Maybe Discus....

Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!!!!!!!

My advise (for what it's worth) -
Read everything you can.
Spend hours on Simply Discus.
As soon as you start to read conflicting information from all the "experts" - STOP reading, it will only make you question your decision to get discus.
Get the fish.
Keep the water clean. Yes, you will need to do water changes. A LOT of water changes.
Watch your fish. They'll tell you exactly what's up with them through their behaviour, their color, their eating, etc. etc. and yes, you WILL learn to read them.
Give them a lot of variety in their diet (good quality food).
Did I mention water changes???!!!

Adrian, I had absolutely NO interest whatsoever in discus until I bought a tank that came with 5 of them and they kind of grew on me before I had a chance to dump them off on April. Now, I can't imagine not having them. When I wake up in the morning, I open my eyes and see six floating dinner plates watching me about 4 inches from my face. They rush right to the side of the tank as soon as I wake up. I stick my hand in the tank and they rush to be petted. That's why I call them my tank puppies.

Go for it, Adrian. I think you'll really enjoy the experience.
I'm certainly no expert, but am more than willing to help you any way I can.
Shelley

There's a bit of a learning curve, if you enjoy raising babies/juvies to adulthood it gets easier with each batch. I researched and read Simplydiscus and other discus forums for about a year learning from other fishkeepers hits and misses before I felt ready for my first group of discus.

Decided what you want from your discus. If you just want to keep discus, you don't have to go barebottom and daily water changes. Planted, gravel, it's all good but you do come across more health issues. For my first batch, I raised a group of juvies in a bare bottom, daily water changes, multiple feeds for about a year before moving them into a planted tank.

The idea of going barebottom, lots of water changes and multiple daily feeds is to give fish the greatest chance of growing big and vibrant with less chance of health issues. With multiple feedings a day, you can't keep gravel and filters clean enough unless you become a slave to cleaning your discus tank constantly.

Juvies grow the most within the first year. Anything that interrupts their growth period, ie. disease, illness, hunger strikes, unclean water ups the chances of stunted fish. Those are those skinny, smallish discus that you see from time to time in LFS. If you start with adults, they can be as tough as nails so you don't have to worry about stunted fish. Just give them good food and clean water and they should be happy.

But whichever way you go, start with good, quality stock. This gives you a running head start. A $10 discus is just as much work as a $50 discus, and you'll probably be happier with the end result of the $50 discus.

go to the beginners section on simply..and then go to the univierstiy section and read the thread on eye to body ratio..and look at alot of pics..till you actually "see "discus shape. takes some time..wahters has a great article in begninners wiht great pics of eye size etc..and what not to get..http://www.aquariumhobbyist.com/discus/beginner/index.html . walter has some great info on his site.
afforadable..low price isnt always a deal. if you see pics of adults..from some tank..and then you see advertisements for cheap small discus..your not getting whats in that pic. best to see the actual fish that are for sale. theres lower priced ones but more basic strains for decent prices. dont start with 2 to 2.5 inches..you will not get good results especially in a large tank . youd need a huge group. they would feel very insecure. if your going to use your big tank with a ray..and sand..then get at least 4 inch..and a decent size group. at least 6 to 8. good food..low bioload..low nitrates..and as much wcs as you can..you should succeed. dont go with pigeon bloods if your doing a big tank with sand and ray..you will end up with peppered pigeons. go with basic barred fish.
someone named april has an article also on her website on selecting discus.
http://www.aprilsaquarium.com/discus.php
you wont be sorry..they are the king of the aquarium after all..
you dont need a nice calm room if you get good healthy discus. the more commotion and traffic in front the better. my discus are in the grooming shop..and the one tank has big dogs standing right no plain view..and they dont flinch. my discus can be laying eggs..while im standing there doing wc's and other people standing watching..its the ones in a quiet room who get skittish...as they get surprised when they do see someone.

I had to chuckle when I read this

I have all my fish tanks (including my discus tank) in the family room downstairs. It also is my son's playroom as well - he's almost 2.5 years old. I'm sure you can picture it Like any toddler, he's all over the place running around, balls bouncing here and there (but never against the tanks), making loud noises, putting his face right up against the tanks, etc. You get the idea.

Perhaps I just have kid-friendly discus... I'm sure it's because they're conditioned to the environment But the discus don't flinch with him around and they are healthy and happy discus.

I have a friend who has the same set-up and she keeps them in a separate room. They are happy and healthy too but whenever someone enters the room (including herself), they go crazy, hit the glass, and huddle together. I told her perhaps it's the same as raising our kids - when my son was a baby, I made sure there was sound when he was sleeping. I didn't want a baby that woke up at the slightest noise. It could just be his nature but even to this day, he can sleep through a VERY noisy party.

This is just my experience though

Cheers!

Adz1 said:

thanks for the responses every one.
well at this point in time i don't have that nice calm room for my fish yet.
so i will think more about Discus in a year or so when we get our own place and i can have a fish room with out kids running through it all the time.

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