# discus



## juice (Nov 28, 2003)

i have a 33 gallon tank...i was thinking of getting 2-3 discus...will it house them for life?..and also i read that when keeping a discus..i would have to do alot of water changes...any info on how often i should change the water and also any other info i should know about?...anythin would be helpful thanks.


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## Poseidon X (Jan 31, 2003)

keeping discus is like keeping saltwater... it can be a bitch.They are very frail.


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## Lahot (May 20, 2003)

some people will claim that they need some very special water parameters, while some others will claim that they will do great in almsot any water as long as they are adjusted slowly enough to it.

This only goes for the captive bred ones, if you buy wild caught, do a lot of research on them.


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## heckel (Sep 2, 2003)

Juice,



> i have a 33 gallon tank...i was thinking of getting 2-3 discus...


Discus do better in numbers imo a 33 gal. is to small imo a 45 gal. or 50 would better suit discus because of the "depth" of the tank. Also it's 10 gallons of water for every discus this rule can be broken with lots and lots of W/C's. Also imho wilds are no different to keep then domestics they require the same attention as domestics as far as water quality and a balanced diet. I've had my wild heckel's since July of this year and the only difference that I can tell is the wilds took a month and a half to adjust to my aquarium where domestics about a week or two. Not the best pic in the world but it'll do.


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## heckel (Sep 2, 2003)

oops :laugh:


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## Kory (Jun 5, 2003)

wow nice looking Discus


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

juice the 33g can house 3 discus for life..............they grow about 8 inhes max.....so a 33g is perfect for three........i've owned discus for like 5 years and truly the most beautiful fish i've owned i have about 28 in a 150g.......but like Lahot said they are truly hard fishes to take care of.......the water parameters have to be perfect.....picky eaters.....and highly sick easy......i treat my tank at least once every two weeks for disease........discus is not for beginners.......but try them their cool here's some info on my tank

water
ph 6.0-6.5 they like low ph so add alotta driftwood in or you have to chemically do it
temp 83-86 degrees they like it hot more active

food
alotta frozen food like hikari krill and bloodworm

plus dont have too many decor in there they leave a big mess so easier too clean and easier to treat when sick..........my 150g is bare with a couple driftwood


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## juice (Nov 28, 2003)

thanks for the info nigaphan...
THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL...
hmm im thinkin of getting 2 discus plus some neon tetras..then i will do a water change every other day...about 10 - 15% each time....what u think?..sound go? or is there somethin wrong with my idea?


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## heckel (Sep 2, 2003)

nigaphan,



> but like Lahot said they are truly hard fishes to take care of.......the water parameters have to be perfect.....picky eaters.....and highly sick easy......


This is bull especially the last two that you mention.



> i treat my tank at least once every two weeks for disease........


Why???? all your doing is either stressing your fish or making the fish immune to the medication I find this rather dumbfounded :rock:



> ph 6.0-6.5 they like low ph so add alotta driftwood in or you have to chemically do it
> temp 83-86 degrees they like it hot more active


I'll somewhat agree to this part but discus wild or domestic "CAN" adapt to a higher ph and thrive



> i have about 28 in a 150g.......


this i gotta see throw us a pic up. You know picture's speak louder then words


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## heckel (Sep 2, 2003)

Juice,



> hmm im thinkin of getting 2 discus plus some neon tetras..


Two discus will fight until one dies that why I said its better to have discus in numbers not only to spread aggression but also so they'll fell more secrue when frighten


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## etb (Nov 6, 2003)

BUY a good book or two buy guys that make their living at it. The books arnt cheep but the fish arnt eather. Here a few Schmidt-Fockes DISCUS BOOK PRINTED by t.f.h. about 30$ at lfs. OR HANDBOOK OF DISCUS by Jack Wattley about the same price. They can tell you how to do it the right way.


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

how many in a 30 or 40 gallon for life.


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## Kory (Jun 5, 2003)

sweet lu said:


> how many in a 30 or 40 gallon for life.


 3 or 4 in a 40 gal


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

heckel said:


> nigaphan,
> 
> 
> 
> ...










well all fishes are different...........i've owned discus juss as long as i owned p's..........i personally never owned wild ones.........like your heckles lahot......why are you trying to bash on me????







this is how my tank is setup and how they like it.........i've gotten all these advices from discus owners and breeders.......and yes these fishes get sick alot.........that's why i medicate them every once in awhile..........and when there is one sick fish i like to medicate all juss in case the others dont get sick like next........i dont know how much you have but i have 28.........i was tryin to help juice so if you dont like it post up your own opinion about it.........dont go knocking on my advice


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

here's one pix Lahot not full tank shots.............some old pixs....my camera broken waiting for my x-mas present


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## juice (Nov 28, 2003)

ok guys...now im confused...nigaphan says i can keep 3 for life..and heckel says my 33 gallon is too small.

i really need to get rid of my rbp's....I HAVE 5 P'S IN A 33 GALLON.







and now that they are getting bigger...about 2 inches each....they are fighting alot...and i dont have the money to buy a bigger tank... my fuckin lfs told me that i could keep 5 in a 33 gallon.








...i guess he was just tryin to sell me those p's.

so now i wanna try to keep discus...but im getting different advices.


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## juice (Nov 28, 2003)

here are some pics..


























i love them so much







..but im afraid i dont have the money to get a bigger tank for them..


