source water and your tank water is >0.4.
Also micro bubbles can stress discus so if you're filling straight from tap to tank and you see microbubbles on the glass I would recommend you aerate your water change water overnight even if the pH diff is <0.4.
Are the black worms live? If so, that is a bad sign not to eat live foods...

[MarcusP]

Yes I age my water and heat it to exact temperature of their tank. No they were not live Black worms freeze dried. It could just be stress still I think I am just being paranoid. Tested my water everything was 0 but I do have .5 nitrate right now.

I have 3 44 gallon brute containers that I age my water in. No micro bubbles in the tank at all. I have an air pump so each container has two air stones in them. When the light is off they party, they move around the tank more.

[danotaylor]

As you know, nitrates is the natural result of a fully cycled filter, so long as you keep nitrate <10 your fish will be happy. If you meant 0.5 nitrite that will stress them and means your filter is not fully cycled, but your large daily WC's with heated aged water will keep things under control until your biofilter catches up.

I do not know anything about ifish so I cannot vouch for the quality or health of their fish, and shipping is stressful. If you have only had them a few days just watch them, try feeding lightly, removing any uneaten food, and see how things progress over the next few days.

[MarcusP]

Sorry I meant 5.0 ppm Nitrate, I know the sponges and the HOB filter are cycled. I will continue to do my water changes I have only had them 4 days. I appreciate all of your help and advice its my first time with Discus. I am sure I am being paranoid like I said. I've done a lot of reading on these forums and with that I should have good results.

[danotaylor]

No problem Marcus, try not to stress, just watch them and keep the water clean, and I hope they begin to be more active as each day passes. Like Frank said, I would keep the tank lights off for a while longer and let them acclimate some more with just the ambient room lights :thumbsup:

[peewee1]

Sorry I meant 5.0 ppm Nitrate, I know the sponges and the HOB filter are cycled. I will continue to do my water changes I have only had them 4 days. I appreciate all of your help and advice its my first time with Discus. I am sure I am being paranoid like I said. I've done a lot of reading on these forums and with that I should have good results.

I have new fish arriving in a few days. I may buy a branch to put into the bare tank so that there will be a point of security or place to hid to begin with until the fish get used to their new home.

[Iminit]

Hey Marcus I’m right there with you :). I got 8 2.5 discus on tues. I’m keeping them in a 45g now. To later go into a 90. I’m changing 15g daily and all is good. They are eating like crazy and may be growing. To big of a water change may be stressing them. I feed right after water change. This way they know food is coming.
Ok I do know i-fish and wouldn’t have recomended them. They are right by me and are just a fish wholesaler. How big are your fish? Could we get some pics.

[CliffsDiscus]

Marcus, sounds like your Discus doesn't like
your water, so maybe back off on the waterchange and keep the lights off. You
can also raise the temperature too. Feed
sparingly to force them to come out of hiding.

Cliff

[MarcusP]

Thanks everyone I appreciate the help greatly. They're about 2.5 they seem to be doing much better today. I will change less water see if that helps some. I raised the temperature to 86F they are swimming around more and I gave them some discus gold flakes. I have some Malaysian driftwood in my 180 that's not so big I could place it in the tank.

[MarcusP]

They're doing much better now could have just been that they needed to settle in. The Blue diamonds seem to be the greedy ones in the tank. They seem to be a bit larger than the others. Not really looking to breed them just wanted to have some discus. So far every thing seems to be going very well.

[MarcusP]

Well it's been a while and I did lose one Marlboro red. I have one that is stunted but the rest seem fine. Two of them are a bit larger than the others though that kind of concerns me. This is my first time growing them out and its been three months. So far the only thing I can say is that I should have bought them from a better breeder as suggested. Eventually I want to have 20 in my 180G tank. From what I have been reading, I should get them all from the same breeder. I don't need any issues of any of them becoming sick. My stunted one is a scrapper though, even though he's such a runt. Hard to take photos of fish I will try but I'm terrible and taking photos. One question, they should all reach their full size in about a year or does it depend on other things? Thanks in advanced, I have gain a lot of knowledge from this forum and the members here.

