|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 8:18 am
Discus are one of the prettiest tropical fish, but also some of the trickiest to care for. They need very clean water and high temps. They come in all kinds of colors, and all kinds of prices too. (these guys arent cheep sad ) Tank Size~They get pretty big, but 30 gallon tall will be fine for a a long term home. Some even put a breeding pair in a 20 tall (temp housing) for spawning. The taller the tank the better. Feeding~Alot of Discus owners use live foods. You can try to get them on prepared foods, like flakes or pellets, but most likely, they wont take it. They some times need vatimin supplements, and they are alot a few Discus speciffic foods out there you should try. As with any fish, varying their diet will bring out their colors and keep them at the top of their game. Tank Mates~Discus are very peaceful fish, so you shouldnt have a problem finding them some buddies. It is, however, recomended that you keep these fish in a species only tank, because of how picky they are about water conditions. Also, if it fits in their mouth, they'll eat it, so stay away from really small fish, like Neon Tetras. Some good tank mates for them are Cardnal Tetras (pretty much like Neons, but bigger), and other simular-sized or bigger fish. Decor~They come from the Amazon, so they will love a tank that simulates their natural environment (and who knows, it may even whoo your guests!). Lots of plants and drift wood should make your Discus feel right at home. I dont know much about these guys, I'm just going by what I have picked up over the past couple years, so feel free to add sweatdrop
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 5:39 am
one thing ive seen alot of keepers do is not have any substrate or decorations to make it easier to keep the water perfect because the bactiria have less places to live.
they are beautiful fish and i really wish i was good enough to keep some
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:19 am
@Shanna: bacteria are a good thing. The reason for a bare tank is because it's easier to clean up waste and uneaten food.
I'm not a discus fan. I just don't find the appeal. I hate the shape and there are plenty of other cichlids that are cheaper and more beautiful.
Also, discus get pretty big. Not only would keeping them in something as small as a 20g make it harder to keep the water clean, that's no room for them to swim around. Animal cruelty, IMO. If you can afford discus, you can afford a decent sized tank.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 10:55 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 4:48 pm
Vanilla eXee @Shanna: bacteria are a good thing. The reason for a bare tank is because it's easier to clean up waste and uneaten food.
I'm not a discus fan. I just don't find the appeal. I hate the shape and there are plenty of other cichlids that are cheaper and more beautiful.
Also, discus get pretty big. Not only would keeping them in something as small as a 20g make it harder to keep the water clean, that's no room for them to swim around. Animal cruelty, IMO. If you can afford discus, you can afford a decent sized tank. If you re-read that part, a breeding pair temp-housed in a 20 tall is ok. I am just going by what I have heard or read, so I wouldnt know personally what is needed to do this properly, but I assume it includes large daily water changes... @ Shanna~ lol its ok! We all learn stuff. Its like that day when you learn that a bowl is no place for a goldfish XD Another good thing about bare-bottom tanks is that you can have the maximum amount of water possible in the tank, that also helps with keeping the water clean. I keep 20+ 1 inch long guppy fry in a 3 gallon tank, bare-bottom with a 100% (ok, more like 99, but still) water change every day, and the lack of gravel helps loads, expectially because I dont have to dig around to get everything. I will, however, say that this is only for a few weeks, MAX, untill I can either rehome, trade or sell them, and the tank is waaaay over filtered (it has a Tetra 3i filter hooked up to a 10 gallon pump. It was a 15 gallon pump, then I looked at the 10 gallon tank next to it, and was like ".... waaaait....." and switched them lol)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 12:38 pm
Oh temporary, sure. I thought you meant for life, I was like sjdfnekjfkjnfr.
Guppies are also much smaller have less space requirements to begin with. Plus fry....you can keep fry in smaller tanks that what adults should be housed in, to a certain point (depending on water quality which I'm sure you're on top of). Like with my BN, he's a wee thing now but I don't intend on keeping him in a 10g, much too small, but there's no risk of stunting since I keep my water as close to pristine as it can get. He's going into a 20g long asap. More floor space and more water volume, ftw.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 3:19 pm
Vanilla eXee Oh temporary, sure. I thought you meant for life, I was like sjdfnekjfkjnfr.
Guppies are also much smaller have less space requirements to begin with. Plus fry....you can keep fry in smaller tanks that what adults should be housed in, to a certain point (depending on water quality which I'm sure you're on top of). Like with my BN, he's a wee thing now but I don't intend on keeping him in a 10g, much too small, but there's no risk of stunting since I keep my water as close to pristine as it can get. He's going into a 20g long asap. More floor space and more water volume, ftw. Well I did say "for spawning," but I should make it more clear lol sweatdrop
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 9:44 pm
Urgh you've got this all wrong. Discus are a shoaling fish, you can't be serious about the tank size. That's sticking 6 dinner plate sized fish in a tank that's only 30-36" long. These fish need to be kept in a tank at least 75 gallons, 90+ preferably. People only move their discus into 29 gallon tanks when they're about to spawn, so they can remove the parents once the eggs are fertilized, and put them back in a tank where they can actually move comfortably. These fish get well into the foot diameter range. I'm not kidding when I say dinner plates.
The reasoning behind the moving down in tank size is for one, to keep a maximum amount of healthy, surviving fry, and for two, easier to change water and keep the pH low. The water to breed discus needs to be pristine, the water to keep discus needs to be clean. People have successfully kept tank bred discus in pH's above 7.5 with weekly 50% water changes, which I do anyway without discus. It's the wild caughts which are extra finicky.
Tank bred discus are not nearly as finicky as people make them out to be. They're prone to internal parasites, but this is easily avoided with a good diet and attentive care to water perimeters, people usually advise 30% water changes twice a week.
The main reason why these fish are kept in species only tanks is not due to the finicky nature, but more because of the hot water they need. The temperature of an average discus tank is 86-90 degrees. This will toast most fish. They tend to be okay with sterbai cories, german blue rams, cardinal tetras, and rummy nose tetras, and that's about it.
Discus will readily accept most prepared foods, the fact people think they won't is another reason why they tend to die so easily. the more live food you give, the more chances you have of getting internal parasites, which are a huge threat to these fish. A lot of discus keepers just give regular old cichlid pellets, and a few make their own food. Just depends on the persons.
If you did your research on a fish keeping book from the 1970's when people bred oscars in 30 gallon tanks and tanks were heated with incandescent lighting and filtered with under gravels, than this might have been somewhat accurate neutral A lot has changed in the past 40 years though.
I don't mean to be harsh, but these fish are highly intelligent, jewels of nature. I don't want people getting the wrong idea off an out dated care guide.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
