more pet fish

[redmosquito1]

ok so after reading everyones advice (still plan to listen/take as authority the guys at Choice aquariums advice over any one else, no offense to any one here) I've come to the conclusion that 7 gallons 3 times a week will work fine. I only plan on getting 2 discus for 2 reasons. 1- it'll keep the bio load down to justify 50% a week (40 gallon tank 21 gallons per week) and 2 - I've heard 1 Discus per 10 gallon, since I have 40gallons and plan on keeping my 4 of my 8 quarter to half dollar sized Angels that would be about 4 fish in estimation. (note I am only planning on keeping 2 angels when all is said and grown, this way I seperate for looks now and hopefully pairs later.)

The question is am I doing the correct math on fish? Keeping in mind I know they grow better with groups but its a stress free environment, and Choice told me 1-2 would be absolutely fine by themselves.

The good news is I've done a lot of thinking and since I can't have a dog these guys are my dog. so I might as well put forth 100% effort to keep them. But I got my water to where it needs to be, have everything set and ready to rock on saturday. SO here goes nothing.

thanks for all your help guys. much appreciated.
peace
tom

[White Worm]

Please let us know exactly what advice you were given when you purchase your 2 discus and then please report back with pics and let us know how things are going about a month after you put them all together. I dont suppose you are going to quarantine the new arrivals either, right? I'm sure you will get great advice from Cary at choice so if theres one thing you do..follow it.

[poconogal]

Somehow I just don't see Cary advising that 2 Discus will be fine, or that they can be raised with Angels (who will most likely outcompete the Discus for food), or not to QT (it doesn't sound like you're going to QT), but I hope it works out for the Discus. Good luck.

[FishLover888]

Hmmm, If I get it right, you are going to keep 2 angles and 2 discus in a 40g tank.

Not sure that's a good idea. Unless the discus are paired up, you will soon end with one. Plus, angles will hug all the food too.

[pinkertd]

Please follow the instructions Choice gives you. My discus are "pets" as well as opposed to trying to breed them someday. I actually don't want anyone pairing up and laying eggs because out of awe and excitement that's gonna force me to buy another tank "just to see if they will hatch and grow" and I have a large show tank for the discus as well as a 29 gallon for 4 angels with brichardi's that spawn like convicts! :D I don't know what kind of angels you have but at one time I acquired two beautiful golden veiltail baby angels and added them to my discus show tank (which was very understocked). For a while they looked beautiful together and everything was very calm. But the angels grew very fast, their veiltails seemed like 8 to 10 inches from top to bottom, and the angels began to chase the discus away from the food at feeding time. Discus are pigs when it comes to bloodworms....angels are HOGS! I just couldn't tolerate the discus being frightened away.....that will definitely stress them out! Discus are extremely peaceful. So I wound up adding the gold veiltails to the 29 gallon to join my male/female pair I was keeping there. You may see this happen in your tank too. I've kept a lot of fish over many years, including more aggressive cichlids. I love to sit and watch the goings on in the tank, it is relaxing. But even with the more aggressive cichlids, I wound up getting rid of any fish that displayed a lot of aggresive chasing and only kept the less aggressive ones. Anyway, good luck with your tank. Discus are not like glass if they're kept with their best interest at heart and they are absolutely amazing fish!

[redmosquito1]

well I still haven't talked to cary, just one of the associates at choice. he told me that 1 discus would be fine in a tank 4 feet long. he said 2 would be good too. (I'm doing 1 per week now, and I know not the best of situation but thats what I have to do.) Either way I'll post pics and let you know his advice, provided I actually talk to him.

That being said, the plan with the angels was to put the discus in, watch carefully for the ones that are messing with him, then pluck those ones out. They are going into my sisters tank. I too have removed quite a few over aggressive fish, I once had a beutiful taiwan reef fish that was beutiful but kept killing everything. And I've been told that discus and angels will go good together provided I make sure the discus gets plenty of food.

I'll keep you guys updated, but you guys need to relax. I'm asking cause I need to know how precise I need to be with keeping these fish. I just got the impression everyone on here was in this to breed and sell.

