Discus keepers?

[bgarthe]

I used to keep several discus tanks and loved them. Back a few years, however, the discus quality went down while the prices went up and I bowed out. And….my favorite supplier, mentor, and discus friend suddenly passed away at a young age which hit me hard. I do miss these awesome fish……..maybe I’ll get back into them someday.

The Red Eagle was my favorite overall, but I cherished them all.

 

[Mazain]

the discus quality went down while the prices went up and I bowed out

Wow, beautiful fish! You love the patterns and solids. Hard to keep them with a full time job. You have done a great job.

 

[simonas]

Hmm, Arowanas can get miserable if you get low grades. Since I have not kept wild caught discus, I would'nt know the agony of growing them to their full potential. This is my discus fish close to 15cm in my 90 gallon. These were not high quality discus fish but they have turned out to my liking.

what I meant by the arowana causing the discus a miserable life is that the asian arowana irrespective of grade is aggressive, particularly at feeding time, the discus would not stand a chance and would suffer as a result. In a fish tank its hard to think of a worse combination

 

[Innesfan]

P.s. Gary once said wild caught discus were indiginous south american native food.

There was a vintage TFH cover photo of an indigenous Amazonian dining on Discus. The photo was reprinted in several Discus books in the '60s-'70s. Axelrod claimed he ate Discus on one of his collecting trips. But then again, he also claimed to have swum across Lake Ontario and was chummy with Albert Einstein. Fantasies both.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

@plebian

Try Altum angels, they are as regal as discus. I have kept both. I no longer have either. My last discus were boiled when the heater on their tank got stuck full on. The only thing in the tank that survived was the 5 L450 plecos and the plants. The two discus in the tank were a wild caught pair.

I solf the altums to a member in my fish club about 2 years ago, He already had altums and just added mine. Wvery meeting I ask him how they are doing and he always says, "Just fine."

In my experience the attitude os many discus and rift lake cichlid keepers week to thing they are God's gifet to the hobby. My experience is they are not even close. I watched a discus breeder/vendor lose 80% of the discus they brought to an event to sell die when they had a water temp issue in their transport. I tried to tell them that the research into temperature deaths being preventable if the fish are moved back into the right temp. water ASAP. There should be no slow acclimation, they need to be in the proper temp water or they will die. Slow acclimation just guarantees that.

I was rudely told they were experts and they told me to go away. And then they lost most of their fish. I could care less about their loss. But I was pissed that they killed the fish. My advice would have save most, if not all, of them.

Over the years I have done lots of live plants and kept an assortment of fish species. I have participated on a number of general fish sites like this one. What I have never done is to join any planted tanks sites nor any species only forums, with two exceptions. I have been a member on Planetcatfish since April 2008 and a;lso zebrapleco.com (but this has been an inactive site for years). I was a mod on that site and, in theory, I still am. But the site has not been active for a long time now.

 

[Back in the fold]

I think Discus are a dream for most aquarists . They certainly are for me . I really would like to try them but the expense is a bit high . I’d need a big aquarium and everything that goes with it first and then the fish themselves which are very pricey .
What’s the minimum size big aquarium that would be okay for them ? A 55 ?

 

[GaryE]

One of my friends was in a group that ran out supplies while Discus fishing several days out from their home base. So being practical, they chose the worst specimens from their catch for supper, and just food fished for other species the next day.

He said they weren't a food fish as they had far too many bones for the taste they offered. They're apparently surrounded by much better meals.

I wonder if the bizarrely coloured domestic Discus have flavours that go with the candy colours - artificial cinnamon, mint, berry flavours...

 

[Innesfan]

I think Discus are a dream for most aquarists . They certainly are for me . I really would like to try them but the expense is a bit high . I’d need a big aquarium and everything that goes with it first and then the fish themselves which are very pricey .
What’s the minimum size big aquarium that would be okay for them ? A 55 ?

Knowing how vigilant you are about maintenance I would say you could make a 55g work. A 75g would be better--same 4' length but 12" deeper, which the fish seem to appreciate. I had my F1 Wild Tefe Greens in a 75g for over a decade.

