What Is Best

[discuslover]

Im in the process of researching information about discus. i have a 70g juwel vision tank and im looking to set it up for discus once i have moved house in the very near future.
Im looking to get around 6 or 7 discus in my tank as i recieved some great advice a ratio of 10g per discus. My question is that discus come to be expensive and im not too sure whats best to do. i plan to mature the tank before adding any discus but i wonder if i should save up and get the whole shoal together or to buy the discus 1 or 2 at a time??? Has anybody any ideas or experience on how they set up a discus tank would much appreciate any advice.

 

[mike os]

Ideally your tank wants to be running 4-6months before adding the discus

70gal is a good size you will need to upgrade the jewel filtration though. Personally I will only use eheim pro2 or pro3 externals when I need to rely on them ( for secondary or over filtration units most of the rest are OK, but for reliability nothing beats an eheim IME) [unless i am using a sump of course LOL

Best to buy them in a group, from a single source. And only buy from a discus specialist, not an LFS even if they stock discus 99% of them really dont know how, or dont have the resources to do a good job. When you are ready if you PM me i may be able to point you to some suppliers I would buy from....they are rare and will know discus & possibly little else LOL

Mixing sources and adding here & there will probably lead to health issues and cost you fish, JME, but I do have quite a bit of it sometimes you get lucky, usually not & unless you have hospital & Quarantine facilities it can me painful.

 

[discuslover]

thanks mike for the advice. i will look at saving and getting them all at once. i have a external filter fluval 405 in failed to mention. whats your opinion on buying from a specialist through mail order and having them delivered?? also is it best to get smaller discus or fully grown ones??? can i mix the varieties??? much appreciate ur comments.

 

[Corleone]

You can mix varieties, but if you want to breed them, you may not want to, as if two different varieties cross, you may get lower quality offspring.

I don't know how they're best to get, but I do suggest either ordering from a specialist, or finding a breeder within a few hours drive. The discus I've seen at the LFS have rarely been in great shape, and there's never more than two or three available at a time.

 

[squiggle 2000]

hi discuslover
i bought 4 discus from a local breeder and bought baby discus that was 18 months ago. i now have 2 breeding pairs, nine babys that are 4 months old. i think you are better buying them young and in a group. 1 bought another 4 discus after 2 months quarantined them in a seperate tank for 8 weeks then put them all together and they get on really well. and also babys are cheaper than the adults. and also it is better to over filtrate rather than under also i have spare heater running in the tank in case the main heater .goes i hope this helps you and good luck with them and be patient

 

[mike os]

It is always best to buy adult, or nearly adult fish, and to pick them yourself. That way you know what you are getting and can choose the fish you like, rather than someone elses preference.

There are a couple of people I would trust to choose fish for me, buy that is because I know them & we look for the same things. There are loads of people offering mail order discus, but personally I would only deal with someone I knew or was recommended by someone I trusted. There are a lot of poor quality fish out there.

At to varieties, take your pick, they are all the same species ( or near enough, lets not go there in this thread), & will breed together if you get lucky. Avoid wilds and Heckles though as they are a fair bit more demanding.

 

[discuslover]

thanks so much everyone much appreciate ur comments im still reserching and gona go out to visit some local fish shops and inspect there stock. i ideally wanted adult discus but not sure how many id be able to afford to get at a time. so it maybe best for me to collect a shoal of discus. i will jst have to see what the funds are nearer the time. thanx again everyone