what should i know?

[undergroundcult]

what should i know and were cen i find it i have 10g and thinking about haveing a try at keeping one.

[sammigold]

Hi Undergroundcult,

you should know that if you are seriously wanting to keep these beautiful fish...

- ideally you should keep at least a small school of discus (say 4) rather than one.

- you need a much bigger tank. ie. 1 adult discus per 10g

ideal temp between 28-31degrees celcius

regular water changes. ie. at LEAST once a week.

ph range between 6.6-7

soft water

You should find heaps of info just by looking into a few of the many varied topics in the clearly marked forums.

HTH
sammi

[undergroundcult]

i was planing of geting a new tank after i see how i go with one

[Bill T]

I would go for the bigger tank straight up. Once it is cycled, get about 5 juveniles and watch them grow.
If you keep your water clean, with zero ammonium & nitrite, and pH steady, you shouldn't have too many problems.
Just be careful of what you put in the tank along with your discus. Always quarantine new fish before you add them to your established tank. I never use live food anymore, as I'm sure I got a nasty bacterial infection in my tank from some blood worms which did reek havock!
Recommend you get a decent U.V. sterliser also.
I have a small school of cardinals and a number of different cat fish along with my 4 discus - works well.
Good luck and good management.

[mcloughlin2]

Nah mate keeping one discus alone is cruel.

They are a schooling fish and prefer groups of 4-6 at the last to thrive.

A few things about keeping discus in a small tank like that are:

* Temperature/pH/ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are more likely to swing and be unstable.

* Less room for error.

* You would only have the chance to keep one small 2" discus in there (It would still be cruel to do that)

To start of with discus go out and buy a 4ft 55G tank tank or bigger. If you go with that size tank buy 4 juvenile discus and no more. You can add a pair of bristlenose and a school of 6 cardinal tetras. Reason for not having as many fish in the tank is you havn't kept discus before so you need to get some experiance before pushing the tanks limit by adding more discus.

You will need for that tank a 1500LPH cannister filter, a heater, a few plants and perhaps some driftwood, a pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kit. Even if you got to save up for 3 months buying it all together will save you in the long run.

You will also need to keep on hand your 10G tank as a quarintine tank.

HTH,

Sam

[undergroundcult]

how much will i have to save up?

[undergroundcult]

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[undergroundcult]

lighting
Compact Fluorescent
IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p316/undergroundcult/compfluor.jpg[/IMG]

These globes fit standard light fittings, either bayonet or screw type. They have a bright (6500k Daylight) colour and only use 20watts of power, and have the equivalent of 100watt output.
Specifications;

6500k Colour Spectrum (Daylight)
1250 Lumens
10,000 Hour Life
Input Current 0.13amps

fittings
IMG]http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p316/undergroundcult/04_02.jpg[/IMG]
Price: $17.50

The ready wired ceramic ES fitting and cord is suitable for all you screw in globes including ceramics. It now comes with an on/off switch so making it easier to control your light source. The ceramic fitting is two piece so is handy for fitting to glass frog lids or other suitable set-ups.

[undergroundcult]