dpb@tellab5.UUCP (Darryl Baker) (05/03/88)
I've been interested in discus for many years and have heard many horror
stories about keeping them. I was wondering if any body could give me
some pointers?
1) Minimum size tank for keeping?
breeding?
2) Inexpensive source for fish? (though inexpensive and discus may be
an oxymoron)
3) Tricks for good survival rate?
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'richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (05/03/88)
(note that since I've only been keeping fish for 18 years I dont consider myself qualified to attempt to keep discus. The information i have is from what I've read by people who seem to have credability) In article <966@tellab5.UUCP> dpb@tellab5.UUCP (Darryl Baker) writes: >I've been interested in discus for many years and have heard many horror >stories about keeping them. I was wondering if any body could give me >some pointers? > > 1) Minimum size tank for keeping? You're in trouble if you have to worry about minimum size. A 50 will hold half a dozen and allow them to grow to a decent size. Discus get BIG, or at least they should, given the spave they need. You can of course crowd the, into a 20 or 30 but this is not a real swift move. > breeding? If, out of a half dozen, 2 pair off, just remove the other ones, although a 30 HIGH tank might be ok here. > > 2) Inexpensive source for fish? (though inexpensive and discus may be > an oxymoron) Yeah right. Some fish are just never cheap. You can probably get brown discus for $5, but the real neat ones are gonna cost $12-$20: powder blue, red faced etc. > > 3) Tricks for good survival rate? clean water live food clean water 85 degree (F) water clean water lots of plants for hiding places clean water dim light and clean water There are ads in FAMA and TFH for mail order discus. Jack Wattley has done more to further new strains of discus and is very reliable. I'd be leery of pet shop discus, although I have seen Jack's fish in stores. Jack breeds his in hard alkaline water, so obviously soft acid water is not a requirement to keep them alive like it was for wild caught discus. Avoid tubifex worms. They love 'em, but they invariably cause disease and discus in particular get a nasty one called "hole in the head disease" that i'm not sure if a cure was found yet. Keep us posted. -- "Words of wisdom Lloyd, words of wisdom" richard@gryphon.CTS.COM rutgers!marque!gryphon!richard
halo@cognos.uucp (Hal O'Connell) (05/09/88)
In article <3776@gryphon.CTS.COM> richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) writes: >(note that since I've only been keeping fish for 18 years I dont >consider myself qualified to attempt to keep discus. The information >i have is from what I've read by people who seem to have credability) > >clean water > >85 degree (F) water > I have to ask the obvious question here. Richard, for several postings you have advocated getting rid of tank heaters. Here, you advocate high temperatures (with the proviso that you don't rerally qualify to keep discus). How? -- Hal O'Connell decvax!utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!halo Cognos Incorporated P.O. Box 9707 (613) 738-1440 3755 Riverside Dr. Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, K1G 3Z4
richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (05/13/88)
In article <2961@cognos.UUCP> halo@cognos.UUCP (Hal) writes: >In article <3776@gryphon.CTS.COM> richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) writes: >>(note that since I've only been keeping fish for 18 years I dont >>consider myself qualified to attempt to keep discus. The information >>i have is from what I've read by people who seem to have credability) >> >>clean water >> >>85 degree (F) water >> > >I have to ask the obvious question here. > >Richard, for several postings you have advocated getting rid >of tank heaters. > >Here, you advocate high temperatures (with the proviso that you >don't rerally qualify to keep discus). > Right. I've never kept them. Do you reallythink that if a person says: "this is a rule" it should be unblindingly followed in all cases ? Disc's like it warm. Bettas breed much more readily at 80 F Apistogrammas prefer it above 70. I havn't used a heater since 1971, with no problems, although I would think that keeping marine fish alive under these conditions was sheer luck. Obviously if your water drops down into the 40's or 50's you are living in an igloo and should consider a heater, but in a tank above 30 gals, it's tempreature is not going to fluctuate readily (unless you have incandescent lights), and the high sixties have not, in my experience, been a problem. All readings in farenheit. Ecch. -- noalias went. it really wasn't negotiable richard@gryphon.CTS.COM rutgers!marque!gryphon!richard