From bets to discus ... newbie in Melbourne

[Bec]

Hi all,

I am thinking about changing the fish I keep. I have been keeping fish for about two years, and mostly I have kept fighters. I also keep a community tank with angels, gourami, neons and bristlenose and the odd guppie as well as a tank of goldfish.

I have found the fighters are very difficult fish to keep! Each fish needs its own ten litre tank, with heating and filtration (yes, fully cycled) and given these conditions I still do a twice weekly 30% water change. On the odd week that I have missed even one of the bi-weekly changes I find I get problems with the fish.

My main display tank is a six foot tank that houses eleven individual internal tanks (each with its own filtration) and around these tanks swim a harem of female fighters. It was a huge challenge to make but it works well. The fighters have been an interesting fish to keep but I would like something with a bit more size and presence for the amount of work I put into my fish keeping.

So I am keen to try discus. I have a few questions though. How deep should my tank be? Will discus do OK in a 6x1.5x1.5 foot tank? I am thinking about six discus in a tank that size. If I get the Ph right (I have a good handle on the ammonia cycle already ... learned about that the hard way when I bought my first fighter home and he died in a week :( . I had no idea but a good forum helped immensely).

How hard are the discus to keep? I read conflicting stories. I am about to move and will only have tank water so am thinking that will help a bit. I never have any issues with either my goldie or community tank, they are always healthy and happy and so much easier to maintain than the multitude of small tanks.

Any advice would be much appreciated ... this time around I will be well prepared before the first fish crosses my doorstep!

Bec

[Ghoti]

Welcome Bec. Good to see another Melbournite on the forum. I am only six months or so ahead of you on the learning journey having gone from community to Africans and now discus.

I have certainly made mistakes but am learning heaps from the good folk here. I would say they are not as hardy as the Africans but not as difficult as is commonly thought.

My tank is 6x1.5x2 so yours should be fine. Allow 50lt per adult fish as a guide

Cheers,
Scott

[Bec]

Thanks Scott,

What sort of Discus do you keep. I read that it is best to get them all at once so they establish their pecking order from the start. That is going to be hard if I want a good variety.

Here is a photo of my six foot as it stands at the moment
http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy184/Becksphotos_bucket/1-11.jpg

My biggest thing will be Ph, as I know very little about it. The fighters adjust very well to Ph of various levels provided there are no sudden fluctuations, so it is not something I have paid to much attention to.

Also, my water is a 7 where I am at the moment, but I have no idea what it will be like once I move. I have six weeks until I move and another couple of weeks after that before I have time to get fish set up (I intend to keep my filters cycling during my move process as that is to much work to re do).

Where is a good place to go to look at differnt species for sale in Australia? I used to import my fighters from Thailand, can you do that with discus?

Cheers,

Bec

[boxters]

Hi bec welcome aboard. If I can be of any help please feel free to ask

[Topogigio82]

Nice tank! Very clean and green... And welcome to the forums!

Domesticated discus strains are very much like bettas, so you shouldn't have a problem through your betta-discus transition, and biweekly waterchanges for your bettas, girl you really loved them.

Ideally tall tanks are preferred, but 45cm sounds ok, pH7 is fine and your proposed use of tank water in the future would be loved by the discus... In my opinion 6 discus don't have to be purchased all at once. There's plenty of good Melbourne LFS for discus, and as far as importing them, unless you are really chummy with an importer, they are not going to import a handfull of fish for you unfortunately.

[Bec]

I tell you what, betta are sold as easy keep fish, but they are no different to any other tropical fish ... they really do need filtered, aged water, a heated tank and around 10 litres of water is ideal for each boy. If not you can say hello to ich, finrot etc, etc (particularly for exotic variations like half moons).

I must say, the more I look at discus variations the more I think, how can I just pick six?

[goodoo]

I think fighters are harder to keep than Discus. Dont worry about your Ph just give them clean heated water and they will do well. Dont buy a discus here and a Discus there. Buy a heap at once from the same supplier. It will make things alot easier. make shore all your fish are atleast 8-10 cm long ideally all the same size and dont buy from a fish shop. Those fish generally have the plaugue unless you see a real stunning fish. then buy it. Good luck.