Thinking Discus

[flyhawk]

so its been almost a year and im thinking about discus again
the tank has been set up for 2 years
it is planted
my nitrite is 0
ammonia-0
nitrate-20
hardness-19ish maybe 18
ph-8.0
i have an ehiem external filter and a powerhead
the petland that sells discus uses hard tap, so i was wondering if i could
get away with this?
i will use peat
angels have spawned in this water

there is a part of the aquarium covered in duckweed for reduced light and hiding
what do you guys think?

 

[discus_lover]

good,but try to down your ph level upto 6.5-7....
moreover you may read my blog about discus fish care secrets.here's the link...
http/discusfishcaresecrets.blogspot.com/
how big is your aquarium?which type of discus you want to keep?blue diamond,terquise,albino super melon or others?if you have any query you may ask me..moreover there are some experienced members about discus fish.you may also connsult with them...

 

[flyhawk]

the tank is a 55 gallon
the store has 3 inch discus that are turquise blue
for $25 for 2 and $34 for 1
my question is what would be a goal for hardness and ph to get it close to?
to feed i would use flake, frozen bloodworm,frozen brine shrimp and frozen discus mix from the lfs.

 

[SBL]

I'm no expert but, I believe your set to go.

 

[flyhawk]

thanks for the reassurance!!
also, how much peat would you use?

 

[SBL]

I don't keep discus, I want to so much though. I say your good though.

 

[flyhawk]

cool!
do you have any idea about the other questions?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

No need to adjust pH. Keep the tank at around 30C. De-worm your Discus before adding them to your tank, and de-worm your angels too (before the Discus go into the tank.) Easiest way is medicated flake. My question is, how come your hardness is so low? Is this Gh or Kh? I think you might be at risk of pH crashes with it being so low?

 

[flyhawk]

no no no, my hardness is 325, and that is about a 18-19gh
thats problably not good is it?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

no no no, my hardness is 325, and that is about a 18-19gh
thats problably not good is it?

Lol ok yeah I thought your water was a little weird for a second

No worries. You should be set for Discus. Only thing I would recommend is because it is planted, you will want to start off with adults. Juvy Discus don't normally grow that well in planted tanks (as they are much harder to clean.) I also would recommend trying to find another source other then Petland. I am sure these discus aren't very high quality and you could find much better fish from a breeder.

 

[flyhawk]

what do you think about my hardness and peat?

 

[flyhawk]

ok, so the hardness is at 12-13gh, so thats good.
the new plants are growing good and settling in also
i am raising the temp to 82 degrees, which shouldnt take long.
is a pearl gourami okay with discus?
i will also have some rummynoses
the duckweed is spreading purfusely, so lots of cover.
should i turn the powerhead of(flow to strong)?
i thought it would be good to help the flow of the tank.
i will do water changes every other day with part boiled tap water,
and part cold tap.would any extra air pump be good?
im not using co2 for my plants.
also, about breeders
i dont know if this matters, but our petland gets there discsu from
hans discus, the breeder in maryland.
i called up windy city discus.
the seem pretty reasonable.
what would be the minimum size i could get for discus
before the are condsidered to young to be in a planted tank?
3inchs, 4inchs?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

ok, so the hardness is at 12-13gh, so thats good.
the new plants are growing good and settling in also
i am raising the temp to 82 degrees, which shouldnt take long.
is a pearl gourami okay with discus?
i will also have some rummynoses
the duckweed is spreading purfusely, so lots of cover.
should i turn the powerhead of(flow to strong)?
i thought it would be good to help the flow of the tank.
i will do water changes every other day with part boiled tap water,
and part cold tap.would any extra air pump be good?
im not using co2 for my plants.
also, about breeders
i dont know if this matters, but our petland gets there discsu from
hans discus, the breeder in maryland.
i called up windy city discus.
the seem pretty reasonable.
what would be the minimum size i could get for discus
before the are condsidered to young to be in a planted tank?
3inchs, 4inchs?

Added water flow isn't a problem, shouldn't bother the Discus either way (unless you have low oxygen due to not enough flow.) Just curious, why are you using cold tap and boiled tap? I don't know if pearl gourami are a good mix, don't think they would be good with the high temps. Smallest I would get is 4-4.5" Discus for a planted tank. Hans has some nice Discus, not 100% sure what he exports to pet stores though, and who knows how well the pet stores take care of their Discus. I would still recommend Windy City Discus over your Petland Discus any day, trust me on this one

 

[flyhawk]

well i raised the temp to 82 and if any thing the gourami is more active
i dont have hot water tap, just hot soft water and cold tap,
so i have to boil the tap.
looks like im going to windy city discus soon to pick up a few
he said $10 per inch, so about 40 dollars per fish.
plants are growing very well, so i hope the discus enjoy them.
what filtration do you have for your tanks? (discus keeper 403, and anyone else for that matter!
also do you think you could but up some picks of your tanks?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

well i raised the temp to 82 and if any thing the gourami is more active
i dont have hot water tap, just hot soft water and cold tap,
so i have to boil the tap.
looks like im going to windy city discus soon to pick up a few
he said $10 per inch, so about 40 dollars per fish.
plants are growing very well, so i hope the discus enjoy them.
what filtration do you have for your tanks? (discus keeper 403, and anyone else for that matter!
also do you think you could but up some picks of your tanks?

Good choice, you won't regret Windy City. My 90g has sponge filter and Fluval 405. My 40 breeder has a power head with some filter wool attached, and a Aquaclear 50. All my tanks are Bare bottom. Got two sick fish at the moment, QT'd and medicating Will get some pictures once they are better (fingers crossed I never have luck worming sick Discus )