[peewee1]

Some strains grow faster or larger than others. Occasional runts happen. I would not think that it was anything that you did to cause that. Fish are not so uniform in and shape. Like people there are big ones, little ones, fat and skinny. I have a runt which is also skinny but scrappy and no other fish in the tank bothers him.

[MeganJK]

Hey Marcus!
I've been a lurker and now officially joined and caught this thread. I'm also in Lakewood CO. so I can tell you about some of the good local shops, and the ones to avoid. I'm getting 6 Discus from iFish later today, I've ordered Discus online before and been pretty lucky, but research and communication is key. Golden Fish, she always has amazing Discus and she's in Lakewood, her prices are great, too. And try out Fush Den for live black worms, my Discus go nuts for them! Well, all my fish, really��. Anyway, I've dealt with most of the local stores that sell Discus here in Colorado, feel free to ask away on that. As I said, I've also bought online too. I put an intro post in, but I keep Discus and other South American Cichlids, as well as breeding some bettas on the side. Like you, I've also learned a lot from this forum. I know you posted back in June but I'm curious if you eased back on the water changes and if you noticed that helped? I usually 25% at a time but I have heavily planted tanks for my Discus with a whole lot of "clean up crew" critters. They seem happy with smaller less frequent water changes and my water tests beautifully. (I also use Prime like it were water��) I use an RO/tap mixture because as you know Denver and surrounding areas have had a massive increase in water pH and hardness. You can get jugs of RO water that only cost a few cents to fill, once you've bought the jug. I'd also recommend Discus Trace (Seachem, amazing comapny) instead of salt, as Discus don't tolerate aquarium salt the way other fish may but Trace will give them their proper nutrients without the harm of salt. It's really helped ease my maintenance, all these little things. I can tell you all the additives I use, if you're interested, but I tend to swear by Seachem and a few other brands.
Hope your Discus are doing well, and don't despair, this is a real trial and error deal, as I'm sure you're well aware now. I'm Megan, nice to meet you fellow Colorado Discus keeper!!
M*

[Iminit]

Megan I’m just seeing this. Please qt the ifish. Do not put them in your main tank. Many on another site have not qt and lost fish. Ifish does not have a good rep.

[MeganJK]

Hey Iminit!
Always good advice! And yes, I always QT my new fish,and most especially fish I've ordered online. (I did learn this the hard way early on in my Discus days because I was impatient and didn't wait for my QT tank to be ready) I use my 55 gal as a QT and match it exactly to my primary/show tank.
I've read the negative comments, and the positive but so far I am very pleased. Valerie, who was my contact was extremely kind and helpful and communicated and continues to communicate, through the whole process.
They're acclimating now, and their colors are really something for being so young. They got pretty cold though, but they seem to be doing alright, all considered.
I also order from SomethingPhishy several times, which has some scathing reviews out there. I can say this,all the fish I ordered were spectacular, but the guy, he is a loose cannon and just plain mean. Very odd behavior and he'll snap and ban you over the oddest things without a word. (My 4th order from him I made a mistake with one fish, emailed him immediately and asked if there were any way I could change it, as it had been minutes. He said I did it on purpose, and he could "see" me making my orders and all this other whacky stuff. I apologized profusely if I had upset him but he banned me. So, some of the reviews may also come from that.
Long post short, always stellar advice to QT. I could preach the need for it all day long. As for how long to QT, I think there's as many thoughts on that, as stars in the sky. I tend to go for the 'better sage than sorry' approach and QT them a bit longer. It depends on the fish, too. Discus I QT the longest, but if it's a group or Cardinal Tetras, for example, I don't QT as long. But with 150 gal, it's awful hard for something that small to be problematic.
I'm always curious to hear others thoughts on QT, how long, approaches, what not. (I may have said one of my favorite things about this hobby is there is always more to learn and this site is like the zenith for Discus knowledge)
Thanks again for being sure I knew about QT! That was very thoughtful.
M

[MeganJK]

P.S. just looked through your album, and WOWZA do you have some gorgeous fish!! (I have many of the same plants and Rams in my tanks, too) Very impressive tanks!

[Iminit]

Thank you Megan! And good luck with your new discus. Will be waiting for pics.

