How many reefers keep or have kept discus?

[Bayareareefer18]

Just curious. I got into the reefing hobby back in March after keeping discus for a couple of years.

Now 9 months later I find myself missing my discus but definitely not the maintenance that comes with.

Such beautiful, majestic and very personable fish.

I very successfully grew out a group of small juveniles. Fortunately for me I am local to one of the most well respected importers, of high quality discus, in the hobby. Quality stock to begin with is definitely a big key to success.

Though I miss these beauties I am loving the reefing hobby. So far so good and hoping to keep this tank running for many years.... well until I upgrade to a larger one lol

Some discus eye candy

 

[reef lover]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you. Was very happy with them but sold them all and came over to the dark side :)

 

[reef lover]

Thank you. Was very happy with them but sold them all and came over to the dark side :)

Its better on the dark side!!;);)

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Its better on the dark side!!;);)

Lol. Loving it for sure

 

[Smo]

Interesting. I have always wanted to set up a discus tank. A few years ago I started a 65 G reef tank as my quickest path into the hobby. I refer to it as my “engineering mock-up” for a larger tank. That hasn’t happened yet, but I inherited an 8’ acrylic tank (220 G) that I have thought long and hard about using for saltwater. Given all the glass cleaning I do on the 65 G I am concerned about the difficulty keeping an acrylic tank clean without scraping it up.
Hence, my thought to set up a discus tank with the acrylic aquarium. I already have enough infrastructure to make RODI water. So, is there a REEF2REEF equivalent for discus?

 

[Grey Ghost]

They truly are beautiful! A health breeding pair can rival most reef species in color and pattern IMO.

 

[Fishnut]

I use to keep them back in the 70's It was before RO units were readily available. I found them hard to keep due to the hard well water. I can't believe all of the new color combinations that are now available. Thanks for the posted photos.

 

[cracker]

Magnificent fish !
never had discus back in my freshwater days. I never saw as stunning a fish as the red & white Discus. Ya need to setup another !

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Interesting. I have always wanted to set up a discus tank. A few years ago I started a 65 G reef tank as my quickest path into the hobby. I refer to it as my “engineering mock-up” for a larger tank. That hasn’t happened yet, but I inherited an 8’ acrylic tank (220 G) that I have thought long and hard about using for saltwater. Given all the glass cleaning I do on the 65 G I am concerned about the difficulty keeping an acrylic tank clean without scraping it up.
Hence, my thought to set up a discus tank with the acrylic aquarium. I already have enough infrastructure to make RODI water. So, is there a REEF2REEF equivalent for discus?

Sure is. Simply discus.

SD was a huge help in my success. The owner of the forum Al Sabetta is great.

Lots of good info. Only thing I didn't care for is all the old schoolers that will tell you only way is bare bottom daily water changes.

True it's the tried and trued method but it doesn't have to be exactly that way.

Best suggestion is to do lots of research first. I had to make many changes from my initial setup to be able to have the success I did.

Other thing is buy quality stock. SD has a list it sponsors. Myself I went with Kenny Cheung. I can't say enough about him. Not only are his fish top notch but he is a great resource and friend to his customers

It you ever need any advice feel free to ask

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Also RO is not necessary. Its not like the old days with wilds needing soft acidic water. Even wilds are kept with tap water now a days but RO reminieralized with trace elements probably helps to keep those pristine water params necessary.

That can be super pricey and time consuming as well. I was changing 80% of my 75 every other day

Typically 50% daily is recommend for juvies so you can do the math :)

Large discus tanks are amazing but typically you would grow them out in a smaller tank then move them to the large display once they reach a certain size.

Recommendation is usually buy the biggest you can afford but that gets expensive real quick as you need a group of a minimum 5-6. Small juvies will be in the 50-60 range where sub adults and adults can be hundreds depending on the strain.

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Magnificent fish !
never had discus back in my freshwater days. I never saw as stunning a fish as the red & white Discus. Ya need to setup another !

Here he is as a baby at about 3"

When I sold him he was probably a good 7 with great shape and girth

 

[Mikedawg]

I had a few discus bought from Discus Hans (Stendker from Germany) many years ago. Beautiful and interesting, especially breeding and fry raising habits. Lake Tefe are my favorites and their natural colors rival any hybrid IMHO.
L

 

[Bayareareefer18]

I had a few discus bought from Discus Hans (Stendker from Germany) many years ago. Beautiful and interesting, especially breeding and fry raising habits. Lake Tefe are my favorites and their natural colors rival any hybrid IMHO.
L

Yep stendker has some pretty nice hybrid wild strains.

The one oddball in my tank was this Alenquer cross. The wild types are completely different.

She would change colors like a mood ring

 

[dantimdad]

I kept Marlboro and pigeon bloods in a community tank (125 show) for years and loved them. Tank was heavily planted.

They were all rescues and in really bad shape when we got them. I was told they would never live in a community tank. :confused:

 

[Mikedawg]

Yep stendker has some pretty nice hybrid wild strains.

The one oddball in my tank was this Alenquer cross. The wild types are completely different.

She would change colors like a mood ring

Beautiful; makes me think about getting a discus tank again!

 

[Bayareareefer18]

I kept Marlboro and pigeon bloods in a community tank (125 show) for years and loved them. Tank was heavily planted.

They were all rescues and in really bad shape when we got them. I was told they would never live in a community tank. :confused:

As adults planteds and community can be successful but to grow out juveniles its tough to have success. You can stunt a discus very quickly and end up with it looking like a football rather than a dinner plate

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Beautiful; makes me think about getting a discus tank again!

Agreed


But then think about the water changes lol.

 

[dantimdad]

Agreed


But then think about the water changes lol.

Auto water changes are much much easier on a tank like that though. :D

 

[Richard]

Still raising and breeding them(Kenny's discus). 265 gallons of discus tanks including breeding tanks along with 710 gallons ( 6 tank loop system ) of saltwater. I stopped the with the discus for a short period of time but missed them too much. Watching mainly SPS grow is nice and also can be a bit challenging there is just something about the discus.