Why I gave up Discus Fish and will probably never keep them again 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@opercula]

Great video ! First, congratulations for having the courage to say what many of us have experienced...in spite of possibly incurring the rath of some sensitive discus keeper. (Fortunately as of this posting date, this has not occurred.) Secondly, MD of MD Fish Tanks, an extremely respected aquarium landscaper and fish keeper from the UK, had the same experience as you two years ago and explained it to us viewers not unlike how you did in this video. Finally, as an 80 year old fish keeper for the past 70 years, I have delved into discus on multiple occasion...occasionally with considerable success. Do I regret not persisting in it? Absolutely No! Would I do it again. I'm afraid not. By the way, I love your channel.

[@frankvermeulen4621]

Absolutely agreed. An aquarium is supposed to be enjoyed, not being stressed over. That would be missing the whole point of it. 👍

[@anniacampbell8764]

I love how you aquascaped your tank ❤️

[@tammyjohnson7401]

Hi Dani, do not feel bad it's always a learning curve, you have even more knowledge, Love your tank landscaping, Take care

[@Alissaemilyart]

I feel like losing a diskus would feel similar to a betta...they're such individuals as compared to a schooling type. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! ❤

[@Nripenbajracharya]

Danny loved your video. You should make a video on perfect temp for planted aquarium. And also balance of a planted tank.

[@dennisjensen2239]

Having a Discus setup myself, with a biomaster 850 with a 400 watt heater, I'm a bit surprised you had issues keeping up the temperature up, as I shut of my radiator in my living room because the aquarium radiated so much heat. Maybe our new windows and doors really are that energy efficient (Nordic). For anyone thinking about getting Discus I would suggest getting a UV sterilizer, as it does give a bit of peace of mind. I've lost only one Discus and had no breakouts of disease. But as Danni says... Forget about beautiful planted tank, but try some gorgeous hardscape instead, and a couple of water changes per week. And pimp you bio master filter into a mini sump.

[@Luxuriouswhite]

I went from high tech planted tanks to discus and it was really rough at first. First batch of discus i got was not he healthiest and lost 4 out of 7 within a year. Then i got rid of the remaining 3 and got a fresh batch of 15 healthy discus and lost 1 within a week but the other 14 are huge and have been thriving for the past year. If you get them healthy and have the proper maintenance they can be very enjoyable

[@Kamikazeesouled]

Whilst I dont have discus and only a planted tank, down here tanks are 28-30C without heaters..we get around this by injecting co2. Its impossible to have a planted tank at those temps without co2 injection IME. Injecting co2 does not affect oxygen levels.

[@DRZLLZRD]

Yes, co2 and oxygen (via air pump) can be both be added and kept high without affecting each other. She’s just talking without knowing what she’s saying.

[@nuwanwarushavithana.]

Great video Danny.. I have same problem. I put plants in there they everything melt . I think high temperature know? Do have solution for that . Don’t say to me give up the discu .. 😂

[@michaelprince7825]

Great content Danny. I understand your point of view.

[@jpaquarios541]

I do understand your points, discus tank is a compromising between a planted or a beautiful fish, what is my choice, although I have to say that my 400 l discus aquarium is looking amazing with plants, amazon sword, crypt, rotala, java fern. I love discus and surprising my discus know me, when I approach the tank they swim quick in to the front waiting for food. But again I understand you, I really do.

[@AngelFlores-zm4ub]

Same here I returned my 10 discus because they kept stressing me out and not to mention very expensive

[@marcelmokos]

Hi Danny, love your content I had a plan have dicus in 520l that I have established on the beginning of the year and I have rumynose tetra, and cardinal tetra with few other fish and shrimps in there and the aquarium so easy to maintain that I do not want the discuss any more. You are contributing to my decision to do not keep them. I have had a problem with corydoras that they came sich and medicate 600l of wather is painfull.