[Darren's Discus]

Tom,
the only reason people here give the advise they do is so that your Discus keeping experience is a good one,most have the first hand experience and are just passing on there knowledge to save you pain and money make shure you talk to cary !


all the best

cheers

[redmosquito1]

I know you guys have good intentions, and I appreciate your advice. its much better than I'd expected. just seems that you guys are discouraging people from getting discus. like I said it seems as though you guys only breed and sell your fish, no love like a pet thats how all this started.

But I do intend to use every ones advice, and definitely hope I can talk to cary (I really hate using his name cause I've never even met him.)

thanks for all the help.

[alxjss]

I am personally talking to cary. He has so far been very good. Get on his website Great Lakes Discus and his cell # will be posted. He always tells me to call him, thats the best way. He would rather u call then email or pm. He never not answers his phone. If so, leave a message and he will call back

[Ed13]

I know you guys have good intentions, and I appreciate your advice. its much better than I'd expected. just seems that you guys are discouraging people from getting discus. like I said it seems as though you guys only breed and sell your fish, no love like a pet thats how all this started.

But I do intend to use every ones advice, and definitely hope I can talk to cary (I really hate using his name cause I've never even met him.)

thanks for all the help.
Actually the ones breeding and selling discus here are the minority, so most of the comments come mostly from first hand experience. I guess everyone is looking for the well being and long term health of the fish they keep so passionately. After all you wouldn't buy a car and never fill it with gas, change the oil, etc or run a Nascar race car on the highway, well its the same with discus.
For the record, my first discus went through exactly what you want to do. The result, the single discus was harassed a lot by the two smaller angels. The angels were removed. The discus did not so good in a heavily planted 29g all by himself plus some rummy and cardinals. It was removed to a 30gal long barebottom with 6 Glowlight tetras, 3 cory, 4 Panaque maccus, same food, same 50% weekly water change, roughly the same amount of bio-mass from tankmates and it did great alone in this tank. He even got ~5" and was very outgoing!
Second time around only two discus, one killed the other within 3 weeks

Besides Cary has teached many in this forum and in this hobby, I don't see him giving you much different advice;)

Good luck, and hopefully you understand we are not discouraging you, but trying to actually make it a rewarding experience!

[Don Trinko]

I had Angels and Discus together back in the 60's. The Discus I had then were agressive compared to the ones I have now. The Discus I have now would not get enough to eat if I put them with angels.
If you try it be prepaired to remove the Angels. $30 to $100 fish should have priority ove $5 to $25 fish. Don T.

[redmosquito1]

I had Angels and Discus together back in the 60's. The Discus I had then were agressive compared to the ones I have now. The Discus I have now would not get enough to eat if I put them with angels.
If you try it be prepaired to remove the Angels. $30 to $100 fish should have priority ove $5 to $25 fish. Don T.

trust me the angels are out if they need to. mine were $12 for 3 so.

[poconogal]

I know you guys have good intentions, and I appreciate your advice. its much better than I'd expected. just seems that you guys are discouraging people from getting discus. like I said it seems as though you guys only breed and sell your fish, no love like a pet thats how all this started.

But I do intend to use every ones advice, and definitely hope I can talk to cary (I really hate using his name cause I've never even met him.)

thanks for all the help.
Nobody is discouraging people from getting Discus, we are only discouraging improper keeping of the Discus. I don't breed them, I don't sell them. I have them as pets, but I, like the rest of us, would like to see that your experience with these magnificent fish is good, and we'd also like to make sure that your Discus do not suffer, get ill and die because of improper keeping.

[White Worm]

ok so after reading everyones advice (still plan to listen/take as authority the guys at Choice aquariums advice over any one else, no offense to any one here) I've come to the conclusion that 7 gallons 3 times a week will work fine. I only plan on getting 2 discus for 2 reasons. 1- it'll keep the bio load down to justify 50% a week (40 gallon tank 21 gallons per week) and 2 - I've heard 1 Discus per 10 gallon, since I have 40gallons and plan on keeping my 4 of my 8 quarter to half dollar sized Angels that would be about 4 fish in estimation.

