I’m binge watching videos to learn more about keeping discus and thought this one was great. I appreciate your personal experience and advice about taking time to research and find a trusted supplier, and look for ones about 3 inches. I love your funny cat made an appearance too. Thanks for the video!
While I have been a hobbyist for many, any years, I have decided to try my hand with discus. All your points are well taken - probably no other species of fish have evoked as much passion and anecdotal (often unsubstantiated and experiential) as discus. One of the most controversial subject is that of pH. To be sure, the tank raised (as well as industrial raised fish) have never seen the water parameters of their natural habitat, ie soft, acidic water. In the US, most water is quite alkaline and hard. I hate the thought of chasing pH. I would be interested in your opinion. Thanks and greetings from Rapid City, South Dakota USA
Hi! I never had any issues with discus when it comes to PH. To b honest i dont know when was the last time i ever checked my PH & my fish are doing great & spawning time to time & even having frys which later disappear as its a community tank. When it comes to pH i dont treat discus any different than any other fish of mine. I just follow 1 rule. Keep things consistent! Don’t cause fluctuations in water parameters & ur fish will b fine! Even discus! Whatever ur ph is, unless its very abnormal, it shouldn’t be a problem. Best of luck with these beauties! If i can be of any further help let me know!
When I used to buy discus the first 2 things I would look for is their color first and would ask the employee to feed them and if they don't eat right away, walk away.
Thanks! It is advised to keep 1 adult Discus for every 10 G , 2x feeding a day and 25 % water change a week. But i personally feel it depends on big ur discus are, how messy of a food u are feeding them & how much. If u are feeding pellets its nothing close to the mess that beef heart mix makes.. so depends. I would advise if u are feeding messy food once a day, do 40% once a week… if its clean diet 25-30% a week. It really comes down to how big ur fish are & how messy the water gets… u can test ur nitrates to have an indication how fast the organics builds up in ur tank. Hope it makes sense what i am trying to say.
I want to keep bare bottom tank for discus is it necessary to place white or black paper under tank so that discus fish can't see himself in bottom glass. I hv glow tetra so I can't put paper under tank now what I can do.
It all depends on your water chemistry. What's easy for you may not be easy for someone else with different water chemistry. Everyone's experience is different.
I keep 10 blue turquoise discus now for 2 years in a 62 gallon tank without any water changes.. all the fish are healthy, all the water perimeters are well in range.. no they are not hard to keep.. know biology.. water never turns bad, all you need to do is to keep the bad stuff out of the water... so there the biodiffercity steps inn.. join the fatger fish channel when ever you need to ask your questions. Never be a slave to the fish tank, enjoy your fish.
Dear I hv glow tetra and tiger barbs in 80 gal tank with 10 gal sump filter total 90 gal tank. Can I add discus in same tank with Glow Tetra and Tiger barbs. My tank is open from top so discus can jump out or not.
I would not recommend tiger barbs with Discus, even though i personally never kept tiger barbs. My tank is open top, discus are not jumpers really, but when they get scared / spooked .. they definitely can jump out… Mine never jumped out but i know a case when someone lost their discus to jumping out.
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 in my area tap water ph is 7.8 can I keep discus. if no then can I add guava driftwood to reduce ph till 6.5 or 7 suitable for discus it will work or not.
@@NewAquariumHobby i dont think 7.8 is a problem, Just get healthy fish, acclimate them nicely n keep them warm. 28-30 degrees C. And keep ur ph stable.. dont keep changing it.
just subscribed. I have a 180 litre tank about 45 gallon I have 3 angel fish 5 rainbow fish 7 red phantom tetras 8 black phantom tetras 10 rummynose tetras 4 siamese algae eaters and for 2 years i got 4 juevenile discus. Now they are full size none has died i have an oase biomaser 350 and clean it once a month and do water changes 1-2 times per 2 weeks.The tank i full of plants
ThankU for subscribing! & ThankU for sharing your success story.. people need to know more stories like yours to understand these fish are not as hard as they are widely believed to be.
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 I realised i measuerd my tank and calculated the water volume it isnt what the company it is around 240 litres 55 to 60 gallon but witt the substrate and everything it is less. I am looking into upgrading the tank and adding 2 more discus. Your advice is very valid to buy the fish from a reputable source and learn to treat the fish. I think the discus are a bit like keeping angel fish they have similar immunity and requir similar conditioners but they are put in hard to keep category due to their stunning appearance and generally expensive price tag.
