Keeping Discus?

[angelmouse]

your ph is fine and will lower with the c02, kh/gh of 3-6 is good you don't want it lower with co2 as that can make ph unstable and the ph will drop considerably . You could add the discus in 2 groups but adding them together saves the need to quarrentine them.
Planted tanks are difficult to grow discus out in so its best to get them at least at 3-4" as they are hardier at that size.
both of those tank sizes will be fine. a minimum size of 48x15x18 is fine so anything above is better, and basic 10gals per adult discus rule and that can include your tankmates
regards Angel

 

[DiscusAngel]

She said it all! lol

DA

 

[Ian H]

thanks for all the advise, i shall be on the lookout for a tank and other bits soon!!

 

[rabbut]

I'd be careful with ottos. I've had them latch onto angelfish before, so IMO they would be a risk and a pain to remove later if they became a problem I wouldn't have them with mine personally...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Ian H]

i thought it was either flying foxes or CAE that had a problem with latching on to bigger fish??

I've think i'll go for a 60x24x24 tank, yes it will cost more in the long run but i will only regret it if i dont!! from nd aquatics a basic 60x24x24 tank will cost £291 or with a stand £521

Although i will more than likely make a stand and hood since £200+ is a fair bit for something made out of crappy thin mdf!!

They will also do a 60x18x24 (lxwxh) for £268 delivered or 484 with stand delivered. TBH im going more towards the 60x24x24 just since i know its the biggest i can go and will last me a life time!!

Will have to wait and see what i can save up!!! the plan is to get the tank, plant it up with co2, ferts ect until its cycled and stable then add the fish

 

[rabbut]

Sounds like one mean set-up

I would add all the fish excluding discus after the cycle. I made the error of rushing it at first, and I lost a lot of discus in the first 6 months. Things seem to have settled again now, and I will be calling a local breeder about collecting some new stock this evening. Look out for the picks

Back on topic I'd add all your other fish first, and then add your discus about 6months later, possibly in two lots a few days appart, to allow the filters to catch up, just to avoid issues with an imature tank

What does everyone else think?

My ottos did latch, though I believe it is uncommon. I know members on here keep them with their discus, but after the last lot of ottos attaching to my angels and seeing the damage they did, I won't be adding any to my discus tank... L66 I have had good luck with. Algea isn't their main part of the diet, so they will need suplimenting, but they seem to graze on it at night also, when I check on them L18 are a no-no IME, for the same reason I don't keep ottos with my discus...

I suppose the lesson is every fish is different, so what works for some won't always work for others...

HTH
Rabbut

 

[calandra]

never been a great fan of Discus. Maybe someone will explain the attraction to me one day. I'm sure your tank will look stunning once its completed.
Cal

 

[stiffler69]

Swing^

 

[paul_newton1@yahoo.co.uk]

just keep researching, and you will fully understand the heres and there of discus.

Your tank is fine like said if that was me i would have 7, i have always found odd numbers are better than even because when i had my larger tank i had 6 but i had to add another due to one aleways being bullied.

I now have a breeding pair of F4 grade royal snakeskin discus, and they cost me £220 for the pair, you can get good decent sized small (3") for anything from £32 per pair round my area.

i am relatively new to keeping discus..stunning fish that tend to have character similar to dogs if you get close to them. they know people more than we give them credit for..fish react to physical presence for feeding ,,etc but my discus know me from y wife....i do the water changes, care for thier well-being etc my wife feeds them now and again...the response is incredibly different.....i have recently lost 35 discus due to a disease which i totally take the blame for ...lack of quarantine...personally, i have foundthat...providing the tank .water .oxygen..ph levels etc atre adheredv to...........the more fish,,the happier the tank; i have a 4ftx2 15inch bow front tank,under gravel filter pumpsx2.tap water with anti chlorine etc and at one time have had 40 discus ,,ranging in size from2- 4inch..but mostly 3inch. added fish without quarantine and lost a lot..it was heartbreaking and at the minute cannot afford to replace....the peppering {black dots}are due to metals in the waterand a hma filter will prevent this.ro water (reverse osmosis)water is apparentely good for discus..but not essential in% but is a really bad hobby to get into..........is not cheap,to do properly and is TOTALLY ADDICTIVE.. have fun! forgot to add, you can pick up discus from £10

 

[Ian H]

sorry but you sound like a bit of an idiot!! i just read a post where you told some one its fine to have a couple of discus in a 15g tank!! not to mention the 40 odd you just said you had in yours!!

