Keeping Discus

[markandhisfish]

more and more people seem to be getting into discus lately so i thought id start a thread sharing what i have learned so far. it would also be good if other discus keepers could share their experiences/tips nad tricks etc .
while not a beginners fish neither would i class them as an experts only fish either , they do have certain basic requirement which if met, they are just as easy as any cichlid.

1) discus are social fish which should be kept in groups , ideally of 6 or more
2) they do like more waterchanges than most fish , with daily waterchanges being the norm , altho with adults you can get away with less ( i do 30% every other day)
3) these frequent waterchanges are even more important when raising fry/ growing out juveniles .
4) discus require a higher protein diet , feeding little and often works well for discus. somewhere along the lines of 2 to 3 feedings per day for adults , and 4 to 6 for juveniles. this is because discus only have small stomachs and process meals very quickly
5) long term they will do better in RO water or water prepred with an HMA filter , due to the fact that both of these will remove any dissolved metals/organics in the water which dechlorinator will only "bind together" if you use RO water it then needs to be balanced as it will now contain no minerals etc. whilst RO and HMA will provide optimum water conditions IT IS NOT ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL TO USE THESE many people , myself included have good success keeping their discus in tap water.
6) THAY ARE ADDICTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ajs2294]

I'd have to agree with most of Marks statements. HMA/RO isn't truly a necessity unless you want to get into breeding Discus. Aged tap water will go along way, If you have access to any type of blackwater extract or Discus buffer these may help also.

But my number one thing I stress is unfortunately Discus are by no means a lazy man fish. They require constant upkeep and observation. Along with very frequent water changes. Second know what you are getting yourself into, do the research before you take the plunge not after it will save you time and money. And my last but not least bit of advice you get what you pay for. A 10 dollar Discus may seem like a deal but from a random dealer you don't know the fishes bloodlines or how it has been kept. Discus are very prone to illnesses and stunting both can be fatal, it is advised to shop around and also research for a breeder before purchasing these fish.

But do it right and Discus are a very rewarding species to keep

 

[markandhisfish]

excellent points

 

[star4]

What is RO water

 

[ajs2294]

What is RO water

Reverse Osmosis filtration, gets rid of most of the minerals and organic matter you may want in our tank if you have really picky Discus Fry or Corals in saltwater.

 

[markandhisfish]

RO = reverse osmosis water runs through the ro unit and all the heavy metals dissolved organics etc are removed giving you in effect distilled water. there is a lot of waste water with ro tho

the more cost efficient way is to use anhma filter which does largely the same but doiesnt affect ph and has zero waste water

 

[star4]

Thanks both, thats my bit of knowledge for today I have seen it spoken about with marine before and never paid attention. Must admit I do like seeing all the pics of the discus, but sorry still prefer my Severums just easier as I have enough water changes to do!

 

[markandhisfish]

thats the beauty of this hobby... every days a school day

 

[ChilliPepper]

Thanks both, thats my bit of knowledge for today I have seen it spoken about with marine before and never paid attention. Must admit I do like seeing all the pics of the discus, but sorry still prefer my Severums just easier as I have enough water changes to do!

Yup, same, even with all the threads lately I am still not convinced Marine is less maintenance, and far more beautiful IMO
Plus I could never swap my Sevs

 

[hamfist]

RO = reverse osmosis water runs through the ro unit and all the heavy metals dissolved organics etc are removed giving you in effect distilled water. there is a lot of waste water with ro tho

the more cost efficient way is to use anhma filter which does largely the same but doiesnt affect ph and has zero waste water

An HMA filter is actually very, very different.

As you say, RO water is effectively distilled water.

HMA filtration only removes chlorine, chloramine and various heavy metal ions. It leaves the vast majority of dissolved ions in the water and will not remove hardness, nitrates or phosphates, some of which are considered the key undesirables for discus.

On a general note, there seem to be as many different opinions on acceptable water conditions for discus as there are discus "experts". I truly believe that we really don't know all the factors involved. Unfortunately, there is no real money going into proper scientific research into it. It's never going to be a big enough market to attract that sort of investment.
What we have is a multitude of reports from individuals who have great success with their own particular "recipe" for their water. But what we don't know is WHY they succeed and some others may not, mainly because it is rare to have a truly comprehensive breakdown of the chemistry of the water.

For example, a majority of the "experts" on the www will announce that you need water of pH less than 7.5 to have any success with discus. Ideally noticably lower. However, there are folks out there who are having really great success with their discus in water well into th pH range of 8 and up. The highest I have heard of discus breeding at was at pH 8.4. That particular hobbyist was having huge succes with his discus in that water. They were clearly thriving in it. But what we don't know are the other factors about his water, like hardness, nitrates, phosphates, heavy metal ions etc, etc.

I'm finding it quite frustrating trying to get a good understanding of the whole thing.

It's clear that a good route for people who's water does not enable discus to thrive is to use RO water, either reconstituted with a controlled soluble mineral mix, or mixed with a % of tapwater. But what we don't know in each of these situations is the exact cause of WHY the discus were not thriving in the original tapwater.

Frustrating indeed.

 

[markandhisfish]

if discus arent thriving in your tap water its usualy down to dissolved metals etc .

the main advantage of hma over ro is that whilkst it still removes chlorines and dissolved metals , there is no waste water at all

as for ph its pretty simple really THE BEST PH FOR DISCUS IS A STABLE PH

 

[GShorty1981]

Yep, I agree with the above, I used to lower PH years ago with a acid based chemical, used to cause more problems than keeping the water neutral, my friend who is a breeder has a RO unit and doesn't bother to mix RO for them anymore either, just sticks to normal water changes.

Wild Discus are a much more advanced job though.

 

[markandhisfish]

the main reason for using ro water when breeding seems to be that if the tds ( total dissolved solids) is too high the sperm can sometimes have trouble penetrating the eggs resulting in a lot of infertile spawns .

 

[ajs2294]

Wild Discus are a much more advanced job though.

You'd actually be quite surprised the chief Biologist at my local Aquarium keeps wild discus in his personal office tank and only does water changes every two weeks and his pH is constantly bouncing around, to much for my liking. Guess hes just one lucky guy haha

 

[snowflake311]

What I have been learning.

1 not as hard to keep as I thought.
2 They are not shy. They eat from hands and swim around when your hand is in the tank. They are way cooler then I ever thought they would be. Honestly they are like severums.
3 Everyone has an opinion on this fish.
4 Real hard core discus people are nuts. The discus world is kind of like the dog show world in how picky they are. Also breeding fish For trates people like. Like smaller eyes and bulldog face.
5 Hormones are still used in these fish. Mainly if they are Asian. They use them to bring out the fish color and pattern with out waiting for it get big. Like my discus most likely were exposed to hormones.
6 yes they need a bit more work nothing the python can't help with. I'm doing daily 25% wc while doing stuff around the house.

I am happy with my fish they are more then I thought they would be. I never thought they were so much fun they are worth the extra work. I can not see myself being a crazy discus freak. I just like them as pets nothing more. I like the ones I have and look forward to watching them grow. I can see how discus can be addictive I had a betta problem years ago. Discus are kind of like bettas in that you want to collect them all.


Yes I was talking to some people about keeping wilds and they said they were no more work then any other domestic discus. Many said they were better because they were healthier and stronger then man made ones. Many people keep wilds in tap water of ph 6-7.5 . My ture parrot is from the same water heckle discus are found in and she is doing great in my water with no extra care other then extra clean water.