To be honest i never checked my water hardness.. because from my experience over the years i realised its more important to keep water parameters stable & consistent.. and fish will adjust to almost any parameters unless its really abnormal.. Just keep water clean, feed healthy & keep temperature 28-32 Degree C.
I just got into discus. I find them easy to keep, but I would say the secret is, for any fish really. To keep them in a large tank. I do not consider 75 gallons large either. I keep 7 in a 100 gallon tall. So I do not overstock. I also bought them all between 4-7 inches. So, yes big discus. Better to keep bigger discus in smaller numbers, than smaller discus in higher numbers. Bigger fish take up more space giving the aquarium a more filled look without overstocking. Also, I’ve heard bigger discus are hardier. Anyway, I keep my temperature at 86 degrees Fahrenheit. I feed once a day, and I do 40% water change a week. I feed bloodworms mainly. Yes, I’ve heard bloodworms can carry parasites, but I buy Hikari bloodworms and those state on the label “parasite free”. So far I’ve had no issues. I do not recommend them for beginners though, mainly due to the fact that they usually start out with smaller tanks like a 55 gallon. I consider 55 gallons a small/medium sized tank.
I personally never kept wild caught, but they are believed to be harder. Captive bred are really not that hard.. get from a good source & just get the basics right !
I just came across your channel and even though I've heard a lot of videos on this topic i found it very helpful and informative. Also, i can understand what you are saying. LOL.
I’m discouraged that two (big) fish places that set up/maintain tanks here in Houston won’t do discus fish even tho we are willing to pay. I wanted a 150-175 gallon tank with discus fish. They both discourage discus (and Altum angels- my second choice ). I have read up and watched so many UA-cam’s on discus so I know what is involved . I also have kept fish (freshwater and salt) tanks in the past, but I was willing to pay for them to set up and maintain discus but the answer is no. One place said “only the wild ones are the pretty ones and it’s harder to keep them.” Personally I prefer the colorful hybrids which I read are easier to keep. I think Hans discus look great. Is that a good discus dealer?
I am sorry i live in middle east & have no idea about Hans discus sorry. But i wish u best of luck that you are able to find good quality Discus & keep them healthy & happy … hope you get to enjoy these beauties !
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 thank you for the well wishes and encouragement in your UA-cam’s. New subscriber . My dream is to have a beautiful tank like yours.
This is the biggest lie of keeping Discus fish, that they are hard to keep. The problem is that they are expensive and hard to train to regular food as breeders use blackworms or beefheart which are both expensive. I have 8.2 ph, 550 TDS, 20 dGH, 4 degree dKH using my tap water. My discus tank is set at 82 degrees and I do 10-20% water changes every 1 to 2 weeks. People said my discus should be dead but they are not and been alive for more than 3 years now. Only thing you should know is keep 1 discus for every 10 gallons and you should be fine.
You can if ur discus are not fully grown adult size, be mindful not all adult discus are the same size, some are 5” n some are really huge.. so their over all size & total number of discus would decide if 50 gallon is suitable or not.
Almost all Discus sold at my local fish stores Are imported from Asia. So that makes them asian strains, unless Asian breeders imported certain strains from South America / Germany…
Great tips. If you have a natural tank set up you don’t have do water changes. Ding water changes every day or so your water will never cycle cause your constantly changing the water and it doesn’t have time to age and have all good things in it. I have natural tanks for 20 years and had many fish and i rarely did any water changes. just added aged rain water to evaporated water. Your fish will be healthier in a natural tank system.
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 OK! They have discus that live in hard water, this discus have been bred that way. And 2nd we all know that discus come from a soft water habitat so the traditional way would be to keep them in collected rain water. The other thing is discus need the water to be warmer then other tropical fish between 29c and 34c. Apart from that they are like any other fish, they need none toxic clean water without ammonia and plants take care of that together with a good filter. Also discus don't like fast moving water and prefer deep tanks. None aggressive. And that's all that needs to be said. I find Indians suggest to much and make it very difficult to understand anything with over suggesting that ends up going no where in the end and people listening are back where they started before listening to the Indian. The idea is to keep it as simple as possible and no simpler. Indians complicate things. I hope this is the feedback you wanted. 🇦🇺🚔👮🏼♂️
@@UA-cam-Nsw-Australia u summed it up pretty well, n i think i said the same stuff in the video. Was curious that may be u found something in my video u don’t agree with. As far as hard n soft water r concerned i never kept wild caught discus so can’t really comment on that, But from my experience almost any commercially bred fish can be acclimated to a wide range of water parameters without issues. And this is what i do with any fish that i decide to keep. Its not really that complicated as some people make it to be.
