Ideas wanted!?!

[4sticks]

Hi

When in Christchurch we had a tropical set up Tank L 900mm X W 4oomm X H 500mm. 1 Eheim 2008 Internal Filter, under-gravel filter with three rises. Mozambique Mouthbrooders x 2, golden guamis x 2, neos x 10, platties x 6, angels x 3, asian glass fish x 2, and 'Ugly' the algae eater.

Moved north and considering setting up again, am interested in a pair of discus, wondering what to put with them?? any ideas/suggestions??

Thinking about getting into breeding and selling but not sure what to do, wher to start.....any help??

Our area has a high chlorine content, never had this problem in Christchurch just used water straight from tap, what do we need to do, or do others do in this situation??

[sharn]

a pair of discus doesnt normally work out unless theyre a breeding pair, if you have two 'unbonded' fish one will be the boss and the other will get picked on a bit. i personally prefer barebottom tanks for all sized discus, its much easier to keep them clean which = happy fish. if you want them in a planted tank i would suggest buying the largest you can afford (over 7cm or so) as planted tanks are often harder to maintain water quality in and plants dont like the ultra clean, nutrient free tanks discus prefer. some say discus can grow quite happily in tanks with substrate etc but its not the norm. Luke* has a thin layer of brightwater gravel in his adult tank which looks very nice and he is still able to maintain the water quality even though they arent as demanding as young fish.

fish that can handle higher temps are most plecos, cories (like sterbai, julii etc), rummy nose tetras, cardinals etc etc. you want to avoid CAE (or SAE, cant remember) and common plecos as they are notorious for attatching onto discus' sides.

breeding and selling discus is hard work, if you dont buy an already matched pair you need to buy around 6+ (theyre happier in larger groups) and hope you get a pair, preferably all the same strain as cross breeding will just produce cross breeds. tanks with all the same strain look equally as nice as a mixed bunch too. when it comes to raising the babies thats where the hard work comes in, its ALOT of water changes, 100% daily if you can manage it. growing out babies is easier in harder water too. i admire the dedication some discus breeders have (one in particular, he knows who he is lol), the time they put into growing out the babies is insane. if you dont have clean water your babies will end up stunted and wont look as nice. if you dont buy an already matched pair get the best shaped fish possible, look for a nice round forehead, not an 'arrow' shaped head, good even round fins, no defects in the body, nice round eye with even colour and nice even colour on the body, nice fish often = nice babies which equals more buyers.

i age my discus water in bins with a powerhead and heater for at least 24 hours before use. this cuts down on dechlorinators cause i do a fair amount of them.

i have a breeding pair (with a third wheel that wants to get in on the action :lol:) that produce fertile eggs at least once a week but i wont allow them keep their fry (theyre in a tank with other discus) as they are different strains and one fish isnt 'perfect'. the way i see it is breed awesome fish cause youll get awesome babies, if you breed 'poor quality' fish then youll get poor quality babies.

good luck and im sure the more knowledgeable (like people that have raised babies) will chime in soon enough

[4sticks]

Thanks "sharn" for your reply

[sharn]

have a browse through www.simplydiscus.com, great site with everything you need to set yourself up a successful discus tank