Help with understanding Keeping Discus.

[dermot]

Hi
I am new to this forum, and do not have any Discus...Yet. I want to spend time on the forum reading and finding out as much as I can before I venture into keeping these wonderful fish. I have had Tropical fish for many years, but nothing can stop this feeling of moving to Discus. I find myself on Youtube watching all the clips of other peoples Discus setups. How sad am I!!!!
I have got a few books on Discus and I am tring to understand the equipment I will need and what size of tank to get when the time is right.
I live in Scotland UK, and my tap water is 6.0 - 6.5 ppm. I have been told the I might not need to use RO water? Can some forum members please explain all the special needs that I will have to use to keep me free from lots of problems. Like an RO unit, is this conected to the main water supply?? Storage tanks for frequent water changes, and help me with the many problems starting out with my first Discus.

Any information will be welcome.
Dermot.

[Eddie]

Hello and welcome to Simply! Great to hear you are looking at moving onto keeping the KING of aquarium fishes.

I might just be confused but when you say your water is 6-6.5 ppm, are you referring to alkalinity? What is your PH and GH?

[moon_knight1971]

New to this forum too but my understanding is that wild caught discus need soft ph 7 or lower while tank raised discus essentially can handle almost anything out of tap water as long as you add Seachem Safe or Prime to the water 1st.

[alron2]

Welcome Dermot to the forum. I suggest you start by reading the topics at this url:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumdisplay.php?48-Discus-Basics-for-Beginners

Then come back and ask specific questions. There is nothing wrong with a ph of 6.0 to 6.5. I doubt you will need a RO unit to keep discus. As long as the PH is constant lots of warm fresh water is much more important than what the PH is.

Good luck
Ron

[Eddie]

New to this forum too but my understanding is that wild caught discus need soft ph 7 or lower while tank raised discus essentially can handle almost anything out of tap water as long as you add Seachem Safe or Prime to the water 1st.

Actually wilds do fine in higher PH, many on here keep them in PH above 7.

[moon_knight1971]

And that's why I check out the site daily! little bits of useful information all the time! thanks eddie!

[Jason K.]

welcome to simply the best forum for discus around! as eddie stated discus will thrive in most range's, the key is lot's and lot's of fresh consistent water.

[ericatdallas]

New to this forum too but my understanding is that wild caught discus need soft ph 7 or lower while tank raised discus essentially can handle almost anything out of tap water as long as you add Seachem Safe or Prime to the water 1st.

I use tap water with sodium thiosulfate (most of the cheaper dechlorinators use this as the only ingredient). I think the breeder I bought them from does it the same.

[jaykne]

Hi Dermot, Welcome to SimplyDiscus!!! I'm Larry one of the Moderators here, please feel free to PM me or any of the other Moderators with any forum questions, or concerns thats what we are here for!!! Welcome again.

[Keith Perkins]

He's also the newest moderator (Congrats by the way jaykne), so he's way under his lifetime quota for answering forum questions. :D

[mmorris]

Be sure to log onto BIDKA, the British and International Discus Keepers Association. They will be able to help you find quality fish and information. Their show is only a few weeks away, so hopefully you will be able to make that. If you do, send us some pics! http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?83364-3rd-British-Discus-Show&highlight=bidka

[Keith Perkins]

Be sure to log onto BIDKA, the British and International Discus Keepers Association. They will be able to help you find quality fish and information. Their show is only a few weeks away, so hopefully you will be able to make that. If you do, send us some pics! http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?83364-3rd-British-Discus-Show&highlight=bidka

Oh Cherrio Martha, splendid idea. Seriously, Martha is spot on. If you just want to chat about discus this is definitely the spot for you to be, but for water and treatment specifics and where to get top quality fish there BIDKA is the place for you. Best of Luck.