What's your personal philosophy on discus-keeping ?

[discuspaul]

Just for a change of pace, I thought this might make for an interesting discussion.

Here's a listing of my personal preferences:

I've kept discus for many years, but.....

- I've only kept discus a couple of times in a bare-bottom tank. I dislike the sterile-looking environment of BB, and have always preferred raising/keeping them in a planted environment, as I feel they look that much better in a planted/display tank setting.

I also like the challenge of maintaining a healthy planted aquascape in the higher discus temps, and the TLC and attention it takes to successfully grow out discus under those conditions. The effort it takes to maintain the clean, high quality water conditions in this type of set-up is very satisfying to me.

- I have bred discus, but I can't seem to be bothered going that extra mile trying to grow out fry successfully. Having said that, I admire those who do breed discus, and successfully raise healthy, good-looking fry for resale.

- I don't care for huge, dinner plate sized discus, because I have an addiction to getting small juvies of different varieties/ colorations, growing them out to around 6", and selling them off so that I can then get other juvie strains that I haven't kept before.

- Ive never kept wild discus, but I definitely want to do so, some day, and I'm sure I will. Again, I admire discus-keepers who keep wilds, and I love their colorations & types, not to mention the extra little challenges it takes to keep them successfully.

Anybody else have any thoughts/comments on this topic ?

[walt3]

no breeding but do enjoy keeping them in a planted tank with plenty of substrate. driftwood the whole nine. lol. just have one 75 gallon display tank and would never run a bb tank. dont need monster fish but do want them healthy and looking happy. i feed live blackworms and so far so good. al the dither fish eat well too. lol. i love changing water daily. i enjoy the maintenance of this hobby. always have. just 5 discus at the moment. life is good.

[ktm4us6]

Iv'e kept discus for two months, does that count lol. I enjoy watching them and have been taking allot of time reading up on there care. They have been a learning experience for me.

[Jdizon20]

Hi I am new to discus keeping but here are my thoughts so far:
*
I can see the wisdom of BB tanks for optimal conditions for growing discus *but for now I'm sticking to a sand substrate and minimal decorations. *It's the look that I'm used to and that my wife approves so I can actually keep a tank! I *like the decorative or artistic aspect of an aquarium so I may give the minimalistic bare bottom look with manzanita driftwood a try at some point.*

With a busy schedule of work and family, discus keeping is a small subset of my day that I enjoy during "me" time. *Understanding the demands of the hobby and dealing with everyday life is constant balancing act. *I try my best, but my best might not yield show quality discus. On the subject of breeding, I am just too new to comment but it sounds very rewarding. *But probably given my life situation, breeding discus is probably not for me. Maybe when I retire.

I haven't seen in person dinner sized plate discus so I don't know for sure if I will like them or not but hopefully I'll get there one day to decide for myself. *For now, given my tank space, dwelling situation, *and the many choices of discus, I'm almost wishing they would just normally *max out at 5 inches! :)

*I see this hobby as a long term commitment with many possibilities to self explore and learn from both failures and successes. *For now, I will be content to seeing them grow healthy.

[strawberryblonde]

- Never grew out a batch of juvies before last year, liked the idea of a planted tank, but really don't have time for all that extra work. Learned to love the BB, one hunk of driftwood look during the growing out phase.

- Didn't expect to get dinner plates, but got them anyways and LOVE them! They practically sit up and wag their tails for me every time I walk near the tank.

- LOVE wilds and wish I had the water to keep them. Maybe someday I'll have time/patience/money/space for a proper RO system/water barrel and will be able to try my hand at them.

- Enjoy keeping my adult disc....errr.... dinner plates, in light sand substrate with a HUGE old driftwood stump for maximum impact. Leaves those plates room to swim but looks totally wild and natural.

- Don't really love the water changes and upkeep of a growout tank, but DO love the feeling of putting them to bed at night in pristine water.

- I plan to try breeding some of my already pairs one of these days...scared to death at the idea of raising fry! LOL

- I admire the planted tanks I see on these forums and wish I had the green thumb and gumption to give that a try. One more for my wish list I guess.

[discuspaul]

This is great !
I just love all of your posts - Gives one some different, but very interesting perspectives on discus-keeping !

[LKSDiscus]

I've been doing discus for a few years, don't pretend to know everything to know about them but love them and enjoy fine tuning. Just recently I decided not do discus any more as I decided to move to a smaller place. I manage to sell most of my discus but when I did two of my white butterflies decided to pair up right in the middle of a move. So I decided to keep them, now I have a dedicated bedroom instead of my garage as a fish room which made for success I just weaned my first batch of white butterflies today.