[@adeptusmagi]

never even considered ive had enough time/money/experience to keep discus for over 30 years Hygrophila Difformis is i think the best plant for nitrate removal that will happily grow at discus temps even @84f it grows and looks good if you've got it in acid soft water

[@intothefuture1.618]

Wow are those green rasbora? They look lovely and bigger than the cardinals even, are they older?? Beautiful tank and absolutely agree with the idea that you shouldn't be anxious to look at ur tank int he morning, i've been there before!

[@Omd-vz2gt]

I agree with you!! For starters; a planted tank can't never be a planted aquarium different parameters all together!! For discus the only plants that can go along are anubias, java fern and cryptocorine !! My discus tank is doing well because I use pothos plants anchored to the sides of the tank and they do the work absorbing the nitrates!! Temperature 85-86 degrees I don't know my ph or water hardiness!! My food consists of 1lb of beef heart, 3lbs of salmon, 1lb of shrimp, 1lb of clams, 1lb of squid, 5Tbsp of krill, 5 garlic cloves, 1tsp of paprika, 1Tbsp of spurilina. I change the water once a week and nothing fancy they get NYC tap water at 80 degrees and 50%. As you can see nothing fancy !! Check out DIY simply discus seminar and Gabriel Posada from Jack Wattley discus they a source of information!! Try it again!!

[@davemathis4215]

I’ve been keeping discus for years and yes you have to have a heap of medication, you have to treat them just like your running a pig or chicken farm worming every so many months using antibiotics mainly metronidazole, oxidizers but mainly wormer s high heat treatments I could go on for days

[@llomax1067]

My first round of discus didn't go well at all.... I'm gonna try it again with a bigger tank with a sump

[@shindama]

Discus require 82-88F and ferns/anubias do well.

[@Joe-nj3bb]

If this video was accidently titled "how to repot orchids," I would have thought Danny went crazy. 🤣 The way the tank is arranged is the perfect balance. Nice color variety of plants, fish are not too big, and the water looks so clean.

[@airjaff]

I missed it but what is the ideal temperature for your plants in this aquarium?

[@anthonyjenkins537]

What light do you use?

[@steveroberts2533]

That’s a nice tank you have

[@zwgrafos310]

Sorry to say these but you can have healthy colourful discus in any temperatures between 78-86 Fahrenheit and any pH between 6.5-8.5. many, including myself have proven this. A temperature between 80-82 would allow you to combine everything. Also, in a mature tank, you can get away with changing water once per week or once per 2 weeks. Third, all blackwater fishes have weak immune system like cardinal tetras or some corydoras species' etc, but the key is to have low bacteria count in your water(crystal clear water). This can only be achieved with mature filter with huge surface area that is not cleaned unless the flow is reduced.

[@Danny-MOG]

Let’s agree to disagree 🤭

[@zwgrafos310]

@@Danny-MOG sure. We are just exchanging opinions. Not enforcing anything 😌

[@ssandaf4564]

I think it us the size. Losing a big fish is more stressful than losing a small fish, no matter which fish.

[@davemathis4215]

If you ever go to a fish show you can tell a discus keeper , they will be the old person talking about water parameters and such saying they been keeping discus half their life when you ask their age they will say I just turned 28 😂😂😂

[@Danny-MOG]

Uhhh if a 28 year old looks like an old person then either they’re pulling your leg, either they’re real good at make up 😂 on a serious note, age has nothing to do with anything.. at 20 I was teaching 50 year olds about planted tanks and selling them plants and products 🤷🏻‍♀️ now at almost 40 I take lessons from 20 year old fish breeders. Experience is important but not really age depended, passionate people and logical minds (having some money helps run multiple tanks too) learn in a year more about almost everything than a person with a nano tank of guppies learns in 10 years. T’is how it works, you know what you like most, if a young person’s parents kept discus since they were born and then became passionate about breeding them at 10 they will prolly know more than I will ever learn until I die 💀

[@pickles9009]

Have you ever thought of keeping saltwater?

