Do You Beleive In 'hard Water Discus'

[aaronnorth]

is there such a thing or is it a lie, where do they get them from or are they specially bred in certain conditions

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

is there such a thing or is it a lie, where do they get them from or are they specially bred in certain conditions

That is a lie. There is no type of Discus that is better suited in hard water then any others.


I myself, keep my Discus in a tank with a Ph of 7.5. That is very high, but none of them seem to have had any problems connected to this. I believe some other Discus owners on the forum have Discus in similar conditions.

Two of my Discus are both about 4 years old, and have been kept in those high Ph conditions all of their lives with no problems.


If you are worried about high Ph, simply get a nice piece of drift wood, and some peat moss. The only down side is that you will get a dark tea colored water. The Discus will probably love it, but to some people this may not be as pleasing as a nice clear tank. C02 injection can also help slightly.

R/0 should also work, and I believe rain water has a low Ph, but someone may have to correct me on that one...

 

[crazie.eddie]

is there such a thing or is it a lie, where do they get them from or are they specially bred in certain conditions

Actually, it is true. Tank bred fish can be bred and raised in various water conditions. I know of a few people, who had been fortunate to have even spawned in such conditions. If you are looking to buy discus in your water conditions, just buy tank bred fish from a local breeder. Wilds, from what I understand, may have a harder time to adjust.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

is there such a thing or is it a lie, where do they get them from or are they specially bred in certain conditions

Actually, it is true. Tank bred fish can be bred and raised in various water conditions. I know of a few people, who had been fortunate to have even spawned in such conditions. If you are looking to buy discus in your water conditions, just buy tank bred fish from a local breeder. Wilds, from what I understand, may have a harder time to adjust.

The only Discus that are going to be not so adaptable are wilds, and Discus close to wild such as first generation tank bred, that have not been introduced into higher Ph. At our pet store, we get Discus from Asia. These Discus come from very soft water, a Ph of about 6.5. We set our water down using buffers (not my call) when we get them in. Over about 1 day, the buffers wear off and the Ph is at 7.5 again. They suffer no problems and most will live in a 7.5 Ph for the rest of their lives, depending on the consumer.


Anyways, He was really asking if there are such Discus that are bred in hard water specifically for this reason, and if people do it intentionally. I don't think people do it intentionally so they can live in hard water. Almost any Discus should be able to adapt with no problems (again wilds may have some problems.)

 

[cheesy feet]

Its true that tank bred discus can tolerate a more alkali pH, and wider range of water cond to wilds, but its advisable not to go over 7.5.

 

[angelmouse]

i also don't agree with hard water discus, they can be kept in water up to 7.5 but i think that is quite high and any harder they might be fine for a while but you won't get the best out of your discus. They are after all fish that come from soft water areas. Hardness refers to the gh and kh which should also be low.
I have always kept cardinal tetras but never had success with hard water and always had the odd loss but since changing over to soft water have had no cardinal losses for over 1 year and the discus are now breeding all the time so they must be happier in softer water. Baby discus are quite often hatched in soft water but grown in harder water about ph 7.1-7.5 to aid growth.
there are always exceptions to the rule but is it worth the risk with such an expensive and beautiful fish.
regards Angel

 

[kev_kb]

Depends what you call hard water....

My tap water comes out around 8.3 and I wouldn't dream of putting my Discus in it. I use RO and tap water mix to produce soft water, this is the best and only way to achieve consistent water perimeters IMO. Discus will most likely be ok at 7.5, but I'd aim for lower.

There are no such things as hard water Discus, and Discus to not breed in very hard water, the males sperm cannot penetrate egg. As already posted some do raise juveniles up in slightly harder water.

IMO if your not prepared to invest in a RO unit then Discus are not for you. Bogwood does have much effect in my experience, using CO2 is best avoided and rainwater is risky IMO.

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

There are hard water tolerant discus fish from the czech republic that are being imported currently but its the whole evolution thing jumping into perspective. Not enough time has passed for the fish to fully adapt to harder water. A lot of people do keep discus in water that is upto 14 dGh, but for high yields in breeding softer water around 3-4 dGh is preferred.

What kev_kb has said is perfectly true about the sperm, too much calcium in the water causes a hardening of the exterior egg and sperm cannot penetrate.

Chris