The question is am I doing the correct math on fish? Keeping in mind I know they grow better with groups but its a stress free environment, and Choice told me 1-2 would be absolutely fine by themselves.

The good news is I've done a lot of thinking and since I can't have a dog these guys are my dog. so I might as well put forth 100% effort to keep them.



First of all, I'm gonna be honest and tell you what everyone has nicely said. You shouldnt keep discus. Its not that we dont want you to, but you have no idea what you are doing and you havent listened to one piece of good advice here. Authority?? Helper at Choice?? He's probably just a kid catching fish out of the tanks. You say you already have done research and thought alot and have been told this and that.....By who? Who is giving you all this bogus info? If every single person on here is telling you the same thing, dont you think the clue here would be that its the right thing to do? Your w/c program is not even up to minimum standards as far as keeping discus happy and healthy. Stress free environment??? Wrong. 100% effort??? Wrong. You probably shouldnt get a dog either.


well I still haven't talked to cary, just one of the associates at choice. he told me that 1 discus would be fine in a tank 4 feet long. he said 2 would be good too. (I'm doing 1 per week now, and I know not the best of situation but thats what I have to do.) Either way I'll post pics and let you know his advice, provided I actually talk to him.

That being said, the plan with the angels was to put the discus in, watch carefully for the ones that are messing with him, then pluck those ones out. They are going into my sisters tank. And I've been told that discus and angels will go good together provided I make sure the discus gets plenty of food.

I'll keep you guys updated, but you guys need to relax. I'm asking cause I need to know how precise I need to be with keeping these fish. I just got the impression everyone on here was in this to breed and sell.

We are relaxed and we started out that way but when you come here and every time ask for advice and then say you wont take it....well.
One or two is not good and why would you wait until another fish tortured your one discus and then take it out? You going to sit in front of the tank 24/7? Because they will act different when you are standing there compared to when you arent. I may have missed it but did you acknowledge the QT required with any new fish?


I know you guys have good intentions, and I appreciate your advice. its much better than I'd expected. just seems that you guys are discouraging people from getting discus. like I said it seems as though you guys only breed and sell your fish, no love like a pet thats how all this started.

But I do intend to use every ones advice, and definitely hope I can talk to cary (I really hate using his name cause I've never even met him.)

thanks for all the help.

We do have good intensions and there are many highly experienced hobbyists here (mostly hobbyists) so "better than you expected"???? compared to what? Thats a pretty rude statement when you are coming here asking for help. We dont discourage, just try to improve the experience for new people by letting them know the mistakes that have already been tried many times with failure. The same mistakes that you seem dedicated to pursuing. The ultimate goal for some here are to keep these magnificent fish, some, to breed them and some, to sell them. No one is making a fortune off selling them. It costs some money to keep and raise them and most break even. Why discus? If you are not ready for their care, why discus?

Here is some advice if you continue on your path of 1 or 2 discus with angels and very limited clean water..... Do us, the discus and yourself a favor and get yourself a beta or keep just angels.

[poconogal]

Originally Posted by redmosquito1
well I still haven't talked to cary, just one of the associates at choice. he told me that 1 discus would be fine in a tank 4 feet long. he said 2 would be good too. (I'm doing 1 per week now, and I know not the best of situation but thats what I have to do.) Either way I'll post pics and let you know his advice, provided I actually talk to him.
If one of the associates at Choice gave you this advice, then this associate needs to be educated in Discus keeping, and I think Cary should be told about this associate and the misinformation he is handing out.

[alxjss]

If one of the associates at Choice gave you this advice, then this associate needs to be educated in Discus keeping, and I think Cary should be told about this associate and the misinformation he is handing out.

well said Connie!

