Starting up a Discus Tank

I bought 5 juveniles and another 10 juveniles about a week ago. My tank has the following 3 pieces of driftwood one in each corner and in the centre one piece running across the length of the tank. My ph 6.5 still working around bring it a bit down. Running a Dolphin C1600 cannister filter, Eheim 300 heater with temp at 30. Doing every 2nd day a 40L water change. My water is currently light brown due to the driftwood. I started doing internet research about these amazing fish, should I achieve my goal then serious breeding while then start with some good breeding line. My current tank is 120 x 60 x 50. Busy in the process of having a 200 x 60 x 80 tank built. Currently feeding them a variety of high protein foods pallets & frozen. After the second day these fish started eating very fussy what they want to eat. Anybody breeding discus I would gladly appreciate anyones advice.

 

Once you START...you don't wanna stop

I breed Discus almost every year, just to keep up to date..hehe
I import them for the trade in large quantities

I also do so for collectors who want personal attention and require only the very best, healthy, attractive Discus fish to begin with.

I do hope your fish do well for you, and that you got the best quality and health
It is where you can make or break it!

Serious about Discus?
there are a few okes on the forum:
Marco in PTA, is hellbent on getting and breeding WIld or F1 fish..I will see to it to help out
He also wants some fabulous , modern, established BloodlInes of some fine Breeders overseas..
I'll be assisting him with those too.

Oh, and Myself ..lol
I am VERY seriously addicted to Discus..and alot of other fish too!
I am a forum sponsor.


You can PM me with your email address and take it from there.

There are a few things you need to do, know, and make sure of before you get anymore fish.

That would best serve you if you called me..but that's after we establish contact, Ok Keith?

I would like to hear from you regarding your fish source, water preparation, and a few other important things..

cheerio!

 

Hi Keith1964,

I personally don't think that you should be to worried about your PH.
If your tank has a bare bottom (which is the safest) you can start to just suck-up the debris/poo & uneaten food from the bottom every night.
Then top-up every second or third night again with day old water.
This regime work fine for me.
Be careful not to overfeed, I found that dry food quickly foul the water and inturn adds to stress.
Frozen bloodworm seem to get any discus(or fish,for that matter) up and going.

 

Thankyou for your advice. What I am currently doing is
monitoring water parameters as over ph is over 8, I am using Kent discus minus and seachem discus buffer to maintain my ph which is currently at 6.5, I have a 50L bucket of water constantly running with airstone and heater and I add my aqua safe and cycle. I am doing partial water change every second day. I have a canister filter Dolphin C1600. I am feeding them a variety of high protein foods ie. OF discus pallets, Serra pallets, ocean nutrition, frozen bloodworms, brineshrimp, discus formulae. I choiced giving them a variety to see which combination works well. At every water change I am trying to syphom up the gravel so I can have a bear base. I try to feed 3 times a day and very greedy buggers . I bought mostly turquoise, blue, red orange, white pink. I am currently saving money to build a big tank and some breeding tanks. For now I will start with these ones and see how they adapt.

 

Hi Keith,

If I can give you a bit of advise, just stop with the ph adjusting and water fidgeting and adding all these chemical components. Discus buffer and all other shelf additives has its place and time of use in aquaria, NOW, in your tank water is not the time or place...

If you really serious about this, you need to get a TDS or Conductivity meter. You then use a mix of Tap and RO water to get a specific conductivity, and ph is not adjusted! Discus are always sensitive, more so at juvenile stage. All this adding of chemicals cause too many fluctuations which will upset your young fish. This being 'upset' will cause them NOT to eat and metabolise properly which will lead to them stunting. Stunted Discus are much more difficult to breed with as spawns are small and just weak in general.

If we assume these Juvies are less than 6mths, you are still at least a year away from even thinking of breeding with them. In this year every mistake, bad habit and husbandry to these fish will reflect when they reach maturity. I tell you this as good advise, not to shoot you down.

Many people set out with great ambition to breed Discus, and thats a good thing. However dont get 'tunnelled' into the breeding thing when its still in the distant future. You will just make mistakes NOW that will inhibit that later goal. Now, enjoy your Discus, feed them 6 to 8 times a day and give them clean STABLE water!

In an Interview at Duisburg in 2010 (think it was 2010) Internationally recognised breeder Shaifullah Yen was asked what the secret to large, productive Discus were in his opinion. One of the things he listed was 'stable ph'...NOT perfect ph.

Kind regards

Marco

 

Hi Keith,

Marco is correct when he say that you dont have to worry about the "buffer and all other shelf additives".
I'll go so far as to say that you dont even have to worry about the "TDS or Conductivity meter"
Cape Town's water conditions are excellent for breeding discus and angel fish due to its softness.
I would suggest that you add a sea shell or two to your filter to buffer but thats about it.
Ive raised plenty of discus and angels to adulthood on water without any adding any additives.
Lower your temp also abit - 28C is fine

 

I use an electronic ph reader and the ph of my tap water is over 8. The Petshop name SAMs here in cape town sells RO water do you think I should buy from them and keep it running in my 50L container. Do you perhaps know the price of these readers that you have mentioned

 

Hi Keith,

Apologies, I use Tapatalk on my phone and cant see members location. You in Cape town should have NO problem with water. I think either your ph meter needs calibration or you are the only guy in CT with hard water. Guys there have problem with ph crashing to below 6 if not looked after, so NO, dnt add RO, it'll just make it worse. Chat to Altum with regards to the TDS meter and he will best detail you on price and what you can do with the water param's down there.

 

Hi @keith1964,

Sorry for resurrecting a 3day old thread, unfortunately I have moved this weekend, and have not been able to be online.

@Marco, @Altum and @mattie are all Discus enthusiasts and I am sure will get you on the right track with your breeding program is you so go this route. It seems that Altum has been quick on the draw to market The Waterzoo... and I would also like to add a little to this thread.

@Dirk Bellstedt is also a reknown discus breeder in South Africa, and has got many years of experienced notched into his belt. He is also in the Cape Town region, and I am sure, (now that I have called his attention), he would be willing to add a little bit of his experience and knowledge here. He would also be able to confirm which chemicals, if any, you should be using, and he could most definitely get you onto the right track with regards to the food. I should also mention that there is a wealth of information the Dirk has posted in his sub-forum with regards to Discus.