What do you feed your discus?

crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Ok so it's a freshwater fish... so shoot me. Anyway, mine love bloodworms and most pellets and flake food. However, they do not like many of the more nutritious, frozen foods. I have tried beefhearts, discus formula, freshwater mysis shrimp. They won't touch any of this. What other frozen foods should I try?
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by NEreef
people that come in to my store will also buy daphnia.
Thanks for the input... I'll try to find some daphnia. Any other ideas?
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
Ok, not trying to hijack the thread, but how the heck do you keep these freakin' things alive? I tried a discus once and had it for like a week before he kicked the bucket.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
I feed bloodworms, assorted flaked foods, brineshrimp. I don't do the beefheart thing as it really messes up the water. A variety is the best.
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by Farslayer
Ok, not trying to hijack the thread, but how the heck do you keep these freakin' things alive? I tried a discus once and had it for like a week before he kicked the bucket.
I've had mine for about 5 months now. They are in a pretty basic setup with inexpensive filtration. I do feed them twice per day and do water changes 2x per week. Mine are doing great.
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
Do you care to post a pic of your discus? I had an awesome blue one that dropped after a week, I was quite upset. Also, are they OK to house with gouramis?
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
Originally Posted by Farslayer
Ok, not trying to hijack the thread, but how the heck do you keep these freakin' things alive? I tried a discus once and had it for like a week before he kicked the bucket.
Not hard to keep if you can provide them with good clean water "All the time". Varied diet, warm temps of 80-84, peaceful tankmates and frequent feedings and water changes.
I don't ever alter the ph of my water anymore. I use to breed angelfish (freshwater) and altered my hard ph water and killed a whole wack of fish that way. Angels and Discus will adapt quite easily to your water so don't play with your ph or you are heading for disaster.
Keep the tank simple but nice. Discus can be shy so do provide them with a place to hide if you can. A nicely planted tank is truly something beautiful but we all cannot do that setup so using plastic or silk plants is an option.
Many folks like to keep the tanks bare bottom, I prefer a thin gravel bed but you have to and must vacum it well each water change.
Don't use regular plecos with Discus as they like to suck the slime coat of these fish and once they start they will not stop. Bristlenose plecs are the best with Discus. Some like to use Otto's too, I have found they love to suck the Discus too.
They are truly "king" of the tanks and are very beautiful fish. Mine is the size of a mans hand and is a Cobalt Blue.

 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
Wow, now that is awesome! Do you mind if I ask about your setup? Also, if competing for food is the only issue you can think of, I may have that solved. My gouramis will not eat frozen foods at all, only flake. I tried feeding daphnia, no go. But I don't want to try just one if they need to be in schools. How many would be a good number to keep together? And the gouramis can readily go in another tank if need be.
Thanks again, and sorry for hijacking this thread.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
My tank is not your typical Discus tank. I only have one Discus, I could keep 2 but they would just fight as did 2 angels. So I have opted for just one. My tank is 30 gal and depending on the size of your tank a nice school is 5 of them if you have a 55 gal tank or bigger.
Watch the gouramis, sometimes they can be nasty and scare the discus especially if there is food involved.
One thing I do love to use is those plastic worm holders you can get for the tank. I put all my frozen foods in there, if you have 5 or more discus make sure you have at least 3 of these holders so they all can eat. They are still cichlids after all.
When young they need very frequent water changes and feedings, as they get older they can be fred 2 times a day but still need good clean water.
I like to use mopani wood in my tank for that natural look. I do use some plastic plants as i cannot be bothered with the live ones. The only thing live i have is a 2 moss balls (marimo balls) these things are so neat and the catfish love to roll them around the tank. They are great for nitrates.
The ideal tank to me would be:
55 gal tank
5 Discus
8-10 Neon tetras or rummynose tetras for schooling fish
1 bristlenose
4 catfish
Live plants as you wish or plastic
Very breathtaking discus fish are. They just are not easy for me to get here and very expensive when I can get them. I do love the one I have and it is my second attempt with them. Learned the hardway with the first one. Keep all unruly fin nipping fish away from Discus at all times and you will have a very beautiful tank.
With a Discu tank you must devote the tank to them only and they will do wonderful.
Hope this helps.....
If you want anymore help you can email me at: bugsy2866@hotmail.com
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
My tank is small for discus as I will only house them in there as babies. I have a 35 gallon hex with the 3 discus, a betta and a pleco. I would keep at least 2 to 3 in a tank. If you don't think they'd have to compete with the gouramis for food then I think they'd probably be ok together but this is just a guess.
 
N

nereef

Guest
there are many different gouramis. some are really nasty, paradisefish for instance. i'm not sure that gouramis would handle the high temps either. best tankmates woul include rummynose tetras, cardinal tetras (they handle the heat better than neons), and cory cats. i would stay away from plecos(besides bristlenose), as they can attach to a 60$ discus and suck its life dry.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
Originally Posted by crimzy
My tank is small for discus as I will only house them in there as babies. I have a 35 gallon hex with the 3 discus, a betta and a pleco. I would keep at least 2 to 3 in a tank. If you don't think they'd have to compete with the gouramis for food then I think they'd probably be ok together but this is just a guess.

I would replace the pleco with a bristlenose. What kind of gouramis do you have??
2-3 Discus in my opinion will not work. You have to be prepared to get rid of one if two of them pair up, the third one will always be picked on. Keeping 5 spreads out the aggression but it is also not a sure thing either. If you are wanting a breeding pair then get three and then return the one that does not fit in the bunch as they get older.
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
I'm not sure what type of gouramis, but they are small and powder blue to mixed red/blue. I already keep the tank at 80 degrees, so far so good. I have about 2 inches of black sand, the stuff for plants. I've got seven sword plants in there right now, need to add a LOT more. I've got two cats, one flying fox, and one otto cat (may have to go apparently). I have a total of six gouramis.
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by Debbie
I would replace the pleco with a bristlenose.
I think you may be right. The pleco hasn't bothered the discus at all but it's really not worth the risk.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
Originally Posted by Farslayer
I'm not sure what type of gouramis, but they are small and powder blue to mixed red/blue. I already keep the tank at 80 degrees, so far so good. I have about 2 inches of black sand, the stuff for plants. I've got seven sword plants in there right now, need to add a LOT more. I've got two cats, one flying fox, and one otto cat (may have to go apparently). I have a total of six gouramis.

I have one of the little dwarf gouramis in with mine and it seems to be fine. Just watch though. I know for a fact and experience that the bigger ones are horrible with Discus.
I keep my tank at 80 as well.
Watch for dead spots when using sand, I never had any luck with using it and killed more fish that way but you might be just fine.
Some do keep flying fox and otto cats, watch them carefully each day. I just prefer to have it peaceful as Discus can become stressed easily so I choose tankmates very carefully.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
Originally Posted by crimzy
I think you may be right. The pleco hasn't bothered the discus at all but it's really not worth the risk.

Watch for the pleco swimming along side of the Discus, if this happens out it comes ASAP.
At night is when they do the most harm. You wake up to Discus pinned into the corner of the tank, stress bars and all showing. I know it just is not worth it to me. I pay dearly for these fish here and they are truly beautiful.
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
Beautiful Debbie, my favorite FW fish, I kept them for years before going into SW. I always say if my 300g ever crashes, it will be a discus tank, planted.
Kaye
 
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