How About A Discus?

[FishHobbyist1564]

Hi im thinking about getting a few discus, what size tank do you think would suit them best? If they are small, can i keep them in a small tank, or will htye not grow? Thank you everyone.

 

[kev_kb]

A good min tank size is 48" x 15" x 18", bigger is better of course, make sure you have 18" height for adults. You'll need a group of 5-6 discus, and make sure the tank is fully cycled. Discus need water on the soft side, you will most likely need to soften your tap water, an RO filter is the best way to achieve this. You will need to find out the water parameters of your discus supplier and match those. Buy from a discus specialist and not a normal LFS unless you are sure of the quality of the fish. Make sure your heater can maintain the high temps required.

A general rule is to provide 10 gal per discus, but this does not mean you can keep one in a 10. With experience you can stock a little heavier than this.

Buying fish around 4" is the best IMHO, they settle better and are not as easy to stunt as babies. I also think a bare bottom tank is best for any discus, but is required for raising babies. You could keep babies in a smaller tank, but they are easily stunted and bigger is better.

Please do a search on this forum for discus, there are plenty of good posts on them and you can find out everything you need, and please please take your time to decide if discus are right for you as they require a bit more dedication than your average fish.

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

thank you kev_kb i know someone who has a 75-gallon, so i may be able to have their's. I'll read up some more on discuses, but thank you, your info was very helpful.

 

[crazie.eddie]

To correct some things...
Discus do not need soft water. There are allot of discus breeders who have bred their discus in regular tap water with no problems. Wild discus are more particular for soft water, since they come from the wild that way. Tank bred discus have bred to practically all types of water parameters. I suggest when buying discus to buy them from a local breeder with the same or close to the same water parameters as you do. My discus are kept in hard water and pH of about 7.2 and they are doing fine.

Juvenile discus are fine to buy, but they will require more maintenance. Constant feeding and water changes will ensure a healthy discus, excellent colors, with no stunting of growth.

When picking discus...
- Check to see if the eyes are proportionate to the body of the discus.
- Have the person put food in the tank and select the ones that are the most aggressive eaters.
- Make sure the fish colors are colorful and vibrant.
- Make sure it is not constantly staying to one corner of the tank

Some adult discus become more selective in what they eat.

 

[HelenUK]

I also keep 24 discus and they are all in hard water (Tap water)
but i will add when you buy a discus it is best to accommodate it to your tank water before just putting it in the tank.
Never just put any fish straight into your tank it can kill.

What we do is place the bag with the discus in into a bucket.
We have a small piece of tubing (airline is best)
We have a screw clamp on the tubing so we can regulate the flow.
We then place one end in the tank and the other in the bag with the discus in.
We let the follow of water out just as a trickle or drop.
We generally do this for 40 mins or until the water over spills into the bucket before we put the discus into the tank.
This lets the discus get used to your tank water slowly so as not to give a PH shock or other shocks.

What i would also say is if you intend to use tap water make sure your supplier of discus is not using RO water discus or any fish will most likely die if going from RO Water to tap water or even visa versa.

I hope this is of help

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

Thanks everyone you are a lot of help! But what fish can i keep with discuses? I love cardinal tetras, but im afraid that discuses will eat them or kill them. Are there any other good fish that i can keep with them?

 

[HelenUK]

Discus are fine with cardinal tetra make sure they are cardinal though and not neon's as neon's are prone to neon disease and i am not sure if that can pass on to discus. Rams are also fine with discus. We have clown loaches and polka dot loaches with or discus and have no problems. Corys are also fine with discus but make sure you have 6 or more of those.

 

[FishHobbyist1564]

thats good that they like corys because i like them too! I might get some discuses but i have to look into them more. How many do you think i can get in a 75-gallon tank?

 

[HelenUK]

Well it depends really on the height and other dimentions of your tank it needs to be at least 18 inches high if it is higher all the better.
To give an idea both my tanks measure
48in L x 18in D x 20in h and i have 12 in each one.
But we only keep bottom fish with them like corys, rams, loaches and some do not
recommend this but we also have a bristlenose pleco in each tank they have been fine with our discus.

 

[kev_kb]

Just make sure the Cory species you want can handle the high temps. Bristlenose plecos should be fine, I think its more the commons that can cause problems. I have heard of Cardinals being eaten by adult discus, but sometimes they don't, just be prepared to loose a few.

 

[annka5]

In a 75 gallon with other fish on your list - eg cardinals and cory - I'd suggest keeping 6. it's a decent sized group to spread out any aggression. If you reckon on 10 galls per discus => 60 galls, then that would leave a 15 gallon leeway for the other fish. By the time you take into account the filter, a gap at the top of the tank, substrate (if you decide to use any) decor etc, that will reduce the real working volume of the tank a bit anyhow.

 

[discus dreamer]

Hi
I am planning to keep discus as well and found this site really useful http/article.dphnet.com/index.shtml
I am someway off as I need to clear up a problem in my other tank before I can move the non compatible fish there so have just been reading everything I can.
good luck
DD

 

[HelenUK]

Excellent link thanks