New to Discus

[fair1889]

Hi, as the title says I am new to discus. I have kept and bred a variety of fish including Plecs, angels and have been concentrating on Apistogrammas over the last couple of years.
I am due to pick up 4 Red Eagle discus shortly . Two are around 6" the other 2 around 3". They have been kept together in a shop (tho not for sale) and now the shop is closing down I am taking them. I have a 180litre tank that I have sterilised and refilled over the last few weeks. I has a tetra ex 700 filter( mature) and a large foam filter running it. I have put sand in as substrate and planned to add some young home bred Cory Sterbai. My questions are is it best to leave the cory out for now and just house the discus? They have various tankmates in the shop.
I was planning daily water changes of 20%. with hma water , ph7 tds110/130.
My other fish get live food a couple of times a week ( brineshrimp, daphnia, bloodworm) and thrive on it . I know bloodworm is not recommended , what about other live food.
Any tips or advice would be great

Sorry for the long post

[Hollowman]

What are red eagles? must be a new strain........... :roll:

Welcome btw

[fair1889]

Sorry, why the rolling eyes? have I committed some discus schoolboy error! Thats what the owner of a reputable shop has them down as and they appear on a lot of import list when googled, so I dont understand.
Oh and thanks for all the advice :?
btw thanks for the welcome

[lpiasente]

some lps put fancy names on some discus strains so they can get more money out of unknowing people. Looking forward to actually seeing some pics of the discus. The cories are a good companion for the discus. Live brine will be good.

[fair1889]

Thank you for your reply.
I will post pictures soon

[Hollowman]

As Leanne says, there are so many new names generated just for sale's pitch to fool the newcomer. When we see pics we'll tell you what they really are :wink:
btw, Sterbai are great with discus. I am also breeding them, maybe we can swap tips :)

[Merrilyn]

Hi and welcome to the forum :wave

Live foods are a great treat for discus, but you'll find they'll accept both flake food and frozen foods. Although frozen bloodworms are not ideal for juvenile discus, they are quite safe to feed to mature fish in moderation.

Home bred cories in the bottom of your tank will be ideal.

I'm sure you already know this, but I'll mention it for the sake of others who may be reading: watch your tank for an ammonia spike after adding four large fish. You may need to do larger daily waterchanges till your bio filter catches up with the extra load.

Good luck with your fish. Looking forward to seeing some photos.

As far as names go, don't be too concerned. Having healthy fish is more important, no matter what they may be called :P

[fair1889]

Thanks for the welcome.
With regard to the name , I didnt give it much thought, I was after nice looking healthy fish.
The filters have been running mature tanks with messy catfish (L134's and L15's) but thanks for the advice and I plan on daily water changes in the early days.
As for tips with the Sterbai, with my breeding group of 7 , they lay eggs every cool water change (twice a week). I remove the eggs and grow on. I have 60+
growing at various stages at the moment

[Hollowman]

I have a similar group of sterbai that do the same as you describe. My problem in raising them is the first food source, after the yolk has been used. I have about 20 tiny ones in a tank on my system, but have found that a few die at 1cm size, I'm wondering if it is a food issue. :?

[Merrilyn]

Steve what are you using as fry food. I found microworms to be great for newborn cories, as they sink to the bottom of a bare tank, right where the fry are looking for food.

[Hollowman]

Hi Merrilyn, I have not tried them yet. Not sure where I can get them from here. I'll ask around. What I have been using is a liquifry formula, and crushed up decap BB eggs.

[fair1889]

I transfer the fry to an ice cream tub and they get newly hatched brine shrimp 2 a day and a feed of my own made fry food. The sucess rate is about 80% in the first 2/3 weeks after that they go in a fry tank. as they get bigger I feed with a brown tablet I get locally the picture is them feeding on this, all my cories go mad for it.[imhttp://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy149/fairhand/DSC02819.jpgg][/img]

[fair1889]

These are my discus an hour after aclimatising. They were a bit shy at first but now as the fish house lights are gradually dimming they are exploring the tank. I will let the experts tell me what they are
[imhttp://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy149/fairhand/DISCUS3.jpgg][/img][imhttp://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy149/fairhand/DISCUS1.jpgg][/img][imhttp://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy149/fairhand/DISCUS2.jpgg][/img]

[Hollowman]

They are Red Turqs

Nice Sterbai :)

[fair1889]

thanks, how do the discus look ?

[lpiasente]

I love cories.

[Hollowman]

Give them a few days to settle in and take a few more photos, a full side on and straight head on shot on each fish will help make a proper assessment.
I just looked at the fish from what I see, they look healthy enough, not malnourished, so they should settle in ok.
In the first photo you will notice a deformation on each of the fish on the nose. The dip or bridge over the nose is a thing that can start by an infection in the tiny fish fry in early life, it destroys the tissue and develops like that. Just something to look out for when you go looking for more fish later. Always try to find a fish with a smoothly rounded forehead with a good transition into the hard rays of the dorsal. In the second photo you will see the 9th hard ray of the dorsal is slightly longer, giving the fin an odd lump. You will find that there are lots of things to look out for when buying fish, but you will learn as you go. Overall, from what I see, they look fine, just get them eating and they will do well.
I look forward to more photos

H

[BigDaddyAdo]

Red turqs are my favourite strain.

Are you planning on breeding them?

[fair1889]

Thanks for the pointers at what to look for , I see what you mean about the bump on the nose. I will use this in future when looking for fish.
So they are not the best lookers but at least they are not malnourished, no wonder I chose them they sound just like me!
I would love to try breeding , but my only thought at the moment is to keep them alive and healthy, one step at a time.
I do think they will start to takeover as my main interest if things go well.
I will always need my bn's and cories tho to help pay a small chunk of the running costs

[Merrilyn]

In the second photo you will see the 9th hard ray of the dorsal is slightly longer, giving the fin an odd lump. You will find that there are lots of things to look out for when buying fish, but you will learn as you go.
H

Geesh Steve, how did you pick that :shock: You've got a much better eye than I have mate :lol: I saw the dent in the nose, but totally missed the dorsal rays.

Fair1889 they are good solid, healthy looking fish, with great colouring. I'd love to see their proper shape. It's really difficult to get a good photo of them when they have just been introduce to a new tank, so wait a few days till they settle, and then take some more photos.

I think they'll give you many years of enjoyment :P

[fair1889]

A couple of pics. One has a small hole in its dorsal fin , should this be a concern [imhttp://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy149/fairhand/DSC03204.jpgg][/img]
[imhttp://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy149/fairhand/DSC03308.jpgg][/img]

[Hollowman]

Looks fine, the hole in the fin is nothing to worry about unless it looks infected, I have had this before one one of my fish, but it will grow over eventually, just keep you water real good, by that I mean frequent water changes.
One thing to watch, and this might just be because you hasve transported them recently, is the ammonia burn on the tip of the caudal, again, the good water will heal this in a week or so. (but keep an eye on it)

H :wink:

[fair1889]

Thanks, the ammonia burn was spotted by someone on BIDKA as well where I have also posted( seems to be more people on the forum uk time)
Will keep up daily 30% changes