 

[plebian]

I think Discus are a dream for most aquarists . They certainly are for me . I really would like to try them but the expense is a bit high . I’d need a big aquarium and everything that goes with it first and then the fish themselves which are very pricey .
What’s the minimum size big aquarium that would be okay for them ? A 55 ?

Discus are among one of the more expensive species, but there are many that are more expensive. I don't know what prices are like in the U.S. or Europe, but here even BNs can cost as much as a discus. Arrowanas are just as popular and can cost 10 times as much as quality discus. Same is true for flowerhorns. There's an LFS here that specializes in SA catfish and many species are more expensive than discus.


I consider anything less than a 125 inappropriate for discus. I'm currently raising 4 juveniles in 9' long 180. The first time I kept discus, 35 years ago, I had 4 in a 55 gallon. I was a complete newbie at that time, but it seemed obvious to me that a 55 was just not adequate for discus. I consider the "10 gallon rule" for discus a bad joke. I've heard from more than a few people that they thought discus were boring. I think that's true when you pack them in like trout in a trout farm.

 

[plebian]

In my experience the attitude os many discus and rift lake cichlid keepers week to thing they are God's gifet to the hobby.

All too true.

 

[plebian]

Try Altum angels, they are as regal as discus.

Altums are absolutely majestic. From what I've read, they are a lot more trouble than discus, but maybe that's the same myth that's been spread about discus. They do require a taller tank. To be honest, I don't care for the natural colors of angelfish. If I was to go wild, I would still stay with discus. Also, I could never keep my blue neons, my favorite tetra, with Altums.

 

[GaryE]

I've heard from more than a few people that they thought discus were boring. I think that's true when you pack them in like trout in a trout farm.

Right there, you've defined the problem for many beyond Discus as well. Overstocked tanks of any fish are boring.

Here, if you are willing to grow Discus out, the domestic types can be affordable. Wild Discus, especially really nice ones, can be extraordinarily expensive. I kept a group of nice brown/gold wild caught discus that I got for a low price because they had been sent by mistake to the dealer, and weren't of the colour quality he usually dealt with. My plan was to learn with them, and I did. They were nice fish to keep, but they didn't appeal to me as smaller fishes do, and so after a few years as they aged out, I moved on.

There's a mystique about Discus, as the King of Aquarium fish. It's a matter of perspective - if you like larger fish, Discus are well worth the trouble. They are calming fish to watch. I would still be attracted by wild forms I could never afford, but not by any of the domestic neon colour forms. What I like doesn't matter in the least though, except to me!

I agree with @plebian on tank size. If I were ever to get them again, a 120 would be my minimum tank for a group. I'd give them 25 gallons a fish, at least. I now people who did well with 75s if their water from the tap was ideal and they were willing to work hard at the fish. But they would do better in the largest tanks you can manage. That much I learned!

 

[simonas]

@plebian

Try Altum angels, they are as regal as discus. I have kept both. I no longer have either. My last discus were boiled when the heater on their tank got stuck full on. The only thing in the tank that survived was the 5 L450 plecos and the plants. The two discus in the tank were a wild caught pair.

I solf the altums to a member in my fish club about 2 years ago, He already had altums and just added mine. Wvery meeting I ask him how they are doing and he always says, "Just fine."

In my experience the attitude os many discus and rift lake cichlid keepers week to thing they are God's gifet to the hobby. My experience is they are not even close. I watched a discus breeder/vendor lose 80% of the discus they brought to an event to sell die when they had a water temp issue in their transport. I tried to tell them that the research into temperature deaths being preventable if the fish are moved back into the right temp. water ASAP. There should be no slow acclimation, they need to be in the proper temp water or they will die. Slow acclimation just guarantees that.

I was rudely told they were experts and they told me to go away. And then they lost most of their fish. I could care less about their loss. But I was pissed that they killed the fish. My advice would have save most, if not all, of them.

Over the years I have done lots of live plants and kept an assortment of fish species. I have participated on a number of general fish sites like this one. What I have never done is to join any planted tanks sites nor any species only forums, with two exceptions. I have been a member on Planetcatfish since April 2008 and a;lso zebrapleco.com (but this has been an inactive site for years). I was a mod on that site and, in theory, I still am. But the site has not been active for a long time now.

planet catfish was an ace forum