3ft Discus Tank

[Sp00ky]

Reet, now onto my Discus tank. This currently holds 3 types of discus. Red Spotted Snake Skins, Diamond Blues and Alancher Reds. All are juvis at the moment. There is also a spotted dora, red tropical crab, 4 bronze corys and an unknow cat in there, along with some gupy fry which are about 4 months old to grow on and a female pineapple sword and marigold mickey mouse platy having some RnR after giving birth.

 

[peacock_101]

THAT'S AWSOME!!! I love discus tanks! I want one sooooo bad!!



KOOL

 

[chishnfips]

cool, how big will the discus get, I have always wanted discus.

do you get dwarf ones?

 

[Sp00ky]

cool, how big will the discus get, I have always wanted discus.

do you get dwarf ones?

anything between 7 to 9 inch in diameter.

i dont know of any dwarf ones, never seen or heard of any.

 

[kev_kb]

No, there is no such thing as dwarf Discus. Personally I would keep juvenile Discus in a bare tank and not mix them with fish from other water conditions, but I've already said this on other threads by Spooky. Just wanted to say as this pic may think make less experienced people think they can add Discus to their general community tanks.

 

[Sp00ky]

No, there is no such thing as dwarf Discus. Personally I would keep juvenile Discus in a bare tank and not mix them with fish from other water conditions, but I've already said this on other threads by Spooky. Just wanted to say as this pic may think make less experienced people think they can add Discus to their general community tanks.

Discus would normally prefer to be on their own. but as i said in my first post, i use the tank for my fry to grow on a little before i redistribute them.

Discus generally prefer to be in higher temps and different water conditions, but this tank works fine for me.

However, i do know of someone who has a pair of discus in their community tank, and they spawn regularly, but i do not know their level of experience in fish keeping.

Some people prefer to keep ANY discus in bare bottom tanks and some dont. Some prefer to keep them in RO water and some dont. its all down to personally preference and experience.

 

[T1KARMANN]

i think its rubbish that discus need to be kept on their own they would be with plenty of diffrent types of fish in the wild

they should be fine with cardinals corys rams and a few other fish that come from the same types of water conditions

i would say the temp does need to be high at least 86f and the water needs to be soft

discus are no were near as ahrd to keep as they used to be as most of them are now captive bred

we dont keep fish we keep water and as long as the water is right the fish will be fine to

 

[annka5]

Juvenille discus should be kept in super-clean water, and fed heavily.
Bare bottomed tanks are good for juvies as they are easiest to keep scrupulously clean. If you don't keep the water clean enough with juvies you are very unlikely to end up with fish which grow to their full adult size and colouration.
They become stunted easily, which is typically seen in its earliest stages when the eye looks bigger in proportion to the rest of the fish than it should do. If you look at the relative size of the eye of your discus in comparison to the rest of its head, then see if you're comfortable.
Another symptom is the shape of teh fish - perfectly round ones being the aim, they can become more pointy depending on diet, but genetics plays a larger role in this than it does with relative eye-size.
If you have the time to keep the tank clean enough to avoid stunting your fish with gravel, plants and wood in it, then fine.
I keep cardinals and a pair of rams with my discus, and they all get along fine.
I agree they aren't as hard as a lot of people say, but they do still demand clean water and good varied diet, particularly when they're juvenilles, to grow to a good size, develop a nice shape, and display good colouration in adulthood.

 

[ey2006]

Very nice pics Spooky!

How long has your 3ft tank been set up (after cycling) before you added the Discus? Do they need a really mature tank? What are the general water requirements that Discus demand for them to thrive?

I have a 300L community tank that has rummynose tetras, cories, clown loaches and yoyo loaches. If there is still some space, would it be possible to add a pair of Discus to the tank?

Also, by bare bottom tank, does this mean there is no gravel on the substrate or does this mean the tank only contains Discus? Not quite sure what this term meant.

 

[kev_kb]

Discus should have soft acidic water at around 30C, and you should have a min of 5-6 unless you keep bonded pairs in breeding tanks. They need a fully cycled tank and very conistant water parameters.

A bare bottom tank contains no substrate which the tank easier to clean, which you need to produce healthy discus if you get them young. If you buy adults this is as important, but a clean tank/excellent parameters is still a must.

The rummies will be fine with Discus and can cope with the higher temps. Some corys can, it depends on which you have. Not sure if the loaches are suitable for a discus tank.

 

[ey2006]

Discus should have soft acidic water at around 30C, and you should have a min of 5-6 unless you keep bonded pairs in breeding tanks. They need a fully cycled tank and very conistant water parameters.

A bare bottom tank contains no substrate which the tank easier to clean, which you need to produce healthy discus if you get them young. If you buy adults this is as important, but a clean tank/excellent parameters is still a must.

The rummies will be fine with Discus and can cope with the higher temps. Some corys can, it depends on which you have. Not sure if the loaches are suitable for a discus tank.

The tank is fully cycled and has consistent water params. The tap pH here is 6.8 and thats the same pH level in the tank too. The tank temp is 29-30oC, but not sure if there is space for 5-6 Discus.

Are Discus harder to keep than Clown Loaches? Why do they need such perfect and clean water in order to thrive?

The loaches mainly stay at the bottom, and I thought because Discus stay near the top/middle of the tank, I could maybe add them too...but obviously loaches and discus don't go well together? What are the consequences of mixing loaches and discus? Will the latter die off easily? Not a wise choice since most Discus are fairly expensive.

 

[Sp00ky]

Hi ey2006

There is some debate relating to exactly WHAT a discus tank should look like. The basics are a tall tank and long..... gives them room to whizz about (and believe me they are FAST!!).

All my discus i have had since being juvi's and have never kept them in a bare bottom tank. Discus can get spooked very easily so its a good idea to have the tank pretty high up and not in an area where theres lots of traffic. I have gravel in my tank because i wanted a planted tank to give them plenty of hiding places along with the caves, which i think look crap in a bare bottom tank.

All my discus are of a good shape and growing quite quickly at the moment.

I have some fry in my tank from plattys to mollies and guppies because i personally find the high temps help their growth (as does the tetra prima discus food!!) along with a shoal of cardinals, 4 bronze corys, a spotted dora and another catfish. O and a red crab who looooooooooves to trash my plants LOL !!

I do weekley (religiously as well!!) 40% water changes with a gravel vac at the same time. Every few weeks i also change the caves around to avoid anyone getting terrotorial over any section of the tank.

The temp in tank ranges from 30 to 30.5 and all my stats are 0 apart from nitrate which is 5pppm.

I have 3 types of discus in my tank, Red Spotted Snake Skins, Alancher (SP) Reds and Diamond Blues. all live very happily in there.

Discus are as hard to keep as you make them. If you get lacsy daisy in your husbandry, they WILL make you suffer. However, they are no where near as hard to keep as some people make out. I only have one clown loach and he looks after himself and keeps himself to himself, and as such i havent had any problems at all with him. Loaches are also very very quick, and would probably spook the discus when they come out to feed.

Where are you planning on buying your discus from? are you buying adults or juvis? make sure you ask plenty of questions of your supplier.. they love to be questioned and will gladly share their knowledge with you if they are a good supplier.

Hope that helps and good luck

Sp00ks