New Discus!

[David]

I just purchased a new 3 inch pigeon red Discus for my 46 gallon tank. It's gorgeous! I'm so excited. Wish me luck with him (or her) I know that they are sensitive fish. Any ideas for a name? I kinda want one of those cool Hawaiin names that have a meaning.

 

[StingrayKid]

Post some pictures! As for a name I'm stumped! I wish I could afford a Discus...

 

[David]

Lol they're not that expensive... mine was $19.99. So totally worth it when you look at it's beauty.

 

[David]

As for the pics, They'll be up in about a week or two, I don't have a digi-cam yet. Very soon, I promise! *Muttering to self* Please don't die, please don't die...

 

[Dwarfs]

Post some pictures! As for a name I'm stumped! I wish I could afford a Discus...

The fish stores sell adults for high prices, the smaller ones (Like david's) are usually less though

 

[David]

Yeah it's not worth buying adults, even if you want to breed. First of all, they don't live as long, and I think the juvies are so much cuter. Never grow up, lil' dude!

 

[David]

Well I've just decided on a name for her (Ithink it's a female). Adah, which is a Hebrew name meaning "beautiful addition". I can't believe how perfect it is for this fish!

 

[Doggfather]

Sounds like a very nice fish

Are you planning on getting anymore? disucs prefer to be kept in groups of 4 or more

 

[FloridaFishGuy]

Yeah I think you should get more. Discus can be expensive if you get them from a LFS. The A grade Discus I get are $10 and the B grades are $5 so thats no were near the prices of the LFS.

 

[David]

I want to make sure I can keep just one healthy before I go out and buy like 4 of them, only to have them waste away. Also how often to feed them, and what type of food. Today I started with frozen brine shrimp, which my loaches loved, but my discus just pecked at. Are they naturally finicky eaters?

 

[FloridaFishGuy]

Get some Frozen Blood worms or make your own Beef Heart mix like I did. Also you might want to get some Color Bits because that will bring out there color but its not esential food.

 

[David]

Get some Frozen Blood worms or make your own Beef Heart mix like I did. Also you might want to get some Color Bits because that will bring out there color but its not esential food.

A lot of people (including my LFS guy, who I trust) says that frozen blood worms contain diseases, so I really don't want to risk it. I'm sure he's telling the truth, why would he refuse my money? Anyway, is a staple diet of flakes, sinking pellets, and frozen brine shrimp good for discus? If not i'll need to know how to make that beef heart mix.

 

[FloridaFishGuy]

You can certainly use flake and pellet food for Discus but they will not grow any where near there full potential. As for the frozen bloodworms get the Hikari brand because they do not have parasites. Ryan the breeder I get Discus from has been using that brand for 3 years and hasnt had a problem. If you want to make Beef Heart than here are the ingredients. All you have to do is grind it all up in a meat grinder and then add the gelatin and wet substances.

Beef Heart, baby spinach, wheat germ, knox gelatin (can be hard to find as it is in a tiny box). You will also need 1/2 banana, 1 egg yolk (yolk only, no white, ask your mom to separate the yolk for you) a can of flake food and some color bits.

 

[David]

Wow. A bit above my budget, I don't know if I can afford to feed my discus that every day. I'll definitely get the hikari bloodworms though. Is that beef heart just a requirement for conditioning (like for breeders and showfish) or is it needed for all discus?

 

[FloridaFishGuy]

If you feed frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, flakes, and pellets they will be fine. Beef Heart or you can use super lean ground beef is mainly to make them grow really fast and healthy.