Guides to keeping discus.
 

Hmmm got nothing to do so just post this for fun. Maybe in future got use for new members who interested in keeping discus. If u guys think that i like to show off go ahead and think, I don't care. Good Discus keepers please correct me if i'm wrong.

Guide to keeping discus.

1)Make sure u have a at least (to me) a 2.5ft tank. Remember, the bigger the better.

2)Make sure you cycle your water properly, i cycled my tank for 1month with two sponge filters. You guys can choose to use other filters but make sure you cycle your tank and also make sure that the flow rate of the water is not so powerful, as discus don't like strong currents. The filter i recommend are sponge filters. ( I'm not too sure about this, so maybe someone can help me with the cycling of water?)

3)After finishing your cycling go and do some fish shopping, the place i recommend is "Chai Discus Farm" ( www.chaidiscus.com.sg ) I bought almost all my discus from there, they provide excellent service and they also produce good quality fishes. If u have any questions you can ask them.

4)Equipments: A heater ( discus prefer warm water and they do trive better in warm waters. if u have a heater maybe you can set it to 30 degree celsius)
P.H pen ( discus prefer low ph about 6.5 to 7? Please correct me if i'm wrong. you can choose not to get this. )

After having all your equipments and stuff ready. It's time to go and shop for discus!

1) get your discus from reputable aquariums. Other aquariums may con you into buying stunted discus.

2)After getting your fish, wait for it to settle down first, then try feeding a LITTLE bit of food to it. if it eats, then the discus is already stabilzed

3) get discus in a small group, they feel more comfortable living in small groups. abt 4 to 6 in a 2.5ft tank. of course when the tank is bigger u may want to add a few more into your tank. just make sure that they don't get too cramp.

Raising juveniles

1) as i said get your discus from reputable aquariums. if u plan to get a juvenile it is essential to feed it more often or they will get stunted.

2) checking for stunted discus, you look at their size of the body, if its small eye small body, then its not stunted, but if the size of the eye is big, its stunted. ( i'm not sure abt checking for stunted discus)

Breeding discus

1) If u get a confirm pair of discus, do not be too happy, they may be a pair but not a breeding pair.
2) if u intend to breed discus make sure that u have a lot of fish tanks. not too small not too big. maybe about 2.5ft or 3ft for breeding them.
3)if u spot a pair, u may want to seperate them into another tank, preferbly about 2.5ft to 3ft. get a breeding cone and wait for them to breed.
4) If they successfully breed and the offsprings are still eggs, u may want to add some metalyn blue to prevent the discus eggs from getting fungus.
5)if the fries are hatched do not feed them, they will feed on the slim on their parents body, but when they are slightly bigger you may want to seperate them and pump them wif food. juveniles can eat brine shrimp or blood worm.

Feeding Discus

1)you may want to feed dry food for discus. that is fine. but a mixture between dry and live food are the best.
2)Brine shrimp
3) blood worm
4) beef/ pig heart


If u have any more questions you may want to post it and i'll try to help you
And again as i said PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

Regards,
HuttShun:)

*Forgotten to add something*

Maturity of discus
1) Males will take 1.5years to mature
2)Females will take 1 year to mature
(some people say blue diamond take 2yrs to mature but i don't know)

Breed of discus

1)its up to ur own personal preference i like solid colour discus especially bluediamond and super melon
really, its up to ur personal preference

CHEERS,
HuttShun:)

*Another thing to add Sorry.*

Type of tank
1) For me i'll just make the tank simple by doing it bare. its also easier to maintain rather than to have a planted tank
2)if u really wan to introduce discus to your planted tank, they will also look nice. but only disadvantage is the the tank is more difficult to maintain.

Tankmates for discus

1)Discus are cichlids and all cichlids are terrortorial so its best to keep a only discus tank.

Temperament of discus
1)Discus will maybe chase other discus or other fishes in your tank. that is normal.
2)It is good if u keep a group of discus of the same size as when they feed, the bigger discus may chase away the smaller ones and the smaller ones will not get a chance to eat.

Regards,
HuttShun:)

Changing water

1) discus is the only fish( i think ) that can take massive water change. u can try to change everyday 10% or 20% or 1 week change one time. discus can take up tp 50% water change and it is good for them.
2) after changeing water, add anti chlorine and chloramine

Change more water, if not will stunt. :)

Bro HuttShun,

What is happening when I see my discus gill moving oneside more than the other, it this a disease or just bloodline problem? Thanks in advance.

hmm u mean like for example the left gill move 2 times but the right gill move 1 time?
is it eating properly? fins clamp?

Erh, nope, I meant I can see one side of the gill movement more than the other. i.e. the gill opens more on one side during breathing. Eating wise is ok, fins are well open too.

think should be ok... experts pls correct me if im wrong..

Wah!!! So fortunate. When I was 13, I could only afford cheap cheap turq discus. U already can afford Chai's super melon!!!??!?!! Power.

no la.. i dont have super melon.. i only got blue diamond, red white, san merah, spotted snake and a dirty pigeon..

no la.. they buy gimme..

now plan to get wild discus...hmmm think quite diff to keep.. a challenge la:)

yaH..
they need more acidic water conditions

yup. they are caught from the amazon, with lots of mangrove.. haha super acidic..:)

however, some ppl have managed to bred the tefe green and heckel in captivity..
those bred in captivity are not as demanding as the wild counterparts

okie have some questions. i have 9 juvies now in my tank. they're about 1.5" +- for some. it happens that one or 2 of them chase the others around. is this behavior okay? or shud i seperate the "bullies" hehe. is this very common?

ya its ok.. discus are terrortorial fishes. all cichlids are terrortorial.. just make sure that they dont overdo the bullying!:)

okie but does it happen to everyone who keeps discus? I have one which tries to chase others off during feeding. and the largest one occasionally tries to push its weight around.

mine sometimes chase around the stunted ones.. now it has stopped. :) try to keep discus of the same size in the same tank.:)

oic how you know if its stunted? i have one which is around 2/3 the size of the others and half the length of the largest... i suspect its stunted.

i think la.. u see the eyes.. if its too big for the body that means it's stunted.. that means that it has big big eyes and small smalll body.. another way to check is when u buy it and compare lor.. i bout 4 of my bd from a farm during last yrs hari raya puasa. now hasen grown a bit.:(

hmm..
normally stunted discus will have disproptioned body features..
their slow growth rate compared to the rest of the discus is another tell tale sign

Ok, another question.

I bought discus with pigeon blood bloodline. Keep them with aro, now not stress, eats MP. always looking for food whenever I approach BUT the thing is the black spots, how can I ever get rid of the spots. See many discus with pigeon blood bloodline and never have a lot of black spots/specks.

if i not wrong the spots are the stress marks for melons and golden i think :confused:

Thought so too but it is not stress even if the aro comes dashing towards it. Can even snatch from aro!!! Wonder if it is too much light?

can be water conditions..
might also be gravel reflection..
hmm..

dont think u can get rid of the black spots as my pigeon keep showing them and it looks like a discus wif moustache:D

funny thing is that sometimes it shows the black spots and sometimes it dont.. wierd:confused:

discus lovers can join www.discusrealms.com for discussion..we have breeders from the north america and asia that discuss everything about discus. Cheers.

I dunn think is the bad water condition, l had check all the water parameter but all is acceptable. Ammonia = 5, Nitrite = 0 & Nitrate = 10 and one of my PB have many black gains on its face like pimples but others have very very little on them, Funny rite...

U need to change more water! :)

ok l will try it tml and see:)

Do u feed BH, if yes, u need to change everyday to get the ammonia under control! :)

l dunn feed BH to all my discus i feed sera pellets . This morning just did a 60% of WC but after a few hours, there are still many black gains remain on the PB like no sign of getting better.

Is it due to the PH ? as all the PB were used to live in water of PH 7, now it is living in water of 6 does it affect it ?

PH is not much of a problem as long as the water is clean (low waste). :)

I think it is the gene which is all behide it :(

Not really, dirty water can cause it to appear also. :(

Sorry to say this. I joined the forum but the reponses and replies I get from my post there is very little. Really take time for the thread and reply to move.

Buy sell over there is more active. :)

l had always tried to change water everytime but the black gains seem to stay, currently the fish is very active and eat alot