[@Danny-MOG]

Hi, I did have a saltwater tank many years ago, when the time is right I’ll do another, I have the tank ready 🤭

[@pickles9009]

@@Danny-MOG amazing! I have some jellyfish and although a bit tricky they are amazing. Would %100 recommend.

[@corncob2701]

Great content, subscribed

[@Ccatsby]

The only discus worth keeping are piwowdiscus. But ya when I had discus one would get sick monthly

[@sunsundks3891]

Piwowdiscus?

[@Ccatsby]

@@sunsundks3891 piwowwarski discus. Its the breeder

[@rodswoodworking7151]

The best experiences I have seen shared about Discus involved using a plenum filtration strategy to complete the nitrogen cycle using anoxic conditions. I haven't tried Discus myself, but I do use a plenum in all my tanks (as well as mechanical filtration), and that system is very good at reducing nitrates and phosphates that cause algae.

[@amyforsch3070]

❤

[@jimmysfishystory5749]

My comment is: I can’t believe how many times I typed something here and then deleted it.

[@calebemory2134]

It's always sad to lose them but you can't live in fear over an animal

[@ChadGardenSinLA]

I consider pets/animals to be training wheels for disabilities of interpersonal effectiveness (mental health) & physical disablities. I can see a world in which we don’t enlsave animals b/c our technology makes us whole physically & mentally. It really helped me out when I entered this hobby to choose planted tanks instead of fish tanks. Thanks for sharing your story.

[@simolsimol5359]

With discus u need uv

[@san1122222]

Bit late to the party. I kept discus of highest quality for 10 years (im in Nordics, if you know discus you know where we get them from). I gave up recently because i just got tired, really tired, just like you. I had them in both lush planted tank and only with sand and 3d background. The latter turned out to be significantly better for maintenance. Just less hassle. Now on to the main point: Source of your discus makes massive, massive difference. Even some asian discus are bad, they medicate the heck out of them. Sorry Americans, but your discus are mostly Stendker breeds, and those are even worse due to massive inbreeding (one of the real reasons Stendker collapsed). Pretty fish, but stupidly sensitive and sickly. And im sorry but your fish didnt look good either, especially small fish in planted tank will simply be stunted, they must be fed often and kept at bit higher temps (to get them to eat). Your tank quickly becomes ammonia bomb since a lot of food gets stuck between plants. Unfortunately, discus is going down the path of Dwarf Gouramis, we might have to start boycotting the purchase of discus as well to stop the inbreeding. Now to the 2nd point, planted tanks and discus: I had beautiful planted tank with lunch plate-sized discus in it, it works. Optimal? Absolutely not. Biggest issue is the moment you need to treat the discus in entire tank, for instance raising temp is common for discus, plants will simply turn to mush. If you got to treat plants, the discus suffer. I personally had BBA and couldnt treat it, so in the end i got tired of it and went clear tank with sand and background only. To get back to your issue with Ammonia: Your tank should never have high ammonia, if it does, your filter isn't working. Ammonia and ammonium exist in equilibrium. Well aged filter and sand and everything in the tank contains beneficial bacteria, if you got ammonia it means your tank isnt balanced. I never had ammonia issues in my discus tank, both planted and not planted. As to anyone having issues with temperatures, i recommend JBL inline heater, just way above anything else. I live in cold area and it gets cold at my place, that bad boy keeps it rolling and exactly same temperature in entire tank (due to it being inline and heated water gets pushed around). The medicine cabinet is nuts, i had 2 shelves full of meds haha

[@LashDee]

You and me both! I also always wanted to have Discus in my heavily planted tank, so I bought 5 young ones(maybe a mistake). They were fine for a good while, maybe 4 months, gave them flake food. But then I thought I would give them blood worms and other "fancy" food, they hated it haha! So after awhile feeding the "fancy" food in hope they would get the taste for it, they started to get dark and die off... This happen fast! So I started doing heavy water changes, cause maybe the food contaminated the water, none of my other "normal" fish died... Well now I have two left, and I feel you when you say they give you anxiety, Im always worried now. So yes never again, but glad i tried 😌