Discus selection opinion

[cobraden]

I have my tank set up and I'm about ready to start adding a few discus. The problem is they are all so awesome it's hard to decide which ones. The tank is a 5' 110 and my initial thoughts where to get 6 discus, all the same kind, either Marlboro reds or Blue Diamonds. Then I went to HAW and saw the melons and the Tiger Turquoise. They also have some really cool ones in the front tank but I forgot the name and that's probably good.. Now I'm totally indecisive. So, I decided to get some opinions. If it were you, would you get 6 of one kind, 3 of 2 kinds (which 2) or 2 of 3 different ones. (again, which ones)

The plan, to make it easy on the budget, is to add them a few at a time. Anyone see a problem with that or should I just wait and buy them all and add them at the same time?

I think I've narrowed it down to the 4 or 5 listed above. At least until I head back over there again and see some thing else awesome.

[aquabee]

If it were me, I'd go with 6 of one kind. Probably the tiger turquoise if ur background is black. I like contrasts but I'm also kinduva naturalist.

[troy tucker]

I would do 6 of a kind. and later do 6 more of another kind. but what ever you get, I'm sure I will like them. I love Discus...

[BeefyG]

I would get them all at one time or at least in fairly good groups like troy suggested. Discus can be mean and a bigger group means the aggression will be less. I've always been fond of the checkerboard pigeons but the tiger turquoise are nice too. 1/2 and 1/2 would be a sweet tank.

[cobraden]

Troy, you are the second person that mentioned bumping up the number from the 6 that I was thinking. In my mind I was kind of thinking that I might be pushing it with the 6 adult sized discus in that size tank.

[troy tucker]

With 12 discus you have 9g of water per. fish. that is enough room. with a few smaller clean up fish

[BeefyG]

Rule of thumb is 10g per adult discus. I recommend going with an odd number because they will likely kill one off if you don't. I don't know why that is but they like odd numbers

[Darbex]

It depends on what you want to do on WC. I am only going to do 10 in my 150G because I dont want to do a lot of WC.

[cobraden]

I think I'll stick with 6 for right now. If the tank looks empty, I can add a few more.

[TheHighestCrew]

Do a mixture and add more later. Are you getting all 4"+ or doing some small ones too? I only have bought 2 that were 4"+ every other one I have I raised from tiny little guys.

[morillonj]

Stay with one kind of discus type and get them all at the same time. The mistake I made when I first got discus was i got all different kinds of colors from different sources. Over time they was to much aggression and plus my tank looked like a moving rainbow. Stick with one type and all the same size as well. WC are great to have but just be patient with them. They tend to not eat for a while as compared to domestic discus.

[cobraden]

I wanted to go a little on the small side but I haven't found what I'm looking for so I think I'm going to go the 4" route.

I'm pretty sure I will get them from HAW due to all the great reviews I have read on this site and I like what I have seen when I have visited. I would normally try to find a local breeder but given a few months of lurking on this site and doing some web searching, I really have not found anyone.

Some of the stuff I've seen at other stores, as far as discus, hasn't made me all that comfortable.

[morillonj]

Get your discus from HAW. If not, try simply discus sponsors like Kenny Cheung, Mike Beals or possibly Discus hans (a little expensive though). I purchased from Kenny Cheung as was not disappointed, grade A discus. The only downfall is paying for shipping. Shipping was like 90 bucks, but you pay for quality. HAW is also a member on Simply discus and carries grade A discus as well. Explore your options first.

[TheHighestCrew]

+1 on HAW I get all mine from his shop. John is a good guy

[mkn]

I like my tank to be colorful, so i have 9 discus with 7 different strains. I broke the 10g per fish rule and have 9 discus in a 55g tank without an issue. I did WC twice a week when i started then got lazy and now only once a week, 50% water each WC. I have raised them since they are 2.5", now they are 5+ inch and very healthy.
I think it's up to you. One strain or many different strains does not mater as long as you like them. With only 6 discus in a 110g tank, i think your tank will look a little bit empty. No matter how many or what strains you will get, you should get them in similar size and at the same time. They more likely get along with each other easier.