ok i've been pondering doing this thread for quite a while. here is what got me thinking about it in the first place... Have you ever (as an active SD member) looked at a beginners thread and know by the title what they are asking? and sometimes not even open it due to this? I'm thinking of making this thread one in which it wraps all of those beginners questions and answers them in one thread. also, i would love for everyone to contribute with something they would consider a "noob" question and answer. please do not use acronyms since most new members are not yet aware of them, if you do please put the meaning in parenthesis. With that being said i will go first with a few:
1: The general rule of thumb in regards to the question "how many discus can you keep in a tank?" is 1 Discus per 10g of water. There are also other contributing factors to this rule, ex., if you have a densely planted tank and/or large driftwood pieces it reduces that number per amount of water. other dither fish also are a contributing factor.
2: Why do most SD members use BB (bare bottom) tanks?
-This is definitely not a rule because there are many here who have successfully raised discus to their potential in non-BB tanks. The reason why most (including myself) use BB tanks is due to the fact that they are much easier to clean, simple as that. again, it can and has been done without a BB setting but it gives you a better rate of success to start with a BB tank.
3: Can you use gravel?
-IMHO (in my humble opinion) gravel is one of the worst substrates to have. I am speaking on personal experience here and i can tell you that cleaning gravel is no easy matter. once you go to a BB tank and actually see how much waste a discus can produce you will see why gravel is such a pain to keep clean. sand is much more favorable because small debris can not really penetrate it like in gravel.
4: Does dark substrate and/or a dark background make discus turn dark?
-for the most part, yes. dark backgrounds and/or dark substrates can cause discus to become more dark in color, especially PB's (pigeon blood discus) since they show more peppering in such a setting. lighter color are definitely better to show off discus colors. the exception to this rule is of course Albino discus since they do not show any peppering and/or darkening. they are a perfect candidate for a tank that has a permanent dark background, ex., reef ready tank.
5: What medications to keep on hand?
-This is definitely not a necessity but it is always good to be prepared for some type of disease in your tank. here are some that IMO are good to keep handy:
-Levamisole
-Epsom Salt
-regular cooking salt
-Metronidazole
-Praziquantel
-Kanamycin
-Furan 2
-fenbendazole
-Potassium Permanganate (PP)
here is a link to where you can get some medicated flakes:
These are of course not all necessary to keep on hand but are some of the most common ones to keep on hand.
6: Is there a thread where it shows the different types of discus strains?
-Indeed there is and it was started by yours truly here:
7: "how do i disinfect my current tank?"
- one of the most common ways to disinfect tanks is bleach with a dilution of 1:10 ratio of bleach to water respectively. PP (Potassium Permanganate) can also be used to disinfect tanks/fish/plants but the proper measurement i do not have, please visit this post by Al in regards to PP:
8: "how many times should i feed my fish?"
- this is a very subjective answer because everyone has their own opinion of what is optimal. for example, i feed my fish roughly 5-6 times a day with a well balanced diet while others only feed twice daily with staple foods (staple-main diet food). one of the reasons to use BB tanks is the fact that the high amounts of food that most of us use very quickly pollute the water column, which brings me to my next point...
9: "how many water changes (WC) should i be doing"?
-again, this is subjective but the rule of thumb is usually to keep your nitrates down in the neighborhood of 20 or under. if you can achieve this then you should be fine in regards to your feeding regimen and the amount of water you change. for example, in my 55g (which houses my juveniles) i use to do WC's on a daily basis but financially it became something i could no longer do so i had to push it back to every-other-day WC's and i have not seen any negative effects thus far. also, my large 125g tank houses my adults and i only feed them 2-3 times daily lightly. i only change water roughly every week or less. the bio-load is light so i feel i can get away with that. it is a thing that has to be played by ear depending on your conditions, more fish, more food, more bioload, more WC's needed.
10: "when do adults become adults?"
-like most things on this list this is subjective. the general rule is that at 1yr to 18months discus become adults. a discus can not be aged by size solely. reason being, an adult discus can be 2" in size. therefore, knowing the age of your discus from your supplier/breeder is best so that you know it's time line. there are other stages before adulthood which goes like this chronologically; fry (baby discus), juveniles, and sub-adults. these are very difficult to pinpoint in regards to aging but that should give you the general idea.
11: "what does TL and SL mean?"
-The way most of us on SD measure a discus is from the tip of the lips to the end of the tail fin (caudal fin), this is considered TL (total length). others measure discus in SL (standard length) which means from the tip of the lips to the base of the tail fin (the peduncle, excluding the tail fin).
