Discus Requirements

[Seshat Odair]

I currently have two Discus in a 36g tank allot of people have labeled me as overstocked but allot of people have said the complete opposite. Your opinions?
What are the requirements for a Discus tank? I have been fed a lot of wrong info so please answers from personal experience only. - Thanks in advance

 

[interpet123]

Hey seshat, i just got 2 discus today in my 32 gallon tank and they are doing great (so far) lol!!! But yeah i mean they're eating and everything and being very friendly with the other fish!! In my honest opinion, you are not overstocked at all Any more questions, i will do my best to answer! Alex

 

[jacko32]

i would say 75gallon minimum

 

[Seshat Odair]

Hey seshat, i just got 2 discus today in my 32 gallon tank and they are doing great (so far) lol!!! But yeah i mean they're eating and everything and being very friendly with the other fish!! In my honest opinion, you are not overstocked at all Any more questions, i will do my best to answer! Alex

thanks! I would have to agree with you, I don't think I am overstocked either. What about when they all get to be full sized? I have 2 dwarf gourami's, 6 tetras, and 2 bala sharks that when the sharks get to big i have a friend willing to take them on in a bigger tank.

 

[Wills]

Its not that you are overstocked, its just that Discus have really specific needs and if these are not met they tend to fade away quickly - generally they stop eating, go black and die.

Most people agree its best to keep them in groups and to do this with a group of 6 inch fish you need a tank bigger than yours at present.

Jacko above here said 75g which I agree with though have seen people have success with 50/55 gallon tanks.

Discus need higher temperatures than most other fish, which helps with their respiration system, growth and metabolism they also benefit from low Ph and in most specimens this is a necessity.

They are also very sensitive to Nitrate in the water and most community tanks can not give these levels required - nor can the other fish you mentioned thrive in Discus conditions - mainly the high temperature.

With Discus its not like stocking a general community tank - ie building a community based around (the flawed) inch per gallon rule. In a Discus tank its about keeping the Discus alive and healthy which means trying to provide the requirements I mentioned above here.

Discus are not community fish

 

[Ps3Steveo]

+1 ^^^^^^^^^^ I had 3 discus in a 60gal abs they were fine but that was prob because the bullying was minimal, with a pair plus the other fish I'd say not a good idea, keep them on their own in a tank that small, with the other fish your looking at daily water changes due to the nitrates that will build up. Ideally if they are not a pair you should keep them in odd numbers of at least 5. I now allow 50gal per discus, they need the space being big fish, they need the height due to their shape and bigger tank means good filtration helping to keep nitrates lower and not having to do daily water changes.

 

[interpet123]

Seshat - thanks! I would have to agree with you, I don't think I am overstocked either. What about when they all get to be full sized? I have 2 dwarf gourami's, 6 tetras, and 2 bala sharks that when the sharks get to big i have a friend willing to take them on in a bigger tank.
[/quote]
Um yeah i agree about the sharks and my discus at the moment are 3 inches. So it will take a long time for them to out grow the tank, if they do!! I had a look at them today without them knowing i was in the room and they were 'dancing' around, much like my clown loaches!! They are beautiful fish and i'm so happy with them Anyway if my fish do ever outgrow the tank, my lfs would happily take them and look after them. I know the two that run the shop well so they would take good care of them!! Alex

 

[gillicous]

what ive found with most people on the forums is the ideal size of your tank is the size of your whole lounge or even your house .Not disrespecting the ones that know but anything smaller than your lounge you should only keep a small shoal of minnows .My discus are doing fine too and are now starting to spawn so who really can tell??

 

[interpet123]

what ive found with most people on the forums is the ideal size of your tank is the size of your whole lounge or even your house .Not disrespecting the ones that know but anything smaller than your lounge you should only keep a small shoal of minnows .My discus are doing fine too and are now starting to spawn so who really can tell??

Lol, i dont know of anywhere i could get a tank the size of my house!!! But its great 2 hear that ur discus are doing great too!! Thanks for the post. Alex

 

[Wills]

what ive found with most people on the forums is the ideal size of your tank is the size of your whole lounge or even your house .Not disrespecting the ones that know but anything smaller than your lounge you should only keep a small shoal of minnows .My discus are doing fine too and are now starting to spawn so who really can tell??

Thats never the case, for any size tank there are dozens of fish combinations that can work. Its just a case of finding fish that are a suitable size for your tank and that you like - and if they have any special care needs then you need to take that into consideration. For example in tanks this size I would go for Zebra Loaches or Dwarf Chain Loaches rather than Clown Loaches, similar behaviour and IMO all are nice looking fish but you dont end up with foot long clown loaches in a few years time


But you all seem pretty happy with how your tanks are going so good luck with it

Wills

 

[hanny93]

[/quote]

what ive found with most people on the forums is the ideal size of your tank is the size of your whole lounge or even your house .Not disrespecting the ones that know but anything smaller than your lounge you should only keep a small shoal of minnows .My discus are doing fine too and are now starting to spawn so who really can tell??

What you have found is people interested in the health of your fish. If they need a big tank, they need a big tank, there is no 'oh theyre fine in mine so they'll be fine in yours' about it.


Discus grow huge, they need a lot of space just to turn, and need very specific requirements, as people have said. If you provide the right environment for them it really won't take a long time for them to outgrow that tank. But with your stocking i highly doubt they are being met.
Clown loach grow huge, 'algae loach' is probably a CAE/SAE which get huge and increasingly aggressive.

Not sure where you've even heard people telling you you need a lounge sized tank, the biggest i can think of is T1KARMANN's 1000 gallon tank which was a speciality tank.

 

[interpet123]

I have already planned ahead with the loaches and am aware that they will outgrow the tank

 

[Seshat Odair]

I am prepared to upgrade tank size over time. For now, is it alright to keep in my 36g? & Some one said that I am probably not fulfilling the discus's needs. One of the points of this thread was to find out exactly what those needs are so I can make sure the fish get what they need. I have the pH, temp., Amo., food, and water changes under control. Anything else I should be aware of?

 

[Seshat Odair]

Out of curiosity how do I know which types of discus i have, the man at the pet store didn't really say. I have tried identifying online but just about every site gave me different answers...

 

[interpet123]

Out of curiosity how do I know which types of discus i have, the man at the pet store didn't really say. I have tried identifying online but just about every site gave me different answers...

Um... i think the best and one of the only ways of finding out is if u put some pics on here, and there will be numerous people that can answer that question!!