New here!

[Bruno]

Ello everyone,

first of all, sorry for my bad english... im from Quebec

I have a few questions as far as basic keeping of discus, i have done my research and have owned discus before without alot of success. (but i had try to cut cheap everywhere, too much of a small tank, not enougth water changes etc...)

I have some experience in keeping fish, ive had aquariums since i was 5 or something :P... and i now work in a lfs as a part-time for some college $...

anyways, il get to it... i just baught a new 75gallon aquarium (48"x18"x18") and started thinking about discus all over again... i also have a 50gallon with some pretty rare africans (placido yellow electra superior, midnight blue julidos... nice fishies :P) and i love them, but their colours are nowhere near... anyways you guys know what i mean!

Now i know someone who could get me big wild caught Green Tefé's for arround 65$ canadian... wich is a good price imo, since i sell small low quality pigeon bloods for 50 at the store (not my prices... i know we over charge :oops: ). This definatly caught my attention...


But i have some more specific questions concerning water quality. I know they need a low PH arround 6.0-6.5, but i am unsure of the correct KH and GH. My tap water is 7.4, GH 120ppm and Kh 80ppm.

Also what conditionner do you guys use because mine buffers the water a bit..

R/O units are way out of my budget, i was thinking of putting peat moss in my ageing tank with an air stone? would this be enougth?

Some large pieces of driftwood will be added to the tank

I want this tank to be heavily planted, with 4 or 5 Discus and maybe a small school of corydora's.

Thank you all in advance!

-Bruno

p.s. anyone have pictures of an amazone biotope? :)

[Insomnia]

I'm sure there are a few people that would disagree with me, but RO water is a necessity with discus IMHO. The main reason for this is that the PH of RO water is ideal for discus. RO water requires no buffering and removes all the harsh chemicals that can stress your fish and spike your levels. It is true that RO removes most of the beneficial minerals from the water, but they are easily replaced with products such as RO right. RO systems are not as expensive as you think. The price of them in most cases highly inflated. The basic componants of any system are all the same, with the main difference being only how may stages of filtration. If you look on the net, do a google search, and search all the shoppers, and even ebay, you will find that a 75 gallon per day system can be bought for $75 or so. About $1 per gallon per day is a pretty good way to guage a reasonably priced system. (that's US dollars)

[goldenpigeon]

hi and welcome to discus forums!!! :D :D

the water for discus basicly has to be within the 6-7ph range preferably about 6.6. the hardness has to be soft (i think about 14-25? i dont know because my water is perfect out of the tap) and a temp of 28-30 degrees celcius.

and yer that is way!!!! over priced! :D

[Bruno]

Thanks!!!


for RO water... the cheapest systems in my area are arround 150$ and cartriges are arround 50ish dollars... canadian... so thats arround 160US$ alltogether... pretty much the same as ordering online with shipping...

i just dont have that kind of money!

i guess i could go the bottled water rout (2-3$ for 18L), but that is a pain for a 75g!

thanks for the quick feedbacks and welcome ! :wink:

i will start experimenting on my water tonight using co2 and peat to see how low i can get it on my own without commercial buffers and such... see if i can get the hardness to drop in that range in 48hours...

If i cant do without RO water i might just have to drop this project.

-Bruno

[Merrilyn]

Hi Bruno - welcome to the forum. So glad you could join us all the way from Canada.

Wild caught discus are just about THE most difficult to settle into tanks. The water they come from is very soft, around 1 - 2 degrees GH. If you want to keep wilds, then an RO is a must with your tap water.

For your first excursion into discus, I cannot, in all honesty recommend "wild caught" discus. They are difficult to acclimatise into a tank situation, difficult to begin feeding, and usually come complete with a host of parasites. Failing to overcome any one of those problems will lead to the death of your discus.

However, tank bred discus have become used to higher pH and harder water over the generations. Your water straight out of the tap will be fine, with the addition of peat moss to your aging tank. No need to do anything else to it.

Those little discus may seem expensive, but they will be worth it in the long run.

[Bruno]

Yeah well... after alot of thinking ive decided against the wilds... im just going to find me a nice local breeder for some good quality discus, some marine blues maybe and maybe some malboro red... not quite sure yet, depends on what i find and at what price! :P...


i just did the maths... :P... wild discus... 280$ for 4 big fish...

local breed, 20-30$ depending what size and species...

il just get 8 small discus of a good quality for alot less $ :P... more bang for the buck. And il have alot more success in replicating their environment and needs! (plus getting a pair... )

I just have to get my 50gal fixed for my africans then the 75 will be set up, and then il go hunting :)

thanks for all the infos, and making me realise i was going way over my head!


-Bruno

[Merrilyn]

Glad to be of help. We like everyone to be successful in this hobby :P

[goldenpigeon]

sounds like a better idea to me to bruno

[Bruno]

to me too... :)


i was "thinking" about the WC cause i could have had mature good quality fish for the same price as the soso quality small fish...

but in the long run, my pockets will go empty and il most likely lose them since i wont have the money to get them a good enougth water parameters...

il set up a sample tank first of all and do some tests, see if i can get the a good water... then i guess il decide what i do...

I know i can keep africans(i know they are tanks...)... have for a long time, bred, etc... time for discus again :)


-Bruno

[Merrilyn]

I'm sure you'll have great success. Discus are pretty tough.

Good luck with your venture into discus.

[jwight]

I keep discus with those water parameters from tap water and they are fine. grow well eat well and disease free. A lot of people just like to play with water. Fish like plants like to be left alone. They will do great.

p.s. I think your tank is actually about 60-65 gallons minus decorations.