Hello all and a few q's

[maestro]

Hi all, im new and just signed up.

Ive been looking intokeeping discus for the last few weeks, im not rushing into anything just gathering information,

I plan to get a rena 120 tank for christmas (the 120 is the length) im then want to add 6-8 young discus and frow them on and maybe breed them after ive gained a little experience, it sounds like a fun challenge.

I wanted to know is there a website that shows all themany different colour variations? ive seen breeders site with a few nut not all

Are wild discus much harder to keep than commercial ones? its just that although it may sound strange I personally find them far more attractive.

My tap ph is 8 and gh is 11, i was going to mix mix ro water with tap to redice this to around 7 or so, then add a little stress cote to deal with any chloramines in the water is this a good way to do it?

Many thanks

[discusboy777]

go to www.majesticaquatic.com the owners name is Bruce he is a great guy and has most verietys on his web site.

[henryD]

Maestro,

Welcome to simply discus. I think you will find a wealth of information here. I do recommend doing some homework before purchasing any fish.

You will notice that a lot of us raise our discus in high PH. PH of 8 is not a probelm. You don't have to adjust the PH. Discus just needs constant water parameters. So the high gh should keep the ph constant and stable. As for dealing with chloramines there is a number of product out there that you use. I recommend chloramX which is a crystal that you can mix up your own solution. It is a lot more economical than buying the premix solutions they sale. It is the same thing. Buy 1 box of crystal is equivelent to buying 20-30 bottles of solution. You can then spend your saving on more discus.

Like any discus you buy. The source of them is very important. If you buy wilds from a good source they are not anymore difficult than domestic fish. And no it does not sound strange. Personally I think wild discus have alot more character and personality than domestics ones.

As for 120, I think that is a very big tank to raise 6-8 small/medium discus. If you are just starting out I would consider getting a 55 gallon or a 75 gallon.

Lastly our photo gallery section has most if not all of the different strains. You just have to look through it all. But what better way to do research than by looking at all those pretty fish.

Henry

[maestro]

Thanks guys im just loading up that site discusboy

henry many thanks, 120 is the length in cm not volume, its about 70 gallons

Is tap water ok to use then? ive always thought the nitrates and heavy metals etc were too high, my tapwater has a nitrate reading of up to 50, i keep this to zero in my other tank because it is heavilly planted, my discus tank will be bare bottom.

Dont worry im not going to rush into it, it will be 2 or 3 months till i get the tank then another few maturing it etc