# Discus



## sonofbreeder (Jul 17, 2005)

hey everyone i got some baby discus today and my dad said that he never could really raise them so i'm gonna have a go at them and wanted to know does anybody have any tips or any info on them?


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## Lara (Sep 4, 2005)

Amazon biotope, soft, acidic waters, peat filtered best. Have never kept them but know that much. Check out http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_discus.php for specific info.
Good luck


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## fishboy (Feb 26, 2005)

are they fry? If so as a food source discus fry eat the slime coat of their parents so thet'll be hard to feed. If they are small and resemble adults just care for them well and keep their water prefect. also being the son of a breeder(or so your sn suggests) know that they are considered the ultimate challenge for FW tropical breeders


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## Beerleader (May 31, 2005)

I have successfully kept 10 for over a year now and I was a newbie when I started with them. I had a few trials over their water parameters but never enough probs to hurt the fish. I ended up switching to R.O. water because it was sooo much easier to keep their parameters perfect that way. They do like soft, acidic, water so that made it much easier. At times I have to add a little discus buffer to the RO water to make sure their ph is low enough but not a lot. Just make sure their water is clean, warm enough, and remember never overfeed. Otherwise they aren't as difficult as ppl make them out to be. I had more trouble out of my africans that I have any other fish. My discus seem easy as pie compared to all their issues hehe. Good luck!


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

Hey beerleader, where have you been? Nice to see you :wink:


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## sonofbreeder (Jul 17, 2005)

their about quarter size so i don't think they are fry still they just ate some blood worms so they're doing pretty good my dad told me his would eat but kept getting skinnier and skinnier till they died thats why he never kept them, they look funny in the 38 gallon tank it's like to little tiny fish in a huge tank i'll take pics asoon as i can


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## Beerleader (May 31, 2005)

fishfreaks said:


> Hey beerleader, where have you been? Nice to see you :wink:


Nice to see you also. I've been so busy lately hardly time to get on any of my forums. I've been working at the horse track. Twice a year there are live meets and horse sales right before the races run live. So for those 6 weeks well 12 if you count the spring and fall. But for the next 6 weeks I bartend 12 hour shifts everyday but 2, and the other two I have classes. So I'm insane right now hehe. I made it through the sales, now the crazy parts coming. We get a week off in between so thats why I am on right now. The meet starts on Friday til the end of October. Its AWESOME money so I can't pass it up. I've missed chatting so much too, will be glad when its over and I can get back to my normal lazy routine lol. 

Great to see you!!!!


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## Beerleader (May 31, 2005)

sonofbreeder said:


> their about quarter size so i don't think they are fry still they just ate some blood worms so they're doing pretty good my dad told me his would eat but kept getting skinnier and skinnier till they died thats why he never kept them, they look funny in the 38 gallon tank it's like to little tiny fish in a huge tank i'll take pics asoon as i can


They do love bloodworms but can't live off those alone. They are great for color but need other nourishment. I give them bloodworms, brine, and beefheart daily. I switch up or mix a cube or half a cube of each. Then I also give them other snacks sometimes as well. But those tend to be their favs so I generally stick with those. They LOVE beefheart so try that as well. 

And I give mine live brine about once a month or so. Just make sure you turn off your filters while feeding them or it creates a bit of a mess hehehe. But they love the live stuff better than frozen of course. So maybe treat them to a tiny bit of brine. I think I buy like 1 oz. So you could do even less since you have only 2. Just a tiny tiny bit will make them happy.


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## sonofbreeder (Jul 17, 2005)

i got pics of my discus let me know what you think


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## AshleytheGreat (Jul 24, 2005)

It reminds me of the..uhh... i think its a batfish...looks like a saltwater batfish to me. But it's a cutie.


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## Beerleader (May 31, 2005)

They are very pretty they look alot like one of my pigeon bloods that has grown up to be absolutely beautiful. I'll post the pic of what it looks like now. Its not a great pic of its face but it has the peppered look all around its face, but now its getting all types of coloring in its body. One of my favs! Hopefully yours will also grow to be very pretty. They look good and healthy. Good luck with them.


