Digweed The Discus

[Adistar]

realise that it's not ideal to keep Discus single but I only have room for two going by the 50 litre per fish rule. I would like to keep a pair but have been reliably informed that any potential mate will be bullied unless I am very lucky. I did half expect this but bought my fish with my heart and not my head (not a recommended way to conduct the buying of fish I might add ). After a fair bit of research I discover that although not ideal, it is possible to keep a Discus alone without due worry - especially as I have plenty of dither fish and suitable planting etc. This comes as a welcome relief as one Discus keeper warned be that my fish would die on its own - which was nice. Anyway I guess what I'm asking is what is your opinion on keeping a single Discus? I've had a few opinions already from another source and it seems 50/50 split, for and against.

i have kept a single discus befor, kept him for over a year, but then i added another fish that seemed to stress him out to the point where he cornered himself. I would say it is ok to keep a single one only if this is your last fish being added, new fish can bring in disease and easily stress a discus out when not in a shoal.

Also, if you wanted 2 discus, a breeding pair, then i would suggest you buy a pair from somewhere like aquabid, or ebay. Because if you do buy another their is a huge chance they will not get along and one will end up getting bullied. If you dont want to go that route i would just suggest you stick with the lone discus and keep a close eye on it.

Some other questions -

1) What do you keep your temp. at? My is 28C currently, I've heard of ranges from 25 to 31C. Takishi Amano for one keeps his at 26 to 27C (Vol. 1 - Nature Aquarium World).

2) Feeding - What ratio, quantity and frequency of dry to frozen foods to you feed. Digweed currently isn't keen on dry food, any tips on getting his appetite up. Or should I just wait a while for him to settle in - it's only been 48 hours? Frozen bloodworm is favourite but I understand it is not very nutritional.

3) Water quality - my water is pH 6.5, KH 3, GH 6. I add nitrates for the plants to a level of approx 15ppm - is this ok or should I drop it? I don't want to go below 10ppm really as the plants will suffer and it increases the chances of algae? I assume my 50% weekly water changes are ok.

Im not good with conversions... but.. I keep mine at 80-82 degrees F, due to some of the local breeders tell me they prefer higher temps, and partiaially because their room is in my attic

I feed mine a variety of, Flakes, discus 'pellets', frozen brine shrimp, sometimes frozen bloodworms(as u said is not the most nutritional), i have fed live brine shrimp. Not much else, mostly flakes and frozen foods, live brine shrimp as treats... they love them. I feed mine 2-3 times day. As they are juvis right now, but will end up feeding only 1-2 times a day when they mature.


50% water changes are good, but may stress the discus out. I do a 20 % weekly on my 55 and they hide for cover . But because your tank is a smaller tank the waste builds up easier, and more of a chance the discus would because sick if the water changes are not kept up with. So yea, i think 50% weekly would be fine. Just make sure when you add the water back in its not much of a temp difference at all because discus are sensative to that and slighest things seem to stress them out.


Good luck with your discus, he should love your tank, it looks amazing.



Josh (Sorry if my spelling is bad, im not the best typer, even when i proof read)

 

[George Farmer]

Thanks adistar, most helpful - confirmed a few things for me and helped put my mind at ease.

 

[Angel Lady]

Beautiful fish. I was wondering how hard them was to keep. I would like to try with them.