[MeganJK]

Absolutely! I'll give them a chance to get settled and get some decent pics. I did lose my Pigeon Blood, he never revived from that cold water from shipping, it's too bad, he was a real beauty. The others seem to have touched it out and are acclimating well. They like the big Amazon Swords to hide in, I think it's comforting for stressed/new fish adjusting. They even ate a little beef heart tonight! I keep spending Tetras and Corycats, and such, in my QT tank as it helps keep the tank seasoned and cleaner, but I was happy to see the new guys come out and eat so soon! Have a great day, and happy fish keeping��

[MeganJK]

Sorry for the typos, my auto-correct is in a mood lately..��

[MeganJK]

Took a bit to get all 5 in one shot, but they're adjusting well, so far. We have a Ghost, Marlboro Red, Snakeskin, Colbalt, and a Blue Diamond. They're teeny juvies, 2" so I'll probably wait until they're at least 3" before I move them into the primary Discus tank. I'll just have to wait and see. Honestly I think their color is really decent for their age and having just been shipped across country. I didn't turn the lights on until this morning, so I finally got a really decent look at them.

[peewee1]

The one top center has a lot of color for a 2 inch.

[MeganJK]

He sure does, I'm pretty impressed with these little guys. And I know iFISH has gotten a bad rap, but I think that should be reconsidered. Not only have they communicated with me through every step, their prices were great, the fish look fantastic, and they seem to actually care. I wanted to give the Pigeon Blood a chance to revive, so it was well past their 2 hour live arrival guarantee when I finally realized he wasn't going to revive. They issued me a refund or credit anyway. I even got a heartfelt email thanking me for trying to give the fish a chance instead of calling it right away. It was nobodies fault he died, Colorado had a cold snap and they got stuck on a truck for hours and hours. The heat pack never stood a chance. They were all cold on arrival. I know that was as frustrating for iFISH as it was for me. I've only communicated with Valerie, but she has been truly human and kind.
I should also note they were packed well, too. Each fish in their own bag, double thick bagged, third bag over all of them,heat packs inside a sturdy Styrofoam box. I didn't take a picture of them in the box, but if anyone wants to see any other photos, I'm happy to show ya. So please consider them if you want to order fish online and want to keep the price down. They earned a good word from me. (Just remember to always always always QT your new Discus no matter where you get them from!)

[Iminit]

I’m glad it’s working it for you and I hope for the best. For me they are a no go! To many better places to buy from. They are within an hour from my house. Still would rather get shipped from across the country.

[MeganJK]

Hey, I get it, we devote a massive amount of time and money into these fish. A seed of doubt is a powerful thing. And if you've already got trusted sources, well, no reason to change that up.
I did feel it was important to share my experience with SD though, as it has been extremely positive.
I mostly buy local, as I have a fantastic source, but for online buying, iFish has been my best experience thus far.
I can't lie, the fish from SomethingPhishy were excellent, but the owner is just too crazy and mean. Too bad too, his Royal Purples are to die for lol

[MarcusP]

Hey Marcus!
I've been a lurker and now officially joined and caught this thread. I'm also in Lakewood CO. so I can tell you about some of the good local shops, and the ones to avoid. I'm getting 6 Discus from iFish later today, I've ordered Discus online before and been pretty lucky, but research and communication is key. Golden Fish, she always has amazing Discus and she's in Lakewood, her prices are great, too. And try out Fush Den for live black worms, my Discus go nuts for them! Well, all my fish, really��. Anyway, I've dealt with most of the local stores that sell Discus here in Colorado, feel free to ask away on that. As I said, I've also bought online too. I put an intro post in, but I keep Discus and other South American Cichlids, as well as breeding some bettas on the side. Like you, I've also learned a lot from this forum. I know you posted back in June but I'm curious if you eased back on the water changes and if you noticed that helped? I usually 25% at a time but I have heavily planted tanks for my Discus with a whole lot of "clean up crew" critters. They seem happy with smaller less frequent water changes and my water tests beautifully. (I also use Prime like it were water��) I use an RO/tap mixture because as you know Denver and surrounding areas have had a massive increase in water pH and hardness. You can get jugs of RO water that only cost a few cents to fill, once you've bought the jug. I'd also recommend Discus Trace (Seachem, amazing comapny) instead of salt, as Discus don't tolerate aquarium salt the way other fish may but Trace will give them their proper nutrients without the harm of salt. It's really helped ease my maintenance, all these little things. I can tell you all the additives I use, if you're interested, but I tend to swear by Seachem and a few other brands.
Hope your Discus are doing well, and don't despair, this is a real trial and error deal, as I'm sure you're well aware now. I'm Megan, nice to meet you fellow Colorado Discus keeper!!
M*

