"less hardy fish"

[DiscusLover]

I've read a lot of forums about certain finicky fish and the two main fish that came up were rams and discus (I take care of both)

 

1. rams: Rams are in the middle of finicky and hardy. Rams can be sensitive to certain water changes but I believe that if people keep their water parameters stable they will not have any issues with them at all. I think the only issue people have with rams is their water hardness. One thing I will always agree with rams is that they need soft water.

2.Discus: Discus are pretty hardy if I am being honest. People say that they need to be kept in hotter temperatures but my discus are doing fine in 82 degrees in my planted tank. Plus they aren't picky eaters as well.

[Fish Folk]

100% Agree.

I Keep a tank full of Rams and Discus. 83-F. Soft Water from my tap. 30%-50% water change once a week. Just sponge filters.

I will note that Rams, in particular, do not seem to look their best if fed a constant diet of frozen Blood worms. I Keep frozen Daphnia, Mysis, Krill (prepared for small fish), and Brine Shrimp as mainstays. They also do well on Bug Bites flakes.

Edited October 6, 2022 by Fish Folk

[gardenman]

A lot depends on whether the fish are wild caught or domestic-bred also. Fish that have been bred in captivity for generations tend to be hardier than their wild-caught brethren. I think part of it comes down to cost.  If you're spending $50 and up for a single discus, you want it to live forever and if it doesn't, you blame it on the fish not being hardy. If you buy a $1 neon tetra and it dies, oh well, life goes on. It was just a dollar. 

[Fish Folk]

On 10/6/2022 at 8:46 AM, gardenman said:

A lot depends on whether the fish are wild caught or domestic-bred also. Fish that have been bred in captivity for generations tend to be hardier than their wild-caught brethren. I think part of it comes down to cost.  If you're spending $50 and up for a single discus, you want it to live forever and if it doesn't, you blame it on the fish not being hardy. If you buy a $1 neon tetra and it dies, oh well, life goes on. It was just a dollar. 

Well said! 

[JettsPapa]

On 10/6/2022 at 2:59 AM, DiscusLover said:

I've read a lot of forums about certain finicky fish and the two main fish that came up were rams and discus (I take care of both)

 

1. rams: Rams are in the middle of finicky and hardy. Rams can be sensitive to certain water changes but I believe that if people keep their water parameters stable they will not have any issues with them at all. I think the only issue people have with rams is their water hardness. One thing I will always agree with rams is that they need soft water.

2.Discus: Discus are pretty hardy if I am being honest. People say that they need to be kept in hotter temperatures but my discus are doing fine in 82 degrees in my planted tank. Plus they aren't picky eaters as well.

I haven't kept them, but from several years of following this and one other forum I've seen many reports that they also struggle to thrive at typical tropical fish temperatures.  So people keep them at 78° and then say they're fragile when they don't do well.

[DiscusLover]

On 10/6/2022 at 10:42 AM, JettsPapa said:

I haven't kept them, but from several years of following this and one other forum I've seen many reports that they also struggle to thrive at typical tropical fish temperatures.  So people keep them at 78° and then say they're fragile when they don't do well.

Yeah these fish come from the hotter regions and they typically live in 90degrees. Even though domesticated they still need warmer temperatures. Discus could go down to 78 but they won't thrive and will slowly die. Rams can not go down below 80 in my opinion and they need the warmer 82-86.

[Patrick_G]

Great advice to ponder. I’ve been thinking about a Ram tank for a while. I think most of my plants will survive at 82-83. 

[sumplkrum]

Yeah. I think how they're raised is on-point. My tap water is hard and I've never had trouble with local store-bought Rams.

[DiscusLover]

On 10/7/2022 at 12:34 PM, sumplkrum said:

Yeah. I think how they're raised is on-point. My tap water is hard and I've never had trouble with local store-bought Rams.

Maybe for discus. For rams I am not too sure. Maybe the bolivan rams but your blue, german blue, gold, and midnights they won't do well. I tried acclimating them to my tap water which is really hard but never had any success with them living past a week.