I like a simple aquascape for most of my fish but I find it best for the discus to have BB both breeding and raising them. If I'm not breeding them I like them in planted tank.

Its a challenge to keep them healthy and pristine water but it keeps you on yours toes and makes you want to learn as much as you can but I also learned to go with your own instincts to do whats right. At the end of the day its rewarding to see what you can accomplish especially seeing those little babies swimming towards you. I don't know how good I will be able to get them to grow but I'm giving it a shot.

It makes even more fun teaching children about the raising and taking care of fish.

I thought I was going to stop doing discus but I guess i need to thank my white butterflies for keeping me in. I also have a nursery full of other fish too. Rainbows, pleco and even guppies. So my move and the new room prove to be a better situation for all. :)

[xKevinx]

ive been doing discus a number of years, i have bread them too. i gotta say i love a semi planted tank with branches and some nice wilds....that being said i just got a whole bunch of albinos and ARSG's and i keep them in BB and love looking at them too.....maybe i just love discus?haha

[Elliots]

BB tanks are healthier for Discus but do not look as good. Planted for me.
Very, very difficult to grow out Juvies in a planted tank. SD posters have convinced me not to even try in a planted tank.
Discus probably do better by themselves. I like other fish to watch. I like what is called a clean up crew, but I call bottom feeders.
Water for Discus incl. adults, change as much as you can as often as you can.
Try to add as little as possible to tank. That means plants, fish, water modifers, medications.
If my Discus breed I only have one other tank for quarantine, hospital, raising fry. So the fry may be on their own.

[3dees]

sw and fw tanks for many years, but discus only for the last two. I have always prefered natural looking tanks. I could never have a bb sterile tank, which is why I will never buy juvies or breed. imo, the aquascape can add beauty to any fish, including discus. a nicely planted tank with domestics is a beautiful sight. I have wilds in a biotope and I think they even act differently. I love to sit and watch them squeeze between the branches as they would in the wild. in the end it's all a personal choice. whatever turns you on.

[shoveltrash]

I'm fairly new to Discus - have had my 65g for about 7 months now -- LOVE the darned things! all domestics from Forrest/Kenny....a varied assortment. I keep my tank BB, as I'm a bit OCD about cleaning LOL. I actually like the BB tank - but have huge admiration for those who maintain beautiful planted tanks :). my daily WC routine satisfies my OCD tendencies. and my Discus have grown wonderfully.....from 4" to 6". not sure I'll get dinner plates, but I'm happy to have healthy beautiful fish :D.

edited to add: philosophy? read here at SD and learned as much as possible!!! :p

[ExReefer]

After nearly three years of keeping discus, I recently sold off my collection. My most recent collection matured to the point where they were pairing off and needed to be separated. I thought about growing out my own fry to spice things up, but eventually realized I just don’t have the time. I like dinner plate discus. I don’t enjoy keeping any fish in conditions that will potentially stunt their growth. At the most, I’ve kept discus in tanks with wood and sand, but it required more work. BB is easiest by far and for raising fry, it’s the only way I would do it. The thought of raising fry without the proper time and care really bothered me so I put that project on hold until later in life.

Most recently I have ventured back into keeping cichlids from Lake Tanganyika. I’m growing out groups of shell dwellers, frontosa, calvus/comps, and tropheus in my fish room. These fish are far less demanding than discus, but still interesting to me. They seem to be right speed at this point in my life. These fish thrive with 50% WC’s once a week and feedings twice a day. BTW, my Frontosa love Al's FDBW's.

I will eventually keep discus again. I’ll probably keep a group of adults in a show tank and call it a day until my family is grown and out of the house. It won’t be until then that I can dedicate the time to raise my own spawns.

[Josef]

My philosophy...

Save money buy adults. Also - I have to physically be there and pick them out. Once I have exactly what it is that I want I would place them in a really nice setup of my choosing. Sit back and enjoy the view.

I am Tito and I am nice now.

[yim11]

I am Tito and I am nice now.

The only thing that changes with banned users that try to return is the username. The behavoir that got them banned previously never changes.

Better post up before it's too late - again....

[CARY_GLdiscus]

KISS keep it simple stupid!

