I have discus too

I have discus too. I have 16 breeder pairs and about 24 adults in holding for doing my own frankenfish crosses. Discus got me into fish keeping, but they also have taken all my spare cash .Anyway I've played with a lot of discus and maybe my trial and errors will help you have one less. Also I like learning new tricks myself since nobody knows it all. You have a question put it up and we can talk about it. Talk to you later
lilydog

Would LOVEE to see some pictures when you get the chance. Sand was talking about you like you were a fish god, which from what he told me, I wouldnt doubt it. : )

Im freakin coming over there with a camera lilydog!! people must see to believe your geniousness!!! And i will be new to keeping discus, as soon as I buy some from ya here in a week or two... lol... so you will hear allot of questions from me man! lol Thanks for posting this!

I too would like to see some pics. I tried my hand at discus about 8 months ago and it was a disaster. I lost 5 wild green tefe discus in almost as many months. I definitely admire those of you who have been so successful with them!

Everything I have read says, soft, stale water, acidic, with 84+ temp... never lower than that.... and they will be fine. Well, this is what I have read... havent tried yet.... will soon though

I just found out tonight that you want to make sure you get your discus grown out before they start spawning or thats all the bigger they will get. They can spawn as early as 9 months and I guess weekly water changes isnt enough for growing them out also.

Tonight my 3" Turq that I thought was a male all this time is a female because she spawned so discus are alot more work than I thought since this is the case.

Two females pair off more often than you think. I have personally been fooled twice. Once I moved them to a breeder tank I noticed the "male" laying eggs. They re-pair no problem. To elaberate on your comment about fish size I mostly agree. Once they beggin to spawn they don't grow because the energy to spawn saps all growth energy. Young females will spawn every ten days if you let them. Average egg count starts to drop<20 eggs and eggs themselves get smaller sized. Separate the pair or put them in group to discourage spawns. I don't spawn fish regularly till 2-3 years old. Most adults spawn every 4-8 weeks depending if fry survive. My fish still grow while spawning, you just don't want a young pair to spawn themselves silly which they will do if you let them.

May be sell frys?
I'll buy a few.

My water chemistry wont support the production of discus fry. My ph is 8.0 and I cant get my GH below 6 even after a month of using a water softening pillow. I dont have any breeder tanks so all the egg laying is happening in a community tank and eggs only last a day or two before they are eaten by the female.

Planted tank keeps water softer.... there are ways to lower ph too..... Think there is a post in the what chemistry section... its in bakin soda, i think you gotta bake it first or something like that.

Oh, and lots of bog logs lower pH too... but you need allot of logs to lower from 8 ph

The baking soda trick wouldnt work if your kh is high, which mine is. Plus Im not really interested in breeding discus, maybe someday.

Pics are a must. I love discus. My step brother used to breed them and they were soooo beautiful, but they were costly and a lot of work.

Use a powder ph down (such as seachem discus buffer) that is phosphate based. It reduces you carbonates (kh) by precipitating them with phosphates into a less soluble salt. Then you let live plants assimilate it through the roots, or do a small (less than 5 gallons) water change only focusing on the gravel line to remove salts. Is it a chemical softening pillow or peat based? If not peat put a cup in a media bag in your filter. If filter full hang under egde of filter where it returns to tank so return water passes thru peat. Only other trick is citric acid. Often sold as a reef suppliment today. Just add way more than a cap full. Domestic discus can survive in high ph( and breed according to yours) but it will difinitely shorten their live spans having over say 7.4. High kh that will not drop even with a softening pillow. Check that you have no shells or limestone based rock in your tank. If rocks bubble (like alkaseltzer tablets) in vinegar not aquarium safe. Are you on a well? That's the only time I've seen high kh and not just temporary high ph out of the tap due to the water and not the decor of the tank. Puget sound has the lowest kh out of the tap (since we drink rain water and not aquifer leeched) of the entire continental united states. I grew up in Spokane where (aqifer) water comes out of tap 8.2-8.4 ph and a kh of like 16 degrees. My discus there still had acid soft water thanks to peat moss. It takes it about two weeks to soften in a mixing tank with peat. You should be able to fix your high kh and ph by locating the source of your carbonates.