Discus Myth #1

"Hey all" Zafgak says - getting up on his soapbox

Keeping TANK BRED discus is NO HARDER than keeping any other fairly sensitive fish. Feed them well, do regular water changes and siphon on a regular basis.

THAT'S IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that includes them being in a planted community tank.

You can watch out for signs of worms, but in tank bred fish, this should not be a problem..

Generally "the discus bigots" tell everybody they are hard to keep. I think this is just to make themselves feel superior. If anybody wants to argue the point - come round and check out my planted discus tanks (x2) and Veegals community tank in her office, that really gets basic cleaning and water changes due to work pressure.

- climbs back down from soapbox - and stomps off grumpily -

:blink1::blink1::blink1: :bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile:

When it comes to breeding them, or Wild caught Discus - then they can be difficult to keep.

 

Cool

I'll take 4

 

Remember to choose their tank mates with care and ALSO to keep them in largish groups. Keep your tank clean and feed them correctly.

 

Angel and Discus Tank.

Hmm.....

Project number 6a.

Code Named: "Do not consult wife"

 

:bigsmile:

My new motto is that its easier to ask forgiveness than permission!

 

Yup..

Or Hey look Honey, its my new discus tank.

Oh and here are 4 neons for yours....

Is just me or this Thread has gone off topic.

 

Some Inspiration

Credit goes to Filipe Oliveira

 

Nice pics Laure

My one planted discus tank has 3 large discus, 3 large wild p.Leopoldi angels, 3 flagtail catfish, 5 otos and the leopard Pleco.

Water change every 2 weeks.

Eheim canister and 2 air stones.

 

i would think that local breed (esp from someone within your area) with be the best, as the water conditions would be similar so then fish would not have too much adjusting to do.

on a side note on my marine tank a few months ago i got some captive breed clownfish at a time when many guys guys complaining the imported(wild caught) ones where strangly dieing off. my clowns are tripled in size and i only do water changes once in 6 weeks, so this point alone proves that captive breed species are far more hardy

 

Filipe Oliveira is a master aquascaper from Portugal. This was his first attempt at keeping discus. Not too bad, right? This is totally different from what he normally does. This is a more natural look and I think it really works well with the discus. He still maintains his trademark which is the use of a minimal number of plant species.

So when do we get to see pics of this planted tank?

 

I will try to take pics when I get home from work tonight, The discus and p.Leopoldi tank has pics somewhere on the forum.

Here is the link : http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=816&highlight=leopoldi

problem is no discus in the photo's and you can't see the tank

 

Laure if thats your tank ... dam ... thats awesome

 

If you are referring to the tank with discus in this thread, then no, it is not. I am sure my post says "credit to Filipe Oliveira". My tank is here http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=1300

Still a long way off from Filipe's...

 

Sorry to Filipe's

 

i think this thread is misleading. Ofcourse anyone can get a couple of discus throw them in a tank and do their regular water changes etc and keep the fish alive.... Shure thats not too complicated, but to get them thriving and grown to their full potential is another story.... I think thats where the "myth" started about it being hard, because if you do it right it is more labour intensive than everyday tropical fish

and not everyone lives in CPT where the water conditions suite discus well

 

Hi Something - I agree and disagree - I did caveat the post to say that if you want to breed or have wilds, then it is a different story. However, there are a lot of people out there who would like to keep discus, in a reasonable condition, who are not worried about slow growth rates etc. etc. The post was to say you CAN keep discus in a normal tank with normal parameters and normal water changes etc. Just feed them well and look after the water parameters. This is NO different from any other fish that requires a different dietary regimen. So I do not think it was misleading at all.

As to the water, I have kept discus in Weltevreden Park, under the same conditions.

 

I don't see the big "WHOO HAA" in Discus... Don't get me wrong...its a great looking fish, but it really just doesn't spark any interest for me...

I am yet too see a Discus with a personality! *runs..*
And the cost of Discus!?!?!....most of the Discus I've seen are priced R350 and up...:bird:

 

is Filipe's tank too small or are his discus really big or am i seeing things?

 

All of the above :bigsmile:

 

My Discus breed in Joburg water. Out of the tap my water is:

GH: 4
KH: 3
PH: 6.4

Note, that is directly out of the tap.

They breed, they are always displaying and they have loads of personality. They are really cool fish. They are tank bred wild hybrids. I do have pics somewhere...









They are not difficult at all. Don't know why I was so apprehensive about getting them...