[Mep1127]

Always kept freshwater mostly angels for a loooong time since I was a kid. Now that I got older I saw what a discus was a year ago... patterns and colors awed me, i knew I had to get them. After i pre-planned my tank I got my initial batch from rocky mountain discus. A stroke of bad luck with the infamous discus, I read up that they were so delicate and started to lose 2 the next day... but i didn't let the initial loss phase me. I wanted to be a discus owner and most hobbyists know they arent easy fish to keep. Eventually i registered on SD and found kenny who sold me awesome fish. 7 months later I have 2 pairs of discus and the egg laying has not stopped as of a week ago. They are a piece of cake to take care of now and I mastered the "challenge" but not without struggle. Kenny and Al both have great discus. Now if you'll excuse me, its time for a water change :bandana:

[discuspaul]

Good posts ! - There's always something to learn from the insight and experiences of others - and ain't that the truth ?!

[Borderdog]

More simple = more better

Give the fish what they need. Avoid adding chemicals. Change some water. Sit back and enjoy.

The most complicated thing about my philosophy is my beefheart recipe.

[dghby]

I'm new, well sort of.
started out about 2 years ago. you know the story, jumped in because of the beauty and figured I could learn as i go. complete failure. out of 6 i actually had one that made it past 16 months. But, beyond that a huge learning experience. stop trying to keep them, started reading. came across a place called "simplydiscus". read some more, hund out in the back of the room for over a year and recently ( April ) started over.
Water Changes ( once a day or every other at the most) i have found to be more important than anything. i started with a sand substrat but as i do WC's i am slowly elimaniting the sand and starting to like bare bottom. ( i have a light blue painted back wall and bottom for change of pace) i do like the look a few pieces of driftwood in the tank but just a few. i went with 4.5-5 inch Discus this time around but plan and do look forward to going back to some Juvies as I myself mature as a Discus Keeper.

[John_Nicholson]

I nolonger know how long I have been keeping/raising discus but its been a damned long time...LOL. If it is not growing or breeding than I have no interest in it. All my tanks are BB. Water changes are normally 50% but right now I have so few fish they are getting somewhere between 80 and 90% twice a day.

The secret to discus is real simple, buy quality stock, feed high protein foods, and keep the water clean....

-john

[JenTN]

I nolonger know how long I have been keeping/raising discus but its been a damned long time...LOL. If it is not growing or breeding than I have no interest in it. All my tanks are BB. Water changes are normally 50% but right now I have so few fish they are getting somewhere between 80 and 90% twice a day.

The secret to discus is real simple, buy quality stock, feed high protein foods, and keep the water clean....

-john

Noooo!!! Cant be that easy :D

[discuspaul]

Noooo!!! Cant be that easy :D

Yes, I really do think it can.

[krislewis3]

I've always had an aquarium, and have always wanted discus, but never took the plunge until 5 months ago. I have a 60 gallon tank, with 5 discus in it. 3 of them are 7 to 8 months old, and the other 2 are 3 to 4 months old. In the beginning, when I thought I had done sufficient research to keep these fish, I found out very quickly how much I didn't know!! My first discus purchase was from a lfs YIIKS....my second purchase came from Hans, and they are beautiful! Thanks to this site, I have learned alot, and realize how much more I need to learn. Yes, I killed one of my original fish due to ignorance!!! At first I kept a BB, but gradually, I added a little sand, and manzanita wood. I love almost everything about this hobby....the only thing I don't like, is cleaning my filters, and cleaning the manzanita wood. I love vacuuming, and doing WC..I would one day love to breed, however, It will be when I'm a lot more knowledgeable.

[Eddie]

Disease prevention is my personal philosophy, of which all of the following have a direct impact.

1) Quality stock
2) Strict quarantine
3) Water quality
4) Water composition
5) Nutrition
6) Regular tank/filter maintenance

[LizStreithorst]

I'm with NIcholson. If they're high quality and they're breeding I'm happy. If they're not, I'm not happy.

[DerekFF]

I'm with NIcholson. If they're high quality and they're breeding I'm happy. If they're not, I'm not happy.

Im with nicholson just because hes an old fart!!! :eek:

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[DerekFF]

Disease prevention is my personal philosophy, of which all of the following have a direct impact.

1) Quality stock
2) Strict quarantine
3) Water quality
4) Water composition
5) Nutrition
6) Regular tank/filter maintenance

Pretty good summary for me

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[John_Nicholson]

Im with nicholson just because hes an old fart!!! :eek:

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

HEY! I resemble that remark....LOL.

