Got Discus!

[Greengirl]

Due to unfortunate circumstances with Doug Gosnell's water, his discus fry keep dropping like flies, so now he gave them to me. I now have 20+ dime sized discus that have survived over 48 hours in my water and are eating bbs like there is no tomorrow. Their parents are a plain red female, and a glorious red snakeskin as big as a dinner plate!

I am new to discus, but it seems I can keep them alive. My question to you all is when do I start feeding them other food aside from BBS, and what? Do discus need to eat live all the time? And do I need to start color enhancing early? If I raise and sell these fry ok, I may buy the parents and start locally breeding them.

 

[blkmjk]

I haven't ever kept discus but feeding them alot seems risky to me. I think 75% waterchanges on the daily are in order from what I've read. YSS should really chime in here.

Drew

 

[Becca]

I haven't ever kept discus but feeding them alot seems risky to me. I think 75% waterchanges on the daily are in order from what I've read. YSS should really chime in here.

Drew

I think this is part of the issue with Discus. They do need to eat frequently, which is part of why they require lots of WC's.

How big are they? I'd imagine they could be fed similar foods to angel fry. I do recall being told they need lots of protein in their diet, but I don't know first-hand.

 

[YSS]

If you are serious about breeding discus, you should go to simplydiscus.com and start reading more about raising discus fry. I have never tried breeding discus so I don't have first hand experience, but it's not easy and requires a lot of work. Good luck!

 

[Greengirl]

These discus are the size of nickels and dimes. I feed them three times a day. They seem happy and adapted. Remember I was kind of thrown into this. I'm going to work with these guys for some time so I get it right with them. Actually breeding discus will be way into the future. I just want to know when I can stop feeding bbs. I don't want another hydra bloom in my tank because of bbs. Maybe tiny blood worms?

I've read on Simply discus, but they don't talk about older fry care, just new fry. Do they like wood and tannins? How long does it take them to grow to the next size? I've run out of tanks, and they are all in my 15g.

 

[Becca]

They do like wood and tannins. They also like blackwater extract, plants, and plenty of shade.

I think grindal worms might be a good bet - better than trying to chop up or pick through black worms, plus you could set up a couple cultures and not have to ever buy more.

If you can get them to take frozen brine, maybe with some added vitamins or garlic, they could probably have that at their current size.

I have some blackworm flake that I got from Kens that my fish LOVE. If you remind me closer to the meeting, I'll bring you a baggie of it to try. Alternately, if you're desperate to try it, you're always welcome to visit, but fair warning, my house is a mess. I've given up on battling dog-hair tumbleweeds and have decided they're now part of the landscape.

 

[festaedan]

Sweet, post pics when you can!
I've heard beef heart is good for discus. Also keep the ph really low And driftwood wouldnt hurt.

 

[YSS]

I've read on Simply discus, but they don't talk about older fry care, just new fry. Do they like wood and tannins? How long does it take them to grow to the next size? I've run out of tanks, and they are all in my 15g.

If you have more questions, you will get better answers at simply.

 

[AquaStudent]

Doug's misfortune is your copious amounts of fortune! Good luck!

P.S. Pics or it didn't happen

 

[Greengirl]

I think grindal worms might be a good bet - better than trying to chop up or pick through black worms, plus you could set up a couple cultures and not have to ever buy more.

Who has grindal worms? I actually never heard of them before.

Also here is video. [YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8WWFXlIvKo[/YT]

 

[Greengirl]

[YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8WWFXlIvKo[/YT]

 

[Greengirl]

I don't think it is working

 

[mchambers]

Frank Cowherd sells them and has them listed in his current for sale thread.

 

[Greengirl]

[YT]<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/R8WWFXlIvKo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/YT]

 

[Greengirl]

How do I embed a youtube video again?

 

[mchambers]

Like this

You click the Youtube icon and then fit everything after the "=" in the url of the video.

[YT]R8WWFXlIvKo[/YT]

 

[Greengirl]

THANKS!

 

[Becca]

I've had one of Frank C's cultures going strong for a while now. It took a little trial and error, but if you get one I can give you a few pointers.