Discus Water Changes And Alternative Fish

[rosswell]

i have a 6 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot tank and wanted 6 to 10 discus with tetras for motion and a pleco. The pet shop told me a weekly water change was fine but after lots of reading people are saying 2 to 3 changes weekly, With gallons of water change wont this affect the water balance and isnt this for a breeding programe, if this much water change is right i need to change what im going to put in the tank. My husbands eyesight isnt brill and he would have been able to see the discus from his chair,can anyone tell me their experience with discus or ideas with what else i can put in..thanks

 

[Pleccy]

Hello,

Once a week is about right, other suitable fish include rams, hatchetfish (make sure you have a hood!), pencilfish and small L no. plecs such as Panaque or Hypancistrus.

 

[rabbut]

You need to be real careful about what plecs you put with discus Some can latch onto the discus for their slime coat, ultimately killing them I have had success with L66, but they are an omnivore needing meaty foods dropping to them regularly to survive and thrive. They do minimal things for algea cleaning...I have on the other hand had L18's latch. Bristlenoses are reportedly OK, but I heven't kept them with mine...

Waterchanges depend uppon the size of the fish and the tank stocking. 50% weekly is considered minimum for a lightly stocked tank with fish over 5". Smaller fish require daily 50%'s for growth, adults could possibly go with less Mine usualy get two 50%'s a week. Waterchanges are the best way of retaining "Water Ballence" though I hate that term. It realy says nothing about what you are doing waterchanges for... Just what do you ballence in the water? Nothing, you add minerals that the fish use up and remove any toxins that have built up

If you go down the Discus route, research like crazy. They will need a well matured tank that has been going for 6+ months with fish in If it is a new tank, let it mature and do your research into them during this time Discus are considered "hard to keep" because many people are too ignorant to research them first. Research them and you will not have a problem. Fail to research and you will fail misearbly with them Research cannot all be done on a forum, you need to read arround all over the place, and speak to many keepers. They aren't hard to keep if you understand the fish, but they are considered an "advanced" species for a reason

What tetras were you after? Most are OK, but many will not like the heat in a discus tank, and a few will out-compete the discus for food or frighten them into constant hiding with their fast movement

All the best
Rabbut

EDIT to add, Panaque species are possibly the worst plec's for latching on discus. Please, avoid these with this fish at all cost

 

[Pleccy]

Most small Panaque or Hypancistrus species (under 3") should be OK. Tetras to avoid are Buenos aires tetras and Serpae tetras, both are fin nippers. Pencilfish are very nice.

 

[rosswell]

Most small Panaque or Hypancistrus species (under 3") should be OK. Tetras to avoid are Buenos aires tetras and Serpae tetras, both are fin nippers. Pencilfish are very nice.

hiya pleccy my heads in a fuzzzzz lol all i want is an easy going tank ie not weekly work cause im worried about the amount of water changing on this size tank 6x2x2do you think i can still get away with some discus but fewer in number i need something of that size so the hubby can see them

 

[rosswell]

You need to be real careful about what plecs you put with discus Some can latch onto the discus for their slime coat, ultimately killing them I have had success with L66, but they are an omnivore needing meaty foods dropping to them regularly to survive and thrive. They do minimal things for algea cleaning...I have on the other hand had L18's latch. Bristlenoses are reportedly OK, but I heven't kept them with mine...

Waterchanges depend uppon the size of the fish and the tank stocking. 50% weekly is considered minimum for a lightly stocked tank with fish over 5". Smaller fish require daily 50%'s for growth, adults could possibly go with less Mine usualy get two 50%'s a week. Waterchanges are the best way of retaining "Water Ballence" though I hate that term. It realy says nothing about what you are doing waterchanges for... Just what do you ballence in the water? Nothing, you add minerals that the fish use up and remove any toxins that have built up

If you go down the Discus route, research like crazy. They will need a well matured tank that has been going for 6+ months with fish in If it is a new tank, let it mature and do your research into them during this time Discus are considered "hard to keep" because many people are too ignorant to research them first. Research them and you will not have a problem. Fail to research and you will fail misearbly with them Research cannot all be done on a forum, you need to read arround all over the place, and speak to many keepers. They aren't hard to keep if you understand the fish, but they are considered an "advanced" species for a reason

What tetras were you after? Most are OK, but many will not like the heat in a discus tank, and a few will out-compete the discus for food or frighten them into constant hiding with their fast movement

All the best
Rabbut

EDIT to add, Panaque species are possibly the worst plec's for latching on discus. Please, avoid these with this fish at all cost

you know your stuff rabbut,with the size of the tank 6x2x2 im concerned doing that much water changing each week ,im trying not too sound lazy but was hoping for a tank that would take care of itself for about a month ,is that unrealistic for any tropical fish tank? the tank isnt running yet and i have not got anything for inside as i wanted to see what the fish would need as their natural habitat goes, i was thinking in terms of a few months after that for the fish im in no rush and dont want to make a big mistake, a friend told me to get cichlids, i did a lot of looking up, yep they look great but i want to have my fish for its lifetime, so i could have only had a small number, then i would have the teritorial problems having a small number,i think i first need to find a fish discus size that fits the bill and the rest is reading up like you said, if you can help at all with my fist goal i hope there is a fish out there for me, and if i am being realistic or if i make any sence at all lol...thanks

 

[rabbut]

Most tanks can be ran with monthly waterchanges, so long as you light-stock, and make shure that waterchanges are genuinely monthly without fail. Not with discus or larger fish though, 50% weekly is minimum. Unless you are on a meater, waterchanges of that size are no problem if you have a hose syphen to the garden and use the water for your plants, then hook the hose up to the tap and fill using mains pressure. Add a dose of dechlor to the tank before filling if you need it for your water supply I acctually find waterchanging a large tank easier than waterchanging a small one, as no buckets are involved I can sit back and let gravity and mains-water-pressure do all the hard work for me...

Discus sized similar shaped fish are Silver Dollars.

Alternative larger cichlids include Oscars, Firemouths, Acaras and Convicts cichlids. You are not limited to those, but that all get to a foot to 18inches, so very visable. They won't all mix though, so for more info, read the new world chichlids section and other web pages

Just a warning, please fishless cycle the tank with Liquid Ammonia before you add any fish. This will prevent the death, disease and shortened life spans associated with cycling a tank using fish

All the best
Rabbut