discus

[angel_lover]

ok thats it i totally want a discus...they are soooo pretty

can anyone tell me what they know about them,including price range

thank a bunch

 

[joshua]

i hardly know much about them besides that known fact that they are very sensitive to water conditions and some eat meat and there must be frequent water changes, and cost quite alot. quite a hassle to keep them but if you really love them then i guess u may

 

[CFC]

How long have you been keping fish? Personally i wouldnt recomend discus to anyone with less than 3 years in the hobby because as mentioned they are a little bit harder to keep than most tropical fish.

Firstly they need soft acidic water, i have heard of people keeping and breeding them in water that is moderatly hard and alkaline but ideally you want to keeping them in water with a pH 6.5 and hardness not exceeding 5 dGH. Next they are very sensative to nitrates, levels of nitrate need to be kept below 30ppm at all times, this is one of the reasons that many discus keepers and breeders use bare bottomed tanks as they are easier to keep clean, you will probably need to do two water changes a week and may need to buy your water in if your tapwater is unsuitable.
Discus are very shy and do not like overly active or large tankmates, keep tankmates to tetras,corydoras and dwarf cichlids if any, frightened discus have been known to stop feeding and starve to death, they also preffer higher temperatures than most fish (30oC) so this must be taken into account with tankmates too.
Discus appear to have a higher metabloic rate than most tropical fish and need to be fed on good quallity high protein food to keep them at there best, specialist discus food and good quallity live foods (which have been sterilized first) are the most recomended..

 

[Kossy]

Well I'm going to start keeping discus at the end of next year after school however a friend of mine is a discus keeper and yes they are extremely sensetive fish. They need to ideally be fed 3-4 times a day and with something different each time. Many people will say that tetras are a food of the discus (just like angels) however if they can't catch them and if there not hungry they wont eat them. My friend in fact has been keeping discus for 7 years and has never had a case of a discus eating his tetras...simply because they can't catch them. They are royal fish and don't do well with large agile tankmates. If you haven't kept chiclids before you should not start with discus. I recomend angels they are extremely similar to discus except that they are hardier.

 

[KimmyFishy89]

Yea they are really pretty, but they are really sensative and are like 60+ dollars a fish

 

[angel_lover]

ok guys i think your right ...i might stick to my angels for now

im only a year into my experience with tanks so maybe later on

 

[Braddah]

Hey angel-

Im in your same boat with the discus myself....I think they are THE coolest freshwater fish! Alas CFC ruined my dreams of owning them (j/k CFC I appreciate the advice) I have to wait about 3 years til Im done with sea duty so My G/f wont have a chance to mess any thing up......But that doesnt stop people from looking, right! Ive found 2 stores in my area that have them...1) juvinilles for $30 apiece and 2) 2 adults 1 for $100 or both for $175 and I think one of them is dying but thats another story.....