question about discus

[lee]

:D
Can someone tell me a bit about keeping, breeding and caring for discus fish. I'd like a pair but want to know what I'd pay for a pair of tangerine or red turquoise. What size tank I'd need to keep them in. And is there special care they need to keep them. Saw some recently and would like to get some. What other fish can they go in if I wanted them for a display tank.

cheers lee

[sharkbaitnemo]

Lee, i'm also new to the world of discus but this is some of the info I have learnt so far.

Your best chance of a set of breeders is to buy at least 5-6 from a batch and grow them out together.  As they grow you will begin to notice them pair up.  They will lay eggs at about 1 year but the males are not fertile until about 18 mths.  Discus are impossible to sex at a small-medium size, even as adults they can be quite difficult.  Some colour variations like pigeons and melons can be a little more difficult to breed.  Shape is the most important feature to look for as colours can be enhanced using foods.  A good shape is round and disc-like.

They don't like strong water movement from power heads or internal canisters.  Try and use a spray bar on the outlet or over hanging filters or sponge filters.

Regular water changes are essential to keep low nitrates, some say 20-30% every 2nd day but I found 30% once a week is fine.  I also keep some plants to keep nitrates low as well.  

They prefer a lower pH 7 or lower.  Soft water if breeding, something around 100-150ppm.  Reverse osmisis water is good as it's easier to maintain hardness rather than using peats. Water temp around 29-30 deg.

Can be kept with other community south americans like tetras, or rams.  Bristlenose are ok just be careful if the tank is crowded the BN's will sometime attach themselves to the side of the discus causing damage to their slime coating.  But can also be kept with larger placid species.

They display best in a 2 ft high tank. So a 3*2*2 or bigger makes a nice display.

http://www.wetpetz.com/discus.htm and http://www.discusforums.com/forum/ are a good place to start.

[img:099a30c91b]http://users.bigpond.net.au/jtl/discusarrow.jpg[/img:099a30c91b]