[dragonlover]

First of all, I'm gonna be honest and tell you what everyone has nicely said. You shouldnt keep discus. Its not that we dont want you to, but you have no idea what you are doing and you havent listened to one piece of good advice here. Authority?? Helper at Choice?? He's probably just a kid catching fish out of the tanks. You say you already have done research and thought alot and have been told this and that.....By who? Who is giving you all this bogus info? If every single person on here is telling you the same thing, dont you think the clue here would be that its the right thing to do? Your w/c program is not even up to minimum standards as far as keeping discus happy and healthy. Stress free environment??? Wrong. 100% effort??? Wrong. You probably shouldnt get a dog either.



We are relaxed and we started out that way but when you come here and every time ask for advice and then say you wont take it....well.
One or two is not good and why would you wait until another fish tortured your one discus and then take it out? You going to sit in front of the tank 24/7? Because they will act different when you are standing there compared to when you arent. I may have missed it but did you acknowledge the QT required with any new fish?



We do have good intensions and there are many highly experienced hobbyists here (mostly hobbyists) so "better than you expected"???? compared to what? Thats a pretty rude statement when you are coming here asking for help. We dont discourage, just try to improve the experience for new people by letting them know the mistakes that have already been tried many times with failure. The same mistakes that you seem dedicated to pursuing. The ultimate goal for some here are to keep these magnificent fish, some, to breed them and some, to sell them. No one is making a fortune off selling them. It costs some money to keep and raise them and most break even. Why discus? If you are not ready for their care, why discus?

Here is some advice if you continue on your path of 1 or 2 discus with angels and very limited clean water..... Do us, the discus and yourself a favor and get yourself a beta or keep just angels.

Hurrah! Well said, succinctly put, and absolutely correct.

[redmosquito1]

well I guess I'm gonna pass on discus. you guys convinced me. nice job.

[redmosquito1]

oh and I don't think I said I wouldn't take your advice. I think I said the opposite.

[Don Trinko]

Perhaps I'm wrong but a 4' tank could be 40,55,75,90 or 110 galons? What is wrong with 2 discus in one of these or are we saying he needs 5 discus minimum? Don T.

[redmosquito1]

its 40 gallon, 48"x13"x15"

[poconogal]

oh and I don't think I said I wouldn't take your advice. I think I said the opposite.

I don't think so...


ok so after reading everyones advice (still plan to listen/take as authority the guys at Choice aquariums advice over any one else...

[poconogal]

Perhaps I'm wrong but a 4' tank could be 40,55,75,90 or 110 galons? What is wrong with 2 discus in one of these or are we saying he needs 5 discus minimum? Don T.
Hi Don, with only 2 Discus, one will bully the other until the stress of being bullied will cause one to die, unless they are a confirmed pair, and sometimes even then it will happen. Same thing with 3 Discus. Two will bully one, it will die, then there will be 2. And again, 1 will bully the other, etc. This is why its recommended that a minimum of 5 Discus be kept, especially juvies. Adults are more peaceful. That usually spreads the aggression around so that no 1 Discus is a target. (But sometimes 4 Discus will gang up on 1 - I did have that happen, and I had to give the bullied one back to the breeder).

[White Worm]

ok so after reading everyones advice (still plan to listen/take as authority the guys at Choice aquariums advice over any one else,

Keeping in mind I know they grow better with groups but its a stress free environment, and Choice told me 1-2 would be absolutely fine by themselves.

The good news is I've done a lot of thinking and since I can't have a dog these guys are my dog. so I might as well put forth 100% effort to keep them. tom

I could be wrong, but this surely sounds like you have made up your mind by a simple phone call to someone you dont even know. This is what you base your future discus keeping on? You say you know what is better but you still ignore the facts. You cant put in 100% effort on one hand and then in the same breathe, say I have to do this and that and cut every corner possible.


well I still haven't talked to cary, just one of the associates at choice. he told me that 1 discus would be fine in a tank 4 feet long. he said 2 would be good too. (I'm doing 1 per week now, and I know not the best of situation but thats what I have to do.)

you guys need to relax. I'm asking cause I need to know how precise I need to be with keeping these fish.
Please talk with Cary before you decide not to keep discus just because you heard an opinion here. You came here for help. You can do what you want. You asked the questions and we gave the best advice. There is no mandatory way of doing things but there is there is the RIGHT way to do them. If you ask the questions, be prepared for the answers. We were being "PRECISE".


