Only 3 Disus!

[knewby]

My LFS only has three discus in stock. Can I buy these three and leave them alone in the 40? I know it's suggested that I get atleast six, will there be any consequences for the low amount of discus?

[Carol_Roberts]

I would not buy the three left over discus. Three will fight and are not enough to feel secure. Wait and get a group of 6 from a reputable seller with healthy juveniles. Where are you from? Maybe there is someone close by. If not Jeff Young at www.discusfarm.com has a beginners package that includes shipping http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=13;action=display;threadid=15456

[knewby]

I'm in Sacramento, California. Should I wait to get more discus from my LFS? That beginer's package from Jeff is a sht load of $$$.

If I only get three, they'll fight? What? I thought discus were peaceful? I'm confused ???

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes they will fight and be scared of their shadow. I know there are several places in San Francisco. Here is the member map http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=;action=mmview

[Discusgeo]

I looked at Jeff's deal and since there is no price either the cost was removed or you called Jeff. But in my opinion what you spend for quality now will make a big difference later down the road. If you buy junk that's what you are going to get and then you will be here crying that my Discus are sick and I don't have a clue. Save your money and get quality the the first time. There's no rush is there? The Discus will be around for quite a while with all the people here raising them. Stay away from the pet store in less you are 100% sure they are healthy and not runts.
Here are a couple of people also not mentioned very often in San Francisco if you need to save the shipping money:
Fairy Lake Discus Palace - Herman Chan
1609 Clement St.- San Francisco, California
;D
Bing Seto @ www.discusworld.com in Alameda
;D
Samson Cheung @ www.universaldiscus.com in San Francisco
:D
CliffsDiscus
cydiscus@hotmail.com

[Carol_Roberts]

It's $195 for 7 discus and shipping. That's $27.86 per discus and free shipping. Our fish store sells discus for $29.95. Maybe California is cheaper.

[knewby]

How about 4? Maybe 5? These discus are kept in good conditions. I called my LFS and they said they are getting a new shipment on Thursday. I know I'll have to wait a while to see which discus are healthy.

Throughout all the discus I've seen there, there were maybe ten that were stunted. I've read a few posts on what discus you should pick, and many of those fish fit those conditions.

I'm a cheap high schooler and don't have a yearly salary. :-\

[Discusgeo]

Thanks for the price Carol. Gee if that's expensive someone better stay with Guppies instead. That way they only need to spend $35.00 for a good trio on aquabid.
;)
Carol there is one Local Pet store who sells Discus anywhere from the $80.00 to $100.00 range and they are all sick and runted.

[knewby]

I don't think I could fit 7 in a 40. I thought the stocking rate was 1 per 10 gallons? My LFS sells them for $20 each w/ free shipping ;)

[knewby]

Carol, you're a great moderator. You always answer my posts really fast.

THX ;D ;D ;D

[Carol_Roberts]

What ever source you choose get at least 5 and grow them out in a bare bottom tank with a heater set at 84/86, an aqua clear filter filled with sponges and daily water changes.

[knewby]

Sounds good, except one problem, it's a show tank so I have plants in it. Will my shrimp be able to survive with sufficient cover?

[first_timer]

hi all,
ummmm discusgeo, that wuz a bit cold and harsh. jus cuz u work or whatever and can afford top quality doesn't mean u gotta crap on anyone else who can't but still wanna keep the fish in question......be it a joke or not that wuz pretty childish man......i'm 15 and i keep and maintain 5 tanks and 3 ponds, i have a 13 old buddy who maintains 5 tanks as well , 2 of them being 125's. so don't stereotype teen fishkeepers to guppies...please its simply grossly insulting and shows a lack of open mindedness on your part ::) as the saying goes....."if u ain't got nothing good to say then don't say nothin"

thas jus my piece,
later

[knewby]

Thats right. Props for first_timer. Just because we don't have hair on our BACKS doesn't mean we can't keep discus as well as you do!!

[Wahter]

hi all,
ummmm discusgeo, that wuz a bit cold and harsh. jus cuz u work or whatever and can afford top quality doesn't mean u gotta crap on anyone else who can't but still wanna keep the fish in question......be it a joke or not that wuz pretty childish man......i'm 15 and i keep and maintain 5 tanks and 3 ponds, i have a 13 old buddy who maintains 5 tanks as well , 2 of them being 125's. so don't stereotype teen fishkeepers to guppies...please its simply grossly insulting and shows a lack of open mindedness on your part ::) as the saying goes....."if u ain't got nothing good to say then don't say nothin"

thas jus my piece,
later


I'm going to try and be objective about this and I think Carol will agree with my comments.


1.) There is nothing wrong with guppies. If you think guppies are only bred by beginners, you need to check with the guppy associations. I believe that the comment was made with the pricing of the fish being the point; the simple fact is guppies cost less than discus. It has nothing to do with anyone's maturity nor experience in raising fish. I had tried first keeping discus in junior high middle school (they died after awhile) and didn't get one again until I got my second job. Thanks to the internet, I was able to get more information and my second try has been a lot better.

2.) Good discus cost money. If you want to talk about sayings, there's one that goes:

"Good discus aren't cheap, cheap discus aren't good"

It's already been posted several times on this board that IF you want to raise discus to their full potential, it is best to do so in a barebottom tank (typically people use 50 or 55 gallon tanks), feed heavily, and do a lot of water changes. Do discus look nice in a planted tank with a lot of plants? Sure they do, but it's not the easiest to keep clean AND if one of your discus get sick, you have to start worrying "how will the medicine affect the plants?".

If you want to keep smaller discus in a planted tank and don't mind if they turn out to be stunted, that's fine too, but it's not the goal of many discus keepers on this board. So, most of the discus keepers on this board will offer their opinion from the view point of, "will that keep my discus healthy and allow it to grow out to it's fullest potential?". In addition, you will find that most people who keep discus want good stock, good quality fish that won't stop growing at 4", fish who will grow out, pair up and spawn. Usually, most aquarium shop discus are not of the best quality - the people at many shops give discus a bad rep, saying their are hard to keep and overly priced, etc.... and many don't care for discus as well as needed. Your store might be different.

As it's been pointed out on this forum, usually everyone starts out with some average quality discus, some end up being runts, but eventually, practically everyone gets more serious about keeping discus and ends up with good quality fish. They grow the discus out in bare tanks and later, once the fish has reached a large size, then some owners move the fish into a planted tank.

Yes discus are aggressive toward each other if there are too few of them in a tank. They are cichlids. So make your best attempt to get at least 6 or so. Otherwise one or two will get picked on so much, it potentially will weaken and die.

Finally, don't jump to the wrong conclusion and assume the worst - if you ask a question, you might not like the answer, but it's going to be an answer that someone is giving you to help you out.

Hope this helps.

[knewby]

They'll be stunted? These are my first discus and I don't believe I should get into top of the line discus... yet. Lets wait till I'm on my own.