-john

[brianyam]

I have aros, plecos and discus...and what I love about discus...they are really an expression of human nature. The need for groups, the heiarchy and the need to be the top dog in the school.

I do wilds in BB, and I think they bully way more than domestics...and it is interesting, you can add just one fish...and it change the the whole dynamics of the group...or add one piece of wood, and the territory changes quickly.

Also, I'd say discus are the best fish to just stare and look at. Wilds change allot too. You never know what you will get. I have some wilds that I bought more dark brown, then turned more yellow/light brown...and now are turning reddish. Pretty cool. Tough fish too. I keep them with my aro, and they have no problems challenging the aro.

[koiXtreme]

My idea of keeping discus….or any other fish in aquarium:

Step one is to study the natural environment of the species…discus in this instance!
Then the natural variations of the discus.
AND THEN searching the net for images that meet my ideas….THAT IS HOW I CAME TO SIMPLYDISCUS!!!
If one gets a site where most points are being dealt with, that are big Q’s, especially for newbies…
…THEN I feel confident to start!

So, my idea is to transform my 500Ltr self built aquarium to a dark-water, very-little-plants and low-light home for up to 10 discus from ONE kind.
Preferably heckle or any wild caught specie.
My discus “hero” currently is Jose Cardona

Hopefully I can sooner than later share you my project (not big but hopefully cool) :bandana:

Best fishes from Namibia
Gert

[brewmaster15]

My philosophy is that people make it harder than it needs to be..... not to echo anyone else....but

Good healthy stock, good food, and lots good clean water and discus thrive.

-al

[John_Nicholson]

Al glad to know that I finally got you trained......


-john

[brewmaster15]

Al glad to know that I finally got you trained......


-johnDream on cup cake...Dream on.;)
-al

[discuspaul]

Just wanted to say I love all the posts here so far.
Sincerely hope everyone feels the thread may be worthwhile.
Nice of you to take the time, and hear from you, Al & John, and others.

[BobDaniel]

I hope to keep Discus again. I sucessfully bred discus in bare bottom tanks in the hatchery I had in Westford, Ma and in Hopkinsville. I worked mostly with fish bred by Manfred Gobel. I imported a couple dozen young fish from him after meeting him at a DSG event in NYC. I liked his fish as they were not inbred and very fertile, had an amazing body shape and colored very early.

I got this line to the second generation and lost them all in a house fire in 1995. In 1996 my now ex wife went to Singapore Aquarama and brought back a lot of fish. I worked with them until I was forced to quit discus.

In 1999, I had health issues and needed a kidney transplant. After the transplant the doctors recommended I stay away from the fish to avoid an infection. I went back to college, worked full time and earned a degree. That transplant failed and I am on dialysis. I have been dreaming about getting a few fish and since I will not get another transplant, I say "Why not?" Life's too short to not do the stuff you love.

Today I have no tanks and no fish-but that will probably change soon.

I am interested in some red spotted type discus with a solid green body. I saw a video of some fish in Italy that were what I would like..I suppose they are known as leopards.

[brewmaster15]

Welcome to SimplyDiscus Bob!!!!

Hope to see you back into Discus again soon!!

Best regards,
Al




I hope to keep Discus again. I sucessfully bred discus in bare bottom tanks in the hatchery I had in Westford, Ma and in Hopkinsville. I worked mostly with fish bred by Manfred Gobel. I imported a couple dozen young fish from him after meeting him at a DSG event in NYC. I liked his fish as they were not inbred and very fertile, had an amazing body shape and colored very early.

I got this line to the second generation and lost them all in a house fire in 1995. In 1996 my now ex wife went to Singapore Aquarama and brought back a lot of fish. I worked with them until I was forced to quit discus.

In 1999, I had health issues and needed a kidney transplant. After the transplant the doctors recommended I stay away from the fish to avoid an infection. I went back to college, worked full time and earned a degree. That transplant failed and I am on dialysis. I have been dreaming about getting a few fish and since I will not get another transplant, I say "Why not?" Life's too short to not do the stuff you love.

Today I have no tanks and no fish-but that will probably change soon.

I am interested in some red spotted type discus with a solid green body. I saw a video of some fish in Italy that were what I would like..I suppose they are known as leopards.

[Second Hand Pat]

With wilds a large tank, low stocking, a rich varied diet and a RO/tap mix to make them shine.