I set up to make RO water but have not used it. My tap water is 7.8 - 8 PH once aged and the TDS is 137. I lost one discus I have 9 left and they seem to be fine. I still have them in the 40 breeder and I change 100% every two days. They're use to it now once I fill it back up all is well and they swim around happy. All I use is Seachem products as well, once two pair I will use the RO water. I seem to have a few runts in my group 4 are growing well, a blue diamond I have dwarfs all of them though. I am trying to wait till they all get around 4 inches before I move them into the 180.

[MeganJK]

I set up to make RO water but have not used it. My tap water is 7.8 - 8 PH once aged and the TDS is 137. I lost one discus I have 9 left and they seem to be fine. I still have them in the 40 breeder and I change 100% every two days. They're use to it now once I fill it back up all is well and they swim around happy. All I use is Seachem products as well, once two pair I will use the RO water. I seem to have a few runts in my group 4 are growing well, a blue diamond I have dwarfs all of them though. I am trying to wait till they all get around 4 inches before I move them into the 180.
That's amazing! Glad to hear they're doing so well!
I must say, I am really impressed with your devotion to the 100% water changes!
I tend to go smaller, but frequent changes but with my RO water, plants, clean up crew, and new UVC it works well for me. I've know discus folks that do all different types of water changes and are happy with the results. So I say, if it works, that's all that matters!
I've had some juvies in my 55 QT tank for a couple months, Im waiting until they fet bigger before I move then into my 150, as well. Knowing me I'll get a new batch once that's done lol
Have a great day and happy discus keeping!
Meganq

[MarcusP]

I bought the discus back in June and one is close to 5 inches for sure maybe larger. I was concerned about the water here as well but so far I have not really had any issues. I eventually want to have 18 in the 180. I wish I was better at taking photos of them they move fast and its very difficult to capture them. This was when I first got them took these on June 12, I hope how I placed them in the forum is alright. I will try my best or maybe get my daughter to take photos of how they look now.

https://i.ibb.co/ZRjRt16/DSCF1996.jpg (https://ibb.co/vCFCgvx)
https://i.ibb.co/QjFdWfZ/DSCF1997.jpg (https://ibb.co/Lhz5T8M)
https://i.ibb.co/7CYhhdN/DSCF1998.jpg (https://ibb.co/C81LL3s)
https://i.ibb.co/Pgnd5yQ/DSCF1999.jpg (https://ibb.co/w4XfKqs)

[MarcusP]

Here is what the look like now. Not sure how most measure them is it just the body or do most include the tail. Also instead of painting the tank blue I just cut some cardboard and painted it blue for the sides and the back.

Figured it out searched the forums lol. "standard length" of my largest is 5 inches with the next three being 4 - 4 1/2 inches

https://i.ibb.co/6bP6wGd/20200930-011810.jpg (https://ibb.co/TR8z2JC)
https://i.ibb.co/Smx6FLR/IMG-20201212-024829.jpg (https://ibb.co/1Xn0FS8)
https://i.ibb.co/chdV31F/IMG-20201212-025142.jpg (https://ibb.co/PG80jNh)
https://i.ibb.co/nmfzK3F/DSCF2047.jpg (https://ibb.co/DWk5jGZ)
https://i.ibb.co/wCjb2sH/This.jpg (https://ibb.co/ftLKTvR)
https://i.ibb.co/mqxhDTB/This1.jpg (https://ibb.co/G2hCxpJ)
https://i.ibb.co/PQMYCM2/This3.jpg (https://ibb.co/L5rPprT)
https://i.ibb.co/vkf51xM/This4.jpg (https://ibb.co/yqKT0nx)
https://i.ibb.co/PWn0L86/DSCF2076.jpg (https://ibb.co/KskSPHr)

[coralbandit]

They have grown nicely and look good .
Keep up the great care .

