Discus And Reverse Osmosis

[aqua786]

When it comes to keeping discus,some say R O water is a must and some say it is not,I would love to have a go a keeping these fish and discovered that my lfs had some and without R O water,just quite soft acidic water conditions and they were doing fine,so can someone tell me from experience is R O a must when it comes to these beautiful cichlids?

 

[KkAaNnEe]

No, but look for ones not bred in Asia so much, there are plenty of discus that do fine in tap water

 

[Seed_Lord]

Mine are doing great in water straight from the tap, conditioned ofc

 

[kevinjames]

No, but look for ones not bred in Asia so much, there are plenty of discus that do fine in tap water

why not asain

 

[Seed_Lord]

Thing you gotta remember mate, people go on about TDS and PH and blah blah, but unless your buying wild caught discus then aslong as your parametres are stable they will be fine. Have heard you need low TDS and ph of 6.5 for them to spawn, ive had mine in tap water which i think is around 7.5 and tds about 400-500, and a couple have paired and have been cleaning leaves and chasing the others away, so obviously my water isnt bothering them. On the other hand the fry might be the problem with the hatch rate but ive read people getting 50-70% hatch rate in normal tank conditions similar to mine. Although im going to try my best to get my water spot on in the tank ive got ready to try and get them to spawn (didnt want them spawning in the community tank) you shouldnt have a problem. Just make sure you keep your water clean, filters maintained, and have the right tank mates and you'll be good to go. Just make sure you give them time to get used to your water first ones i brought came from a 30 tds tank at 6.5ph slowly introduced them to my water over a few hours and they are fine. Just do your homework, as your doing as for the not buying asian i think chens buy theirs from over that way and the one ive got from them so far has gone in fine, shes the one whos paired up with one of my originals. So yeh nothing to worry about just take good care of your water keep it stable and clean.

Sorry for wall of text

 

[fishguy2727]

It really comes down to water quality (lots of water changes) and food quality, not exact parameters.

I don't like to buy high end ones. Ones that were born on fish farms (not some obsessed breeder's house), were shipped to a wholesalers, then shipped to the retailer, and then settle in well and start eating are the hardiest. If they were raised in an obsessed breeder's tank where they got 90% daily water changes that is what they will need from you.

I had discus do well enough on hard tap water, they were even breeding. However, when I took them in to the display at the fish shop I work at where they got water changes with half RO they did better and starting breeding a lot more. They can make it without it, just like Africans can live and even breed in plain tap, but when you are closer to the water they evolved in for thousands of years (no matter how many generations removed from the wild they are) they do even better.

 

[aqua786]

Thanks everyone for your advice,i feel a lot more confident about trying these fish out now,thanks again for all you guys who posted on this thread...cheers people

 

[TheRedDarren]

Sorry to butt in but what would be the minimum tank size and group size for Discus?

 

[Seed_Lord]

Sorry to butt in but what would be the minimum tank size and group size for Discus?

55-60gal for 5-6 if they are a calm group minimum i would say, thats at larger size with right tank mates sure, thats my opinion neways

 

[KkAaNnEe]

I would say 250litre for 6

 

[fishguy2727]

Same thing.

 

[beechey]

mainly water quality is a must so lots of water changes and gravel /sand sphyening (spelling) mine lay eggs all the time in tap water also

 

[fishguy2727]

Siphoning*