[BobDaniel]

Disease prevention is my personal philosophy, of which all of the following have a direct impact.

1) Quality stock
2) Strict quarantine
3) Water quality
4) Water composition
5) Nutrition
6) Regular tank/filter maintenance Don't forget deworming and getting rid of the flukes! Do that in quarantine. Almost every discus I had ever bought had tapeworm back in the 80's. I don't think things have changed much.

[BobDaniel]

Welcome to SimplyDiscus Bob!!!!

Hope to see you back into Discus again soon!!

Best regards,
Al

Thank you Al!

I noticed all my favorite gear is hard to find! The System 1 Diatom is hard to get, the Python Water Changer, the Kati and Ani DI....Does ODell still make tanks????

[discuspaul]

With wilds a large tank, low stocking, a rich varied diet and a RO/tap mix to make them shine.

Yea, and you do so very well at doing just that, Pat !!!

[bornlooser]

Me too , i try to KISS.

[spiffyfish]

Ive loved discus for years and think i kind of jumped into it with the wrong approach. I had bought some juvies from kenny in january and they have not grown much so that tells me i was doing something wrong. It is my first go at discus but it is kind of upsetting to buy them and not see them grow like you see everyone elses fish on here. I may not have been able to do the 1-2 50% water changes everyday like most, but i figured that it would not have that big of an affect on them boy was i wrong. No that it has been 4 months and my fish are only 1/2"-3/4" bigger than when i got them it kinda made me less motivated. Now the even worst part is i got 4 juvie piwows that ive been dying to have and just dont want to ruin them.

[ExReefer]

Ive loved discus for years and think i kind of jumped into it with the wrong approach. I had bought some juvies from kenny in january and they have not grown much so that tells me i was doing something wrong. It is my first go at discus but it is kind of upsetting to buy them and not see them grow like you see everyone elses fish on here. I may not have been able to do the 1-2 50% water changes everyday like most, but i figured that it would not have that big of an affect on them boy was i wrong. No that it has been 4 months and my fish are only 1/2"-3/4" bigger than when i got them it kinda made me less motivated. Now the even worst part is i got 4 juvie piwows that ive been dying to have and just dont want to ruin them.

I don't want to turn this into a debate, but not every discus is going to grow out even under good conditions. Some just don't make it past 5" and some don't even reach 5". We all want our fish to be monsters, but it's just not going to happen. Genetics play a major role in the size of fish. I've also had discus arrive from sponsors at under 5" and they were spawning for me within days of arrival. That makes me think those fish are older than what I would have preferred based on their size. I don't like to see 4.5" discus spawning. Something is not right with that. To me, it screams stunted discus.

I'm sure there are some experienced discus keepers within Simply with a few small discus. It's just that nobody talks about those fish so you don't think it happens to everyone. Maybe we should start a thread about small discus kept in good conditions to make the beginners feel better?

[spiffyfish]

Ya cause you dont ever see that i had expected to have 4-5" fish by now since ive had them since january, but i guess it just doesnt happen that way unless some grow slower than others which is what i am experiencing with my piwows. I had also gotten 2 4.5" discus in the same batch in january and they started spawning early but are only maybe 5" now since january.

[strawberryblonde]

I think I've mentioned many times that I have one small discus in my crew. I call her my petite discus. She started spawning 3 days after I got her, and was only 4" at the time. She refused to eat and continued to lay eggs and guard them for 8 months before finally going back out of her breeding cycle. She barely grew at all during the entire 8 months and I was sure she was going to be stunted. Her eye size is a tiny bit large for her body, but the nice part is that now that she's not spawning every 3-5 days and guarding eggs, she's eating like a pig and growing like a weed. Oh and she's already 16 months old! As of a few weeks ago when I measured her, she's a very petite (footballish) 5.75". It's a perfectly reasonable size for an adult and she's certainly purty!

So yes, some strains do grow more slowly than others and some are genetically destined to never be jumbo sized discus.

Spiffy, if you are doing a daily water change and feeding your juvies 5 - 6 hearty meals a day with a variety of high protein foods then you have nothing to be blame yourself for. Discus grow at their own pace and if plenty of clean water daily and lots of food isn't doing the trick yet, be patient and give them another year. They just might be slow growers. =)

[spiffyfish]

Yes that is what im hoping for. I just got all but 2 of my fish at a size of 3" or less so im a little scared of coming out with all stunted fish since ive had them since january and only 1 has gone on a small growth spirt just recently.