I Am Going To Break The Rules

[lordtrini]

I'm glad you've abandoned the idea of discus (if I read that right.)

Angels are an option in that tank, just not straight away. Personally I'd add mature media at the same time as some active, hardy fish - some flavour of danio are a) active, b) hardy and c) reasonably messy. Maybe 10 or so of them, monitor ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels then see about adding some other fish in a month or two.

Most people on here prefer the slow and safe approach, and I'm one of them myself.

yeah... you guys have... i will move my 6 or 8 perfect angels to this tank in 3 months or so and take the rest back to the store for credits...
I will get 10 danios and add them to this tank with the mature filter soon enough... and let the tank mature for a month to 6 weeks....

I will get my 6 discus at that time and i will put them right into the 55 gallon angel tank (and move the angels) as that tank is so mature it had menopause....

Abandon the discus idea full stop mate - its a bad one. 55g isn't much bigger than 48g, and the amount of water changes you were talking about means you'll end up with at best stunted, at worst dead discus.

Keeping pre-adult discus should be left to breeders and people who have the time to do big water changes on a very regular basis. 25% weekly for immature discus is very, very stupid.

So... i am so lost now...
All i have read say 40 to 55 is the minimum for discus...
Say it aint so...
Or suggest a comparably beautiful fish that is suitable...

please...

 

[Mikaila31]

Discus are one the most sensitive fresh water fish you can keep. Sure you could probably keep some in a 48 gal. But it would NEED to be bare bottom and lots and lots of water changes. Especially since we are talking young discus here. A planted discus tank is no easy thing to do. Discus need high temps 84ish, are you aware that a lot of plants can't stand those temps? You need to plant accordingly.

You also have the issue with the lighting, you are going to need to dose ferts. I've seen planted discus tanks run using the EI method, I have no idea about store bought ferts though.

BTW how much nitrate does the 48gal have?

 

[dthoffsett]

Or suggest a comparably beautiful fish that is suitable...

Have you looked into African Cichlids, specifically mbuna (literally means rock-dwelling)? They are very hardy, pretty easy to keep aside from dealing with aggression, and you can do weekly water changes with them, just change more water than a standard community tank (usually around 40%). They do tend to eat or uproot plants so you'll have to stick with hardy plants. And, they are gorgeous! Lots of different bright colors and patterns, and your 55gal would be perfect for about 15 of them.

Have a look at these beauties: [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=191257"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=191257[/URL]
And, here's more info on keeping them: [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=27706"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=27706[/URL]

 

[mike os]

nice to see so much discus experience ... or are people just spouting what they heard?.....

46 gal is fine for 4-5 or probably 6 adult discus., but not with angels.

plants I know nothing about...well near enough.

maintenance needs to be enough to keep NO3 below 40mg/l whether 25% a month or 100% a day. anything else is good for the fish, but not essential

 

[jonnyf84]

a little off the point but that lighting is insane, 14 hours! you won't be able to see the bloody discus even if they do survive cos there'l be so much algae!

 

[petertr]

Simple rule of thumb for discus

10G of water per discus
No less than 5 in a group

50G for 5 discus is the bare minimum.

If you're buying 2" discus, you're looking at changing 25% water every other day - and that's at the absolute least - At 2", I'd recommend 25% daily, or 50% every other day.

I'd probably forget about plants until they're 4-5" as well.



One final tip: Some people ask for advise on here, then choose to ignore it - don't be one of these people!


Good Luck.

 

[aaronnorth]

dont even attempt to run 192watts at any time, even the more experienced people would struggle to keep a tank running smoothly with that much lighting.

Run 96watts for 8hours per day.
I would highly reccomend you to buy a pressurized CO2 system in order to keep up with the plants demands, if not, link up about 3 bottles of DIY CO2 (see this guide here for more info: http/www.fishforever.co.uk/carbondioxide.html )

Now you have to provide sufficient nutrients. Take a read of the Estimative Index (EI) method, and see what you think. It is simple, you just add a certain amount of nutrients, then do a 50% water change every week.

 

[Truck]

how can you all say 46 gallons is fine for discus when you dont know the dimensions???

 

[mike os]

how can you all say 46 gallons is fine for discus when you dont know the dimensions???

have you ever kept discus?

 

[Truck]

how can you all say 46 gallons is fine for discus when you dont know the dimensions???

have you ever kept discus?

no, but my point still stands

a 46 gallon bow front could only be 12 inches high for all you know, so saying its fine without laying down some basic facts first is a bit irrational

 

[mike os]

then might I suggest you restrict your comments to fish you actually have experience of, and allow those with sufficient experience with a particular species to apss on information without being constantly misdirected?

 

[Truck]

then might I suggest you restrict your comments to fish you actually have experience of, and allow those with sufficient experience with a particular species to apss on information without being constantly misdirected?

enlighten me on the minimum tank height for discus then.

 

[paulbr1]

It's good this is!

Paul.

ps. could I put 4 Discus and 3 Angels in a 5 Gallon?

 

[Truck]

It's good this is!

Paul.

ps. could I put 4 Discus and 3 Angels in a 5 Gallon?

proves my point

IMO a discus tank needs to be 20" high and 20" long in retrospect lets see where this leaves us with length...32 inches, not ideal IMO

just because you have kept discus it doesnt mean you know everything their is to know about discus...i have done hours upon hours of research into discus and from my findings a bare bottom 20*20*40+ would be ample IMO

just imagine a medium sized dinner plate swimming in your tsnk and then you'll see what om getting at!

 

[paulbr1]

It is 36" high so should big enough (not very wide or deep though!)

Paul.