New Tank For Discus Setup

[danb]

Hi,

I havent kept discus before but i have a new juwel vision 180 tank which has been setup and running for around a month now. It has T5 lighting and the standard juwel bioflow 3.0 filter and a 300 W Trixie Heater.

The tank isnt cycled yet so i think i am going to add some media from my gold fish tank to speed the process up. Will i need to dose with ammonia doing it this way?

I am getting newly born discus fish in around 3-4 weeks. I have a few plants in the tank, i bought a discus plant collection but only around 5/6 of the plants survived so i am just going to puchase the ones that survived as i dont want a co2 kit. Can you recommend what plants i can get that will survive just on the tropiflora liquid plant food?

What should my water peramters be before i look to add the discus and what temperature? 29oC ?

Also, should i buy some rock/stone? or just lots of plants and a big piece of bogwood?

I have gravel in the tank at the minute, should i change to sand for them? Is this possible with the tank full of water?

Thanks,
Danny

 

[danb]

Change of heart, i think the discus would be better in my 240 litre tank. I can swap the fish over from that tank and just keep the 240 for discus.

I would want to clean the 240 tank as 1 fish died in it recently from NTD. How would i clean it? Bleach? I would also use sand instead of gravel. How messy is this? How do you clean the sand?

Cheers

 

[danb]

Can anyone help me with this please? am i in the correct forum for discus?

Danny

 

[roadmaster]

Can anyone help me with this please? am i in the correct forum for discus?

Danny

If the discus are juveniles, they will require three to four feedings per day and perhaps three weekly water changes minimum, to achieve proper growth. A group of five in 55 gal? would be suitable but 75 gal would be better. If the discus are wild caught specimens, the water will need to be soft and acidic with ph values noy much above 6.8
If they are tank bred and raised, they can adapt to slightly harder water but not much over pH 7.5 in my view. Temp will need to be warm. I kept a group of five for nearly two years that were tank bred at temp of 84 degrees and ph of 7.4 with three weekly water changes of 30 percent.Fish were fed three times a day with Beefheart,bloodworms,pellet food,Brine shrimp,cichlid crisps,Ocean nutrition flake, frozen chopped krill,tetra color bits,and Dried marine alage hung from veggie clip. I kept the fish over sand substrate with large driftwood pieces,and large smooth river stones. I now wish I had kept them in bare bottom tank until thet reached five inches for it is much easier to see and remove uneaten food in bare bottom tank.When I fed the fish,messy foods such as Beefheart,blood worms,and other frozen foods,, I performed water changes while cleaning the sand with gravel vac within an hour after offering these foods so as not to allow the food that was uneaten to foul the water. I kept no other fish with the Discus to help prevent disease from new additions of fish whether they were quarantined or not. Many fish don't enjoy the temperatures that Discus need.
I would read any and all information I could find on caring for these fish before I attempted to keep them.
They are not as hard to care for as some believe if their needs are met. but they are needy fish with respect to water quality and frequent water changes will help keep then healthy and growing.
Should you decide to try your hand with these fish, I would ask the person you get them from what water parameters they are being kept in ,and what foods they are eating. In this way you will have an idea as to what you need to provide as far as water chemistry and foods to get them off to a good start.
If you are relatively new to keeping fish, Learn all you can before you purchase these fish., It will make thigs much easier on you and the fish.
Sorry I can't offer any help with plants other than to say were it me,, I would not try and place discus in newly eatablished tank with plants or without. I would first want to get planted tank established for several weeks if not months.
Discus will fair much better in well established tank plants,or no plants. Hope some of this helps.

 

[danb]

Can anyone help me with this please? am i in the correct forum for discus?