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## sonofbreeder (Jul 17, 2005)

thanks i'm gonna need the luck lol i was wondering is it true that u can't put angels with discus?


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## Beerleader (May 31, 2005)

You can but I wouldn't. Angels carry a disease that doesn't always kill them but it will kill your discus if they are carriers. You can google angelfish disease or something like that and it will tell you all about it. I discussed it a few times in here before regarding mixing the two. I've seen it successfully done, but I wouldn't risk bringing an illness to my discus due to the high prices I've paid for them. Oh yeah and I just got a gorgeous Yellow one yesterday. I'll have to take pics and post them soon. He/she's a great additive to my tank colorwise. And he's quite large already. 

And you don't really need luck, they aren't that difficult to keep really. Just make sure there water stays clean and in the set parameters and you'll be fine. Trust me, I knew nothing about fish and started with them and had no probs. Only prob I've ever had is one died due to the others abusing him, they wouldn't ever let him eat, so he got thin and quite ill. I tried to separate him but he never got much better and finally died. He was always a little off since the day I got him, I always thought he was sick then. But if you get good stock and yours seem to look good and healthy, so you should be fine.


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## Lara (Sep 4, 2005)

Also, Angelfish and Discus don't come from the same part of the Amazon river:



> The discus comes from the Rio ***** and surrounding tributaries and streams in the Amazon Basin. From this we know it likes very soft and acidic waters, with minimum current and warm temperatures. Wow! those are the basics of keeping discus. The discus, despite popular belief, doesn't typically inhabit the same waters as the angelfish. The angelfish is more or less originated around the Amazon River itself and surrounding tributaries, which is a bit farther north. The water the discus comes from looks like a well brewed cup of tea from the large amount of wood and leaves releasing tanins into the water. There is a greater concentration of wood and rock to plant life in the discus habitat, most of the plant life is lillies and other floating types, so the discus feels more at home in subdued lighting. Reference


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## FishCrazy1234 (Jun 23, 2005)

What size tank do u have them in. And is there any other fish with them


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## sonofbreeder (Jul 17, 2005)

i have them in a 38 gallon tank and i have 4 corys with them and i didn't plan on that, i just put those corys in there for clean up for extra foods


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## TLM4x4 (Oct 3, 2005)

I have 3 corys in my tank with my discus...a peppered one and 2 bronze ones. They are very peaceful fish and go perfect with discus. I had had a pleco in there (100 gal.) but they are SOOOOOoo messy I got him outta there. Good luck with your discus...they are very small and look very young so make sure you feed them several small meals a day, they need to eat often at that size...good luck!


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## sonofbreeder (Jul 17, 2005)

i watch them very close everyday that why i put them in the tank i'm near the most so i can mke sure they're doing great, i'm starting to see a little pattern and a pepper face on both of them i can't wait till they get bigger. does anyone know how long it takes them to grow?


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## TLM4x4 (Oct 3, 2005)

From what Ive read, they are fairly slow growing fish


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## IloveCichlids (Jul 11, 2005)

Very nice fish, Good Luck.


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## Beerleader (May 31, 2005)

sonofbreeder said:


> i watch them very close everyday that why i put them in the tank i'm near the most so i can mke sure they're doing great, i'm starting to see a little pattern and a pepper face on both of them i can't wait till they get bigger. does anyone know how long it takes them to grow?


From experience they are very slow growers. Some of mine maybe grew 2 inches in a year if even that, the bigger more dominant ones have grown a bit more than the other already smaller ones from purchase. Now I tend to buy them quite larger so the other large ones don't pick on them or slow their growth. But whoever said they heard they are slow growers was correct. Only 2 or 3 of mine have grown several inches w/in the year while the others are very slowly growing. Maybe since you just have 2 and they are both small, they will grow faster since there isn't much of a pecking order.


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