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 my point is that the video could have been shorter with less suggested! But if the viewers are happy then it's business and show business in this case. But south American cichlids are my hobby. 🇦🇺✌️
Do you Think Discus are Hard to keep?
After months of research I got one discus in my tank and planning to get 5 more..quite nervous and know all the challenges..wish me luck 🙈
@@Spagatti_Monkey Best of Luck ! they are little tricky but not very hard ! i hope my videos help you with your journey!
I’m binge watching videos to learn more about keeping discus and thought this one was great. I appreciate your personal experience and advice about taking time to research and find a trusted supplier, and look for ones about 3 inches. I love your funny cat made an appearance too. Thanks for the video!
Thanks! Glad u found the video helpful! Best of luck with ur journey!
Great tips and your logic behind keeping discus is spot on! Keep it up new sub here from California
ThankYou Darwin!
Fantastic information. Well done. Thanking you Robbbert from Melbourne. Definitely will be subscribing ,and keeping a watchful eye on your channel.
You are most welcome! And thank you for the appreciation ❤️
While I have been a hobbyist for many, any years, I have decided to try my hand with discus. All your points are well taken - probably no other species of fish have evoked as much passion and anecdotal (often unsubstantiated and experiential) as discus. One of the most controversial subject is that of pH. To be sure, the tank raised (as well as industrial raised fish) have never seen the water parameters of their natural habitat, ie soft, acidic water. In the US, most water is quite alkaline and hard. I hate the thought of chasing pH. I would be interested in your opinion. Thanks and greetings from Rapid City, South Dakota USA
Hi!
I never had any issues with discus when it comes to PH.
To b honest i dont know when was the last time i ever checked my PH & my fish are doing great & spawning time to time & even having frys which later disappear as its a community tank.
When it comes to pH i dont treat discus any different than any other fish of mine. I just follow 1 rule. Keep things consistent!
Don’t cause fluctuations in water parameters & ur fish will b fine! Even discus!
Whatever ur ph is, unless its very abnormal, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Best of luck with these beauties! If i can be of any further help let me know!
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 Thank you kindly for your response. I enjoy your channel. Cheers
Good information, explained well.
I'm about to set up a100 gallon tank with sump.
What filtration do you use & what substrate?
Thank you 🙏✌️🏴
Thanks!
Best of luck with your setup!
I use thin layer of normal sand as substrate & Eheim Canister for filtration.
Great advice you covered everything on this video
ThankU for expressing ur appreciation!
❤Great information .keep up the great work
Thanks a lot for the appreciation!
When I used to buy discus the first 2 things I would look for is their color first and would ask the employee to feed them and if they don't eat right away, walk away.
Hi i have a 230 gallon tank and i have 30 discus how many water change do i do in a week nice video ver informative thanks
Thanks!
It is advised to keep 1 adult Discus for every 10 G , 2x feeding a day and 25 % water change a week.
But i personally feel it depends on big ur discus are, how messy of a food u are feeding them & how much. If u are feeding pellets its nothing close to the mess that beef heart mix makes.. so depends.
I would advise if u are feeding messy food once a day, do 40% once a week… if its clean diet 25-30% a week.
It really comes down to how big ur fish are & how messy the water gets… u can test ur nitrates to have an indication how fast the organics builds up in ur tank.
Hope it makes sense what i am trying to say.
I want to keep bare bottom tank for discus is it necessary to place white or black paper under tank so that discus fish can't see himself in bottom glass. I hv glow tetra so I can't put paper under tank now what I can do.
It all depends on your water chemistry. What's easy for you may not be easy for someone else with different water chemistry. Everyone's experience is different.
I keep 10 blue turquoise discus now for 2 years in a 62 gallon tank without any water changes.. all the fish are healthy, all the water perimeters are well in range.. no they are not hard to keep.. know biology.. water never turns bad, all you need to do is to keep the bad stuff out of the water... so there the biodiffercity steps inn.. join the fatger fish channel when ever you need to ask your questions. Never be a slave to the fish tank, enjoy your fish.
do you breed them? i have a pair keeps eating eggs after 3 days. been like that for like 8 time now.
great video 💯
ThankYou!
