Glen Posted March 1, 2010 Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 Hi guys, just interested in hearing peoples thoughts and techniques on how you keeep your discus? Water changes/temp, tank set up ie bare bottom or sand, what water conditioners you use, medications to have on hand and of course food you feed. Thanks in advance Glen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Hi guys, just interested in hearing peoples thoughts and techniques on how you keeep your discus? Water changes/temp, tank set up ie bare bottom or sand, what water conditioners you use, medications to have on hand and of course food you feed. Thanks in advance Glen I keep mine at 28C, black fine gravel, lots of current, and feeding a combination of bloodworms and tetramins colourbits. Temp is at 28 rather than 30 as i dont think the tank mates would appreciate it that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 heya, when i had mine i had water at 29, barebottom tanks with plant added in from my seperate tetra/loach community planted tank (looks a lot nicer and more interesting than straight bare), water changed 50% daily (pumped 200L a day from a pre-heated and aerated, therefore dechlorinated, plastic drum), fed colour bits/frozen bloodworm/frozen brineshrimp, daphnia, homemade ox-heart mix, mosquito larvae. morcs- they tend to like a soft flow of water as in the wild they hang around fallen trees and tree roots near the banks of rivers. that said it probably wouldn't bother them much as there's a fair flow in the rainy season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 I have a 450 litre planted discus tank with daltons propagating sand as the substrate. The sand is virtually totally covered with ground cover. I have driftwood in there as well. Six discus 12+cm, 5 fancy plecs, 20+ rummynose, 15+ sterbai cories, 10 harlequins, 3 SAE and a couple of young BN and hatchets. Temp is set at 28, tanks has been sitting at 30-32 for weeks and I only had trouble when it hit 33 one day. The discus came up to the top of the tank for air. I run a big filter (fx5) on the tank and an airline. Lighting 2T5HO lights and two custom made T8 lights. I vacuum (as much as I can which isn't a lot) every 3-5 days and waterchange 50% at this time, using warm water from the tap set at tank temp and add waterconditioner to the tank when I first turn the hose on. The whole process takes 1-1 1/2 hours each time. The tank is well established (has been set up for over 2 years). Feed bloodworms, tetra bits, mozzy lavae, algae wafers, courgette. Dose with flourish every 3-4 days and flourish excel only when needed. I medicate with prazi as part of my routine every 5-6 months. pH is 6 which is as low as my test kit goes. Water comes out the tap at 7.4. The only fish I have struggled with in here has been neons and cardinals and while they exist they only last 12-14 months due mostly I think to the temperature of the tank. The discus spawn regularly (wrigglers go up the filter) and the cories lay eggs every few weeks. The rummynose have also spawned once in the tank. If you want to go the planted tank way my advice would be to get bigger discus to start with. Smaller discus need daily water changes or their growth may be stunted. They also need clean tanks and its a lot harder to keep the tank clean if its planted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Posted March 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Thanks for the replies guys, good to read. Luke are you not keeping them anymore? adoge whats prazi? do you get it from your pet shops? and just to add another question to the list with the tap water at 7.4 and your tank water at about 6 do you lower the tap water before adding it in the tank at all? thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Every time I read a thread about discus keeping the main thought I have is "Wow, discuss types really must enjoy water changing" (dont take this as trolling ... just a friendly joke) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Prazi is praziquantal (sp?) and yes it can be purchased up here. I don't do anything to change the tank pH, the age of the tank and the volume of water remaining helps to keep it low. Driftwood also keeps the pH low. I also keep metro on hand in case of emergency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 praziquantal and metronidazole are definitely two meds you want to have on the shelf if you can. i used to alter my pH with acid in the drum to lower it but ended up not bothering...i swung the other way and actually added a stocking of shell (see pic) to the tank to keep the pH stable, high, and add some minerals to the water for better growth; stability is the key with pH. i'd love to have discus again but work in the fish industry..so getting home and doing more water changes puts me off (elusive ps nitrate is growth inhibiting for discus hence the water changes...just in case you didn't know)..still check out TM to see what's out there regularly tho haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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