no love like a pet thats how all this started.
But I do intend to use every ones advice

A pet is something you do everything possible to take care of and keep healthy because they cant do it for themselves. Dont assume that we dont love our pets because you would be amazed at some of the things people here will do for their fish or any of their pets for that matter. Again, no QT plans? 1 a week added to a tank is just asking for trouble no matter what fish you keep or where they come from. Would you fail if you did what you plan? I dont know for sure but your percentages's are not good. Everything might be fine for months or weeks but eventually.....


well I guess I'm gonna pass on discus. you guys convinced me. nice job.

This might be the best thing but dont base it on you disagreeing with many of those who have done it or are doing it now compared to your experience and a kid on the phone. I am the first person to cut a corner or save a buck if possible but sometimes its cheaper and better to do it right the first time.


oh and I don't think I said I wouldn't take your advice. I think I said the opposite.

You said both so its kinda confusing which way you plan to go. It doesnt sound good so far. For the record, I am no expert but I have done everything you plan to do and it doesnt work. I did it the right way and now I have reached the pentacle of discus keeping.....breeding. I am not doing it because I plan to sell them and become a millionaire but I did it because there is nothing like seeing the fry with their parents and growing them yourself. If I do sell some, it would be to pick up the cost of food.

I'll tell you what, I have a batch of babies right now that are 5 days old. If they grow out, I plan to donate them to people here on simply because I would not have been able to do it without the help of those here. If you can do some more reasearch and try to understand where we come from, I will give you enough to disperse the aggression we are talking about. You will just have to pay shipping. It should be in a couple months.

[Greg Richardson]

well I guess I'm gonna pass on discus. you guys convinced me. nice job.


You sure do like to blame others for your future.

Your contact at Carys first of all hasn't a clue on how to sell fish.
Must work by the hour and not on commission per fish. LOL!
He tells you one fish when that type of fish is known to be a group type of fish tells me he needs to be educated.
Cary needs to do some training. LOL!

When one starts in the hobby they are encouraged to start with the best type of equipment, stock of fish, etc. in order for their success odds to be in their favor.

That is what you have going on here.

You though after talking to one person an employee of a fish store who probably has never kept discus himself are taking his word over all of these hobbyist.

Then you expect them after taking their time trying to do the best they can at ensuring your odds of success are getting offended.

Think about it for a bit.

Now lets get to the subject of low numbers of discus.

I have kept three discus in a 55 gallon tank for over 6 months with no problem. It can be done. But they were together in another community tank and due to other situations I moved them to the 55.

I then sold one of them leaving the two. At no time whether 2 or 3 in tank did I have problems. But I did have to find out which 3 got along. No bullying what so ever after that was determined.

Bottom line?
Sure 2 or 3 can be done but the odds of it happening out of picking up those 2 or 3 at a fish store or any where else for that matter certainly isn't with you. In fact they are HIGHLY against you.

I had the amount of fish available to me in order to find the right combo.

You won't in your situation.

So before going off on everyone I think a reality check is due here.

It may not seem like it to you but they were all in your corner.

Before giving up on the hobby because you received bad advice from the employee and feel your ego has taken a beating from people who actually were in your corner you might want to re-think this and start all over again.

Many have come here to the forum starting off on the wrong foot and have turned it around after re-thinking their situation.

You can do the same.

Or you can be like some ignorant fools who because they didn't like the answer they received have gone on to other forums.
They go buy Adult fish and get lucky receiving a pair.
The fish spawn and they go nuts with a thousand pictures and before you know it there they are after two spawns gving out breeding advice to others like they have half a clue about it. Hey it's great to read for a cheap laugh but what is sad is newbies actually believe clowns like him.

.

[redmosquito1]

*sigh*

ok let me run this down,

1st I apologise if I some confrontational or anything like that. I don't meen to sound rude but no matter how hard I try I usually come off that way. That being said let me clarify somethings.

