How to get started?

[Willin]

Hello everyone. I first must admit that I have very scant knowledge on the topic of raising an aquarium. My prior experiences with fish are:
-Two years of marine biology camp where we spent three weeks talking about the ocean.
-A marine biology course during my senior year of high school.
-My brother just started a 30 gallon aquarium, my uncle has a 30 gallon aquarium, and my girlfriend's father owned several aquarium's throughout his life.

I am probably purchasing a 55 gallon tank with metal stand for $90 from my local petland. I think that is a pretty decent deal. The problem with this whole situation is that I have just recently discovered a fascination with Discus fish! Why is this a problem? Well:

-I hear that they are very high maintenance and don't know if a begginer could take care of them.
-They are very expensive from what I have seen so far. I saw a 3 inch green spotted Discus at a local pet shop for 60 dollars!
-I know very little about maintaining a tank and discus fish, although I am very willing to learn.

I need people's opinions on whether or not you think it is feasible for me to undertake this project (Hint: Please say yes :P). I really want to do this, but cost is also a consideration. If the cost of a single discus is 60 dollars and that is the best price around then I will only be able to afford two and that would take me at least a month's worth of work (I am a broke college student :P). Can someone please give me a good starting point to learn about caring for discus fish or even just fresh water tanks in general? I know about some things like the nitrogen cycle and pH levels, but I have never put this knowledge to practice. I am addicted already and I have only spent a handful of days researching this after a visit to the pet shop the other day! :P I found this FAQ on www.reefcentral.com about starting a fresh water tank and it seems to be a great resource. http://www.reefcentral.com/library/faq/beginning_fishkeeping.htm

What is the cheapest decent looking discus' that money can buy to act as a starting point in my journey? I know it's a ton of question. :P I am just so excited. Thanks for any and all information in advance!

[Pick]

Hi Willin,

Welcome to Discus annonymous...er I mean Simply discus. There is a ton of info here but I'll give you a quick synopsis from a relative discus newbie's standpoint.

Yes you can greatly increase your odds of doing it SUCCESSFULLY if:

You can change at least 20% of your water at least 3 times per week. Keep the tank at 86F until the juveniles are almost mature. Feed a varied diet including some frozen foods. Siphon uneaten food from the tank daily if possible.

Your absolute best bet for happy, healthy, and most bang for the buck fish would be to purchase 6 to 8 2.5" to 3" fish from a reputable dealer and have them delivered to your nearest airport. You will get GOOD quality fish for around $25 to $30 per fish plus about $75 shipping. (There are some highly reputable breeders advertising on this site) As for as type of discus I would highly recommend the Red Turquoise. Among the most beautiful as well as toughest.

Discus are a schooling fish when young and will not do nearly as well in groups less than 6. 4 is the accepted minimum. Ph and water hardness are a factor for successful breeding but unless the Ph is above 7.75 or below 6.25 out of the tap most would say to use your tap water - the discus will adapt.

There is a little more to it than this but if you can do these you are definately on the right track. It can be accomplished with less but your odds for true success are also reduced.

Hope this helps,

TC

[dm]

Hi Willin,

Not sure Discus is the right fish for you to start with. Maybe the best thing is for you to learn with your 30 gallon and buy the 55 after you do more research and learn. I didn't catch where you are from but when you are ready and if you are near or in AZ and want to pick up I have a few starter Discus that I learned with for free. Even if I sold them I wouldnt get much for them and I would rather see them go to someone who will benefit from them. Then when you feel confident you can invest the big bucks and go for what you really like.

[DHDiscusMan]

One thing you could do is post where you are from. Some locals may have discus you could "Start" with. A lot of people on this board end up breeding and you may be able to get a couple imperfect discus for a reasonable price.

As for can you do it? Yes! I started a discus tank 1 year ago. It was my first tank and I did everything wrong but I really liked the fish and I finally found this site. The fact that you are here BEFORE you actually own discus is a good sign.

Discus aren't that "difficult" to maintain. That discussion goes around a lot on this site. You need to be consistant, and they do require more mainanence then some other fish but it's not really an unknown as much any more. We know what you need to do to raise healthy discus.

Water Change! Water Change! Water Change!

It's simple but it really does make a difference. As for PH and Hardness and other "Balancing Acts" the concept is basically use what you have unless it really wont work. You don't want to be constantly adding chemicals to make what you think would be the perfect environment when your tap water would do.

Anyway, welcome to the board. Good luck. Let us know where you are and hopefully someone can help you out a bit.

Dan

[Willin]

Howdy. :) I am astonished at how active this board is over one species of fish! This is great! :) I live on Long Island, New York. In Nassau county, if anyone is wondering. Anyhow, I did a quick search on google.com for a Long Island discus breeder and I came up with: http://www.geocities.com/crdiscus/

Has anyone ever heard of this dealer? His discus seem to look pretty healthy to my begginer eyes.

Also, I know that no gravel on the bottom of your tank is the way to go when dealing with discus fish due to their feeding habits. I was wondering if it is at all possible to have some type of bottom sediment if you had a bunch of bottom dwellers to clean up after the discus'? I like the look of white sand such as the stuff shown here:
http://www.aurx.net/images/saltwater/MVC-728S.JPG
Is it at all possible to use that type of sediment, or is large gravel a better option? Is there a way to have gravel in a discus tank, or is it more of a hassle than it's worth? Thanks again for all information, these forums are great!

[Dennis_Hardenburge]

Willin
Reread Terry's post
I think the biggest problem you might face is the initual start up costs. As they don't do good at all in small numbers.
I would try to get eight 2 to 2 1/2 fish and as they grew keep the best and sell a couple. Six will do fine in the 55 gallon and I would learn to keep the discus then decide later about the sand bottom, it does make cleaning much harder.
Dennis

[Willin]

Can anyone direct me to a reputable that is preferably on the cheaper side? I know there is a standard for expert level discus, but I don't really need those. Any average quality discus' would suffice, thus keeping costs down. Does anyone know if the dealer on Long Island that I listed above is a decent one? Can you tell by looking at the pictures of his discus'? Thanks for that post, Dennis!

[Pick]

Willin,

You can't tell a great deal from the web page but his statements seem honest and sincere. It cannot hurt to meet with someone experienced in your own area. He would know how to deal with local water also. I cannot stress enough though that you really should be able to go at it in a fairly big way right out of the gate, or as many, many before you, you will likely be disappointed. A small school of discus and water, water, water!

TC

[Carol_Roberts]

CRDiscus is Chuck Russell - three time winner of DIP lotteries. He posts here form time to time. I don't know if he has stock for sale right now or not.

Boxer Dad does and he is from Long Island - here is the link http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=5220


Frank (FCDISCUS) is also from Long Island and probably has stock for sale fcdiscus@aol.com

CArol :heart1: