# Discus



## Jon&amp;Nicole (Jul 25, 2013)

I've been doing a good amount of research on the Discus and I'm just wondering if anyone here has any and/or tips? I have been breeding a variety of Malawi's for awhile now and am preparing to take on some Discus. Hope to see some good feedback!


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## Darkskies (Mar 17, 2012)

Discus originate from the amazon and its tributaries so this topic really belongs in the South American Cichlid Forum. I don't have any personal experience with the species so I can't help you much but all the accounts I've read state that they are fish for advanced hobbyists due to their sensitivity.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

They are certainly beautiful! I have considered keeping them many times myself, but haven't done it for two reasons...

They DO require more time and attention. They are very sensitive to water and feeding. I am just never certain that I have the time to devote to them. But, if you do have the time, I am sure they would be worth it.

As far as cichlids go, in my mind, I am stuck on Malawians and their personalities. I tend to get bored with other cichlids easily after keeping them for awhile, so I always consider how easy they would be to rehome before diving in.

Sorry I can't be of more help!


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

i have a few discus. they arent as sensitive as everyone thinks. if u want them to get to be the size of a plate and breed for u, then u will need to do like a 50% water change every day. however i have 5 discus that have grown consistently for the past 2 yrs. they are big and colors are beautiful. they are healthy and happy. i have them in a 92 corner tank with a couple angels, a colony of clown loaches, and a few dif plecos. i'm sure u will get various opinions, but that has benn my experience. i do have 2 canister filters and a sponge filter on it, with heavy airation


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## walzon1 (Jun 17, 2013)

Discus are very sensative to nitrates water changes should be as frequent as possible. Lost mine during a move went the extra mile to do everything right and my red striated just layed down on her side from the stress and never recovered, thats the way with discus sometimes.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

as i said, opinions and experiences will vary. my discus do great with the setup i mentioned previously. i only do a 25% water change once a week. they have been in that setup and on that water change schedule for 3 yrs now. that is MY experience with MY discus


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

just to clarify the discrepency in time line. i have had them in the set up for 3 yrs, but they barely grew at all for 1st yr and have grown consistently for past 2 yrs. please do not disregard the other advice based on my experiences with them.


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## walzon1 (Jun 17, 2013)

sumthinfishy said:


> as i said, opinions and experiences will vary. my discus do great with the setup i mentioned previously. i only do a 25% water change once a week. they have been in that setup and on that water change schedule for 3 yrs now. that is MY experience with MY discus


25% a week is very frequent so not sure what your point is.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

i'm only stating my schedule and set up as far as my discus to to help with original question. there was a question asked looking for advice. so i answered with my advise and experience on the matter. last time i checked thats what this forum was for?


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

by the way 25% a week may be frequent for an african tank, but not for discus. the literature i have read all suggest daily water changes for discus to thrive. please do not chime in on a topic if u dont know what your talking about. it will only confuse the op


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## walzon1 (Jun 17, 2013)

yea there are a lot of people who change water every day with discus they are called breeders. I think most would agree that is a little extreme for the average enthusiast, but hey like I said in my earlier post if you have the time go for it the more water changes the better. I kept mine with 50% water changes bi-weekly they did fine. The breeders I know changed 100% percent a day but I wouldnt go on a forum and say that is what you have to do to keep discus.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

first off you should read the posts before replying to them, because i said exactly that about breeding and not breeding, and the different levels of care. second even the best breeders dont change 100% every day. your joking right. i could go on , but no need to. u have shown on this thread and others on the forum that u are here to give half correct advise and argue with the people who know better. not just me, but other threads you are arguing with respected and very knowledgable forum members. you are wrong. sry to the rest of u to get off track. i wish u well with discus. as stated before, i'm just giving my experiences.


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

Your right, you guys go, don't let them tell u what to do, if you do 25% percent water changes a week and your discus are eating and thriving then there is no reason why u should be getting yelled at. I too had a fight with walzon so don't get bummed about. I f u think your ready for discus go for it. It might be tricky at first but the end result is beautiful.


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## walzon1 (Jun 17, 2013)

sorry to say I am not joking 100% a day is what I was told, then again I didnt hang out there every day to verify this. I have also read about different breeders doing this as well so it not that uncommon. Sorry if I came off harsh but I really didn't understand the post "MY experience MY discus" I felt we were pretty much saying the same things the whole time but whatever. I am not here to argue whatever you might think.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

ok, no hard feelings. to the op. go for the discus. i agree u wont be dissapointed


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## Jon&amp;Nicole (Jul 25, 2013)

Thank you for your opinions and I will start them in due time (when I find the right ones and hopefully another local breeder). As far as the water changes go, not to mental the different variables and every fish is different (personal preferences) I dont ever wanna do a 100% water change and loose all my good bacteria, which seem to be alittle more of importance with the Discus than with your average Malawian. Unless its completely needed. The other huge factor for me is filteration (awesome filteration can make all the difference from a thriving breeding tank to a stressful chemical race.) I think the key to water changes would be understanding your variables and knowing how to address them " *** seen professional breeders (mostly depending on filtration) go from 10/50% water changes in 6 years to 20% water changes every week and some 20% changes every day." Again thank you for your post and opinions. This might be a silly question but i keep hearing that some people perfer Asian Discus over South American? What *** heard so far about it is the Asian have more exotic colors and pattern.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

Hello Jon and Nicole. 100% water changes, done with fresh, aged water won't disturb the beneficial bacteria since they reside in the filter material and gravel, etc. in the tank. They will adjust in numbers appropriate to the ammonia and nitrites present. If there are consistently low ammonia and nitrite levels, then there will be correspondingly fewer BB able to be needed and supported. 100% water changes are often done gradually over the course of the day using a drip / flow through system where fresh water enters the tank and the waste (overflow) water goes to the drain, although some breeders will literally drain the water down to a couple of inches so that the fish are laying on their sides, and then quickly flood the tank with fresh water. Of course the parameters of the water are constant. South American discus are the discus from which all the "flavors" have come. Line breeding for color variants is done extensively in the Far East, although breeders in Europe and the US also line breed, but to a lesser extent. Some discus keepers prefer the natural, "wild type" discus, with more subtle coloration differences from different locations. There are really only three Symphysodon species in nature: S. aequifasciatus (the green discus), S. haraldi (the blue/brown/common discus), and S. discus (the Heckel discus). From these come all the countless color and pattern variants that exist. Hope this helps.
Jim


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## du3ce (Sep 11, 2012)

i broke down my 55g malawi tank to do a grow out with 6 discus 6 months ago. Heres what im doing right now, 55g tank is barebottom for easy cleaning, i also keep a bubble stone of oxygenation, temp is set at 86 degrees to speed up their metabolism, im trying to grow them out, they can be kept at 82. I do water changes everyday, i do 15% everyday 50% every other day they are messy eaters! you will need to wipe down your tank from the slime coat given off by the discus. You do not need to worry about the ph of your water unless you are breeding them.


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