Embersmom
11-22-2009, 02:28 AM
I don't know if I'll have any luck posting this. I've been trying to post videos, but I'm not able to. Anyway, I've just become a discus owner and have been keeping an online journal of my adventures on another forum that I belong to.
I've posted the story below with the links to the other postings. I hope this works! I'd love to hear your feedback or comments. More importantly, I'd really like to know what kind of discus I have and would appreciate if you could identify, please!!!
Thank you.
Shelley
I know you're probably all getting sick and tired of hearing from me.....I go from committed lurker to constant poster in the blink of an eye....I'm sure there is some filter for those of you that want to block any posts from my user ID...
Having said that, here's a discus story aimed to all of you out there who have or are thinking of keeping discus. Now, PLEASE keep in mind that I am so new to this - less than two months - and so far 90% of what I've gone through has been beginner's luck. There comes a point where you also start to read so much and talk to different people that the information starts to contradict itself and right becomes wrong and up becomes down. It then feels very scary and daunting - it's very easy for me to see why people spend so long thinking about a discus set up but never do it. So this is for for you and I hope it helps you.
As I've said so many times, I never expected to have discus. Ever. So when I bought a used Hagen Osaka that came with 5 discus, my first reaction was great - maybe April will give me a decent store credit for them. The previous owner said they were all wild caught. Well, even I knew enough about discus to know that they were not. Maybe the two biggest and less colorful as the others, but not all. He also said that they had bred. Again, I could care less. When I brought them home, I had no choice but to put them in my 30 gallon tank. The only problem was, the tank has just been medicated for 2 weeks with metro in a last ditch attempt to save the life of an altum. http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29587&page=2 You all know the rest of that story, but they settled right into the tank and stayed there for two days and it was NOT a very clean tank. Next came the move back to their Osaka on the third day using the very same filters (XP4 and a Fluval 205). But I also put the altum in as he was doing so well with them. I had removed all the plants and substrate, but kept a piece of driftwood and put hanging silk plants at the back for dimension. At first the fish were adjusting, but it seemed to take longer than I had expected except for the altum. I then realized the plants were casting shadows and the discus were nervous. Again, they quickly settled in and soon began eating and swimming. Swimming was hard for them because of the dimensions of the tank. They had to swim up and down instead of side to side. I knew I had to get a bigger tank for them, but my 90 gallon community tank was a mish mash of everything that didn't belong anywhere else. All I had to do with the discus was simply this: feed them, clean their water and always check the temperature (the Osaka is an open top tank). They had already endured a move into a quarantineed, hospital tank. Then a move back to their own tank and now they were going to have to move again. Again, you all know the story of that adventure earlier this week. http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29684 Moving them was unevenful. I was meticulous in cleaning and preparing the tank. I scooped them out by hand and gently put them in their new tank. They were very timid for the first few hours and huddled together in a small corner at the back of the tank with the altum right in the middle. As soon as I shut the light off over the tank, they started exploring and swimming the length and height of their new home. Yesterday, I added two more and today yet another. My tank is now complete. All I have left to do is watch them. I do a lot of that. Here it is almost two months later. Here are my words of wisdom for discus keeping: feed them a varied, quality diet, ensure their water is pristine, always keep two spare heaters in a cupboard. Period. Don't wait for whenever to happen. Do it now. These fish are amazing. They have personalities and will endear themselves to you just like puppies and kittens. They make you better fish keepers all around. I PROMISE you that. So, do it. Do it now. That way you will have so many more years to enjoy them. Talk to people. Get advise. Stop as soon as you start getting confused. Pick your favorite colors, or if you're a purist, go wild. Trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Enjoy the most beautiful and rewarding fish to own.
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29760
Okay, that's the end of my fish story.
Shelley
I've posted the story below with the links to the other postings. I hope this works! I'd love to hear your feedback or comments. More importantly, I'd really like to know what kind of discus I have and would appreciate if you could identify, please!!!
Thank you.
Shelley
I know you're probably all getting sick and tired of hearing from me.....I go from committed lurker to constant poster in the blink of an eye....I'm sure there is some filter for those of you that want to block any posts from my user ID...
Having said that, here's a discus story aimed to all of you out there who have or are thinking of keeping discus. Now, PLEASE keep in mind that I am so new to this - less than two months - and so far 90% of what I've gone through has been beginner's luck. There comes a point where you also start to read so much and talk to different people that the information starts to contradict itself and right becomes wrong and up becomes down. It then feels very scary and daunting - it's very easy for me to see why people spend so long thinking about a discus set up but never do it. So this is for for you and I hope it helps you.
As I've said so many times, I never expected to have discus. Ever. So when I bought a used Hagen Osaka that came with 5 discus, my first reaction was great - maybe April will give me a decent store credit for them. The previous owner said they were all wild caught. Well, even I knew enough about discus to know that they were not. Maybe the two biggest and less colorful as the others, but not all. He also said that they had bred. Again, I could care less. When I brought them home, I had no choice but to put them in my 30 gallon tank. The only problem was, the tank has just been medicated for 2 weeks with metro in a last ditch attempt to save the life of an altum. http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29587&page=2 You all know the rest of that story, but they settled right into the tank and stayed there for two days and it was NOT a very clean tank. Next came the move back to their Osaka on the third day using the very same filters (XP4 and a Fluval 205). But I also put the altum in as he was doing so well with them. I had removed all the plants and substrate, but kept a piece of driftwood and put hanging silk plants at the back for dimension. At first the fish were adjusting, but it seemed to take longer than I had expected except for the altum. I then realized the plants were casting shadows and the discus were nervous. Again, they quickly settled in and soon began eating and swimming. Swimming was hard for them because of the dimensions of the tank. They had to swim up and down instead of side to side. I knew I had to get a bigger tank for them, but my 90 gallon community tank was a mish mash of everything that didn't belong anywhere else. All I had to do with the discus was simply this: feed them, clean their water and always check the temperature (the Osaka is an open top tank). They had already endured a move into a quarantineed, hospital tank. Then a move back to their own tank and now they were going to have to move again. Again, you all know the story of that adventure earlier this week. http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29684 Moving them was unevenful. I was meticulous in cleaning and preparing the tank. I scooped them out by hand and gently put them in their new tank. They were very timid for the first few hours and huddled together in a small corner at the back of the tank with the altum right in the middle. As soon as I shut the light off over the tank, they started exploring and swimming the length and height of their new home. Yesterday, I added two more and today yet another. My tank is now complete. All I have left to do is watch them. I do a lot of that. Here it is almost two months later. Here are my words of wisdom for discus keeping: feed them a varied, quality diet, ensure their water is pristine, always keep two spare heaters in a cupboard. Period. Don't wait for whenever to happen. Do it now. These fish are amazing. They have personalities and will endear themselves to you just like puppies and kittens. They make you better fish keepers all around. I PROMISE you that. So, do it. Do it now. That way you will have so many more years to enjoy them. Talk to people. Get advise. Stop as soon as you start getting confused. Pick your favorite colors, or if you're a purist, go wild. Trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Enjoy the most beautiful and rewarding fish to own.
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29760
Okay, that's the end of my fish story.
Shelley