Discus basics?

[No_Clue]

New to discus completely (never kept them before, but have kept and bred freshwater fish for about 3 or 4 years, and a nano-reef for about 1), but I'm just wondering if I have some of the basics down.
They like a pH of about 5.5-7.0, somewhere on the lower of mid-side of that for breeding?
Grow to about 6-9" (I've heard anywhere between these two numbers)?
Mature at anywhere from 8 (rarely)- 18 months?
Like to be kept in groups in a large enough tank?
Hardness on the low side?
Anything else you can add would be appreciated. About the pH, if I had a pH of, say, 7.4, and my target pH for breeding and general care was 6.3 (good pH or no?), would I just mix R/O water and tap water to the right ratio to get that target pH? Thanks!
Sean

[Liverpool_pete]

It is possible to keep discus at a ph higher than 7 but i would recomend trying to keep your ph stable at or below 7.

I think the main thing is to keep it stable as a swinging ph will have a greater negative affect on the fish than a stable slightly higher one.

Have you given much thought to temp as well?? You will need to be able to keep the temp at 27-28 and be able to raise it to at least 30 if you have any diseases or problems. This also is benificial if it is stable so a good heater is a must and having 2 would be better in case of failure.

HTH

[No_Clue]

Ya, my first concern is stable pH, second is correct pH. What would be the ideal pH for breeding and general care? Yes, I knew they enjoyed a high temperature, but forgot to say. In larger aquariums I have 2 heaters (one at each end of the tank), and I plan to always have an extra heater (enough to heat the largest tank I have) once I start discus keeping.

[Nathan]

Have you given much thought to temp as well?? You will need to be able to keep the temp at 27-28 and be able to raise it to at least 30 if you have any diseases or problems

i think youl find most ppl will agree but you should keep your discus at 28-30 then if they are sick be able to raise the temp to 32

[mistakes r crucial]

Why do you think you need RO water? Where are you from?
MAC

[No_Clue]

Alright, I'll be sure to keep them at around there (when I get them, lol). And I thought it was the general opinion that they needed RO water...guess not. Anyway, my water is quite hard (well water), with a lot of calcium and mineral in it. I'm from southwestern Manitoba (Canada). I was also thinking that RO water would lower the pH, but I realize now that it wouldn't. Would I use peat to lower it to breeding pH levels?
Sean

[mistakes r crucial]

Yes you can use peat providing your water is not overly hard to start with. If it is really hard then peat will be of little use to you and you may well need to use a mixture of RO and well water.
MAC

[No_Clue]

But (correct me if I'm wrong), RO water has the same pH as the water right out of the tap, doesn't it?
Sean

[mistakes r crucial]

I have never used RO, I dont need to, but as far as I am aware the Ph of RO is the same as your tap water.
MAC

[FishLover]

MAC,
You are right about the PH level. The difference is that the RO water is much easy to adjust the PH level comparing to your tap water. A simple PH down will get to where you want you PH in the RO water and it will not bounce back.

Tap water is totally different. If you have hard water, PH down is no way to adjust your PH level. It will bounce right back within few hours. Personally, I use Discus Buffer to soft my tap water. Compare to peat it is much cheaper and easier to use. Some people don't like it, especially if you have a planted tank. I wish I could use RO water but that is out of the question for me.

Sean,
You coudl use the PH down to adjust your PH level of your RO water and you don't need peat. Just remember to add some tap water to mix with your RO water to make sure it has some trace elements in it. Or you can buy the trace elements to add to your water. You will have to try it out the % of tap water and RO water. You will also have to add Prime or something else to remove the chlors if you add tap water to the mix.

[No_Clue]

Alright, so I would use R/O water to keep the pH down working, but still some tap water for minerals and such? I wouldn't have chlorines, its well water (well away from any chlorine sources).
Sean

[FishLover]

Sean,
In that case, you are fine. Just try out the % of RO water and tap water, plus the pH down to get to the pH level you want. I would go for pH 6.5 if possible.

Do some test out side of the fish tank or the wide pH swings will kill your fish.

[No_Clue]

Alright, I'll remember that. Thanks!
Sean