How difficult is it to keep discus?

[Mykuhl]

Hello everyone. I am new to the forum and new to discus. I do not have discus but am very interested in owning these beautiful fish in the future. My question is how difficult is it to keep dicus healthy in comparison to other fish? Just to give you an idea of my level of experience. I have currently kept brackish water fish, for one year now, specifically a green spotted puffer and Mono Sebaes. Thanks everyone in advance for the help.

[April]

Hi and welcome . if you read here you will succeed. id start with a bare bottom tank and about a 55 or 60 gallon tank or bigger if youcan....and get a nice group of healthy youngsters from a breeder. not the lfs. your setting yourself up for problems.
id go for about 3 inch if you can...a bit easier. the rule is one per 10 gallon. but you can go with a few more . depends on your water changes. the more the better. at least 6 and 8 is better for schooling and feeling secure as youngsters. most of us do water changes daily espcecially for growing out . you get far better growth. depending on what your parameters are...stable is best. the less you do the better. first tell us what your water is out of your tap. hardness and ph.
temp at about 86 for growing out youngsters.
and a varied diet. most of us use beefheart mix and some bloodworms and alot of us use live blackworms. i also use onf1 flake. and theres others who use tetrabits and a few others.
if youdo decide to get some....ask alot of questions and read. you will do fine.

[Carol_Roberts]

If you are willing to change 30%+ water daily, feed qualilty food like California Black worms& frozen bloodworms, purchase 6+ healthy discus to begin with and grow them out in a bare bottom tank with a sponge filled aqua clear filter and a heater set at 84 degrees. They are a piece of cake.

If you want to buy 3 from the pet store and put them in a planted tank with an undergravel filter and change 25% water once a week they are very difficult.

Most things are easy if you know the right way to do it. I know nothing about brackish water fish and would make all kinds of mistakes if I did't have a place like Simply to ask questions - which we all love to answer by the way.

Read through the different sections. there is a wealth of information and pictures of discus of all ages, There is a section where you might find others in your area that keep discus too.

Carol :heart1:

[Ralph]

I would consider a puffer to be a difficult fish to keep!

Welcome to Simplydiscus.
Most people here agree to what is required to keep discus successfully but they would argue about whether or not it is "difficult." Discus require more work than most fish with the water changes. A good diet is also important, they won't do as well on just flakes. They are also more sensitive to water parameters than many fish.
But if you are willing to inform yourself about their needs and are willing to do the extra work, you should end up with some healthy, beautiful fish and a rewarding hobby.

[Mykuhl]

Thanks for the help and quick replies. April , water straight out of the tap has a pH between 7.2 and 7.6(it is hard to read the color chart), KH is 80 or 90mg/l and GH about 120mg/l. Carol I am defintely willing to do those things. Although It seems that it is hard to get california blackworms here in Canada. I am accustomed to feeding a varied diet and my fish also need for than flake food. I am also accustomed to doing water changes more than once a week, and am planning on buying a Python in the near future to make frequent water changes easier. I am the type of person that does alot of research when it comes to keeping pets, and am very willing to learn what it takes to keep my fish in the best of health. Thanks

[April]

oh heh...another toronto guy. coool. you need to find Jimmy L. in toronto and on this forum. he had some fry quite often. he coudl maybe help you with setting up what you need.
he would also know the water. sounds ok to me...that water.

[samcatj]

Welcome.....being an old timer at raising tropical fish but a newcomer as a discus fancier I can assure you that you are dialed into the right site. The amount of information within this site is tremendous and the help you will get from it's members is even better.
Good luck to you and again I assure you that you will get all the help you will ever need from the members of this site. They are all really great people who want to help and give good advice often at the benefit of there own trial and error.
Read the different topics within the site and then...get some good fish and enjoy a great pastime.


Samcatj

[dm]

Samcatj is absolutly right. I am also a lot more experienced with other tropicals than I am with Discus, but comming here and doing the research before jumping in helped me succeed where I probably would have failed. The people here will help you learn all you need to know. You are doing the right thing to research before jumping in to it but don't be intiminated by it. You will succeed. Good luck!

[DarkDiscus]

Mykuhl,

I would have to say that, as yet another longtime fishkeeper who is relatively new to discus, they are no harder to keep than other tropicals except for the amount of water changes required. Breeding is harder, but only in terms of needing softer water - if your water is right, it's a lot easier.

I strongly recommend that you take the plunge and move into discus. It's very fun and very rewarding.

John

[lkleung007]

Hi Mykuhl;

It's great to see that you are doing lots of research before taking the plunge into Discus.

First off, Discus require more work and committement than other tropical fish. One needs to be willing to take the time necessary to keep the Discus healthy. I have a group of 9 Discus which I purchased back in April of this year and they seem to be doing well after weathering a few bumps in the road. I spend about an hour each night just caring for the Discus and even then illness can occur; such as hex., flukes, and even infection of the swim bladder.

My routine includes; feeding 3-4 times a day, changing 40% of the water each day and also have two 55 gallon barrels for aging water (making sure that the pH and temp is similar to the water in the tank).

There is great advice available on this board and I would read as much as you can.

Keeping Discus is certainly a labor of love...but worth it!!

HTH, Lester

Mykuhl: Good, another Canadian. welocome to the forum. You can find anything in Toronto. From Snakes to Black worms. Just ask me when you are ready.
Jimmy.

[Mykuhl]

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement, it is appreciated. JimmyL I will take you up on that offer, thanks.