What makes Discus so appealing?

[scarhbar]

Describe to me the qualities you guys find attractive about Discus. be descriptive!

[warblad79]

Graceful swimmers, color, pattern and shape.

[shoveltrash]

Incredibly beautiful & fantastic personalities :D

[Chicago Discus]

It's like having dogs in a tank".................Josie

[Chillinfish]

Just imagine yourself on a random night...

Walking up to your sparkling clean aquarium filled with a school of 6.5" plus adult discus, holding a chunk of freshly frozen beefheart in your hands. The fish instantly recognize you and paddle right up to the surface. Do not forget, all those months of hard work you have just put into growing them, and now they are perfect examples of your chosen strain of discus.

As you slip your hand into the aquarium, fearless gentle fish brush and nibble at the food you have so kindly presented them. That done, you sit back in your easy-chair with a glass of your favorite beverage,relaxing music playing over the surround sound, and watch these big beauties dance in their home you have so generously provided. The fish slowly settle your mind, melt away the stress, and bring you content sleep, right there in front of your aquarium.

The next day....

You wake up from the most pleasurable sleep of your life, and discover the two most beautiful fish in the world have chosen to spawn right before your very eyes. A smile caresses your face...and than on to perform a water change, only as a labor of love, knowing that you have pleased one of the worlds greatest creations...

THE DISCUS FISH.

Good luck and have fun,

Andrew

[farebox]

I have a cat, but I can get really get personal with 19 discus, like during feeding time they eat out of my hand and I can pet them...all my friends that come over just can't believe that I can pet my fish. Have to show this amazing feat all the time, been keeping freshwater aquatic pets while over 40 yrs, and never had anything that can compare to this. Love my fish to death!!! Also have a pair that I grew from 2" to over 5", now breeding and have produced three sets of fry so far that I'm growing out.
farebox

[DiscusKev]

Just did when I first saw the Discus. The Discus fish just looked unique!

[Melissa]

I think how they feed and care for their young is incredible... They're pretty smart... And graceful. I call mine my little butterflies :P
It was love at first sight. 5-6 years ago I bought a 55 gallon from petsmart that was discounted because it was missing a light fixture. That night I went online to check out what type of fish I might want to keep... When I saw a Discus and read about them I was hooked right then. Had to have them. Been keeping them ever since.

[DiscusBR]

I loved reading all replies, but Andrew's was so eloquent and poetic... Well said.

[Dilux]

Great question,
So 3 weeks into my planted discus tank and I love it. I used to sit down and play online games and my wife would hear me swearing and getting all intense, well I thought how about a change of pace. I am getting older and why do I sit down and play games that just get me amped. So here I am a new challenge that calms my spirit. A challenge to raise beautiful discus fish to their full potential and to be rewarded with their graceful nature, amazing patterns, colors that rival salt water fish. I feel like I have had to have a crash course in chemistry; relearning about the nitrogen cycle, measuring GH, KH, pH.. When it is all said in done, Andrew you said it well, "The fish slowly settle your mind, melt away the stress, and bring you content sleep, right there in front of your aquarium."
D.

[strungout]

Their grace and beauty. Discus are way cooler than shrimp.

[Eddie]

If you don't know....then you don't know. LOL Its like asking why someone likes a certain car, dog, cat.......personal interests. They are all different

[Disgirl]

I agree with all of the above, but I also enjoy the constant challenge of keeping my discus tank just how they need it to stay healthy and beautiful.
Barb

[qiyanfeng]

Difficulty.:D

[3dees]

everyone thinks that I'm an expert because discus are impossible to keep, lol.

[shoveltrash]

so yeah, there's the aspect of the *challenge* in it too :D, very rewarding to maintain happy healthy beautiful Discus!

[dprais1]

the challenge is part of it. as a reptile keeper i've had some pretty tough lizards over the years...but you can't just sit and watch them. most often they do nothing. i like the fact that i can enjoy them and my family as well. my 3year old "chases" my corydoras back and forth along the tank, I brought my 15 yr old to the last gcca meet, and my wife enjoys the fish tank. these things aren't possible with most reptiles. evergo to a reptile swap? tubs af pinky mice, poorly kept and unhealthy reptiles, and some really shady charachters...not where I want my teenage daughter.

and for some reason this "hobby" is much more addictive than reptiles.