When I said I would take Choice's advice over all of yours I should have sai Cary Strongs advice not choice. the reason is I've gathered from all the post about GLD and Cary he is kind of the authority on discus. So if I am lucky enough to speak with him he should be able to point me in the correct direction. I don't mean that as a slight to any of you.

I am taking your advice, my first post about fish as pets basicaly said I was putting in the fish and leaving them. every one said bad idea they need more care, I decided to put forth the effort. everyone recomended mass water changes and thats the plan. 7 gallons every other day is mass in my opinion, but I was looking for someone to suggest a better amount and explain the neccessity of said changes. Now I am aware that I have horrible punctiation so without reading any of my previous post I'm sure I didn't use any ? marks. usually when I say that should be enough or something like that its meant as a question not a statement.

I'm not blaming anyone for anything, never have. I didn't make a phone call, I made a visit to choice. Yeah mybe a bad idea to take to heart the advice of someone I've just met.

No I haven't thought about quarintine. I didn't know what that was till you mentioned it. then I found a thread about horrors of not quarantining and now I know the importance. That would require me setting up another tank which I don't have the space the money or the time to do. Which in turn means that I pretty much buy as many as I want at first then stay put on that many. Which cost more money to start but is better for the fish, correct? (more at one time) This would also alleviate the need to QT?


Im'm not assuming ou guys don't love your fish. I too would do anything for a pet, and am certain you guys would too.

Basically my main question got taken out of context (or I simpl asked it wrong, most likely) I really just wanted to know if 1 discus could survive and live happy by itself.

Either way, I apologise for MY misunderstanding and am very VERY appreciative of your advice and help. Mikscus nd Brewmaster especially becuase you have been quite informative. I still want a schoal of discus and intend on getting at least 6 now. I will just have to wait a while in order to save up the funds to purchase them. I do look forward to your help down the road as my journey into discus keeping (as pets especially, with proper care of course.) I ask that you guys not think i'm an arogant *** or don't care about my pets because trust me I do. there is very few things that would prevent me from keeping them as happy as possible.

thanks again
Peace
Tom

[Greg Richardson]

Tom. Yes, That's what I do for QT. Buy the amount all at once I want for that tank and then that's it. No moving between tanks till way down the road. If you decide to buy some busheynose or something like that a 10 gallon QT tank for those will work you can get for free off of Craigs. In fact if you watch you can get bigger tanks on there for free.

You are lucky imo to be near Cary with a selection.
Here in Washington State not much at all.
Discus can turn out to be a lot of fun for you.
Hang in there. You'll be a Discus addict before you know it!

One of the first signs that you know you might be having Discus addiction is when you say.......... Now if I do that and move this and hey who needs a couch when a few tanks can go there you know you on your way!

[Don Trinko]

I also do the same QT. I have a tank set up for Discus with some corys that has been disease free and I put the Discus in. It is THEIR tank. They have priority. I have done the same with Angels and Severum. Everytime I buy a fish here, another their, I always end up with some disease. At least with this method if you do have a disease you know where it came from. Don T.

[redmosquito1]

well I guess thats what I'll have to do for QT then, means more waiting. but the longer the wait the better the reward right.

But yeah I gathered I was quite lucky to be near cary, the discus he had when I went were amazing, and the kid said they were getting a lot more this week ready in a few weeks after they QT. he said Cary was geeked. so maybe I'll get some of those when they're ready.
peace
tom

[White Worm]

Now you're talkin Tom! Cary is known as one of the best in the business and has been for a long time. I have spoke with him on a few occasions and you will definately be in good hands with him. Yes, save and get what you plan to have all at once. Its better for you and the discus plus you wont have to QT. I still would have an only discus tank until you get used to them. You may want to look at upgrading the tank to a 55g (craigslist) and then you would have your 40 for QT or breeding later. This would allow you to get 5-7 juvie discus and be able to keep them without having to do massive daily w/c's.

