# do u have discus



## gary007 (Apr 3, 2011)

do u have them discus fish? its funny they dont seem to do much, i was watching them at petshop they were in a 48inches x 12inches x 12inches but all nervous at one end of the tank. i heard they like water rather warm above 28. i've not seen the best out of these fish, i wonder what they are like when happy and in a shoal and water condition is right, yea.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

When in a larger school, in good condition they will be moving all over the tank. Mine all come rushing to the front of the tank when I walk by. They are always begging for food. I know others who can hand feed theirs, and have to move them out of the way when gravel vacuuming.

I find most LFS don't know how to properly care for discus and the ones they sell are sick or stunted. Check out April's Aquarium in Vancouver if you want to see some healthy discus.


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

Discus need extremely clean water and high temp and groups. Rule of thumb is ne per 10 gallons. Us discus keepers do daily to every second day was for optimum growth and shape. A lot of ones at the petshops are already complimised so they are huddling and cowering in the corner. With good care they should get to 6 inches.starting with good stock is the key to success.


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## discuspaul (Jul 2, 2010)

April carries extremely good stock of Discus from Forrest in Malaysia.
Here are a few of her fish in my tank for you to have a look at - they are young Red Snake Skins just around 3", which have grown quite a bit since I got them a few months ago, when these pics were taken. They're about 5" now, with much more beautiful coloration than when I took the pics:
FTS-Osaka260 pictures by discuspaul - Photobucket
Have a look.
Paul


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## gary007 (Apr 3, 2011)

hey i found part here at magazine, it say to have gentle tank mates like corydoras. iv got a spare 29g tank here thats empty, could i have say 2 or 3 discus in that? i believe they suggest 55g for about 8 discus. my 56g has my angelfish and clown loaches in and they came from that 29g. i just wanted to try something new in 29g u see.


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## gary007 (Apr 3, 2011)

i see that discus sell for £25 each, quite alot of money lol my angelfish were only £5 each.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

A 29g is really small for discus unless you went with a breeding pair. I had 4 in a 46g tank and they did well. Most people recommend groups of 5 or more. I think 3 would have a lot of agression problems.


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## discuspaul (Jul 2, 2010)

target said:


> A 29g is really small for discus unless you went with a breeding pair. I had 4 in a 46g tank and they did well. Most people recommend groups of 5 or more. I think 3 would have a lot of agression problems.


Yes, Daniel is quite correct. While you could keep a breeding pair in your 29 gal, or 3, max 4, in that tank, keeping a group of less than 5 or 6 is not recommended, as you will very likely have negative & stressing pecking order problems. Bottom line is, your 29 is too small to properly keep a group of discus. 40 gal is a minimum size, but 55 gal or more would be preferable.


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## gary007 (Apr 3, 2011)

when u say extremely clean water, do u mean daily water changes? man its like these are very sensitive fish, seems they are not very hardy yea im guessing only experienced fish keepers will have success with discus.


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## seanyuki (Apr 22, 2010)

some of my blue diamonds under quarantine now,

   


doing massive water changes daily.


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## chiefwonton (Sep 19, 2010)

nice fish man!


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## dean9922 (Apr 21, 2010)

In your post of "do you have discus"....I ask you, is there any other kind of fish "TO" have....LOL!!!!!!!
agreed about larger groups, lots of water changes and decent size tanks a must, unless as mentioned they are a breeding pair....
PS nice blue diamonds Francis!!!


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## discuspaul (Jul 2, 2010)

Great looking discus, Francis - Congrats !

And gary007: 
Discus fish are actually quite hardy & not at all difficult to keep, but they are intolerant of poor water quality & chemistry & unclean tank conditions - which is when they stress and become vulnerable to parasites, other harmful pathogens & fungi.
Keep a discus tank clean, properly filtrated, do fairly frequent wcs, feed a varied diet, don't overcrowd them, and get good quality, healthy stock to begin with, and you can enjoy complete success keeping discus.
Don't know if you had a look at the link to my 75 gal tank that I posted on p.1 of your thread, but if you didn't, have a peek at it.
FTS-Osaka260 pictures by discuspaul - Photobucket
I only do 50% -60% wcs 2 X weekly, with a good tank cleansing routine, and the discus are thriving. They're a lot tougher and easier to keep than many people think - you just have to follow a few simple 'rules'.
If you're at all interested in discus, have a read of my illustrated "Beginner's Guide to Getting Started with Discus", which is located on the simplydiscus.com forum - It's a sticky in the section: Discus Basics for Beginners. That should tell you all you need to know about setting up a discus tank. It's also on April's Aquarium website - she's a member here on BCA.


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## josephl (Apr 21, 2010)

Agree on discus being relatively easy to keep. With a good water change routine, they are actually pretty tough fish. 

I find keeping discus much much easier than trying to keep things like fancy guppies, sword tails, live bearers and most of the small gouramis alive


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## Discus (Apr 23, 2010)

They are a really cool fish. I hand feed mine but am done with them and not buying any more so what I got left is what I got. It just sucks to much when you lose such an expensive fish where you could get a different breed that is way stronger. If you plan to get some plan to be investing alot of time to your tank.


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