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## etb (Nov 6, 2003)

if you want some realy good discus try this guy he will treat you right and his fish are awsum and he will help you any way he can. he will tell you just how to do it right .www.discushatchery.com. do like he says and you wont have a problem.


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## heckel (Sep 2, 2003)

> like your heckles lahot......why are you trying to bash on me????


Thanks, but my user name is heckel not lahot.:rasp: Not trying to bash you at all just pointing out the facts nothing more nothing less.

[/QUOTE]i dont know how much you have but i have 28.........


> It's not a question of how many I have or how many you have it's a matter of are they healthy and thriving and judging by you saying in a previous post that you "treat" the tank every two weeks kinda makes one wonder. WHen you speak of the 28 you are referring to the one's in 150 gal. correct? Personally I don't see how you can cramp all those fish together unless you do aleast a 75% W/C daily and that imho that your way over crowded. Could you maybe give me and the other board members you daily routine with the discus? I will say this my wilds that I have are in a 75 gal. tank and my daily routine consist of a 50% W/C daily and they are thriving because they used to be 6 inches now they are pushing 7 and a half. And btw. "heckel's" in general are suppose to be the "so called picky" of the group yet none of mine or like that.


i've gotten all these advices from discus owners and breeders.......and yes these fishes get sick alot.........


> I usually address quotes in how they appear but ol well. moving along here. I have spoken by phone with two of the major breeder more times then one LOL one being Cary Strong of greatlakesdiscus and Gabriel Posada of wattleydiscus . I think if you present your problem to either one of these breeders you'll have an answer to your fish getting sick alot problem this again just an opinion not a flame
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

juice..........p's







discus :nod: .............in my opinion they are fine in a 33g

coo heckel it's juss the way you quoted everything i said and had a comment for each of my advices.........juice asked for advice and i gave him some.........i've breed a few discus so that's why i have so many discus in my 150g........i have what's leftover from what i didnt sell and wanted to keep and oh yes im gonna downsize when the rest get diner plate sizes.........







my daily routine is feed once everyday.........20-30% water changes weekly.........and medicate every wo weeks

heckel quote.........And btw. "heckel's" in general are suppose to be the "so called picky" of the group yet none of mine or like that.

You Say Potatoes I Say French Fries.......too different opinions


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## juice (Nov 28, 2003)

nigaphan.....so i can keep 3 discus in a 33g?


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

yup


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

but what you gonna do with the rbp???? and any discus in particular?????


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## heckel (Sep 2, 2003)

Juice,

I will offer you this as a last incentive. I don't beleive nigaphan will argue with this since you have 2 opinions that go into two directions. Why not research the fish alittle before making up your mind....


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

heckel said:


> Juice,
> 
> I will offer you this as a last incentive. I don't beleive nigaphan will argue with this since you have 2 opinions that go into two directions. Why not research the fish alittle before making up your mind....


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

nigaphan said:


> heckel said:
> 
> 
> > Juice,
> ...


 glad you two could work it out. now kiss and make up :bleh: ......









can i keep 4 in a 40 gallon with some neons and other small fish to. also what about drawf puffers. to mean or not a good choice.

yes ok









no not good


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## Lahot (May 20, 2003)

beautiful fish, but too much work. The lfs I go to got in 8 last Wednesday, 3 are alive and barely at that. He got in 8 2 months ago, 6 died quickly. He had a single discus in a tank for 3 months and it died for no apparent reason.

Do a lot of thinking before shelling out the kind of money necessary for Discus.

Discus and dwarf cichlids like rams and apistos are too sensitive


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

Lahot said:


> beautiful fish, but too much work. The lfs I go to got in 8 last Wednesday, 3 are alive and barely at that. He got in 8 2 months ago, 6 died quickly. He had a single discus in a tank for 3 months and it died for no apparent reason.
> 
> Do a lot of thinking before shelling out the kind of money necessary for Discus.
> 
> Discus and dwarf cichlids like rams and apistos are too sensitive


 cant agree with u more lahot...........







try angelfish sweet lu


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

sweet i will have an angel fish tank.









might be boring but it is no for me anyways. it is for my grandpa but i was gonna do the mantaince.how many angle fish now


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## 14_blast (Oct 6, 2003)

Nice Heckels, Heckel.









33 gallon tank could be a good breeding tank, but 3 adults could be cramped.

At first I tried to keep my pH down between 6.0 - 6.5, but I got lazy near the end and just started adding hardwater from my tap. They did ok.


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

sweet lu said:


> sweet i will have an angel fish tank.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 depends on the tank i say like the same thing with discus about 10g per fish...........they get terrotorial about a year........and start mating in a year or so..........i had more success with mating angels then discus.......they're cool fishes......juss as interesting as discus......but much cheaper and easier to take care of


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

do they come in arrange of colors. i have only seen black and white ones. i would like it if they came in blue and red and other colors to. but i think that a fish is a fish and i think all fish are beatifu nomatter what color they are :nod:


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

man juss like discus they have many hybrids........but never seen a red one........koi/veil/albino/black/blushing/gold/silver....endless......i had my double black mate with my koi and the came out with some black goldish baby's really tight!









take a look here at the different hybrids
http://www.fishfactoryonline.com/fish.htm


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