Discus - A Few Questions.

[stegoodall]

Hi
I have a 36"x15(front to back)x18" high tank. I currently have a few fish(1 angel, some guppies, 1 krib and some algae eaters) I am thinking about getting some discus, I could probably rehome the other fish, I have some questions first though:
1) How many discus could i keep, I would probably want to get some cories and possibly some cockatoo apistogramma. I already have 17 cardinals which I walso want in the tank.
2) I want the tank to be planted, I have heard it is better to get adult discus in planted tanks but i can't afford them really so would younger ones (maybe 2-3 inches) be OK?
3)If i got younger discus would it be better to grow them up in the tank if i stripped it and ran it bare until they were bigger, then change back to planted later?

We have an RO unit for the marines so I could use that to get good quality water, do you mix it with tap water?

Sorry about so many questions, i don't want to rush it, hope somebody can help.

Stephen

 

[jayjay]

i think discus need a bigger tank as they like to be kept in groups.

 

[Griz]

I agree. Unfortunately, your tank is really not big enough for discus.

You mentioned apistogramma. - this would be a nice sized tank for them. The cardinals and cories would make excellent tankmates and give you a nice Amazon community.

 

[CAC]

Well they need 10 UK Gallons each, and need to be in groups of 4 ATLEAST. 6 being better, to spread aggression, and for them to shoal properly...
they need to be in 18" high tanks (which yours is), but yours is only 32G, and with all those fish, which need maybe 1G per, it wouldnt work...
sorry to dampern your spirits, but i think its better for you to know the facts, rather have your fish suffer....
you do have an option though...keeping a pair.
youd need to do some research on this, but a pair could live happily in that size tank, and youd get some good spawns, which the fish from those spawns may help you to get enough money for a suitable size discus tank.
though, im not sure weather a pair would spawn with those fish.
also theres a certain diesease (cant remember the name ) which is pretty much harmless to angels, and they often carry it, but is fatal to discus, so many experts strongly advise against keeping discus with angels...

Hope this helps, Mikey

p.s. any other questions, just ask, ive done a load of research on them, as i was about to buy a 90G discus tank a couple of months ago, but then found i had no room for it.

 

[stegoodall]

OK. I may have to think of other options, maybe getting some new angels instead. I can't really fit a bigger tank because its a squeeze as it is. I think the angel disease thing could be parasites or something, i think i read that somewhere on the net. I've also read that angels are too agressive to keep with discus as they get a lot of their food.
I think I may have to stick to angels for the time being, I've kept them a little while, had 2 pairs that spawned a few times but never hatched because they ate the eggs. Unfortunately a heater failure meant they died. I have one left though which is happy (i think).

sorry to dampern your spirits, but i think its better for you to know the facts, rather have your fish suffer....

Don't worry, I totally agree, that's why I was checking with people on here because they know more than me.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions for other fish that wouldn't eat cardinals and would go with apistos and maybe angels?

 

[annka5]

I agree with the advice given above - which is annoying, becuase it sounds like you've done plenty of research etc.
Asto ideas of other stuff, I know nothing about apistos, but would imagine that gourami would be OK with them, or hatchet fish - they are top-dwellers, so you'd have more to look at at every level of the tank then.

 

[BRANDX]

I want to turn my 75g into a Discus tank. Just to bolster what "Catfish are Cool" says,
I read up a bit, too. Tall tank is good. You can house a single discus in a 10g! Bigger if you want tank mates, and lucky for you Cardinals are a prefered tank mate for Discus because they grow larger than some more popular (Neons, glo-lite...etc. like I have)
Discus, I read, also runs by the same rule as the Oscar, "if it can fit in it's mouth, It will end up in there."
good luck, bro!

 

[annka5]

Sorry... "you can house a single discus in a 10 gallon"? Huh? Think of the dimensions of the tank and the size of an adult discus. Think how little swimming space they'd have. Think of how discus like stable conditions and a small tank is difficult to keep perfectly stable. Think that they prefer/need to be in groups.
Allowimng 10 galls per discus is not the same as keeping 1 discus in a 10 gallon tank - the minimum size for normal maintenance (ie not breeding) IMO is 55 galls.
One discus in a 10 gallon? Don't think so.

 

[kev_kb]

One discus in a 10 gallon? Don't think so.

One discus shouldn't be kept at all, let alone in a 10! I Hope the poster meant one discus per 10 gallons of water..... As Annka5 points out, this is not the same thing!!