[MeganJK]

I bought the discus back in June and one is close to 5 inches for sure maybe larger. I was concerned about the water here as well but so far I have not really had any issues. I eventually want to have 18 in the 180. I wish I was better at taking photos of them they move fast and its very difficult to capture them. This was when I first got them took these on June 12, I hope how I placed them in the forum is alright. I will try my best or maybe get my daughter to take photos of how they look now.

https://i.ibb.co/ZRjRt16/DSCF1996.jpg (https://ibb.co/vCFCgvx)
https://i.ibb.co/QjFdWfZ/DSCF1997.jpg (https://ibb.co/Lhz5T8M)
https://i.ibb.co/7CYhhdN/DSCF1998.jpg (https://ibb.co/C81LL3s)
https://i.ibb.co/Pgnd5yQ/DSCF1999.jpg (https://ibb.co/w4XfKqs)
They look great!! And hey, if the water isn't causing issues, the I guess the old adage "if it ain't broke, dont fix it!" is most apropos. :D
And I feel your pain on the photography, though I think yours look great, but it is certainly a new challenge trying to get good shots of my fish�� Especially my faster, non-Discus types, I'm lucky if I get a blur!
Is your daughter into the fish, too? Only one of my kids has shown interest, my son, but I love it, getting to share the adventure, plus he's helped name some, which are always quite clever�� (He's 16 so it's always exciting when you can get one of our teens interested in anything we show them������)
I'm going for the same type of numbers, 15 for my 150, seems like a good number for my main "show tank"
Though I very much want a second 75+ gallon for a second 'show tank*... uhg my poor husband (I have 7 tanks now)
Your updated pics look great, they've grown nicely, nice color!
Looks like I'll be getting about 5 more juvies soon since my last batch just moved to the big tank and my QT tank just looks sad and empty without baby Discus in it!�� I may have a problem...��
Great updates, thanks!

[MarcusP]

Well if they keep raising the PH I may have to start using RO water. I heard they will raise it to 8.8 that concerns me even though I have seen some have been successful with that high PH. My daughter use to care but now seems no one does but me. So hopefully nothing happens to me because all my fish will be dead. My wife and daughter wouldn't be able to take care of the fish. I have moved them into the 180 so we will see how things go. You have one more tank than I have lol all of mine are in the basement. I'm running out of room down there. I could maybe get another 125 and that's it.

[Iminit]

Hey Marcus your discus look good! I’m moving at the same pace. Just moved mine into a 125. In October I added 4 more. Had them in a 45 and the rest in a 75. At the time I was running 7 tanks. Just too much. So now I’m down to 5 and 2 are shrimp tanks. So life’s gotten a little easier. Of my discus I too have a pair that have outgrown the rest. They are close to 6”. Most of the rest are at the 5” mark and a pair just hasn’t grown much. They are just under 4”. One of the little guys eats great and the other rarely eats. Here’s a pic of my 125. Let’s see your 180!129927 and a pic of my other 125129928

[MarcusP]

Mine are very shy now they freak out when I am even near the tank. I may move them back not sure I will have to take a photo when I get home now that I know how to take kind of decent photos.

[MarcusP]

I'm still working on taking better photos but here are the cowards hiding.

https://i.ibb.co/fx5PtMN/DSCF2086.jpg (https://ibb.co/x70RGhg)

[MeganJK]

