Jump to content

want to start keeping Discus, suggestions please


luckyfish

Recommended Posts

I go by 1 adult discus per 50 litres. Its better to get adult discus if you are new to keeping them as they are easier to look after, particularly if you have a planted tank. The smaller the discus the more often the water changes and the cleaner the tank needs to be kept. My tank is 450 litres and I have 6 discus plus other smaller fish in it. I do water changes once every 2 -5 days depending on the tank readings but try to do 2 a week of about 50%.

There are top quality discus up her in auckland at good prices. Read up on them, its a matter of personal choice which type you get. Some will remain the colour they are when you purchase them, some types like pigeon discus will pepper(get black specs over them) if you have a dark background to your tank or lots of dark areas)>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whatever you do please dont be tempted to "rescue" any sad lfs discus start with healthy well bread fish these may cost more but will save you money and heart ache in the long run .Try pm Vincent discus i just recieved a shipment from him and im very impressed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you'll be sweet with 5/6 adult Discus in there but if you want to stock more you simply have to do more/often waterchanges.

I find Ron's discus really good quality - robust/strong etc they adjusted better to my tank than my imported ones..not sure about breeds - thought there were just different strains bred from original wild caught Discus to the variety available today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

another question is do I really need to change the water every 3 days?

that put me off a bit, then every time I need to be out for more than 3 days, i'll have to get someone else to take care of them.

can i do 50% water change once a week?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

another question is do I really need to change the water every 3 days?

that put me off a bit, then every time I need to be out for more than 3 days, i'll have to get someone else to take care of them.

can i do 50% water change once a week?

If it was that easy i think all of us would keep discus

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Apparently Discus release a Hormone or something like that, and this can prevent the other Discus in the same Tank from growing, hence they need to have excellent Water Conditions for them to grow to their full potential.

I'm sue there is somebody on here that will correct me if I'm wrong with the info I have just given you. :-?

I give my Discus Tank 3 Water Changes a Week of round 70%, I'm guessing if you didn't want to do that many Water Changes then take out more Water but do it less often, maybe 70% twice a week would be enough, that would all depend on the amount of Fish you have in your Tank and the Quality of the water I guess.

Lynda

Link to comment
Share on other sites

another question is do I really need to change the water every 3 days?

that put me off a bit, then every time I need to be out for more than 3 days, i'll have to get someone else to take care of them.

can i do 50% water change once a week?

Hi Luckyfish, please don't be put off by the amount of water changes that have been suggested there are ways to make it easier on yourself that don't include a bucket,

Fill/syphon kits are available as well as pumps and hoses

Adult Discus can exist fine on 2 large water changes per week,but if you want to see them at there best then it is recommended that you change more, daily or every

alternate day.

Adodge gave you some great advice especially if you go planted tank, I would follow his guidelines

Although you could house more if you go bare bottom with more maintenance

Juvenile discus are a whole different ball game, if you go this route then once again it is recommended that you change daily because of the heavy feedings and for optimum growth

Once you become a Discus junky like myself :lol: you will have no qualms in doing these water changes, and it not life or death if you skip one either

I have also been on holiday for upto 2 weeks with no problem at all, I just have a someone pop in every 2nd or 3rd day to feed them.

Having a 2 or 3 day weekend is also never a problem.I just perform a water change before I go and the fish are fine when I get back :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Luckyfish, please don't be put off by the amount of water changes that have been suggested there are ways to make it easier on yourself that don't include a bucket,

Fill/syphon kits are available as well as pumps and hoses

Adult Discus can exist fine on 2 large water changes per week,but if you want to see them at there best then it is recommended that you change more, daily or every

alternate day.

Adodge gave you some great advice especially if you go planted tank, I would follow his guidelines

Although you could house more if you go bare bottom with more maintenance

Juvenile discus are a whole different ball game, if you go this route then once again it is recommended that you change daily because of the heavy feedings and for optimum growth

Once you become a Discus junky like myself :lol: you will have no qualms in doing these water changes, and it not life or death if you skip one either

I have also been on holiday for upto 2 weeks with no problem at all, I just have a someone pop in every 2nd or 3rd day to feed them.

Having a 2 or 3 day weekend is also never a problem.I just perform a water change before I go and the fish are fine when I get back :D

thanks, mate! thank you for the encouragement. I'm so into it now. but i need to get rid of my guppies and swords first though. can't wait! I may be away for one or two weeks overseas in a month time, and my Mrs just doesn't understand how fun the fish are. :roll: it looks like i'll have to start after coming back from overseas. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...