How much more hardy are discus today than the 70's?

[CammieTime]

My dad had discus back in the 70's when they were becoming popular. He had extreme difficulty keeping them alive because they were only a few generations from the wild and not very hardy to north american ground water.

Since the 70's, are discus more hardy today? Can they tolerate lower quality water or less than perfect water chemistry?

[Don Trinko]

In the 60's abought the only tank raised discus available to me were rather plain brown discus. They were expensive ( $40 in 1960 dollars is my recolection).
Obviously many more varieties of colorfull tank raised discus are now available and more information is available. The price is better considering inflation. Depending on size and variety you can now but discus for $18 for small discus of common varieties up to $200 and more for large discus.
Don T.

[cyang]

I wouldn't say that they are more adapted to "lower" water quality.

They are however more adapted to water conditions like hardness and pH.

I raise mind in hard Indiana water with a pH of 8.2

Easier to keep? Probably not. You still have to keep up with frequent water changes.

Better adapted to tap water? Probably.

[dpt8]

Probably we know how to care for discus better than in the 70's also. The wild browns, blues and greens we have are still from the wild. Heckels are a different story. The domestic ones may be hardier but this websight has taught us all how to better care for all the discus !!

[GrillMaster]

As Dave mentioned...I dont know that the discus are more hardy...I think that the hobby has come so far and people just are better informed to what it takes to raise healthy discus...:)