55G Discus

[Balloons&killies]

Hey guys,

Im gunna start to save my money for a 55g discus tank.
But i need to know how much this is going to cost.???
I know discus are pricy but what about aquabid and get some 2 inchers.
I was thinking of doing an amazon tank thing.

But first thing is, do discus eat plants?
And how many could i have in there?


Thanks guy.

 

[saltwaterfanatic]

No discus do not eat plants and you could have 6 discus in there. I would say like 400 dollars saved. 100 for RO unit and rest for you to decide on what equipment you want ie.: filter, light, plants, substrate, co2 injection, food, etc..

 

[Balloons&killies]

No discus do not eat plants and you could have 6 discus in there. I would say like 400 dollars saved. 100 for RO unit and rest for you to decide on what equipment you want ie.: filter, light, plants, substrate, co2 injection, food, etc..

ok sounds good ive got 30$ lol.

How shoudl i decorate it though?

And wont thye fight have that many in there i thught they got over 8"?

 

[saltwaterfanatic]

6 is the best number because if u have 3 they play odd man out and he gets killed but if you get 6 then aggression will be equaly spread amongst eachother.

 

[Balloons&killies]

6 is the best number because if u have 3 they play odd man out and he gets killed but if you get 6 then aggression will be equaly spread amongst eachother.

Ok sounds good. What about tankmates?
and is a 10% water change a day be fine?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

An R/O unit is probably not necessary, whats your local tap water like? If you want a deal on a tank you can always look at local classifieds and see if there are any used 55 gallons. 5-6 Discus is a good number to start with. Chances are you will not see them get over 7" (and that's big) more likely 5-6". If you want to get them small you are going to need to set up a BB tank around 30 gallons as a grow out, so I would recommend a minimum of 3", for your first Discus I highly recommend adults (5"+.)

If you choose to grow out juvys you are looking at 5-6 feedings a day and a massive daily water change in a bare bottom tank. Adults (5"+) 3 feedings a day and a large water change every other day to twice a week should suffice, tank can be BB or gravel for adults.

 

[Balloons&killies]

An R/O unit is probably not necessary, whats your local tap water like? If you want a deal on a tank you can always look at local classifieds and see if there are any used 55 gallons. 5-6 Discus is a good number to start with. Chances are you will not see them get over 7" (and that's big) more likely 5-6". If you want to get them small you are going to need to set up a BB tank around 30 gallons as a grow out, so I would recommend a minimum of 3", for your first Discus I highly recommend adults (5"+.)

If you choose to grow out juvys you are looking at 5-6 feedings a day and a massive daily water change in a bare bottom tank. Adults (5"+) 3 feedings a day and a large water change every other day to twice a week should suffice, tank can be BB or gravel for adults.

ok so sincce im not home for about like 6 hours aday for school could i use an automatic feeder?
My tap water has a pretty high ph so could i use R/O water?
And my 30g is kinda full though.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

An R/O unit is probably not necessary, whats your local tap water like? If you want a deal on a tank you can always look at local classifieds and see if there are any used 55 gallons. 5-6 Discus is a good number to start with. Chances are you will not see them get over 7" (and that's big) more likely 5-6". If you want to get them small you are going to need to set up a BB tank around 30 gallons as a grow out, so I would recommend a minimum of 3", for your first Discus I highly recommend adults (5"+.)

If you choose to grow out juvys you are looking at 5-6 feedings a day and a massive daily water change in a bare bottom tank. Adults (5"+) 3 feedings a day and a large water change every other day to twice a week should suffice, tank can be BB or gravel for adults.

ok so sincce im not home for about like 6 hours aday for school could i use an automatic feeder?
My tap water has a pretty high ph so could i use R/O water?
And my 30g is kinda full though.

I see you also live in Alberta. I use Calgary tap water with no problems (high in pH and hardness) I am sure yours is fine too. Most breeders in Asia also raise their Discus in water high in pH and hardness because the minerals are good for growing Discus. It will honestly end up being a waste of money unless you want wild or German stock.

What size fish are you looking for? Remember, anything other then an adult shouldn't be housed with gravel. A bare bottom 55g might be good for anything 3"+, but again can you do a 50-100% w/c using aged and heated (same temp as tank) water daily? It takes a lot of work... I would highly suggest getting some nice adults to start with. Might cost you a little extra, but you will end up with many less headaches, I can guarantee you.

 

[Balloons&killies]

Ok Thanks.

Ya i just live out of medicine hat in redcliff.

Ya i was going to get 3" discus but they sound like a lot of work. Id rather go with an adult.

I was thinking of getting an ocean green discus and maybe an albino to start out with.
Does that sound good or what other strains are better for beginners?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Ok Thanks.

Ya i just live out of medicine hat in redcliff.

Ya i was going to get 3" discus but they sound like a lot of work. Id rather go with an adult.

I was thinking of getting an ocean green discus and maybe an albino to start out with.
Does that sound good or what other strains are better for beginners?