Dear I hv glow tetra and tiger barbs in 80 gal tank with 10 gal sump filter total 90 gal tank. Can I add discus in same tank with Glow Tetra and Tiger barbs. My tank is open from top so discus can jump out or not.
I would not recommend tiger barbs with Discus, even though i personally never kept tiger barbs.
My tank is open top, discus are not jumpers really, but when they get scared / spooked .. they definitely can jump out…
Mine never jumped out but i know a case when someone lost their discus to jumping out.
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 in my area tap water ph is 7.8 can I keep discus. if no then can I add guava driftwood to reduce ph till 6.5 or 7 suitable for discus it will work or not.
@@NewAquariumHobby i dont think 7.8 is a problem,
Just get healthy fish, acclimate them nicely n keep them warm. 28-30 degrees C.
And keep ur ph stable.. dont keep changing it.
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 thanks
just subscribed. I have a 180 litre tank about 45 gallon I have 3 angel fish 5 rainbow fish 7 red phantom tetras 8 black phantom tetras 10 rummynose tetras 4 siamese algae eaters and for 2 years i got 4 juevenile discus. Now they are full size none has died i have an oase biomaser 350 and clean it once a month and do water changes 1-2 times per 2 weeks.The tank i full of plants
ThankU for subscribing! & ThankU for sharing your success story.. people need to know more stories like yours to understand these fish are not as hard as they are widely believed to be.
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 I realised i measuerd my tank and calculated the water volume it isnt what the company it is around 240 litres 55 to 60 gallon but witt the substrate and everything it is less. I am looking into upgrading the tank and adding 2 more discus. Your advice is very valid to buy the fish from a reputable source and learn to treat the fish. I think the discus are a bit like keeping angel fish they have similar immunity and requir similar conditioners but they are put in hard to keep category due to their stunning appearance and generally expensive price tag.
Muy buen aporte.
Gracias
I would love to keep Discus. Unfortunately my water parameters (pH 8.2 and dH-18 ) is it a ideal?
To be honest i never checked my water hardness.. because from my experience over the years i realised its more important to keep water parameters stable & consistent.. and fish will adjust to almost any parameters unless its really abnormal..
Just keep water clean, feed healthy & keep temperature 28-32 Degree C.
I just got into discus. I find them easy to keep, but I would say the secret is, for any fish really. To keep them in a large tank. I do not consider 75 gallons large either. I keep 7 in a 100 gallon tall. So I do not overstock. I also bought them all between 4-7 inches. So, yes big discus. Better to keep bigger discus in smaller numbers, than smaller discus in higher numbers. Bigger fish take up more space giving the aquarium a more filled look without overstocking. Also, I’ve heard bigger discus are hardier. Anyway, I keep my temperature at 86 degrees Fahrenheit. I feed once a day, and I do 40% water change a week. I feed bloodworms mainly. Yes, I’ve heard bloodworms can carry parasites, but I buy Hikari bloodworms and those state on the label “parasite free”. So far I’ve had no issues. I do not recommend them for beginners though, mainly due to the fact that they usually start out with smaller tanks like a 55 gallon. I consider 55 gallons a small/medium sized tank.
Veey Good point you highlighted - with any fish, bigger tanks are always helpful
Wild caught are hard right? But captive caught are a little bit easier?
I personally never kept wild caught, but they are believed to be harder. Captive bred are really not that hard.. get from a good source & just get the basics right !
I just came across your channel and even though I've heard a lot of videos on this topic i found it very helpful and informative. Also, i can understand what you are saying. LOL.
Thank You for your comment! I really appreciate it.
And I’m really glad that the video was helpful.
hard to cook but delicious 😋
I’m discouraged that two (big) fish places that set up/maintain tanks here in Houston won’t do discus fish even tho we are willing to pay. I wanted a 150-175 gallon tank with discus fish. They both discourage discus (and Altum angels- my second choice ). I have read up and watched so many UA-cam’s on discus so I know what is involved . I also have kept fish (freshwater and salt) tanks in the past, but I was willing to pay for them to set up and maintain discus but the answer is no. One place said “only the wild ones are the pretty ones and it’s harder to keep them.” Personally I prefer the colorful hybrids which I read are easier to keep. I think Hans discus look great. Is that a good discus dealer?
