newbie to cool discus

[TUBBAZ]

;D hi this is my first post so dont get angry at me if youve answered this million's of times anyway,
im just about to buy a breeding pair of discus one big male snakeskin and a smaller female royal blue,
ive got a 25 gallon tank wich has only a couple of plants and a piece of slate in it.
i was wondering about the ph what is the normal ph of the
discus breeding water and how do i adjust it? ???
is there anything i should be warned about like fighting or
anything, i know about diseases and everything because ive read millions of stuff about discus
thanks ;D

[Abercrombie6202]

First, welcome to SimplyDiscus, let me introduce myself, my names Adam, i'm 14 years old and am new to discus (have had them for about week and a half). been on here for about a month and a half researching about them before i bought any.

It doesn't need to be a certain Ph for breeding, but it does need a certain TDS reading of about 80 i think. For the tank, do you have gravel, because if your going to breed them i'd recommend BB (barebottom). Do you have other disucs? How long have you been in the hobby?

[TUBBAZ]

i havent had much experience but im very confident
about discus
yes it is bare bottom (bb)
should i have a filter (just a normal stick on the side one)
because i have one spare
i am also only 11 ::) but dont put me down
i know a lot im not an expert but i have kept and bred many other fish.
you are also a bit young but probabley have much more experience than me
thanks for the advice!
ps i forgot to ask what does tds mean and how do i adjust it?
thanks alot

[Discusgeo]

Tubbaz welcome to the land of Discus. You say you are buying a breeding pair. Are you sure of this by seeing babies on their backs? Or are you going on the word of the owner and hope he isn't lying to you. Another thing, just because they lay eggs it doesn't mean they are a breeding pair. There are lot's of us here who have had 2 females togethere that both layed eggs. But if you are certain they are a pair here is what I do but others do differently. I set my breeders in 29 gallon tanks. The Ph is around 7.0 and the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) is 90-100 ppm (Parts Per Million) The TDS is lowered by using R.O water (Reverse Osmosis) with a small mixture of aged tap water to keep it stable. Once the eggs are laid by some of my breeders the males do get very aggresive with the females. Here are 2 pictures of my Discus, the Blue Diamonds are very peaceful but the Golden Surnise male is a pain in the neck. That is why the egg crate separates the two. This gives the female a chance to move around the tank and the babies are able to swim to her side of the tank an feed off her. I keep the tank temperature at 85 degrees and add Formalin to the tank to ward off fungus from attacking the eggs. One last thing you must keep the tank very clean if you expect the eggs to hatch and the babies to grow. Always have some replacement water ready to go that equals the water they are currently swimming in. If you have any more questions please feel free to post on the board or use the search engine on the top to see if your question has been asked and answered. Sometimes it's faster that way and you won't be waiting for an answer. By the way anyone looking for some Blue Diamond babies from this pair I have them on Aquabid for $20.00 each
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-12/7658/CYYUKZXQUJ-GSPair.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-12/7658/JGUANKTDLILFIPBE[CDM-BD2002_1.jpg

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Tubbaz:
Start off with your regular (dechlorinated) tap water for your pair. don't worry about pH or tds yet. Let them settle in for a couple of weeks. Once she is laying eggs watch to see if they hatch . If the male is making runs over the eggs and they do not hatch you will have to test your water's hardness (GH/KH test kit) If the water is too hard the eggs will not hatch.

By the way, has this pair produced fry before?

I don't have anything in breeding tanks except a heater, sponge filter and an upside down clay flower pot. Do water changes every day or every other day of 25 - 50-% with water that has the same pH and temp. You get the same pH by agitating the water for a few hours with an air stone or pump.

[Abercrombie6202]

Cool, i use to breed many fish too, lol, livebearers, blue rams, etc... I'd really like to breed some amazon leaf fish after reading an article in the November 2003 issue about them.

Well yes i forgot to ask you, are you sure that they are a breeding pair (i know i'm repeating what they said, but it is important)? You are a 11 years old, the breeder could be lieing to you, because your a kid (i'm a kid too still lol) So some people think becuase were young that were dumb. Not True all the time, even though i have my blonde moments (i'm not really blonde, just act it sometimes). Okay going off topic... Yes make sure that they have bred before, which means they have had babies together (Emphasis Together). Not with other discus, but together. LOL and not jsut eggs, but fry becuase it could be 2 females and it could be 2 males (if he just said they were a pair becuase they were hanging out) Carol is a very wise person, she knows TONS more than i do. (theres othes on this board who are just as wise as carol, but she replied to yuor message so i mentioned her.) I'm confusing, soemtimes so are you still with me?

Start your tank off with your normal tap water, do you know the Ph of your aquarium and the Ph of your discus tanks? Make sure your tank has been cycled. Usually the best filtration for a breeding tank is a simply sponge filter, there cheap and easy to clean. You might want a breeding cone, or a planting pot (upsidedown, rinsed and cleaned very well, no soap). And have a bucket of aged water next to it. it should be able to hold 10% more water than you do for waterchanges, jus in case you have to do that extra larger water change for times like disease and overfeeding, etc.. My aquarium for breeding is a 20 gallon high (i recommend this size or a 29 gallon.) It has a sponge filter and is BB, no breeding thign in there yet becuase i don't have a breeding pair at the moment.

Just wondering how many w/c's(water changes) do you do a week?
I'd suggest 3, 30-50% a week or a 25% daily.

Last if your discus do breed and have eggs, but never hatch, then check your water hardness

I hope i didn't get too confusing.

Good Luck with your discus :)

[TUBBAZ]

thanks alot i am just emailing the person to ask if he has proof of them being a breeding pair.
i did a water test
results:
ph =approx. 7.8
nitrate = 0
nitrite = 10 - 20
i think that the ph is a bit high
oh bye the way i havent told the person im buying the breeding pair off my age.
i think thats all i have got a filter separate that i could youse but its a bit power full so it might disturbe them

oh yeah i was thinking instead off bying the breeding pair from
this peson i could maybe has anyone here got a breeding pair that they could let go of for less than £100 that would be great (plus delivery in england)
the only reason i ask this is that im short on money (im only 11)
and they dont have to be the greatest of colour
it would be a great help
thanks alot tubbaz