Danny

If the discus are juveniles, they will require three to four feedings per day and perhaps three weekly water changes minimum, to achieve proper growth. A group of five in 55 gal? would be suitable but 75 gal would be better. If the discus are wild caught specimens, the water will need to be soft and acidic with ph values noy much above 6.8
If they are tank bred and raised, they can adapt to slightly harder water but not much over pH 7.5 in my view. Temp will need to be warm. I kept a group of five for nearly two years that were tank bred at temp of 84 degrees and ph of 7.4 with three weekly water changes of 30 percent.Fish were fed three times a day with Beefheart,bloodworms,pellet food,Brine shrimp,cichlid crisps,Ocean nutrition flake, frozen chopped krill,tetra color bits,and Dried marine alage hung from veggie clip. I kept the fish over sand substrate with large driftwood pieces,and large smooth river stones. I now wish I had kept them in bare bottom tank until thet reached five inches for it is much easier to see and remove uneaten food in bare bottom tank.When I fed the fish,messy foods such as Beefheart,blood worms,and other frozen foods,, I performed water changes while cleaning the sand with gravel vac within an hour after offering these foods so as not to allow the food that was uneaten to foul the water. I kept no other fish with the Discus to help prevent disease from new additions of fish whether they were quarantined or not. Many fish don't enjoy the temperatures that Discus need.
I would read any and all information I could find on caring for these fish before I attempted to keep them.
They are not as hard to care for as some believe if their needs are met. but they are needy fish with respect to water quality and frequent water changes will help keep then healthy and growing.
Should you decide to try your hand with these fish, I would ask the person you get them from what water parameters they are being kept in ,and what foods they are eating. In this way you will have an idea as to what you need to provide as far as water chemistry and foods to get them off to a good start.
If you are relatively new to keeping fish, Learn all you can before you purchase these fish., It will make thigs much easier on you and the fish.
Sorry I can't offer any help with plants other than to say were it me,, I would not try and place discus in newly eatablished tank with plants or without. I would first want to get planted tank established for several weeks if not months.
Discus will fair much better in well established tank plants,or no plants. Hope some of this helps.

Thank you for the help. I will find the perameters for what they are bred in, im sure its ph 6.5. I was speaking to the man who breeds them last week and he said they was just getting on to eating brine shrimp. Does sand not get sucked up into filter? I have a juwel internal filter . . . Also, with regards to cleaning the sand i was going to get a few snails and loaches/cat fish to clean the bottom.

 

[roadmaster]

Can anyone help me with this please? am i in the correct forum for discus?

Danny

If the discus are juveniles, they will require three to four feedings per day and perhaps three weekly water changes minimum, to achieve proper growth. A group of five in 55 gal? would be suitable but 75 gal would be better. If the discus are wild caught specimens, the water will need to be soft and acidic with ph values noy much above 6.8
If they are tank bred and raised, they can adapt to slightly harder water but not much over pH 7.5 in my view. Temp will need to be warm. I kept a group of five for nearly two years that were tank bred at temp of 84 degrees and ph of 7.4 with three weekly water changes of 30 percent.Fish were fed three times a day with Beefheart,bloodworms,pellet food,Brine shrimp,cichlid crisps,Ocean nutrition flake, frozen chopped krill,tetra color bits,and Dried marine alage hung from veggie clip. I kept the fish over sand substrate with large driftwood pieces,and large smooth river stones. I now wish I had kept them in bare bottom tank until thet reached five inches for it is much easier to see and remove uneaten food in bare bottom tank.When I fed the fish,messy foods such as Beefheart,blood worms,and other frozen foods,, I performed water changes while cleaning the sand with gravel vac within an hour after offering these foods so as not to allow the food that was uneaten to foul the water. I kept no other fish with the Discus to help prevent disease from new additions of fish whether they were quarantined or not. Many fish don't enjoy the temperatures that Discus need.
I would read any and all information I could find on caring for these fish before I attempted to keep them.
They are not as hard to care for as some believe if their needs are met. but they are needy fish with respect to water quality and frequent water changes will help keep then healthy and growing.
Should you decide to try your hand with these fish, I would ask the person you get them from what water parameters they are being kept in ,and what foods they are eating. In this way you will have an idea as to what you need to provide as far as water chemistry and foods to get them off to a good start.
If you are relatively new to keeping fish, Learn all you can before you purchase these fish., It will make thigs much easier on you and the fish.
Sorry I can't offer any help with plants other than to say were it me,, I would not try and place discus in newly eatablished tank with plants or without. I would first want to get planted tank established for several weeks if not months.
Discus will fair much better in well established tank plants,or no plants. Hope some of this helps.

