Healthy Discus Weekly Water Change!?

[huskysglare]

Is it possible to have healthy discus with 50% weekly water change? I have a 50g tank and i am planning to do %50 weekly water change. I may keep 3-5 discus with minimal feeding. Do you have to use RO/DI or RO is good enough?

[leeishom]

All depends on the frequency of feedings and type of foods.

[RockRiverfish]

There is probably no reason to go with RO or RO/DI unless you are trying to keep wilds, are trying to breed adults, or have extreme water parameters. Most domestic strains will do just fine in normal (de-chlorinated) tap water.

As for water changes, you will get many answers. While I agree that "the more water changes the better", life also gets in the way. I persoanlly lean more towards 50% twice a week, but I don't feed as much as others do either. This method probably won't result in show quality fish, but I am happy with the adult size that my fish get to. You will have better luck with your plans if you start with adult fish.

[hedut]

if you give min feeding their eye will look big so kinda stun, well twice week than min wc, anyway good luck

[PAR23]

Is it possible to have healthy discus with 50% weekly water change? I have a 50g tank and i am planning to do %50 weekly water change. I may keep 3-5 discus with minimal feeding. Do you have to use RO/DI or RO is good enough?

I would go with adults if you are going with minimal feedings and weekly WC. As mentioned, Probably do not need RO water unless you are breeding. Get to know your water parameters.

[huskysglare]

What's the optimal % and frequency of water change for the best result.

[jimg]

What's the optimal % and frequency of water change for the best result.

All depends on tank size,feeding,how many fish etc.
On adults lightly stocked,normal feedings 30% every other day and a wipe down 1X a week with about 80%wc.
Juveniles 30-40% daily with 80%+ after 2X weekly wipe down.
This is just an average idea.
Doing 50% 1x a week you will eventually loose water quality.

[huskysglare]

what bout 90% water change per week?

[huskysglare]

I don't want to jump back into discus keeping if i don't think i can commit to the husbandry. Can i do wipe down wit a magnet or do i have to go inside and do hand wipe down?

[discuspaul]

There is probably no reason to go with RO or RO/DI unless you are trying to keep wilds, are trying to breed adults, or have extreme water parameters. Most domestic strains will do just fine in normal (de-chlorinated) tap water.

As for water changes, you will get many answers. While I agree that "the more water changes the better", life also gets in the way. I persoanlly lean more towards 50% twice a week, but I don't feed as much as others do either. This method probably won't result in show quality fish, but I am happy with the adult size that my fish get to. You will have better luck with your plans if you start with adult fish.

+ 1
My sentiments exactly.

[discuspaul]

I don't want to jump back into discus keeping if i don't think i can commit to the husbandry. Can i do wipe down wit a magnet or do i have to go inside and do hand wipe down?

Magnets do a good job, but not quite enough - suggest you do a hand wipe down as well. As for a w/c of 90% once a week, OK - but IMO 50% twice-weekly would be better.

[huskysglare]

What's the secret to getting show quality discus?

[PAR23]

What's the secret to getting show quality discus?

You grow out a hundred juvies and hope you get one show quality discus....

[discuspaul]

Yeah, you grow out those MANY juvies in a large bare-bottom tank with daily W/C's, & frequent feedings, including some beef heart mixture on a regular basis, and you hope to get one or two, maybe three, top quality show discus - simple as that !

[huskysglare]

What i had in mind was healthy discus that are fully grown with beefy beautiful round head. I don't mean the actual contest discus. Will 100% weekly water change achieve this?

[wheelsdeal]

I know a guy that has a heavily planted tank,overstocked with discus and feeding them like crazy that was able to keep them more than a month without wc and the no3 the day he did the wc was 5 rest of them were 0.It was a test to see how long he can keep the tank without wc since the plants were consuming all the no3 and po4.So i guess the wc routine depends on the setup and parameters.I personally wanna keep my no3 below 10 so i schedule my wc routine accordingly.I done tests and for me is 3 days.For others may be a lot different.

[Altum Nut]

I think the best way to get show quality Discus is to buy them as "Adult Show Grade AAA Discus".
This way...you can't go wrong.
Shoot Hans an e-mail and he will fix you up.

...Ralph

[Jennie]

+1 which also fits into the scheme of things concerning how much care you Are able tp provide..and I don't know about anyone else but I can't go more than 3 days without a wipedown..too much film develops on the glass
I think the best way to get show quality Discus is to buy them as "Adult Show Grade AAA Discus".
This way...you can't go wrong.
Shoot Hans an e-mail and he will fix you up.

