Going to buy discus, So better ask questions

[danie11]

Ok so I have decided I want A planted Tank full of discus.
Will be using this thread to gather some info from the obviously more experienced keepers of such awsome creatures. I love the fact that this "Fish Tank" I have decide to cresate will be apart of my life for a very long time, so have chosen discus as they have a good life span ?

The above decision made, I purchased the following over the last few weeks

1 Corner tank on stand with universal rocks Kiama Background
Built in to the hood 3 shitty t8 fluros (So will upgrade later when I have more cash)
2 ehiem 2215 cannister
1 Jager 300 watt heater
5 bags of eco complete substrate
big arse pice of diftwood
few rocks
APi test kit

The tank holds 350 liters, I think (dont really Know how to work this out)
It has been setup for a week now with 4 very small clown loaches in it, who seem pretty happy, brought these as heard they have quite a long life too.

I have set the cannisters up with a little bit of efisubstrate from another cycled tank filter, hoping the clowns would be ok finishing the cycle.

So now I would like to know if it would be ok to add a few discus? mayby four cheap ones to see how things go? or is this too soon ?

The diftwood is making the water kinda brown not sure if this would harm the discus also what the best way to introduce them, can I get one every week or is it best to get them a group at a time.

Also what else should I add to the tank to make it nice, and how many ?

I want this to be A simple planted tank that is peacful to look at.

I have done some research and realize that discus require more attention and commitment than the average guppie.

But It is also my understanding that there is a big difference in just keeping discus (which is alll I want to do ) and breeding them.

Sorry for the long post and grammer
You are forwarned that more question shall come :oops:

Even if you read this and answer just one question it would have been worth the hour it took to me to touch type.

thanks dan

[Hollowman]

A job to know where to start really. I think you need to do some more homework before you just start adding 'cheap' discus to a tank.

If you had read about discus or how to set up a tank you would not have gone right out to buy clown loaches for one.

Any tank needs to be cycled, the best way to do this is by using a fishless cycle, therefore you do not risk binging in ANY disease/virus/parasite or anything else to your tank, as well as not making any other fishes suffer the hardship of the uncycled tank conditions. Cycling can take anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks. Never rush it.

Ok, so you want a planted tank, this means that you do not want to raise discus from a small size to adulthood and you intend to buy adult fish. This, I can tell you now, will not be cheap. You buy cheap big fish, then you will probably have been ripped off (unless you are VERY lucky) or bought fish that have been in a LFS for so long that they are disease ridden and, or stunted.
If the intension IS to raise small fish to adulthood, then having a planted tank is NOT the way to go. Bare bottom tanks are strongly favoured for this due to the fact that heavy feeding = heavy waste rate = lots of water changes. Discus need lots of GOOD CLEAN water to thrive and to grow to their best potential. Most sucessful people who raise good quality discus are doing 75% water changes a day, sometimes more.

As for getting your fish (eventually) your best method is getting them all in one hit. Discus are a shoaling fish that thrive in groups of 6+. Get them from one supplier who you can trust. I recommend you look at the sponsors recommended on this site. Not only will they be able to give you good advice, but they will have their fish in the best conditions possible. This means that you have 2 choices. (1) You match your water to their conditions so your fish are not shocked when you get home. (2) You ask them to condition the fish to your parameters. They can talk to you about this.
It is always recommended that you have a smaller 'Quarrentine/Hospital Tank' so that you can move sick fish into it should you have any problems, or want to add more fish later.

The wood you have in the tank right now is leeching out tannins. As long as the wood came from an aquatic shop you will be ok. The fish will not be affected by this, but to avoid the brown water, frequent water changes will be necessary. Some woods are not recommended for fish tanks as some saps can be toxic.

There are lots more things to consider here, and I have said before that 'fools rush in'
Please dont be offended by how I have stated any of the above. Keeping discus is easy, but there are some rules that have to be followed to get the best out of what can be a very rewarding (and expensive) hobby. The worst thing you can do is jump in right off the bat, kill your fish and never return to discus.
Please read all you can about how to set up a discus tank. Decide what you intend to do as far as raising small fish or buying larger adults, consider for now a BB tank, at least until you know you can keep discus happily.

At least you have come to a place where advice is free and where many have already hit the barriers that you will find. Please ask any question, however small or trivial and I am sure we will be pleased to help.

Lots of food for thought.

