General discus questions

Hi all,

I've been pondering about discus for awhile, and have a few questions that I hope someone can answer.

to start; is tetra like neon, the only fish that the discus will be happy to live with? would they live with catfish( corys, cuckoo syno's)? will they live with angel's or is this a bad idea?do they need their own special tank?

what's the tank size for mayb two discus and a shoal of something else. would 180 litre/ 3ft tank be o.k?

If I was to set up a brand spanking new tank would it be o.k to add them after a month or would the tank need to be on the go longer?(usually use the flake food in fishless tank method, not fond of the idea of these miricle liquid instant bacteria filter things)

Do they need any other equiptment other than the heater, filter, lights and tank with water +substrate+plants?

why have they got a name of being hard to keep?

If I was to ponder some more and decided I definately wanted some where is best to buy? would go for big ones, fully grown or almost fully grown.

thanks in advance,

Orla.

Hi Orlagh,

i think your biggest problem would be the water ph!!!!!!
pm sent

Hi Orla,

No there are a range of fish that you can keep with Discus. Trick is that you need peaceful fish that like the same conditions in terms of PH and Temp (they like it hot compared to a lot of other fish) that Discus need. Some corys, Rams, apistos etc. Think biotope and the amazon...

I also keep clown loach with them very successfully, but others have problems due to the feeding frenzy that the loach can get into.

I've not kept Angels with them and there are varying recommendations on if you should/shouldn't.

On the PH side of things they come from softwater, however check your LFS in terms of the PH that they have them at. Tank bred Discus can be kept at a higher PH - trick really is stability on all parameters.

180 litre tank would be fine for 2 Discus and shoal of tetras, but you would be better of getting 3 as they are cichlids and do better in odd numbers to allow for aggression to be spread around.

You can add them as soon as the tank is fully cycled. If you are going with the method you describe I'd start with the tetras to get more of a bioload going before putting the discus in.

All equipment you mentioned is fine. I'd tend towards overfiltering. If it's a Juwel, add an external. You may want a second heater in case the 1st goes on the blink. Also ensure the heater can keep the water at the temp required. Again over spec here.

They are not that difficult to keep as long as you get the environment rigth and stable. Stability is the key. They also require larger or more frequent water changes. Feeding should be a mix of foods. Some people advocate beef heart - I've never used it but do provide a mix of different pellet, flake and frozen foods.

I've bought all my Discus over the years in Acquatic village. I'd start off with 3 fish small -> medium in size.

Monty

had already read the link, and lots of other stuff on the net, but lots of it seems to contradict each other...so was left a little confused and decided to ask people who have these fish in Ireland.

so basically, tank needs to be designed around the discus and their needs.have one book that deals with plants and fish by area of origin but would prob have to do little more research, before I'd be happy. think I'll be waiting another while before rushing out to get them

pH won't be a prob as have bought a RO unit and would prob be adding CO2.

main issue with them was that I didn't want the stress of looking after something that would be gettting mystery illness, but if its just a case that they need a suitable stable enviorment, I could cope with that.

thanks for clearing things up guys!

My best advise is this. 1. Do frequent water changes. 2. Only keep slow moving fish with them

dont know if you tried these links but they may be of use

www.discuspro.com/basics.htm

members.aol.com/bgdiscus/

www.aquariumlife.net/articles/new-world-cichlid/59.asp

www.simplydiscus.com/library/index.shtml

oh yes and on what fish to keep with them pfk did an article on that subject.. heres the link

www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages...e.php?article_id=259

hope these help
Seamus

dont know if you tried these links but they may be of use

www.discuspro.com/basics.htm

members.aol.com/bgdiscus/

www.aquariumlife.net/articles/new-world-cichlid/59.asp

www.simplydiscus.com/library/index.shtml

hope these help
Seamus

Thanks Seamus,
saved a few to my favourites. like the last one best, has a good lay out.

Orla.

glad to be of assistance, thats what we're here for

Seamus:P

I would think (and I could be wrong) that you could probably keep a male angelfish with your discus if he is smaller than they are because he will accept a pecking order, however but if you keep a female Angel she will spawn and get super violent twoards anything within a few feet and either kill or get killed protecting her eggs.

