is it really that hard, raising discus?

[yago]

I would love to raise discus, they are the kings of fresh water. I would like to set up a large tank just for them. But after all i read, they seem to take alot of time and effort. They seem to get illnesses alot, and their water has to very clean, acidic and warm. I dont mind up keep, but i would hate to lose beautiful and costley fish as they are. Please advise! I dont jump into anything until i have asked alot of questions and done research. Yago. :)

[sunshinediscus]

Yago,

Discus are not difficult to keep and they are not especially prone to disease as long as the conditions they are kept in is good and the discus were healthy to begin with. They are also not for lazy aquarists as they do require a lot of waterchanges when compared to average tropical fish. Although the discus do live in soft acid water in nature they are quite adaptable especially as far as ph is concerned. Stability of the water parameters is far more important than any exact ph or hardness level, if your ph is 7.5 or even a bit higher from the tap then i wouldn't be too concerned about altering it. They are definately different to maintain compared to other fish, but once you get a rountine down they don't take that much time each day. Keep reading forums like this and keep asking those questions, once you get the hang of things you'll see discus are not that difficult.

Rod

[yago]

Thank you very much for your reply. I didnot think anybody here was going to answer my question. I will keep doing research and readind the questions and answers on the forum. Thanks again.

[kalebjarrod]

couldn't have sadi it better myeslf rod

welcome to the forum yago :D

[weird]

Yago

Keeping discus is not hard. The initial learning curve can be steep but afterwards it comes down to regular maintenance. Your local tap water parameters might influence the amount of effort required.

The only chemical I use is Seachem prime. I have a water bucket with an airstone and heater, and treat the water for 24 hours. I do daily water changes. That is pretty much it. I don't use any water ph buffers.

I do four feedings a day, of hikari brine shrimp, hikari bloodworms and a beef heart mix. Sometimes 5 if time permits. Resisting the temptation to overfeed can be high.

Also I have a medicine cabinent of metro, prazi and multicure.

The tanks are bare bottom, and the plants are either grafted to driftwood or potted. This allows easy cleaning.

I keep the temp of the tank about 29 to 30 degrees.

So including water changes which you automate, it only requires about half an hour a day for me to keep the 'KING OF THE AQUARIUM'.