Well if they keep raising the PH I may have to start using RO water. I heard they will raise it to 8.8 that concerns me even though I have seen some have been successful with that high PH. My daughter use to care but now seems no one does but me. So hopefully nothing happens to me because all my fish will be dead. My wife and daughter wouldn't be able to take care of the fish. I have moved them into the 180 so we will see how things go. You have one more tank than I have lol all of mine are in the basement. I'm running out of room down there. I could maybe get another 125 and that's it.
I tested my yap water a couple weeks ago, here in Lakewood, and with the High Range pH it came out to nearly 8.6 ��
The RO water has been cheap and really easy, honestly, especially now that groceries stores, like my King Soopers, carries it. Buy the jug once, then refills are really cheap, just a few cents a galllon. I started woth 4, now I have 8 jugs so I don't have to get refills as often. I started slow, 10% RO with tap, but that was also with additives like Discus Buffer and the like, things to help soften the water and lower pH. Now I've moved up to 70-75% RO and barely have to put any additives in at all (DO use Discus Trace, or the like to replace lost nutrients with RO water.)
And I feel your pain, my husband and kids are clueless about how to take care of my fish, well rather my discus and the like. I got a community tank of platys, mollies, guppys, etc something they could enjoy and be more hands on with. This in no means helps spouses understand out obsession lol��
If your fish are doing okay, then they're doing okay. Yes, it's easier on them with parameters closer to their natural habitat and chemistry, but it doesn't sound like you're having issues. So who am I to say? But the tests I ran on the tap water freaked me out.
I still use some tap water, otherwise I've found my pH actually drops too low.
My dream would ne to add an RO system right into house so I could use a device like the Python and not have to worry lol
I'm running out of room, too. My study is filled, the 150 and a couple smaller ones in the living room but I want another big one in the basement. That's sharedbsoace though and the family is not thrilled about the idea if me adding more tanks haha but I really need at the very least another 55-75gal and I'm picking up another 20 for my betta breeding and a place for my females to grow out before sale. And my 55 is for QT and I want one just for grow outs and possibly a breeder for some of my Rams. I sound like a junkie lol
I do all the fish care solo, as well, though my son is starting to show interest (fingers crossed!!)
Side note, the app Let Go is where I found a couple great tanks for really decent prices here in Colorado. Oddly enough, the bigger tanks tend to be priced better than the smaller ones.
Good luck, and let us know if you decide to try out the RO addition!
Have a great day!

[JackFlorens]

Welcome to the forum! I'm also new.

[MarcusP]

I tested my yap water a couple weeks ago, here in Lakewood, and with the High Range pH it came out to nearly 8.6 ��
The RO water has been cheap and really easy, honestly, especially now that groceries stores, like my King Soopers, carries it. Buy the jug once, then refills are really cheap, just a few cents a galllon. I started woth 4, now I have 8 jugs so I don't have to get refills as often. I started slow, 10% RO with tap, but that was also with additives like Discus Buffer and the like, things to help soften the water and lower pH. Now I've moved up to 70-75% RO and barely have to put any additives in at all (DO use Discus Trace, or the like to replace lost nutrients with RO water.)
And I feel your pain, my husband and kids are clueless about how to take care of my fish, well rather my discus and the like. I got a community tank of platys, mollies, guppys, etc something they could enjoy and be more hands on with. This in no means helps spouses understand out obsession lol��
If your fish are doing okay, then they're doing okay. Yes, it's easier on them with parameters closer to their natural habitat and chemistry, but it doesn't sound like you're having issues. So who am I to say? But the tests I ran on the tap water freaked me out.
I still use some tap water, otherwise I've found my pH actually drops too low.
My dream would ne to add an RO system right into house so I could use a device like the Python and not have to worry lol
I'm running out of room, too. My study is filled, the 150 and a couple smaller ones in the living room but I want another big one in the basement. That's sharedbsoace though and the family is not thrilled about the idea if me adding more tanks haha but I really need at the very least another 55-75gal and I'm picking up another 20 for my betta breeding and a place for my females to grow out before sale. And my 55 is for QT and I want one just for grow outs and possibly a breeder for some of my Rams. I sound like a junkie lol
I do all the fish care solo, as well, though my son is starting to show interest (fingers crossed!!)
Side note, the app Let Go is where I found a couple great tanks for really decent prices here in Colorado. Oddly enough, the bigger tanks tend to be priced better than the smaller ones.
Good luck, and let us know if you decide to try out the RO addition!
Have a great day!