It all depends on if you want to keep Discus seriously!!!!! or just because they look nice. Discus can be expensive and if serious then keep them alone. perhaps a few Cory's , remember any thing that fits into it's mouth becomes food, as for angels if serious I would say No. they can become agresive if breeding and also fin nippers.

Discus like soft water pref below Ph 7. 6.5 is better. slow water movement and NO NITRATE.
There has been plenty said on Discus previously. suggest you read as much as you can first. Discus are beautiful fish and specialist care needed.

i think if u get only 2 its best to get a pair as if not a pair theyll fight until theres only 1

lampeye wrote:

i think if u get only 2 its best to get a pair as if not a pair theyll fight until theres only 1

What happens if they break up?

fins at dawn

Im sorry lampeye but i have to disagree there.. it very much depends on the fish.. 2 can live together without death being inevitable.

I keep my Discus with a large Angelfish and it does not bother them at all. As for water parameters, I keep them in neutral PH and carry out frequent water changes. Discus are able to adapt in the long run but the change has to be quite gradual. I always recommend to buy Discus from someone in your area so as to have same water parameters. Imported ones would always be very difficult to adapt them to new conditions. Lfs would not have the same parameters similar to that of the fishfarms.

it might be down to personality adam (of the fish!). my limited experience with discus is as follows: i had 4 discus (2 or 3 inch) in a 3 foot tank ,didnt work out at all. the 3 strongest bullied the weakest all the time. eventually he stopped eating and wasted away. as soon as he was dead the 2 biggest turned on the 3rd fella...same story again. horrible to watch. the two biggest then spawned (a good few months later). one day all of a sudden they werent lovers anymore and the bigger of the two turned on the smaller one. harrased the shit out of him and i traded them in.

my conclusions: to be kept they need large numbers to spread out the incesent bullying or pecking order...or if you are lucky a pair. my case might be exceptional but id be very reluctant to keep them again. if i was id either get a proven pair or keep 12 of them! (in a huge tank of course). but even then to be honest i dont think i could watch the constant \"pecking\".

just my 2 cents!

Discus are a shoal fish and should be kept in minimums of 8 and always even numbers. with any pecking order there has to be someone at the bottom. Discus will always fight until they have found out whos at the top and where everyone fits in. the little guy at the bottom is one you will always have to look after.. if you take him out.. another fish will take his place..

It could have been in your case that there were 2 males and 1 female.. the 2 males were fighting over the female, the female got all stressy and went down hill, meanwhile they male killed another only to find his prize was now sick..

my favorite pair of Discus were producing lovely fry until on 1 batch they started feeding a lot on one point on the parent and created a sore. within a couple of days the male was attacking her.

i removed her until she was better and placed her back in with him.. they are still all loved up now..


If you are having trouble with fighting fish, a good move around on tank ornaments can reset the boundries and calm things down. the other option is to buy all the fish you want at the start.. if they are gradually introduced there will, most likely be territory issues with stress bars flying all over the place.

I had 3 discus once, 2 of the bigger ones spent all the time picking on the smaller one untill it died, Lesson learnt here, keep 2 1 male and 1 female or a group 6-8

Q.1 The answer to this is probably pure speculation but why would a breeding pair of discus fall out of love and begin fighting?


Q.2 How quickly can driftwood affect the PH in a tank? (probably relative to size etc but would like to know if people have experience...)

thanks,
dave

Sometimes in fact often one parent will become dominant, especialy feed wise. providing that the dominant one is providing enough Mucus for the fry you can remove the other.

When you say Driftwood do you mean fresh water wood or Bog wood ? If wood is found on the Beach or a pond be wary. Bog wood will lower the Ph gradualy but you will need plenty of it, as the tannins leech out the water turns tea colour. after some time it just becomes like any other wood as it is not replacing all the elements you woud find in a Bog.

I think I meant bogwood, the brown stuff they sell in the shops. Just wanted to make sure it wouldn't cause a rapid PH change. Thanks.

bogwood wont cause a rapid ph change, bog wood is a slow process. if you have very low KH then i would monitor your water. Otherwise dont worry as your KH will buffer the PH.