sammy Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I am looking at setting up one display tank in my living room, will probly be 4ftx2x2 and thought that duscuss my look good, and are something i havnt played with yet. The few people i have talked to have told me they are stupidly hard to look after and are very very sensitive to any water parameter changes. What i am asking is, is this all true or are they reasonably easy to look after for someone who has had a few fish before and can they co habbitate iwth other fish(bristle nose etc) thanks in advance for the advice i know it will be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) get some gold vine (they are root cichlids) good filtration (air powered sponges and/or cannisters) group of 6 discus (social cichlids) and water change to keep nitrates below 20ppm seachem acid buffer to remove kh (try not to use phosphate ph down, RO water is awesome! pH 6 to 6.5 is best) they aint hard ya just gotta make the tank about the discus yea you can go plants but remember focus on the discus first! Edited January 16, 2012 by DeadFishFloating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebigwes Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Im just setting up my discus tank now. just awaiting some fish sales as i have no where else for the gouarmis. But i don't think it is going to be ridiculously hard. just have to as donnie said make the tank about the discus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammy Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks for the help guys will have to do somemore reasrch and convince the misses to get anouther take so soon after getting rid of all the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebigwes Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Yeah, you can never stop at one. i stared with a 50L tank just one year ago. Now have a 6foot a 4 foot a breeding tank, a 2 foot and some plastic tubs filled with fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 There are many other fish far more sensitive. If your water conditions are bad you will find blue rams die long before discus for example. They are also more forgiving on incorrect water parameters too, but things must be kept stable. To do best you do want your acidic soft water. IMO none of the buffers, watersoftening pillows etc work. They will affect one type of hardness by subsitituing an alternate salt. Makes no real difference. I reccomend rainwater or RO. .0♣26 Two things to be aware of. Firstly make sure you have damn good filtration. It is silly to spend heaps of money on discus and then save money by buying a cheap filter. Secondly what is hard is growing discus from a baby to a good size. I would suggest get some bigger fish rather than going for cheap babies. Growing out the cleanliness of the tank and quality of food is essential and many reccomend bare bottom tanks to make it easier to growout discus. Tank wise a tank with Discus as the showpeice, school of cardinal tetras (cardinals take the high temps better than neons), school of rummynoes, 4-6 checkerboard cichlids, or a pair of blue rams (Not apistos, your water will be too hot), clean up crew I would steer away from Bristlenose and suggest ottos. Nice wood and low light plants, anubias, crypts, swords. i am getting excited for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Yep gingerbeer hit the nail on the head with sizes. Little ones are much trickier to keep weight on, and hence keep alive. As far as personal thoughts on stuff..... even ottos can be jerks and attack slime coat if they are not kept well fed tho. discus slime coat is extra tasty! I use snails as algae eaters (dont hate me lol) As far as buffers go gh is best diluted using ro water if you are in a city or unsure of your roof quality. rainwater is awesome if you are in the pristine country kh is pretty easy to control using a buffer tho Seachem. Acid Buffer I like this stuff because it converts KH to co2 and its VERY concentrated. checkerboard cichlids are awesome something ya just dont see around much anymore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIIK Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 IMO it depends where they come from .. You can by Discus from a LFS that are in a tank with an old sponge filter running, looking fine n healthy .. more than often these are from a wholesaler. OR You can buy Discus from a respected Breeder who does daily %15 water changes,using RO water & additives, feeding the best possible diet & PH never goes higher than 6.6 The well looked after the discus is the more delicate it becomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane r Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 rod lewis is who you should speak to give him a pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 The well looked after the discus is the more delicate it becomes. maybe so but the better its colours are the longer it lives the more natural its behaviour. Theres a difference between surviving and thriving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poyter Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 discus arent that hard to keep and we have b/n's in with them and no problem, just dont have convicts in with them lol, also elephantnose fish are great to have with them thanks DFF he is still going strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Glad that elephant nose found a great home with you guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammy Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 lots of great help guys, hope to set up the tank to cycle as of tommorrow arvo/night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