12: "where is the best place to buy discus?"
-from one of our sponsors:
13: "is QT (quarantine) really necessary?"
-absolutely! it is one of the most important rules in our forum. when you QT discus you do it to see how they react to your water. you see how they look after a few weeks, check that they do not develop any disease issues. It is best to dedicate equipment specifically for each tank, ex., a QT should have their own nets/filters/heaters/hoses/sponges...everything! you should not interchange anything amongst your healthy current stock and QT tanks to avoid spreading anything. with all this said and done there are such things as airborne diseases (unfortantely this is currently going on with some of our fellow members) which can not really be contained. is this were to happen then i strongly suggest starting a new thread so that you can get proper help from our SD members. you should always put a fish from your current stock in with the QT fish once the QT period is over to see how that discus reacts to the QT fish. leave it in there for a couple weeks. if nothing out of the ordinary happens then you should be good.
14: "which is the best way to cycle a tank"
-there are a few known ways to do this, one being pure ammonia which fellow members have been able to buy from Ace hardware and places of that nature. this takes long but is by far one of the best ways to cycle a tank because it is completely free of any outside contaminants. you can also use a sponge filter that has been seeded in another tank (has to have been in the other tank for at least a month). This is not an optimal way to do the cycle because you are subjecting new fish to anything that your current stock has. there are other methods as well but i will not go into detail since i do not have first hand knowledge of them. one being miracle grow, another being the instant bio bottles, some of which have been known to actually work and help the cycle process
15: "do i need RO water for my discus"
-in one word, NO, you do not need RO water for discus. discus are not as picky with water as most people make them out to be. many here only use RO for breeding. if this becomes something you would like to do then by the time you get to this stage you will know how to run through our SD site
. discus have been known to thrive in all pH ranges. the least amount of chemicals you use the better. sometimes aging water is necessary when your pH is not stable. i quick way to check if your pH is stable is to pour some water into a bucket with a heater and air from an air pump and test the water with a pH liquid test and/or pH pen/probe. test the pH after 24hrs and if it is the same your pH is stable, if it is not then it is unstable and you will need to age your water in order to do WC's.
there are many others that do not come to mind but these are just a few to get the ball rolling. please feel free to add anything to the ones above or start new ones. the goal is to help new members in getting answers in one lump some.
To all the new members, welcome and please read all of our stickies, they are there for a reason and they are all very informative. thanks everyone
1: The general rule of thumb in regards to the question "how many discus can you keep in a tank?" is 1 Discus per 10g of water. There are also other contributing factors to this rule, ex., if you have a densely planted tank and/or large driftwood pieces it reduces that number per amount of water. other dither fish also are a contributing factor.
2: Why do most SD members use BB (bare bottom) tanks?
-This is definitely not a rule because there are many here who have successfully raised discus to their potential in non-BB tanks. The reason why most (including myself) use BB tanks is due to the fact that they are much easier to clean, simple as that. again, it can and has been done without a BB setting but it gives you a better rate of success to start with a BB tank.
3: Can you use gravel?
-IMHO (in my humble opinion) gravel is one of the worst substrates to have. I am speaking on personal experience here and i can tell you that cleaning gravel is no easy matter. once you go to a BB tank and actually see how much waste a discus can produce you will see why gravel is such a pain to keep clean. sand is much more favorable because small debris can not really penetrate it like in gravel.
4: Does dark substrate and/or a dark background make discus turn dark?
-for the most part, yes. dark backgrounds and/or dark substrates can cause discus to become more dark in color, especially PB's (pigeon blood discus) since they show more peppering in such a setting. lighter color are definitely better to show off discus colors. the exception to this rule is of course Albino discus since they do not show any peppering and/or darkening. they are a perfect candidate for a tank that has a permanent dark background, ex., reef ready tank.
5: What medications to keep on hand?
-This is definitely not a necessity but it is always good to be prepared for some type of disease in your tank. here are some that IMO are good to keep handy:
-Levamisole
-Epsom Salt
-regular cooking salt
-Metronidazole
-Praziquantel
-Kanamycin
-Furan 2
-fenbendazole
-Potassium Permanganate (PP)
here is a link to where you can get some medicated flakes:
These are of course not all necessary to keep on hand but are some of the most common ones to keep on hand.
6: Is there a thread where it shows the different types of discus strains?
-Indeed there is and it was started by yours truly here:
7: "how do i disinfect my current tank?"
