Discus?

[TigerOscar11]

My mum has a 5ft tank, and wants to put discus in it.
She wants to know if they can go with angels, how many discus she would need, what conditions they like etc etc
 
She just want to know exactly what is needed to look after them and if they need any special treatment

 

[Robbo89]

Discus are at the very highest pinnacle of freshwater fish keeping... requiring a very similar level of care to say that of a saltwater tank. They are highly sensitive to water parameter adjustments and need to be kept with the right fish. On that note, angels have been kept with discus before but I certainly would not advise it. Discus are VERY slow and peaceful fish, and if you have angels in there that become territorial (as they will) your Discus will not like it. They are conventionally kept in a group of about 6 Discus with a large school (up to 100) small Tetras, such as neons or cardinals. On top of all this, they are extremely expensive fish, lovely, but expensive. Do NOT dive into Discus, research research and more research, then once you've finished that, research again for a few more months.  

 

[DerpPH]

No angels. Both are cichlids and angels will beat the crap out of discus

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Discus require pristine water conditions, and, like Robbo pointed out, they're very expensive!

 

[Noahsfish]

Discus=RO water(unless your water happens to be perfect for them) frequent large water changes. Closely examining water quality at all times. Making sure their environment isn't disturbed, lights, temperature, etc. Having the right fish with them, not angels. Lots of money..

 

[Sophie]

Make sure you match the conditions of the suppliers water. That is obviously what they'll be acclimated too. My advice for the day

 

[stanleo]

There is a member on here that breeds discus. his member name is DiscusKing742. he has a fascinating journal on discus and is very knowledgable about them. Look them up. I think they are doable from what I have seen but like everyone said, research research research and be willing to spend lots of money. I plan on getting them in the future when I get my 110gl and have the funds for it. I want 6 or eight of them and big school of cardinal tetras.

 

[techen]

Overall what they say about discus are somewhat true. Water does have to be good but there's tons of people out there now keeping discus in tap water and not RO water. Just make sure you have a decent filter and never miss water changes. More often water changes are better.

 

[Sophie]

As far as I've heard, the Discus that are imported from Thailand etc need the soft, acidic water as this is what they are bred in. Discus from places like Germany are acclimatised to hard, more neutral pH levels. It's the Nitrate they are very sensitive to so you're looking at doing a minimum of 25% water change once a week, they advised more along the lines of doing two 25% changes a week - there was recently a fantastic article in Pratical Fishkeeping magazine (not sure if you get in Oz land) about keeping them. It's definitely not as hard as it used to be!

 

[TigerOscar11]

Thank-you to everyone fo the helpful information.
My mum is having second thoughts as she just doesnt always have the time to do water changes, water parameters etc
I have advised her that she would be better off with something that is alitte easier to look after

 

[Robbo89]

An Angel species tank could look just as striking mate!  

 

[Sophie]

An Angel species tank could look just as striking mate!

 
Some fantastic colours out there too. Just have to look! Especially the DD Angels.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Lets start with that fact that in the wild discus and angels live together. By this I mean you find large groups of discus and living among them are smaller groups of angels. To the best of my knowledge the only angels that do not live with discus are Altums and that is because there are no discus where the Altums are (according to Heiko).
 
Like so many other fish in this hobby, discus in the wild vs tank raised strains are almost different fish. With there being a ton of line bred discus for colors. Its like tank bristlenose or angels etc. This has its up and downsides. Some strains can be extremely hard and not difficult to care for and others so sensitive they have issues if you look at them funny. A strain like the red turquoise (aka red turqs) are pretty hardy for example and not super expensive.
 
The other thing to be aware of is that young discus are much more sensitive than adults. So if one starts with them young, you must make the effort to give them clean water. On the other hand the adults are more forgiving. I kept a couple of adults for several years and they got the same 35-50% weekly water changes as all my other fish and they did pretty well. However, I only bought large size and the more hardy strains. I actually had a wild or two for a bit but lost them in the great tank boiling caused by a heater that went nuts.
 
The best advice I can offer for most folks on discus is to buy them from a breeder in your area. This will make it more likely the fish can do well in your water, that they are well cared for and disease free. Good individual breeders tend to take pride in what they do and this is important when buying fish like discus.
 
While it is just my opinion, I will never buy any fish farmed or bred in most of Asia. I do not trust them. For me it isn't worth the risk. On the plus side, that leaves more fish for everybody else

 

 

[GAB99]

The discus I ordered from a site were amazing and when I was taking care of them they were doing great, again these were german discus so I didnt have to use my marine RO water and they were fine with my tank.

even had an angel in with them, and I think angels with discus woukd be okay as long as the angels are smaller and in less numbers than the discus.

I ordered 4 young ones and they ran me about 202$ with shipping.

And unfortunately I only had them a few months before I left for college, my parents didnt take care of them and by the time I got back, 2 were left and though they were alive, no one fed them to the point that all I could do was watch them waste away.

That being said, treat these fish as if they were newborn children so if they are ever out of your sight you best find a very reputable care taker.

 

[Noahsfish]

I'm not sure on the gallonage of your tank, but a lfs employee who used to have discus in a 75 did 30% every day, and 75% once a week..I'm sure that was totally unnecessary, but he did have quite a lot of fish.