All your strains are going to be relatively the same. You might have a hard time getting albinos locally, so you may want to look at getting something shipped in. It might cost you a little extra but if you are interested April in Vancouver carries a wide variety of Forrest Discus. She has many strains including lots of albinos and ships all over Canada. I have dealt with her numerous times and my last shipment of fish were extremely nice. Dan of Elite Aquaria carries world famous Wayne Ng Discus. I have bought off his Canadian counterpart who unfortunatley seems to have stopped importing Discus, so he is now distributing to North America. He carries some extremely nice fish. If you are interested the websites are posted below. A good source is another key to less headaches, I can tell you I have learned the hard way



http/www.eliteaquaria.com/
http/www.aprilsaquarium.com/

 

[Balloons&killies]

Ok Thanks.

Ya i just live out of medicine hat in redcliff.

Ya i was going to get 3" discus but they sound like a lot of work. Id rather go with an adult.

I was thinking of getting an ocean green discus and maybe an albino to start out with.
Does that sound good or what other strains are better for beginners?

All your strains are going to be relatively the same. You might have a hard time getting albinos locally, so you may want to look at getting something shipped in. It might cost you a little extra but if you are interested April in Vancouver carries a wide variety of Forrest Discus. She has many strains including lots of albinos and ships all over Canada. I have dealt with her numerous times and my last shipment of fish were extremely nice. Dan of Elite Aquaria carries world famous Wayne Ng Discus. I have bought off his Canadian counterpart who unfortunatley seems to have stopped importing Discus, so he is now distributing to North America. He carries some extremely nice fish. If you are interested the websites are posted below. A good source is another key to less headaches, I can tell you I have learned the hard way



http/www.eliteaquaria.com/
http/www.aprilsaquarium.com/

WOW.

They have both awesome discus.Do you think april would be able to ship them to medicine hat airport though?And what was that other way you were talking about ?

Thanks

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Ok Thanks.

Ya i just live out of medicine hat in redcliff.

Ya i was going to get 3" discus but they sound like a lot of work. Id rather go with an adult.

I was thinking of getting an ocean green discus and maybe an albino to start out with.
Does that sound good or what other strains are better for beginners?

All your strains are going to be relatively the same. You might have a hard time getting albinos locally, so you may want to look at getting something shipped in. It might cost you a little extra but if you are interested April in Vancouver carries a wide variety of Forrest Discus. She has many strains including lots of albinos and ships all over Canada. I have dealt with her numerous times and my last shipment of fish were extremely nice. Dan of Elite Aquaria carries world famous Wayne Ng Discus. I have bought off his Canadian counterpart who unfortunatley seems to have stopped importing Discus, so he is now distributing to North America. He carries some extremely nice fish. If you are interested the websites are posted below. A good source is another key to less headaches, I can tell you I have learned the hard way



http/www.eliteaquaria.com/
http/www.aprilsaquarium.com/

WOW.

They have both awesome discus.Do you think april would be able to ship them to medicine hat airport though?And what was that other way you were talking about ?

Thanks

You might have to e-mail April and ask if she ships to Medicine Hat. Do you mean the other way as in learning the hard way? Lots of times when I have got them locally they have been carry worms so they end up needing to be medicating. Not to mention a lot of local stock is going to be stunted or fish store quality (nothing A grade.) I know of some people off another forum who bought from a bad source and a hobbyist breeder ended up losing 30 fish or something like that You know you are safe with those two sources

 

[Balloons&killies]

ok thanks,

Ya ive seen them in animal world and they were pretty bad quality and selling for $55.
I think im gunna go with april if she can ship to medicine hat. Shes got some very nice discus.
I found out that i will have about $430 saved at the end of summer.
and if the discus are small about 2-4" could i still have them in a 55g by them selves?
and can you quarantine them in there own tank with no gravel and stuff?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

ok thanks,

Ya ive seen them in animal world and they were pretty bad quality and selling for $55.
I think im gunna go with april if she can ship to medicine hat. Shes got some very nice discus.
I found out that i will have about $430 saved at the end of summer.
and if the discus are small about 2-4" could i still have them in a 55g by them selves?
and can you quarantine them in there own tank with no gravel and stuff?

Yes should be fine in the 55g, although I would get them all similar sized (no more then an inch apart.) You should quarantine them bare bottom in their own tank yes.

 

[Balloons&killies]

ok thanks,

Ya ive seen them in animal world and they were pretty bad quality and selling for $55.
I think im gunna go with april if she can ship to medicine hat. Shes got some very nice discus.
I found out that i will have about $430 saved at the end of summer.
and if the discus are small about 2-4" could i still have them in a 55g by them selves?
and can you quarantine them in there own tank with no gravel and stuff?

Yes should be fine in the 55g, although I would get them all similar sized (no more then an inch apart.) You should quarantine them bare bottom in their own tank yes.

Ok so how long do i quarantine them for?
Are there any tank mates i could have with them?