- one of the most common ways to disinfect tanks is bleach with a dilution of 1:10 ratio of bleach to water respectively. PP (Potassium Permanganate) can also be used to disinfect tanks/fish/plants but the proper measurement i do not have, please visit this post by Al in regards to PP:
8: "how many times should i feed my fish?"
- this is a very subjective answer because everyone has their own opinion of what is optimal. for example, i feed my fish roughly 5-6 times a day with a well balanced diet while others only feed twice daily with staple foods (staple-main diet food). one of the reasons to use BB tanks is the fact that the high amounts of food that most of us use very quickly pollute the water column, which brings me to my next point...
9: "how many water changes (WC) should i be doing"?
-again, this is subjective but the rule of thumb is usually to keep your nitrates down in the neighborhood of 20 or under. if you can achieve this then you should be fine in regards to your feeding regimen and the amount of water you change. for example, in my 55g (which houses my juveniles) i use to do WC's on a daily basis but financially it became something i could no longer do so i had to push it back to every-other-day WC's and i have not seen any negative effects thus far. also, my large 125g tank houses my adults and i only feed them 2-3 times daily lightly. i only change water roughly every week or less. the bio-load is light so i feel i can get away with that. it is a thing that has to be played by ear depending on your conditions, more fish, more food, more bioload, more WC's needed.
10: "when do adults become adults?"
-like most things on this list this is subjective. the general rule is that at 1yr to 18months discus become adults. a discus can not be aged by size solely. reason being, an adult discus can be 2" in size. therefore, knowing the age of your discus from your supplier/breeder is best so that you know it's time line. there are other stages before adulthood which goes like this chronologically; fry (baby discus), juveniles, and sub-adults. these are very difficult to pinpoint in regards to aging but that should give you the general idea.
11: "what does TL and SL mean?"
-The way most of us on SD measure a discus is from the tip of the lips to the end of the tail fin (caudal fin), this is considered TL (total length). others measure discus in SL (standard length) which means from the tip of the lips to the base of the tail fin (the peduncle, excluding the tail fin).
12: "where is the best place to buy discus?"
-from one of our sponsors:
13: "is QT (quarantine) really necessary?"
-absolutely! it is one of the most important rules in our forum. when you QT discus you do it to see how they react to your water. you see how they look after a few weeks, check that they do not develop any disease issues. It is best to dedicate equipment specifically for each tank, ex., a QT should have their own nets/filters/heaters/hoses/sponges...everything! you should not interchange anything amongst your healthy current stock and QT tanks to avoid spreading anything. with all this said and done there are such things as airborne diseases (unfortantely this is currently going on with some of our fellow members) which can not really be contained. is this were to happen then i strongly suggest starting a new thread so that you can get proper help from our SD members. you should always put a fish from your current stock in with the QT fish once the QT period is over to see how that discus reacts to the QT fish. leave it in there for a couple weeks. if nothing out of the ordinary happens then you should be good.
14: "which is the best way to cycle a tank"
-there are a few known ways to do this, one being pure ammonia which fellow members have been able to buy from Ace hardware and places of that nature. this takes long but is by far one of the best ways to cycle a tank because it is completely free of any outside contaminants. you can also use a sponge filter that has been seeded in another tank (has to have been in the other tank for at least a month). This is not an optimal way to do the cycle because you are subjecting new fish to anything that your current stock has. there are other methods as well but i will not go into detail since i do not have first hand knowledge of them. one being miracle grow, another being the instant bio bottles, some of which have been known to actually work and help the cycle process
15: "do i need RO water for my discus"
-in one word, NO, you do not need RO water for discus. discus are not as picky with water as most people make them out to be. many here only use RO for breeding. if this becomes something you would like to do then by the time you get to this stage you will know how to run through our SD site
. discus have been known to thrive in all pH ranges. the least amount of chemicals you use the better. sometimes aging water is necessary when your pH is not stable. i quick way to check if your pH is stable is to pour some water into a bucket with a heater and air from an air pump and test the water with a pH liquid test and/or pH pen/probe. test the pH after 24hrs and if it is the same your pH is stable, if it is not then it is unstable and you will need to age your water in order to do WC's. there are many others that do not come to mind but these are just a few to get the ball rolling. please feel free to add anything to the ones above or start new ones. the goal is to help new members in getting answers in one lump some.
To all the new members, welcome and please read all of our stickies, they are there for a reason and they are all very informative. thanks everyone
Thank You!!
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