I Have Questions

[bleechme]

Hi I am really new to raising sensitive fish. All I had my life was live bearers, few different kinds of cichlids, tetras, and I got started on German rams a few months back. I am really interested in raising discus and have been reading lots of post around about them. The only problem is .... I don't really know anything about water conditions and stuff.
I know they need soft water, lower PH. thats all I understand. I don't really know what Reverse Osmosis (RO) is? can some explain it in an easy way for me?
And My tap water is good enough to hatch baby German rams. does that mean it is good enough to raise discuss in?

 

[SamUK]

it would be good to find a local breeder or something cos then the water conditions will be almost the same as where the fish came from.


and i think i can explain RO simply cos thats the only way i understand it lol.

its a machine/filter type thing that takes all the nasties out the water. its very wasteful tho. something like 1 gallon of RO for every 5 gallons of water passed through it.

 

[kev_kb]

Finding a local breeder is great advice. Match your water parameters to them, test your ph & hardness and ask them what theres is. You'll probably need to soften your tap water, this is where the RO filter comes in. Its basically just a filter that connects direct to your water supply and produces almost pure water. As it's almost pure it cannot support life on it's own, so you need to add minerals and stuff to it. This can be done by adding a percentage of tap water back to the RO water or buying chemical such as Kent RO Right.

There are prefilters on the RO unit before the RO membrane itself, these all need maintenance and remember to budget this into your plans. You'll also need to mix up your water before doing your water changes, and RO units can be pretty slow so it can take time.

If you want to raise some Discus you will need to keep the water really really clean, water changes every day would be great though maybe not 100% necessary. A bare bottom tank helps also, and is IMHO required for raising baby discus. Of course if you just want to keep Discus then you don't need to do as much water changes.

You'll need a min of a 4ft tank for a group of Discus to form one or more pairs. As your a beginner I would be inclined to go bigger if you possible. You'll also need plenty of room for the resultant babies if your successful. Good luck if you decide it's for you, you'll love it! But it is a big commitment...

 

[discusboy]

Hi most people recomend 5 gallon per adult, so even if you get young fish still alow for this as they will grow, i would personaly would crowd them up more but if you don't want to be doing daily water changes then go with atleast 5 gallon per fish. Discus are a shoaling fish so its best to keep atleast 5-6 together.
Discusboy

 

[bleechme]

Oh sounds costly! Sound very hard.! I might have to wait a few more years when I get my own place. My parents are already saying that my house is a petstore. lol. So how much are RO systems? and where can you get them?

 

[kev_kb]

Hi most people recomend 5 gallon per adult, so even if you get young fish still alow for this as they will grow, i would personaly would crowd them up more but if you don't want to be doing daily water changes then go with atleast 5 gallon per fish. Discus are a shoaling fish so its best to keep atleast 5-6 together.
Discusboy

The general rule is 10 gallon per adult Discus, you can go slighlty less than this if your experienced in keeping them but I think stocking more than 1 Discus per 5 gallons is asking for trouble.

So how much are RO systems? and where can you get them?

You can buy them online or at your LFS. Your LFS will probably also sell RO water per gallon, but this will get more costly. If your in the UK Google for RO MAN they make some good systems. Cost will depend on system but basically varies according to how much RO they produce in an hour.

 

[annka5]

IMHO if your water is good enough for rams to successfully raise fry, then I'd say you shouldn't need an RO unit. I would suggest contracting a local breeder and before purchasing, checking his water params against yours. The most important thing re: your water is is that the water chemistry is stable and the water is clean.
If you get older disucs (say around 4" length) then they tend to be easier to keep and more forgiving of early errors /lack of experience.
I would definitely aim for 10gall per fish. The easier you make your set-up to maintain, the more success you'll have.
If you're set-up is done to be easy to keep discus in, then you don't have to worry so much. Plenty of space, no little nooks and cranies to get food / other debris stuck in, a decent filter, and larger discus from a good breeder (more likely to be healthy) then there's no real reason to be too scared of keeping them.
They are expensive though.

 

[bleechme]

yea. the cheapest I've seen them is about $30, but those have dull colors. Or do they not have color till they mature?

 

[discusboy]

Is different from strain to strain but the rule of thumb is by 5 months they will have/show there adult colours go for young fish that have small red eyes that fit into the eye bar at least 6 times (the more the better) dont buy small 2'' fish that are fully coloured the chances are they will be stunted and will never reach a decent size what ever you do. Take the sellers advice, buy young they will be dull but will soon blossom get them on good food and they will soon hit 6inch.
discusboy

 

[bleechme]

so it's best to get them at 5 months? I should ask for the age of the discus I'm buying.?

 

[paulf]

so it's best to get them at 5 months? I should ask for the age of the discus I'm buying.?

I would suggest getting discus that are at least 4-5". If they are smaller and its a planted tank, they can get 'lost' and get stressed, the LFS will not know the age of the fish and what they have will be poor quality most of the time, have a look for a specialist discus breeder or importer. Not sure where you are, but rocky mountain discus looks a good source in the USA

 

[paulf]

so it's best to get them at 5 months? I should ask for the age of the discus I'm buying.?

I would suggest getting discus that are at least 4-5". If they are smaller and its a planted tank, they can get 'lost' and get stressed, the LFS will not know the age of the fish and what they have will be poor quality most of the time, have a look for a specialist discus breeder or importer. Not sure where you are, but rocky mountain discus looks a good source in the USA