Discus questions... ID, fdg., beh.... gen.  2/20/09 Hi crew, sorry to bother you again? However, i have 3 discuses, that i got 1 week ago, in a 40 gallon tank and 1 of them (the orange discus) only eats bloodworms. I try feeding flakes and brine shrimp but she/he showed no interest. The other two eats everything. How do i teach the orange discus to eat different types of foods? The dominant discus does bully both of them, but i don't know if it is temporarily because i just got them. Does the bullying effect what they eat, because when i feed bloodworms, the orange one goes crazy. They all seem pretty healthy. Here are some pics of them. And do you know what type they are? thanks http://s724.photobucket.com/albums/ww244/fish111111/?action=view&current=DSC02493.jpg http://s724.photobucket.com/albums/ww244/fish111111/?action=view&current=DSC02486.jpg http://s724.photobucket.com/albums/ww244/fish111111/?action=view&current=DSC02490.jpg the dominant discus is the red and blue one. Thanks for all your help. <Hello Chris. I'm not expert on the types of Discus, and so far as I can tell these are standard Symphysodon hybrids of the type widely sold today. So I can't help you on that topic. As for diet, Discus tend to be finicky, and the golden rule is to feed as many different things as possible. Live daphnia, bloodworms, mosquito larvae, and small earthworms are appreciated by all specimens. I'd avoid freeze-dried foods as much as possible, but good quality flake foods are certainly taken by some Discus. By all means try different brands: many of my fish will eat one brand but ignore another! Hikari foods tend to be the best and most widely accepted. Now, as for social behaviour, Discus are best kept either in matched pairs of groups of 6+. Your trio WILL have problems with bullying, as you're observing. Like Angelfish, Discus are schooling fish when young, but territorial pair-forming fish as adults, so unless they're in a big group, pairs will pick on singletons. So either get rid of one, or buy three more. If you keep six, you'll need a bigger tank. Your move. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: discus questions   2/20/09 Hi Neale, thanks for the reply. Is it possible to keep four discus, will that help at all? <Not really Discus, Angelfish and Festivums all fall into this "either a pair or six" category Of course if you kept four females, they'd be fine, but you can't sex Symphysodon so unless you're able to split mature (i.e., spawning) pairs, getting six females isn't practical.> What is the maximum number of discus i can put in a 40 gallon (adults). <A matched pair.> My discuses don't pair up to bully one of them. <No, perhaps not, but the bully could easily be a dominant male and the bullied fish either another male (or, less probably) an unresponsive female.> There is only one dominant discus that picks on both of them. <Quite.> Will this be permanent or is he just establishing the pecking order? <Impossible to say. The best you can say is that the overwhelming experience of Discus keepers is that 3, 4 or 5 adults don't tend to get along. A single male and three females probably would, but there's no way to guarantee you'd get that ratio. Two males would bicker all the time, and one would end up being bullied. Eventually, it would have to be removed.> How long does it take to establish this in general. <May not do so.> They are also extremely scared whenever i walk by them. <Quite normal. This is why Discus are kept in groups in display tanks. When kept in groups of 6+, they are much more secure and likely to swim about normally. The addition of calm dither fish, such as Silver Hatchetfish, can help, but this assumes your aquarium has sufficient space for all.> I tried to hand feed them to show i am a source of food, but i don't believe that helped much. Last, what is the nutritional value of bloodworms, are they considered healthy or treats? <Healthy.> Can it be used as a staple diet? <A fair staple diet, but do augment with pellets, daphnia, etc., once or twice a week.> I will continue to try to add variety into their diets, but since they aren't eating anything but bloodworms, should i lay off them or continue, as i don't want them to starve. <Variety is central. Experiment, switch between brands, raid the kitchen for small bits of seafood and white fish.> Thanks so much Neale, i appreciate your time. ~Chris <Happy to help, Neale.> re: discus questions thanks for your help, i will upgrade to a 60 gallon soon <Probably very wise. Get six juveniles for now, and once they get about 8 cm/3 inches in length, they'll be ready for a bigger tank. Much written about these very special fish; would highly recommend spending a little time browsing WWM and your local bookstore, library, or online book retailer. Cheers, Neale.>

