# Discus care



## igot2gats (Aug 12, 2010)

Anyone know any good sites with good, sound info for this? I'm looking into setting up a tank for some.


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

I know some general information about them because my gf likes them so much I actually considered getting a tank to get some.

#1 they are delicate fish water parameters need to be perfect. This is one of those rare times where ph matters.

#2 They are a schooling type fish, they need friends.

#3 They require at least a 50 gallon tank because they school and grow up to 10", but most stay around 7-8"


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## scooterlady (May 10, 2011)

Here is a good place to start. There are alot of knowledgeable people here that can help you out...


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Discus basicly need clean water (very low nitrates), 82+ temperature and acid water (ph <6.5). Keep their tank mates to a minimum and have them in a well planted tank. No agressive Cichlids in their tank.


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## Rod4Rodger (Jan 2, 2012)

Discus are not as hard to keep as many say. They do require clean, warm, low PH water.
They are NOT schooling fish. They are shoaling fish. That means they do need other Discus or they quickly grieve themselves to death. Even though they live in close proximity like a school, they do their own thing, not motion like the school is a single organism, but one pecking food, another pecking a shoal mate, another looking at itself and the glass and saying, “look at me, yea, I’m a Discus,” others pairing off to lay eggs. There will be a dominant shoal fish but again, they do not play “follow the leader.”
They are happy with the water around 85 degrees but if you have good equipment and can keep the temperature at about 88 degrees the parasite cycle will be broken and you will not have ick. If they get much over 90 degrees they will become sterile.
The ideal PH is about 6.5. Anything over 7.0 will make them disease prone and weak. I use Seachem Discus Buffer.
Nitrogen will weaken them, their fins will fray, they will get nasty sore spots on their bodies, secondary bacteria and parasite infections will take off, and they will start a hard to reverse downward spiral. This is easy to prevent but if you are not willing to dedicate the effort, please do not kill a bunch of Discus to find out. They are the most personable and precious fish you can keep. Change out about 1/3 to ½ of your water volume weekly. You can do it daily in smaller quantities, but do not wait longer than one week. If you are trying to raise prize 10” Discus, change out at least 50% a day. Set up a water preparation tank. I use two 54 gallon plastic garbage cans because my system volume, sump and tank, is about 300 gallons. Put an air bubbler or power head in the trash can to circulate the water. Put a heater in it and bring the temperature up to as close to the same as your tank as possible. Use de-chlorinator if you need too. I usually don’t because I change once a week and the circulation will cause it to dissipate into the air over the course of the week. Adjust the PH to the same as your tank. Once you have done it a few times you will know how much you need for your water supply and simply measure it out with a measuring cup. I do not use RO water, I use tap water. Unless there is really hard water where you are, you probably will not need it. Remember the change outs remove buildup of minerals and the like from your supply water at the same time you dump nitrates.
I highly recommend a sump with a lot of biological filtration and good aeration. I have tried chemicals like ChemiPure, carbon, and even nitrogen sponge, but I think all you really need is biological if you do the change outs and if you don’t and depend on the chemicals, see my cautions above. I use a fine mesh filter bag with floss in it to catch the big things from the overflow, trickle that through a wet dry section, have Ehime bio beads in a submerged section, then use an old power head to make bubbles in the sump to keep the oxygen high. My heaters are in the sump but I set up my own controls to control them from tank temperature directly. The return to the tank is through a very fine mesh bag to my pump and even though it is probably massive overkill, three 36 watt UV sterilizers in series.
Right now I have 20 something Discus, none currently breeding, but all not only eat out of my hand, most expect to be rubbed and petted while they eat!


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