does anyone else think discus fish are cute ? i would love to have a pair one day....

also can anyone tell me why are they so sought after ? ? and $$$$$$$$ expensive

does anyone else think discus fish are cute ? i would love to have a pair one day....

I think you answered your own question

also can anyone tell me why are they so sought after ? ? and $$$$$$$$ expensive

Because they are unique with their large laterally compressed bodies, and often stunningly marked. The reason they are expensive is because of that, but also because they can be very difficult and time consuming to breed, successfully. As fry they are very susceptible to poor water quality and illness and often die for no apparent reason. They will also not grow without large frequent waterchanges, as much as 90%, as often as twice per day, every day.

Add all that up, and Discus are cheap.

thanks for the info fishplants

think you meant "aren't" cheap fishplants. yup as above and add in that they like warmer water (27-29c) which hits the power bill more too. and good quality food.. but go for it! they definitely rule and are fun to breed

I think he means are cheap. There are a lot of expenses in breeding discus'. Plus the start up cost of buying a breeding pair (or raising juvies to a breed able age).

think you meant "aren't" cheap fishplants. yup as above and add in that they like warmer water (27-29c) which hits the power bill more too. and good quality food.. but go for it! they definitely rule and are fun to breed

Yeah Luke, I definitely meant are cheap! By time you add up equipment, medications, chemicals, food, power, water, and most of all - time (and the strain on relationships!) discus prices are definitely low compared to the costs.

But they are awesome fish!!!!!!!!

can they live by themselves or in a community or only solely in pairs ?

can they live by themselves or in a community or only solely in pairs ?

One is doable not the best. Two if they are a confirmed pair. Three or more is best.

They have a pecking order. They will fight until they have formed a hierarchy. If you only have two, the sub-dominant one will get picked on too much and probably die.

Thats my understanding of it. Somebody else will probably be able to give a more experienced opinion.

Discus are happier in groups of 5 or more, yes the will sort out who's the Boss.

Loved my Discus when I had them, have now changed to Africans, alot more active than the Discus, I found Discus are more of a bobbing fish if you no what I mean.

Yes, they can be kept in a Community Tank, as long as the Tank Mares are abit more docile, Discus do seem to get fright's easily, so slow moving tank mates are better for them.

My discus have had harleqluins, cardinals, rummynose, sterbai, king tiger plecs & clown loaches with them. They have never worried about the clown loaches although the clowns did tend to zip around the tank at times. I found the Bristlenose were fine when young but when they matured they could not cope with the high tank temps. The harlequins, cardinals and rummynose also grew fast and had a shortened lifespan, once again to the higher temps.

They are most definitely better kept in larger groups as it spreads the aggression. What you do not want is 4 or so males and 1 female as that is serious fighting material.

there is no such thing ias a good cheap discus:D

you know, discus are funny, most discus babies dont look good i found and dont grow to a good size, weak too due to inbreeding in nz.

personally, i would fork out the money for prime examples as opposed to trying to grow them out!

they are expensive because they are imported, the rare strains, common ones are not expensive, but inexperienced breeders will produce really sub standard babies... babies that SHOULD be culled are sold at times.

Certainly well worth paying good $$$$$ for good quality Discus :thup:

Buying good sized discus is important as well, unless you are prepared to do total water changes daily and know how to pick signs of disease. My understanding is that a discus should grow 1cm per month for the first 10 - 12 months of its life therefore if you see discus at 8cm and 12 months old they are likely to have been stunted. Pricewise it always used to be around $10 per cm length. Another sign of stunted grow is if the eye looks large in proportion to the body.