I'm not sure it would be worth it in the long run to purchase the water from the stores. My water once aged is around 8.0Ph usually it may go up a point every other week but so far its been 8 since they started raising it. I am changing about 130 gallons every three days. The 180 gallon I have them in has a 40 gallon sump so basically 220g. I already have 6 tanks but I was thinking about building a plywood tank maybe 500+ gallons. I then thought about and I am sure my wife would end up on that show Snapped! I have a RO/DI system ready to rock just have not used it yet. That lady at Golden Fish said she used muriatic acid to get the PH to 7. I was going to do that but I'm concerned about the PH drop, I know it cannot drop a lot the fish will be harmed. Here is my aging station and the RO unit.

https://i.ibb.co/vj777dF/20201223-051614.jpg (https://ibb.co/mcLLLyj)

[MarcusP]

Welcome to the forum! I'm also new.

Welcome, you have any questions just post. Many here will be able to assist you with just about anything.

[peewee1]

Welcome to the forum! I'm also new.

Hi, Jack! Although a greeting best not said at an airport, welcome. Where are you in this very large world?

[RickyB]

Hello all, I've been keeping African Cichlids for over 25 years and have finally accepted the challenge of keeping discus. I've always wanted to but I was told they're difficult to keep and their pH had to be in the 6's with soft water. That didn't match my tap water so I stayed away from them. My friend recently told me that domestically grown discus can do well with a pH of 7.4 (my local tap water) and that putting in some driftwood will soften the water.

So, I began reading and watching videos on keeping Discus and have now invested in 7 discus for my 110 gallon tall tank. They are 3 to 4 inches. I've been changing 35% of the water every 2 days and feeding 3 times a day. The temperature is at 85 degrees. They seem to be doing very well. My tank has a few rocks and gravel at the bottom. I look forward to using this wonderful forum if any issues pop up. 130027130026

[MarcusP]

Welcome Ricky, I was concerned about the PH as well my PH has been changed from 7.6-7.8 to 8.0-8.3. So far mine are doing good as well, I see you have a Seachem filter awesome filter I have the 110 on my 40 gallon and one of my 75 gallons. I'm sure many will say they may need to be fed more often if you want them to grow. I just recently moved my 9 discus to my 180 gallon. It has a sump but recently my heater 800w failed after only having it for 9 months. I had to use two 300w heaters since thats all I had left. They're still a bit skittish but I am sure they will get use to the tank. I plan on getting at least 12 Sterbai corydoras, I have some dither fish. Lemon tetras, Diamond tetras, Neons and X-Ray Pristellas. I have about 30 of each of those but I dont want them to eat the discus food. I will buy more discus but I think I will get larger ones this time. Hope things work out for you, you will find any question you have on these forums. Plus many here are will to assist you just have to ask.

[RickyB]

Thanks for the welcome Marcus. I asked the LFS what they had been feeding the fish and they said TetraColor Bits. I bought some and they have taken to them except for my yellow melon. I purchased him 3 days ago and he's hiding and not eating when the others are. I'm hoping he's just getting used to his new home. I have two heaters and two power filters, the other being an AquaClear 500. They did a great job with my Africans so I consider them good filters. Good luck with your new purchases.

[Iminit]

Welcome Ricky! Nice looking discus. Yes ph doesn’t matter as long as you keep it consistent. As to your water changes I’d do 50% or more. Clean water really is the most important thing for discus. Next as Marcus said you should up your feeding. But again your are store bought and you don’t know how old they are. Unless you were there when they came in it’s tough to figure how old they are. As to your new guy you should qt any new discus. Even if it came out of the same tank. Qt for a month. Next :) your rocks though great for Africans can be dangerous for discus. Discus sometimes dash across the tank. Those rocks are sharp and could cause some damage. I use rounded river rocks and mine have still gotten scratched.
You’ve got some nice looking discus that look like they’ve got some growing ahead of them. Good luck with them!! Were they bought from a discus shop or a pet store?

[RickyB]

Thanks for your suggestions Iminit. I was also concerned about the large rocks, so I will heed your advice and take them out. As for the quarantining, I'm going to have to invest in another tank to do that. The discus I bought were from two local aquarium shops. I've always bought quality africans from them so I'm hoping they're also bringing in quality discus. Time will tell. Thus far, I'm very pleased at how they're eating and moving around the tank.

You suggest water changes of 50%. Is that daily changes or less frequent? Remember, I'm putting tap water in and I'm a little concerned about putting so much water conditioner in so frequently.