...Ralph

[Altum Nut]

Besides my previous suggestion, to achieve such will require many grow-outs as mentioned. Genetics, source, strain, and trial and error will differ results. If you are asking if there is a secret...I would say NO.
That's why I suggested...do your homework and just buy quality from a reputable source which will be a good start.
Many water changes alone will not give you results you are looking for but is a good start.

...Ralph


What i had in mind was healthy discus that are fully grown with beefy beautiful round head. I don't mean the actual contest discus. Will 100% weekly water change achieve this?

[scottthomas]

If water is aged and of same paramaters as tank, I would think that 90% once a week would be better. You would be actually changing more water with 90% -1/week than with 50% -2/week. If you have adult discus and dont overfeed, I think this routine will be fine for healthy fish.


Magnets do a good job, but not quite enough - suggest you do a hand wipe down as well. As for a w/c of 90% once a week, OK - but IMO 50% twice-weekly would be better.

[Skip]

husk.. the only way is for you to try one method and go with it... truthfully you are better off getting as big a fish as your wallet can afford.. then you can do you weekly water changes.. its alot easier for someone else to go thru the trouble of growing them out.. i have learned this lesson.!!

[huskysglare]

will the adult discus eventually decline in health if i do weekly water change?

[PAR23]

will the adult discus eventually decline in health if i do weekly water change?

Not if you keep it lightly stocked and don't over feed.

[Jhhnn]

I don't want to jump back into discus keeping if i don't think i can commit to the husbandry. Can i do wipe down wit a magnet or do i have to go inside and do hand wipe down?

Now you're making sense. Other than obtaining healthy stock from one of our sponsors, the smartest thing potential discus keepers can do is to spend some time, money, effort and ingenuity to create a water changing system. Lots of ways to do that, depending on circumstances. My own system is rather elaborate, even by discus keeping standards, and has served me well.

Plan on siphoning the detritus and changing a fair % of the water a lot more and a lot more often than 50% once a week. Invest in the hoses and pumps and whatever you need before ever buying discus, and practice while cycling the tank, so as to improve your technique, find and explore better ways of doing things. Start by placing the tank in your home so as to expedite water changes, and don't be reluctant to spend money to make it easy.

It really pays off in the long run, honest, and that's what we're talking about, right?

I suppose that I'm a member of the water changing fanatics club, at least by some people's standards, but it has served me well since I came back to discus keeping in April of 2009. Fish that came to me healthy have stayed healthy, grown quite large, and thrive on 50% to 65% near daily water changes. Can I get by on less? Maybe, but I'm of the opinion that slowly deteriorating water quality probably kills more discus than any other issue. By the time their keeper figures out that's the problem, the fish are constitutionally damaged, and no amount of remedial action can change that.

[jimg]

If water is aged and of same paramaters as tank, I would think that 90% once a week would be better. You would be actually changing more water with 90% -1/week than with 50% -2/week. If you have adult discus and dont overfeed, I think this routine will be fine for healthy fish.

+1 must be same water parameters for 1 large wc any changes with 90% once a week is a big change

[discuspaul]

Now you're making sense. Other than obtaining healthy stock from one of our sponsors, the smartest thing potential discus keepers can do is to spend some time, money, effort and ingenuity to create a water changing system. Lots of ways to do that, depending on circumstances. My own system is rather elaborate, even by discus keeping standards, and has served me well.

Plan on siphoning the detritus and changing a fair % of the water a lot more and a lot more often than 50% once a week. Invest in the hoses and pumps and whatever you need before ever buying discus, and practice while cycling the tank, so as to improve your technique, find and explore better ways of doing things. Start by placing the tank in your home so as to expedite water changes, and don't be reluctant to spend money to make it easy.

It really pays off in the long run, honest, and that's what we're talking about, right?

I suppose that I'm a member of the water changing fanatics club, at least by some people's standards, but it has served me well since I came back to discus keeping in April of 2009. Fish that came to me healthy have stayed healthy, grown quite large, and thrive on 50% to 65% near daily water changes. Can I get by on less? Maybe, but I'm of the opinion that slowly deteriorating water quality probably kills more discus than any other issue. By the time their keeper figures out that's the problem, the fish are constitutionally damaged, and no amount of remedial action can change that.

Well thought out & well worded post. Agree.

[fishorama]

I change water as often as I reasonably can now that mine are adults. They let me know by their nervous behavior if I've gone too long, but less food = less need for water changing IME so far...Plan for the most you can do, your fish will let you know if you slack off too much. Buy the biggest fish you can afford, understock their tank by quite a bit & you may be ok...Good luck!

[huskysglare]

thanks guys for the very helpful respond. i am going to try and figure out the simplest way to do water change(fully auto or semi-auto water change system). That way, i can do more water change more often.