Thank you for the help. I will find the perameters for what they are bred in, im sure its ph 6.5. I was speaking to the man who breeds them last week and he said they was just getting on to eating brine shrimp. Does sand not get sucked up into filter? I have a juwel internal filter . . . Also, with regards to cleaning the sand i was going to get a few snails and loaches/cat fish to clean the bottom.

Not familiar with the filter you have but yes, sand can get into the filter if one is not careful. You do not need to push the gravel vaccum down into the sand to clean it but rather,hover just above it with the gravel vaccum. If you were to add a sponge filter to the tank, you could shut down the internal filter while vaccuming the gravel and then turn it back on afterwards.
Many of the loaches are a bit too active for Discus of an evening while fish are resting.
Sterbai corydoras or perhaps peppered corys are only corys I am aware of that would do well in 82 to 86 degree waters that Discus prefer.

 

[danb]

Thats great, i think the intake for the filter is at the very top of the tank, i could be wrong though. What fish would you recommend having with the new discus? is it better to add the discus first by themselves?

What should i put under the sand to help the plants grow? Im not having a co2 kit.

Cheers

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

I recommend that if they are new born fish, you will need to take the gravel out and raise them bare bottom (much easier to clean and manage waste removal.) You will also have to knock off huge and daily water changes to allow them to grow properly, along with loads of feedings. They are going to be tiny!! Such a big tank won't be suitable for how small they are, and I would recommend you grow them out in something like a 29 gallon until they hit around the 3" mark. I am assuming that if he said "they are just starting to eat brine shrimp", that means he is weening them off their parents slime coat and starting to feed them live baby brine. I would also assume that they are spawned in an acidic pH, which will normally be raised as the fish get a little bigger. Double check this!!

I really hate to burst your bubble, but I would definitley not recommend starting with such small fish as a novice Discus keeper. They are not forgiving and die easily, not to mention stunt easily. Save your money and get something in the 3.5-4" range.

 

[roadmaster]

I recommend that if they are new born fish, you will need to take the gravel out and raise them bare bottom (much easier to clean and manage waste removal.) You will also have to knock off huge and daily water changes to allow them to grow properly, along with loads of feedings. They are going to be tiny!! Such a big tank won't be suitable for how small they are, and I would recommend you grow them out in something like a 29 gallon until they hit around the 3" mark. I am assuming that if he said "they are just starting to eat brine shrimp", that means he is weening them off their parents slime coat and starting to feed them live baby brine. I would also assume that they are spawned in an acidic pH, which will normally be raised as the fish get a little bigger. Double check this!!

I really hate to burst your bubble, but I would definitley not recommend starting with such small fish as a novice Discus keeper. They are not forgiving and die easily, not to mention stunt easily. Save your money and get something in the 3.5-4" range.

I agree. If the fish are smaller than three inches,, Smaller tank would make water changes much easier and barebottom would also help as mentioned earlier by making it easier to clean the waste produced from the tank.
If the guy raising them has three or four inch specimens, that is what I would want to begin with.

 

[danb]

Cheers for the help, maybe i should ask him to keep a couple back for me for 2 months or so and give them chance to grow? In that time i can have the tank setup?

What fish should i look to have with them?

I amd having sand so need some guys to help me clean that.

 

[roadmaster]

Cheers for the help, maybe i should ask him to keep a couple back for me for 2 months or so and give them chance to grow? In that time i can have the tank setup?

What fish should i look to have with them?

I amd having sand so need some guys to help me clean that.

Were it me,, I would go with a group of six to eight Sterbai Corydoras.