[Iminit]

Prime is fine. What I do for new discus and discus under 4” is change daily. For new I do it for a month. Once bigger you can change less but watch your discus. If they’re not happy with the water they will let you know. First sign is pimples.

2 different shops can be a problem. Discus coming from different breeders could have different things in them that they are immune to. When mixed they can contaminate each other. This does happen. Check out the German an Asian thread.

[RickyB]

Hey Tom, I took out the rocks and although they now have no place to hide, they seem happy except for one. My yellow melon isn't eating at all. I just bought Hikari Vibra Bites to see if that might coax him to eat something.

Interesting you mention German and Asian source because one shop gets them from Germany and the other is run by an Asian (does not mean he can't get his from Germany, but I'm assuming not). Curious to see these "pimples" you mention (in a pic, not my fish).

As for the water, so you're saying that since my discus are new, I should be changing the water daily? Does the constant messing with the aquarium every day frighten/stress them too much? They do tend to mass in a corner on one side when I clean the tank and change the water.

[MarcusP]

Hey Tom, I took out the rocks and although they now have no place to hide, they seem happy except for one. My yellow melon isn't eating at all. I just bought Hikari Vibra Bites to see if that might coax him to eat something.

Interesting you mention German and Asian source because one shop gets them from Germany and the other is run by an Asian (does not mean he can't get his from Germany, but I'm assuming not). Curious to see these "pimples" you mention (in a pic, not my fish).

As for the water, so you're saying that since my discus are new, I should be changing the water daily? Does the constant messing with the aquarium every day frighten/stress them too much? They do tend to mass in a corner on one side when I clean the tank and change the water.

When I had mine in my 40 breeder I was changing 99% of the water. They got use to it pretty fast so I wouldn't worry about stressing them out. Now that I have moved them to the 180G I think I should have waited a bit longer before I moved them. I plan on getting 6 more pretty soon so it will be back to massive water changes in the 40 breeder. We have a local store that sells them but I will order from the same place since I don't want to have an issue with where their from.

[MeganJK]

I'm not sure it would be worth it in the long run to purchase the water from the stores. My water once aged is around 8.0Ph usually it may go up a point every other week but so far its been 8 since they started raising it. I am changing about 130 gallons every three days. The 180 gallon I have them in has a 40 gallon sump so basically 220g. I already have 6 tanks but I was thinking about building a plywood tank maybe 500+ gallons. I then thought about and I am sure my wife would end up on that show Snapped! I have a RO/DI system ready to rock just have not used it yet. That lady at Golden Fish said she used muriatic acid to get the PH to 7. I was going to do that but I'm concerned about the PH drop, I know it cannot drop a lot the fish will be harmed. Here is my aging station and the RO unit.

https://i.ibb.co/vj777dF/20201223-051614.jpg (https://ibb.co/mcLLLyj)
Julie is great, let her knownyour concerns about dropping the pH too fast, she'll certainly have some tips. She is an amazing resource. I know several great LPS owners but Julie knows Discus and she's the one who showed me to switch to RO slowly just to avoid such a situation and there may be other options as well to slowly bring the pH down. (There are so many health benefits to a lower pH with our Discus) but they don't have to be crazy expensive.
Either way, the very best of luck to you!!!

[MarcusP]

It's been a while but I figured I would do and update. I have 8 Discus left and two pairs out of the 8. I moved a Blue Diamond pair to my 40 gallon so wish me luck.

[Iminit]

Lol it’s been awhile! Good to here yours are doing well. Love to see some pics! Lots happened with me. Had a cross contamination go through my tanks. Got past that and have changed everything around. No more gravel or substrate. I grow plants in pots now. Also picked up a 180 earlier in the year. Great size tank. My tanks and discus now.133293.133294133294

[MarcusP]

Love the tanks they look amazing and your Discus look great!

[MarcusP]

Well darn, I only moved them over three days ago and they already laid eggs. I was not prepared I figured it would take much longer. I heated up some RO water and put it in today. TDS is at 80 PH 7.4 so I know I have to get the TDS lower. I have to make some more water though so will drain and fill it with more in a day or so. I didn't even have any romantic music playing :D