Best way to buy

[Vase]

I kept Discus a few years back, and although I somehow managed to breed some, keeping them generally wasn't what I'd call a success :(

Firstly I bought three fish, about 4" in size and then bought the rest as and when I had the money. I'm sure you can see where this is going! One fish got picked on and then wouldn't feed. When all my attempts (plus 18 years worth of fish keeping experience) failed, the fish sadly passed away. Its 'position' in the tank was then replaced by another fish who ended up the same way. And then again, and again etc. Before I knew it I was left with about three fish. One stayed at one end of the tank while the other two paired up and spawned.

At some point my tank will be set up again, and after even more research, and hindsight, I'd like to take the plunge again.

My question is what is the best way to buy Discus and stock your tank? My tank is 164 gallons, so can happily keep a few. Do you buy half, then the other half pretty soon after? Do you buy them in one go? Pairs? Does sizing matter? How about sourcing? Same breeder, or does it not matter?

Sorry about all the questions but any advice on this would be awesome :D

[Hollowman]

Hi Vase, welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear of your past efforts ending the way it did, but you will find some good advice here to boost your confidence.

"Firstly I bought three fish, about 4" in size and then bought the rest as and when I had the money"

Yep, first mistake i'm afraid. In a group of 3 there will always be one that gets picked on, quite often it will stop eating, hide in a corner, go dark and die. Also, adding to the group without quarentine is a VERY bad idea, you ran the risk of introducing all sorts of disease and parasites into your system. Discus, being shoaling fish should be bought in small groups of 5-8 fish. This means that the dominant fish will share out the arse kicking so the weakest one never gets picked on all the time, so no deaths.

"what is the best way to buy Discus and stock your tank?"

Find a sponsor, there are several to choose from on this site (they all ship around the country) who has fish that you like. It would be best if you buy from one supplier, this way you limit the risk of disease. It's up to you how many you get, you have a huge tank, so you could happily house 16 adult fish if you have adequate filtration. Size wise? depends on the depth of your pockets :lol: I would like to raise smaller fish to adulthood, but it means more work as far as lots of water changing. 3.5 - 4" fish would be a good start.
I would probably advise getting either all blue based fish, or all PB based fish. The reason for this would be that in a group, you might get a few that want to pair up as they mature. Sod's says that if you have a mixed group ie both strains, you get a mixed pair. The offspring from these is NOT desireable, whereas breeding within the same strain keeps things far easier.
I think that covers a few of your questions, any more? just shout.

H :)

[Vase]

Thanks mate thats awesome. :thumb

The new fish were quarantined. I had a four footer in my spare room especially for the purpose. Its actually still there and I'm thinking of using it for quarantine when I start over, although thats a long way away at the moment.

[Hollowman]

No problem, good luck with the new venture.

:)