Hollowman :wink:

[cityguy]

Wow and wow again, that was really a great answer Hollowman :D , very very informative. I am awaiting a reply from Merrilyn as well on this topic, because she is another person :idea: in this forum who is very knowledgeable and can be trusted with closed eyes..

[danie11]

I took your advice and read up and I am kinda put off owning discus, the more I read the more rules I find to keeping them and at the end it just gets so confusing.

so Atm I have put of buying them and concentrated on planting the tank, getting the lights sorted not to mention continuing to cycle it correctly.
Daily water changes on a 90 gallon can be time consuming mayby to much so :(

I have decided on a planted tank because I cant bare the idea of keeping fish in a glass box. Surely this isnt how a discus should be kept,I mean I want to provide these fish with a lush [planted paradise] so I can enjoy their presence. It might not be the best or most perfect, professional raising and breeding enivioroment but I will do my best to make sure they are well cared for which is why I am here.

As for now I am just looking at a huge tank with the 4 clown loaches hewy,duey and the 2 luies.
6 sterbae cories (these do well in the warmer temps I was lead to believe)
They all look like they are happy to be there, honest :)
Maybe I am just looking At owning discus a different, possibly uniformed way.

Thankyou again for taking the time to reply to my questions

Ps the discus I would purchase from LFS would be aprox 2/3 inches
Blue turks $50 aus

[Hollowman]

Dani, You are not harming dicus by putting them in a 'glass box' You must remember that these fish have been bred in capivity (domestic strains) and know no different. Wild fish are a different thing, a biotope would be best for them.
Don't be put off by the water changes, we all do as much as we can for the time/money we have. We all learn what is best for our fish and take advice when needed. I have a 90 gallon too, and change 50% twice a week, but I am not growwing out small fish. I just know that buying small fish to put in a planted tank is not the best senario.

As for the rules, they are the same for any fish or aquarium really, they all take time and care, I would say that keeping a planted tank is harder than keeping discus, thats why I dont have plants... :roll:

But I will say that keeping discus is SO rewarding, they are a great fish, and they even welcome you home when you get in from work with their noses pressed up against the glass.
Any more advice please ask :)

Hollowman

[danie11]

Hi guys just a quick update on the tank plus a pic

I ended up getting four juvies about 5m and a 15cm blue turk of a fish forum :)

However in the last month have come to realise a few things.
A BB tank is by far the easiest way to feed and maintain these very greedy fellows, (Hmm I think I remember some one telling me that)
Also they chirp like crickets when trying to get at those Australian Dried Blackworms ( my god you should see what 50g of those looks like) thanks Mal for the free sample aswell :wink:

During this time the Blue turk developed a mild case of finrot due to him being picked on in his previous home :( he also seem scared to be in my big planted tank always shying away and hiding he seems quite a timid eater compared to the juvies.

I had originaly intended to treat/worm the whole 90 gallon till I went to the LFS to stock up on the meds :shock: there was no way I could afford to dose the whole tank, shit It worked out cheaper to buy a complete QT setup, hehe so that what I did.

I purchused the following just to have incase of an emergency
prazi
tetracyline
salt
plus mum said she will get some metro dont think in need it though ?

The Q/T is a 15 gallon BB with a couple of big pieces of driftwood
Eden 501 cannister and jager heater.

So I catch him and the 4 juvies and placed them in a Q/T with the intention of worming them as well.

I have the temp at 30 and have added 3 Tb salt within a week the finrot has started to heal and the turk has gotten his colour back, but to my dismay they all seem happier in this little tank then they ever did in the big one :?
I have also started worming them with prazi tablets

Ps can you over feed these guy cause they are always hungry ?

http://lh5.ggpht.com/bluedan006/SJMA5rAbaaI/AAAAAAAAAKw/wproQlVRaRc/s800/P6290048.JPG

[pink66]

It is strange isn't it that we go to soooo much effort to set something up and then the fish just don't appreciate it.. You have a very lovely tank indeed. Perhaps your little guys and the turk have not lived in a planted tank before. My discus is exactly the opposite. When I took all her plants and placed them into the new tank leaving her a piece of wood only she cracked it and hid inside the wood until I put plants back in.. she is now always at the front of the tank again to say hello.. Go figure.... :roll:

I am glad that the salt is helping.. hopefully they will be feeling better soon so you can give the bigger tank another go.. but yes, they can be rather messy :D :D