[redmosquito1]

thats not a bad idea. I got the 40 from craig pretty cheap. maybe I can stumble upona good set up for under $100. problem is convincing roomate on 2nd huge tank

[White Worm]

http://detroit.craigslist.org/for/319490741.html

http://detroit.craigslist.org/for/313559987.html

http://detroit.craigslist.org/for/318459445.html

[redmosquito1]

yeah I went and looked at those tanks right after my last post. I had a new thought to go barebottom 55 in my bedroom, and leave my angel tank set up in living room. Then I can raise the discus, don't have to listen to friends say the tank is boring, and when they reach adult hood put them in a show tank. (would that be right, or should they be BB all the time?)

Pproblem being lack of funds (radiator blew up this morning, not happy) but it'll just delay the hole process, but patience is virtue right.

questions though -

1-how do you make a sponge filter, or what consist of it. If I use a sponge filter would I still need the power filter for mechanical filtration? or is the mechanical part accomplished by the water changes?

2-what is the point of aging water? is it to balance the ph?

3- will a discus be ok and healthy in hard water, high ph? I know its less than I deal but RO will get expensive on a daily basis, you know.

[White Worm]

Once they are older, you can put them into a show tank or a breeder tank if you end up with a pair. I would use both for filtration. Aging water allows CO2 to gas off and Ph to stabilize. Plus, you can make any changes and heat it before you put it in the tank. I dont age my water, straight from tap. They will be fine growing in hard water. You really have to worry later on if you decide to breed.

[Don Trinko]

Aging water is to allow the clorine or other gasses to leave the water. They will do this within a day or 2. You can buy products that will remove the clorine instantly or just wait a day. Clorine will kill your fish. Many cities add clorine to their water supplyto kill bacteria and other things. Don T.

[redmosquito1]

so when I finally get my discus, looking more and more like mid june, how should I wein them off soft water.

Choice is on Detroit municipal water which from what I've heard is 5 degrees hardness and 7ph out of the tap, and my tap which is a community well is 14 degrees hardness and 8.2 ph. I did water changes last week with RO to get water in tank to mimic detroits water, but thats much much to expensive to do every day.

My thoughts were to get tank to mimic detroit water, and slowly lower the ratio of tap to RO (now about 3-1RO) till its tap over a period of about a month. would that be ok or would that be to fast/not fast enough? what would be the fastest I could change the water out to not stress the fish?

[tpl*co]

I had Angels and Discus together back in the 60's. The Discus I had then were agressive compared to the ones I have now. The Discus I have now would not get enough to eat if I put them with angels.
If you try it be prepaired to remove the Angels. $30 to $100 fish should have priority ove $5 to $25 fish. Don T.

I've noticed that too, with cichlids (discus or angels) I think it depends on the personality and temperment of the individual fish. I've seen some that are more timid and easily spooked, I've seen some that would equate to "Forrest Gump" of the discus, and then some that would be alpha pit bulls or wolves of the group. These alphas would have no trouble getting their share of the food, no matter who they shared the tank with, they were the undesputed rulers of the tank! That is why they recommend 5-6 discus to start out, so that in case of agression, there is more than one fish to spread it out with, and for the timid ones, they have more than one fish to calm them down. Discus seem to have a "group" mentality, I've found that if there is a strong outgoing discus, as long as it's not bullying everybody else, it tends to make the others outgoing as well.

Tina

[Don Trinko]

My Discus wait for the food to fall to the bottom thenwatch me for 5 minutes and then wander out to eat. They would starve with Angels! Don T.

[White Worm]

As soon as I walk in the room, they all scramble over to where I am and then as soon as I drop a cube of FBW, they are like pirahna. No wandering in my tank during feeding time! I have 5 discus tugging at one cube and the rest immediately sucking up the fallout. FBW dont last 5 seconds. Bits disappear rather quickly also but I still have 2 holdouts that dont prefer bits. I had 3 (gave one away) large aggressive angels in with this group and they were fine but I wouldnt advize it. They do get very aggressive when they have eggs. I moved the remaining angels to their own tank as a pair with sterbai and BN and one orphaned beta.