Please!!! Symphysodon, NNS   5/25/07
This is my first time write to you. I have 4 discus (1'x1.5' tank) and 4 flower horns(3'x1.5' tank). Their tanks are very dirty and how to clean my tanks. I put their tanks with air pump and heater. I change all tank 20% water and then add a little salt.
<Mmm, the Discus do NOT like salt>
It is good or not. I want to know what kind of filter is good for my tanks (discus and flower horn). I want to test my water but i don't know, so what kind of test is require?  Please explain me the usage (advantage) of undergravel filter, sponge filter and internal filter. If i add filter, air pump is need or not? I don't know how to keep my fish and this is my first time bought fish. Please give me other advises of my fish (discus and flower horn). I will waiting from your reply.
Thanks !
<Ahh, all of this and so much more is posted... Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsubwebindex.htm
The blue print are links... the search tool is at the bottom... Read my friend. Bob Fenner>

Quick IDs, Af. cichlids   3/18/07 Hi,     Do you mind ID-ing a cichlid for me? I sort of  inherited it (it's a long story) and want to be sure I am caring for it properly  and I wanted to see about breeding it (why I want to know what it is) Here is  the 1st one: (javascript:void(0);) Sorry that it is blurry- new camera phone :D <Looks like a female Melanochromis auratus to me: http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=2343&genusname=Melanochromis&speciesname=auratus> And the other one that I inherited, which is isolated by itself by egg  crate: <Maybe a Maylandia zebra male... http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=8345&genusname=Maylandia&speciesname=zebra> Thanks, I appreciate your help! Anthony P. S. I wouldn't have this awesome discus if it weren't for your excellent advice! She lives with another female discus of the same size in a 125 gallon tank, and I wish to add 2-3 more in a few months and get them breeding  again! (I had a major die out- from 8 discus to 2)   <A very nice specimen. Bob Fenner>

Discus Stocking - 05/07/2006
<<Hi, Karen. Tom with you.>>
I have a 47G column. It is planted, and doing well. I want to put a few 2.5 inch Discus in it. How many may I safely put in?  The dimensions are 31" tall, 20" wide and 18" deep front to back. There are no other fish, save 1 Otocinclus.  I would do a small school of cardinal tetra, but I know I am restricted due to the lack of surface area.
<<Karen, I wouldn't go with more than three of these fish since they won't remain this size. You're already aware of the restricted surface area with this style of aquarium and are almost certainly aware of the need Discus have for exceptional water conditions. They're going to need frequent water changes and strict attention to vacuuming the substrate in your tank. These are wonderful fish but it seems like any parasite within a city block of these guys will find them.>>
Thanks for the expert opinion, for free, YAY!
<<Well, I can't vouch for the "expert-ness" of my opinion but, it is absolutely free! :)>>
Karen
<<Best of luck. Tom>>

Discus Book Recommendation  - 04/27/06
I will order it, and thank you very much for the time you and everyone involved at WWM  so generously give. I raise my net to you in a salute! I  shall
make a donation in your honor! Would you possibly have a recommendation for a book on Discus, other than  Mr. Wattley's?  Would you order his?  Is that a fair question?
Yours truly, Karen
< I love this question! Recently I went out and bought all the new and old discus books I could find. I am kind of an aquarium history buff too so I was not too far from my element. An excellent to the point book about discus is the "Back To Nature Guide to Discus " by Dick Au. Unfortunately it is out of print and Dick has all the remaining copies. Jack Wattley's book "Discus For The Perfectionist" has lots of good information. It is a series of questions and responses from famous discus aquarists from all over the world. It is interesting to note that Jack does not respond to any of the questions. For the money the best book is called "Exotic Discus of the World". It is a composition written by numerous authors about the very fine details and tricks on getting ,breeding and raising discus.  It can be obtained through Oliver Lucanus at his website at Belowwater.com. I use it often as a reference to WWM questions on discus.-Chuck>