Anyways, i'm looking into the "cheapest" (still stupidly expensive though!!) way to get this tank going. for lighting some one suggested i get this:

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...roducts_id=1067 I'm not sure though sinced im not sure i want an open tank? will look into it a bit more i think!!

I dont want any plecs in this tank as i want some sort of carpeting plant either glosso or hc (more likely as i already have some!) not sure on exact plants yet but it will be nice and green!

As for filters anyone got any ideas? obviously an external but i have no idea which one? fluval fx5? or pay the big money for an ehiem or 2??

Other fish im thinking maybe 5 panda corys, 20 or so rummy nose and the rest i have no idea!! I'm assuming its pointless adding shrimp as the discus will have them for tea?

 

[rabbut]

Discus and shrimp are like angels and tetra. Most can get away with it, but sometimes you don't. As with tetra and angels, apparently a lot depends upon when each are added, though I have never personally kept discus with shrimp, I know a few people that do...

Filters... Filters are obviously the most important bit of kit in the tank, so you need a good one, and I'd advise building in a redundant system I run two Tetratec EX1200's on mine, plumed in parallel. A pair of pro 2 Eheims, preferably that claim they can take the tank alone, would both also be good. Depends on the budget. If you have the cash, most will advise the Eheim's, if on a budget, go Tetratec. They are both rated highly on a regular basis, but Tetratec are fairly new (on the market only 3years) do nobody knows how they will preform after this length of time, but at £70 delivered, compaired to an equivilant Ehiem at about £150...... I know which option I prefured, and TBH, Other than the inlet ad outlet sets I'm so far very impressed

Lighting... Arcadia units are the lighting equivilant of Eheim filters. Have a reputation as being the best, and the price reflects that... I use an ebay company called EQJ-trading for all the lighting units that I don't build myself, and they have loads of the things, with different options. They ship from Germany, and arrive within 4 days with so much packaging you can throw them off a 100ft clif and still have a working unit at the bottom. Pain in the A*? to get into though.....
My 4ft luminare with 3 T5 tubes cost £70 delivered. I looked up the Arcadia unit at work, and we can buy it in at £150EX VAT, so I diden't even bother to work out what it would be at retail, and thus the cost to me less my staff discount....

Without plecos, I'd mebe do a bit more reserch into ottos. OK, I had a bad time with them, but I think I may have been an exception to the rule.

Paul has a point. The more discus the better, but I dissagree about the maximum you can have in a tank... 40 in a 80g would turn the poor things into nervous wrecks after 5 inches....They stress at that point when stocked past 1 fish per 5gal at that size IME....

HTH
Rabbut

EDIT to add, the recomended stocking is one discus per 10g

 

[Jim Curtis]

I was just told in another thread like an hour ago that I cant have a pleco with discus because supposidly the pleco will suck the slime of the discus. It sounds totally outlandish and rediculous to me considering my plec never even leaves the bottom 3 inches of the tank unless I put my hand near his hiding spot. I just cant see it happening. So can somebody put this to rest? Is that true or not?

 

[Ian H]

im guessing it all depends on the fish. Maybe the slime coat tastes lovely to plecs and since you dont have them together the plec hasnt found that out yet??

Different fish will always act different, so even though some fish are NORMALLY ok with others its not guaranteed, just "normal"

 

[Jim Curtis]

Your'e kind of missing my point. This guy is saying he wants to have a community tank and stock it with discus and a pleco and everyone is saying sounds great good luck mate. Meanwhile I started a thread asking if my tank was large enough for discus and the replies I got were you cant keep discus with a pleco. Im just trying to figure out what is true. My LFS said there is nothing to worry about. But they also keep a foot long red tailed cat in a 2ft tank, but for all I know so does the guy that told me plecos love to suck discus slime. This hobby is confusing and frustrating as hell. I just want cool fish damnit.

I honestly almost get the feeling that some of these guys just for some reason dont want you to have fish as nice or nicer than theres. I think they get an ego boost out of telling you that you cant have what they have. Which also really adds to the frustration.

 

[Ian H]

I really dont think people are against you just so they have a nicer tank!!

tbh i wouldnt have a plec in a discus tank for 2 reasons (baring in mind i dont have discus yet so still learning)

1: Discus tanks are usually heavily planted, plecs are NORMALLY a pain in the ass in a planted tank (although i have 5 in mine and they dont cause a problem

2: Plecs are nocturnal so i would imagine they would freak the discus out at night

Who was this person/what thread? if it was paul@whateveritis.com i wouldnt listen, he sounds like a complete muppet!

Is there a reason you want a pleco in the tank with them or that you just like them?