Advice on Tank Setup for Discus needed

[chin]

trident, I refer to your last sentence about getting them in group of at least 4 pieces:-

What if I decide to get 1 pair first before I proceed to get my 2.nd pair. Is it ok?

[trident]

chin,
when you say get 1 pair first, I presume you are buying adults.
sure for adults no problem to get 1 pair first. Just remember to quarantine
the second pair before putting them into the community tank.
I was referring to juveniles when I say buy a minimum of 4.

[chin]

Thanks a mil! Gathered some really informative advice!

[chin]

Oh yes, one more question before I forget.. How do I differentiate between the sexes? Any way to do that even when the discus are still juveniles?

[trident]

chin,
It's very difficult to sex discus, even adults.
Impossible to sex them when young.
Most people let them pair up naturally in the community tank.
Than move them to a breeding tank (for breeding)

[koel9]

Hi, I thought to share this information with those who are interested in wild-caught, the shop at telok blangah rise has a tank of pretty stable heckels.

I got 2 pieces of blue heckel of slightly more than 3" yesterday and this evening they were already exploring the tank.

Really beautiful fish.

cheers, ian

[luenny]

trident, I refer to your last sentence about getting them in group of at least 4 pieces:-

What if I decide to get 1 pair first before I proceed to get my 2.nd pair. Is it ok?

Chin,
Trident is a pro discus breeder - have been keeping discus for 5 years - it's good to talk to him. As for pair, the only way to get a pair is to get a confirm adult pair that has bred before. Anything less, could cause trouble. Even if you manage to get an adult male and a female out of a tankful of discus, when they are alone, they may fight and kill each other. So it is hard to say if they are compatible or not unless they have been staying alone with each other for some time. And the surest way for that is pairs that have bred before. But confirm pairs are much more expensive than buying 2 adult fishes.

[trident]

koel9,
Thanks, heard about that place but have yet to visit them. I don't intent to keep wild for the moment. Prefer tank bred.

Luenny, hahaha You must be joking, just a hobbyist lah.

[chin]

To. All: From the advices that trident gave, one can tell that he really has alot of "hands-on" experience with discus...

koel9: How much was each heckle, koel9?

luenny: Breeding sounds great but I think I'll need to get a hang of keeping them first before I advance to it.

[koel9]

Hi, I paid $45.

[StanChung]

Good advice Richard and guys.

I've experienced adult discus eat small fishes like tetra and boraras but you shouldn't worry if you have 2.5-3" discus.

Chin, I don't recommend heckels for the new. This is a sensitive fish that need pH below 6 to thrive. Most are caught in waters around 4.8-5.5pH.
I've kept them for a few months in normal tap water and they slowly one by one

I presume you are going to have a nice discus tank with some plants.
The way to go is for 4-5 and eventually end up with a pair and sell the other 3 because your tank size will not be big enough once there's a pair who will be very aggressive.

I would give up the idea of canister filter too if the idea is about a few plants. The few plants would not be adequate to eat the nitrates so regular WC is a must. As regular as 30% daily. A top filter would be easy access and also a cheap way to mechanical filtration.

[chin]

StanChung: Yes, some posts ago the overhead filter was being mentioned. So it seems that I should just abolish the idea of having a cannister in my setup?

[StanChung]

I think that would be a wise choice especially for maintenance purposes.

[wks]

StanChung: Yes, some posts ago the overhead filter was being mentioned. So it seems that I should just abolish the idea of having a cannister in my setup?

Hi chin, regular water changing is the key. None of the best filter helps if the nitrate level shoots past the discus's level of tolerance.
If you need an overhead filter, just pm me.

[chin]

Thanks wks, but I've already got the filter settled.

[Puffer]

luenny: Breeding sounds great but I think I'll need to get a hang of keeping them first before I advance to it.

Hi Chin, If you intend to keep for 'experience-sake', may I suggest you getting 4-6 young adults although serious discus-keepers would suggest anything of 'at least 6' in a sizeable tank. Your tank should be of bare-bottom type for ease of husbandry. Good filtration would be a massive help in terms of water change regime. Just remember that they are very sensitive to having clean water, so regular frequent water change is very important. Get hardy good strains of tank-bred juvenile discus and read to find out more along the way! Good luck.

[chin]

Puffer: I've got the filter part settled. But I've thinking of having lapis sand as substrate and I will of course do regular cleaning with a gravel siphon. Will that be fine?