Discus

[Midnight Rose]

I would love to eventually keep some discus, I have a 486 litre tank (106 UK and 128 US gallons) that I would like to keep them in when I do get them.

Are there any brilliant sites to read or books to get? I've had a look around but the more in depth information seems to be pretty difficult to find, I'm a planner and like to know lots about any animals I keep a long time before I get them!

I've heard lots of conflicting advice too, for example can they or can't they live with small fish like neons?

My favourite is the wild type colouring. Is it possible to get these that are bred rather than wild caught?

If I got a group of 6 would I need to balance the sexes or could I get 6 very young ones and watch them grow?

Thanks for your help

 

[invader]

What caught my eye in your post was this quote:

Are there any brilliant sites to read

Yes, this one! There are many people on here that keep discus and I suggest getting in touch with them. Angelmouse is the first one that comes to mind, but others will come and answer your questions for you.

Good luck!

 

[darknirvana217]

Discus can be kept with smaller fish like cardinals or neon tetras. You can also buy a group without sexing them. I fthey pair off, the mated pair may become semi terriotrial. But, it is best to keep them in a group. I beleive you can get the wild coloration without the wildness, you would have to talk to breeders about that though. However, theres nothing wrong with a wild caught discus as opposed to a captive bred. Most captive breds are still being bred in warm, soft, and low Ph water, just like the wild ones. I don't know any good sites off the top of my head, except like invaderwithkey said thi sone, but I'll post here if I think of one. i kept discus for a while, so if you have any questions about them you can pm me.

 

[part-timer]

I would love to eventually keep some discus, I have a 486 litre tank (106 UK and 128 US gallons) that I would like to keep them in when I do get them.

Are there any brilliant sites to read or books to get? I've had a look around but the more in depth information seems to be pretty difficult to find, I'm a planner and like to know lots about any animals I keep a long time before I get them!

I've heard lots of conflicting advice too, for example can they or can't they live with small fish like neons?

My favourite is the wild type colouring. Is it possible to get these that are bred rather than wild caught?

If I got a group of 6 would I need to balance the sexes or could I get 6 very young ones and watch them grow?

Thanks for your help

There are loads of experienced discus keepers on here and often the books have outdated advice or suggestions and don't cover more up to date strains - most discus available now are tank bred and as such aren't as difficult to keep as is still often suggested. That said, for them to thrive it is still important to pay attention to water quality.

There are lots of suitable tankmates - as mentioned tetras (blue, black, cardinal) are great as in a larger tank you can have a good sized shoal without adding too much to the biological load and this provides great contrast to the often slower moving Discus. Cory's are fine with Discus to add 'bottom of the tank' interest and they will happily live with the temps discus require.

From those I know who keep them, Wild discus still don't pair off too well on their own in a tank though its not unheard of - its luck of the draw and pairing with domestic strains is what has brought us the different coloured discus we have now. Wild are much more widely available now though and prices have come more inline with adult tank bred discus. Wild tend to be tougher in terms of how easily they are affected by disease but they are more specific about water quality. Tank bred discus are more adaptable to general water quality but are more easily affected by disease, parasites etc. That said, if keeping discus, water quality should always be the main concern as there is so much more enjoyment in their behaviour if they are thriving rather than simply surviving - that goes for wild or tank bred.

If buying young, sexing would be almost impossible but in that size tank I would go for between 8 and 10 - if the tank environment is right there will almost definately be a pair or 2 and maybe more.

Good luck, they are for me the ultimate fish to keep and worth the effort.

 

[angelmouse]

Cardinal are fine, neons are smaller so might be at risk of being eaten, people have said their discus eat tetras but mine never have and i have a shoal of 25 cardinals.
wild discus are beautiful, need softer water than home bred. There are not many home bred discus with wild colouring about as wilds are harder to breed. But have a look on some discus sites as their is a vast variety of domestic discus that are lovely too.
Get 5 or 6 young ones and watch them grow, they are abit hardier at 3-4" and cheaper, they soon grow.
Discus are all about good quality water, they say you keep the water not the fish. So you need to know your water parameters and if you need to change it in any way
regards Angel