[JenTN]

Um..because they are awesome

[krislewis3]

The obvious attraction is the shape, colors, patterns etc. But I know that a big part of my attraction to aquarium keeping in general is the miniature world that you create, and then watching the interactions.....

[Eddie]

Um..because they are awesome

Nailed it! LOL

[ockyra215]

I bought a book years ago by Bernd Degen called Discus"King of theAquarium" ever since then I was hooked! I always had a fish tank but when I bought that book I hooked INSTANTLY! I love the colors and shapes and the challenge of learning about these KINGS of the aquarium!
Simple as that!

[moon_knight1971]

I pretty much do what Andrew quoted except swipe the wine for a smoking pipe

Joey!

[Teshi]

For me it's when I wake up to this beautiful sight the first thing of the day, when I open my eyes. To see these 6 beautiful specimens all looking at me patiently seeming to ask.... Are you going to feed us soon? It just puts a smile on my face. What a way to wake up in the morning. So I get up pop in a couple of Al's FDBW in the cones and watch them RIP them apart.

[PaulD]

Andrew
+1

Paul

[Trier20]

I remember hearing about discus from my LFS owner. He'd owned some years back and was telling me how special they were. I was just getting into cichlids so I brushed it off. He got some in a few weeks later and had a huge sign saying he had discus. Never really paid attention to the tank. I walked in one day and they were busy so I strolled the store and found myself standing in front of his tank stocked with discus from Hans. I stood there for a while just amazed by these graceful flat fish. From that moment on I was hooked! Taking fish into petco for adoption and getting my first ones! In think just watching their graceful swimming brings peace to everything around them. That's what I love about them!


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[Mep1127]

Cause they rival that of saltwater fish with their colors plus they are chiclids. I used to keep angels and know how personal they got, discus are no exception. That and the fact that these are for more advanced hobbyists... Everyone just has a goldfish bowl compared to my tank where I live :) add this on to the other comments.

[wavesurfer]

I've been an aquarium hobbyist for a few years, owned planted tanks, shrimps (cherry and crystals), many varieties of fishes such as guppies, endlers, goldfishes, other types of chiclids, gouramis, bettas, angelfishes and many more. Then just few weeks ago, decided to pick up discus after reading about them and since then, been hooked to discus and I can say they are the most fascinating and beautiful fishes I've ever come across! (Gouramis and the other chiclids would probably be next)

Love their intelligence (they behave much more intelligently than most other species of fishes) and how they seem to recognise their owners and bond with them, to the extend that they seem to be 'talking' to me.

It's also the satisfaction of seeing all of them living healthily in the aquarium and yearning for food when I return home from work everyday. :)

[Discus-Hans]

Just imagine yourself on a random night...

Walking up to your sparkling clean aquarium filled with a school of 6.5" plus adult discus, holding a chunk of freshly frozen beefheart in your hands. The fish instantly recognize you and paddle right up to the surface. Do not forget, all those months of hard work you have just put into growing them, and now they are perfect examples of your chosen strain of discus.

As you slip your hand into the aquarium, fearless gentle fish brush and nibble at the food you have so kindly presented them. That done, you sit back in your easy-chair with a glass of your favorite beverage,relaxing music playing over the surround sound, and watch these big beauties dance in their home you have so generously provided. The fish slowly settle your mind, melt away the stress, and bring you content sleep, right there in front of your aquarium.

The next day....

You wake up from the most pleasurable sleep of your life, and discover the two most beautiful fish in the world have chosen to spawn right before your very eyes. A smile caresses your face...and than on to perform a water change, only as a labor of love, knowing that you have pleased one of the worlds greatest creations...

THE DISCUS FISH.

Good luck and have fun,

Andrew

Andrew, well said, now take this X350 and you have a job............ my job............. the best job in the World........... gosh like I always say, it's just a job, somebody has to do it and............ I'm glad it's me lol

Hans