I am sorry i live in middle east & have no idea about Hans discus sorry. But i wish u best of luck that you are able to find good quality Discus & keep them healthy & happy … hope you get to enjoy these beauties !
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 thank you for the well wishes and encouragement in your UA-cam’s. New subscriber . My dream is to have a beautiful tank like yours.
This is the biggest lie of keeping Discus fish, that they are hard to keep. The problem is that they are expensive and hard to train to regular food as breeders use blackworms or beefheart which are both expensive. I have 8.2 ph, 550 TDS, 20 dGH, 4 degree dKH using my tap water. My discus tank is set at 82 degrees and I do 10-20% water changes every 1 to 2 weeks. People said my discus should be dead but they are not and been alive for more than 3 years now. Only thing you should know is keep 1 discus for every 10 gallons and you should be fine.
ThankYou for sharing ur experience, hopefully it will further provide insight to other readers 👍🏻
Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it.
U are welcome! Thanks for ur comment!
I watched the video and saw 75 gals is needed, but does that mean i can’t get 50 gals for discus?
You can if ur discus are not fully grown adult size, be mindful not all adult discus are the same size, some are 5” n some are really huge..
so their over all size & total number of discus would decide if 50 gallon is suitable or not.
Great Video🐟
Thanksss!!
Ahmed, are your discus from South American, German or Asian strain? What was the size of your albino when you bought it? Thanks.
Almost all Discus sold at my local fish stores Are imported from Asia. So that makes them asian strains, unless Asian breeders imported certain strains from South America / Germany…
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 where is your local store located?
Beautiful cat!
Thank You! 😊
I want to keep discuss bro. It is ok to feed them live foods
U can, but u will always risk infecting them with internal parasites. From my experience Discus are very prone to intestinal parasites.
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 maybe frozen live foods
Great tips. If you have a natural tank set up you don’t have do water changes. Ding water changes every day or so your water will never cycle cause your constantly changing the water and it doesn’t have time to age and have all good things in it. I have natural tanks for 20 years and had many fish and i rarely did any water changes. just added aged rain water to evaporated water. Your fish will be healthier in a natural tank system.
water doesn't cycle...the filter does.
yes thanks@@saltybulldog3241
Lmao. Cat was like f your fish.
❤️
Thank you.
Can i keep zebra danio with discus and angel??
I haven’t kept them myself with Discus, but I believe there shouldn’t be any issue.
16:22 ❤ 😂😂
RO water is the way to go!
A1 peace
New discus died in less than 24 hours. Only visibly sick for one night
Im sorry for the loss. Sometimes things get ugly real fast …
Soooooo cutie😻
I have never seen anyone from those Indian county's give good advice, I'm sorry to say🇦🇺🚔👮🏼♂️✌️
Hi, plz do share what advice/suggestions u found to be wrong in the video, would glad to clarify further.
P.S. not from India
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 OK! They have discus that live in hard water, this discus have been bred that way. And 2nd we all know that discus come from a soft water habitat so the traditional way would be to keep them in collected rain water. The other thing is discus need the water to be warmer then other tropical fish between 29c and 34c. Apart from that they are like any other fish, they need none toxic clean water without ammonia and plants take care of that together with a good filter. Also discus don't like fast moving water and prefer deep tanks. None aggressive. And that's all that needs to be said. I find Indians suggest to much and make it very difficult to understand anything with over suggesting that ends up going no where in the end and people listening are back where they started before listening to the Indian. The idea is to keep it as simple as possible and no simpler. Indians complicate things. I hope this is the feedback you wanted. 🇦🇺🚔👮🏼♂️
@@UA-cam-Nsw-Australia u summed it up pretty well, n i think i said the same stuff in the video. Was curious that may be u found something in my video u don’t agree with.
As far as hard n soft water r concerned i never kept wild caught discus so can’t really comment on that, But from my experience almost any commercially bred fish can be acclimated to a wide range of water parameters without issues. And this is what i do with any fish that i decide to keep. Its not really that complicated as some people make it to be.
@@ahmedsaquarium8262 my point is that the video could have been shorter with less suggested! But if the viewers are happy then it's business and show business in this case. But south American cichlids are my hobby. 🇦🇺✌️
Same goes with Saltwater tank. If you keep it simple, little chance there will be issue. Don't complicate things and buy unnecessary equipment.