Discus book, NNS (Non-Native Speaker) ?   3/3/06
dear bob
just a quick line to say thank you for all the work you do for us fish keepers
am new to this game i.e. discus keeping
Am i right in thinking that you have done a book on the subject ? if so where can i get a copy from
thanking you a gain
des
<Mmm, no freshwater books in print. Bits and pieces archived on WWM, including re Discus. Bob Fenner>

Discus Question   2/10/06
Good Afternoon,
<Morning here/now>
I am starting up a 65 gallon planted discus tank and was wondering if I can have other fish in with them (specifically angels, an elephant nose, cardinal tetras and maybe dwarf gouramis).
<The cardinals would be fine (if large enough, the discus small enough), the other fish species are not recommended for various reasons>
  Also, could you please tell me how many fish I can house in a 65 gallon aquarium.
<Could start with five discus of smallish size (less than three inches in diameter), likely having to remove all but two, three in time>
Another question is with regards to sand/gravel.  I have been reading up on silica sand, black beauty and other sandblasting sand.  Could you please tell me which is the best to use in my tank (currently running bare bottomed).
<Mmm, none of these would I choose. Look to Fluorite, lateritic material... for function...>
What medication (if any) should I always have on hand.  Thanking you in advance for any advise you can offer.
Lori
<None. Like military hardware, lack of knowledge/intelligence re same, you're too likely to use it. Bob Fenner>

Starting With Discus  12/10/05
Yes, fist of all I just want to say thanks for all of your hard work on putting this page together. It has been a great source of reference for many years.  Ok, on with the question. I just bought a 75 gallon tank with the hopes of raising discus, but I don't know if I have the right set up. I am using a stealth heater two Filstar Rena canister filters xp2 and xp3. I am using medium and small gravel somewhere around 110 pounds in all. And a few fake plants and driftwood. Is this ok please let me know. Current fish in tank, 2 baby green severums, 2 Bala Sharks, 2 catfish Pictus and 1 Black Ghost knife 10 in.
< There are two kinds of discus, wild and tank raised. Wild discus require clean, warm, soft, acidic water. Tank raised fish are much less demanding. Overall you need to keep the pH around 7, and the nitrates as low as possible. Give them good food and they like to be crowded. In the wild they are found in big schools so get a group to make them feel more comfortable.-Chuck>

Discus
Hey,
I have several discus and one of them is showing a sort of pimple along the lateral line right before the tail. The fish seems to be eating fine and swims along without a problem but the pimple is there with a white top on it. Should I move the fish to a temp tank? What would you recommend for treatment?  DK
< I would do a 30% water change, clean the filter and vacuum the gravel. Watch the pimple carefully because it may be the first signs of hole in the head disease. If it gets worse I would isolate the fish and treat with Metronidazole. The key with discus is clean water with lots of water changes.-Chuck>

Fish poisoned with algicide/clarifying agent
Hi there. I used a product called Accu-clear in my tank, which was going green with an algae bloom. It had 2 of my breeding discus in it. Both discus instantly got sick and one to the point where it was lying on the bottom of the tank and gasping for air. Can you help me and give me some information on what I can do to help this fish?
<Change the water IMMEDIATELY... as much as you have good water (about the same chemistry, temperature) on hand. Increase aeration... Bob Fenner>

Peaceful Top Dwellers
Hi,
<Hello Greg>
I've kept fish for most of my adult life, but never had a small aquarium until I moved to an apartment. I now have just a 10 gallon tank. I will be moving back into a house I'm building by fall and will go back to a large tank.  The tank has 3 high-fin rams 3 small discus one Pleco and one cat. The rams stay at the bottom and the discus in the middle. Are there any small (or at least slow growing) fish that are compatible and would inhabit the top third of the tank? I figure I've got room for two or possibly three more fish if they're not too large.
Thanks, Greg Plate
<Well that is a lot for a ten gallon, as the discus demand very high water quality to stay healthy. I would not add anything else to this tank and am sure that by the fall you may be severely overcrowded size wise, if you are not already. I would keep a very close eye on the water quality and do rigorous water changes weekly to help, but the waste produced will overload the tank soon, if it hasn't already. Justin (Jager)><<You need a larger tank, hyaku! RMF>>