New to discus

[Stedaw1990]

Hi there. I'm after any helpful advise as I've been given 2 discus fish from a friend approx 2 years old. Never had themy before so slightly unsure on what to do.

[Hollowman]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Do as much research as you can. General conditions are not really the same as for other fish as the temperature must be between 28 and 30 degrees. Water must be kept pristine and large water changes of at least 40% twice a week for me would be a minimum. Discus eat a variety of foods but flake like regular fish eat can be boring for them. Try and find a good beefheart mix. Tankmates can also be a problem, so please post up what you have or even better some photos of your setup. Tanklife will change when you have discus, so welcome to the club.

[Stedaw1990]

Hi thanks for the advise. I have a variety of fish. I have 3 angel fish, 6 tiger barbs, albino shark, golden gourami, blood parrot, and 2 rams. They have all been in there around 6 months and no issues. I have turned the temperature up from 25 to 28 since having the discus and have bought small discus pellets. My nitrate is always pretty high even with a 30% water change every week so im going to get a few live plants to hopefully resolve the issue.

[sayid]

Welcome to the forum , I hate to tell you this but if your nitrate is high already then it going to get worst after you get the discus ,also your tiger barbs are nippers and albino sharks are going to stress your discus ,also a few plants are not going to reduce nitrate a lot and it might trap waste and food and makes nitrate problem worst . have a read on discus tank mates .good luck.