New To Discus

[Hels]

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping for some help... i currently keep a mix of tropicals - mostly african cichlids but my boyfriends dads thinking about going for discus...he does already also have community tropicals so together i think we have enough fishkeeping experience but discus is never really something i've looked into and i realise they can be classed as diificult sometimes...

I hoped you could give me some general info please!

the tank will be started from stratch... we can use filter medium from a cycled tank if that would be a good idea or we can wait out the fishless cycle...he'd like a corner tank...we've looked at the juwel ones...either the 190l (approx 50usg)or 350l (approx 92usg) and i get the impression that the 190l will be a bit on the small size... so the main questions are:

is a corner tank okay?

if we go for a juwel will we need extra filtration?

is it best to do a fishless cycle or use cycled bactiera from an established tank?

when we get the fish should we get 6 young fish and wait for a pair to develop??

plus any other useful info would be great!!

Thank you for all your help

Hels

 

[jakey boi]

hi,
i am hoping to get some discus soon,
i know that the discus like to be in shoals of at least 6, your tank is certainly big enough discus need at least 50 gallons. They like to not be with nippy and fast fish such as certain types of tetras. Discus also like higher temperatures in a tank of around 27 or 28 degrees c.
sorry that is all i really know about discus if i find out a decent website i will send you the link.

 

[Hels]

Thank you...i'd appreciate that

also, just another quick question...they've also got a common plec that could soon need the extra space... i've heard that plecs will often suck on the sides of discus...is there much truth in this?

 

[kev_kb]

I'm not a fan of corner tanks, I'd use a 4x2x2 but the larger corner would probably be fine. I wouldn't put a common plec in with them either, I wouldn't want to risk it sucking onto the discus and it would produce a lot of waste. Your much better sticking to the smaller plecs like Bristlenoses.

Plan what your going to be keeping in the tank, and setup it up with some old filter media, then add a small amount of fish but not the Discus. Leave them till the very last addition to the tank to ensure it's stable.

Thats the tank sorted, now you'll need to worry about your water. You need to know the hardness of your water. If you have a gh of around 10 that will be fine for keeping Discus, but it will need to be lower than this for them to breed successfully, so it depends what your after. If you need to soften your tap water an RO unit is the best option. You'll need to keep the tank heated higher than usual, I use 29-30C, try to much the temperature and water chemistry that your fish will come from when you buy them.

If you want to breed them then starting with 6 six young fish would be best, but for this option your probably best going for a bare bottom tank so you can really keep it clean. If your not concerned with breeding buy 6 larger Discus as these will settle a lot better, especially if the tank is planted. The key to buying Discus is to take your time and only buy high quality healthy fish, provide them with the appropriate water and you'll do fine.

 

[apester]

I have been keeping Discus for about a year and a half now. I started with 4 Discus which didn't work out very good because they really picked on one of them and he never grew as big as the others. I also kept the temp at 82F for a while but the Discus seemed dark and sluggish so I turned the temp up to 84F and it seems to be the best temp they are a lot more active and better coloring. My ph is 7.6 and my water is considered hard and I have never had any problems except for the eggs developing in the hard water. I have heard that it is better for the young discus to have hard water so they receive all of the minerals they need. I think the most important part about ph and hardness is keeping things stable. If you keep your enviroment stable and clean you will be fine.

I would recommend a bare bottom tank so you can keep it clean. I usually change 50% water every other day. I have went a week without changing water and they seemed ok. I think if you want fast growth you will want to change the water as much as you can. They won't die if you don't change the water every day but I don't think they will grow as well or be as happy.

The big pleco would be a mess and also he could scare the slow moving discus and bother them during feeding time. I keep dwarf plecs with my Discus. I keep a queen arabesque and he doesn't bother them at all he usually just stays under the piece of drift wood. Also he does fine at high temps. Cardinal Tetras are good to keep with Discus but the seem to die a lot for me. Out of 6 I have 2 still alive after a few months.

A 50 Gallon would be ok for small Discus but when they grow you would need to move them into something bigger. A smaller tank makes water changes easier but you will need to change the water more often so it evens out.

For filters I use sponge filter and a hang on the back filter. I like the hang on the back filter because I can turn down the flow for feeding time. If I don't turn down the flow I notice a lot of the food ends up in the filter before the discus get a change to get to it. Have fun.

Ape

 

[Alex_]

really go big as possiable. corner tanks look nices but are harder to clean.

and yes starting with 6 young discus is a good start. what you said is wait for a pair,

do you wont to breed them? also stats should be 82-86F 7under ph soft->softess water

idea tankmates that i know work are cardianls, rummynoses and most corys.

the key facter is to provide discus with a proper diet and clean water.

discus need to be feed food that has a least 50 percent crude protein.

for any other Q's jiust read around this-> http/www.rockymountaindiscus.com/

you will find alot of info on diet, tankmates,water chem and other stuff.

-Alex

 

[annka5]

I basically agree with the above! To add: it's worth trying to get your discus from a breeder rather than LFS as they are likely to be better qaulity, cheaper, and many LFS don't look after discus as well as they should (e.g. temp too low, water to grotty, inadequate or inappropriate feeding, etc).
I'd really encourage you to get the bigger tank if possble. I keep mine ina Juwel (Vision 260) which seems to work fine, the filtration IMO is perfectly adequate given that the tank is not heavily stocked. However, I have heard the filters on the Juwel corner tanks can be more difficult to get to?
In the uk, see UK Discus Association web-site for breeders they recommend. Also, www.simplydiscus.com is good.

 

[voycey]

I have been keeping Discus for about a year and a half now. I started with 4 Discus which didn't work out very good because they really picked on one of them and he never grew as big as the others. I also kept the temp at 82F for a while but the Discus seemed dark and sluggish so I turned the temp up to 84F and it seems to be the best temp they are a lot more active and better coloring. My ph is 7.6 and my water is considered hard and I have never had any problems except for the eggs developing in the hard water. I have heard that it is better for the young discus to have hard water so they receive all of the minerals they need. I think the most important part about ph and hardness is keeping things stable. If you keep your enviroment stable and clean you will be fine.

I would recommend a bare bottom tank so you can keep it clean. I usually change 50% water every other day. I have went a week without changing water and they seemed ok. I think if you want fast growth you will want to change the water as much as you can. They won't die if you don't change the water every day but I don't think they will grow as well or be as happy.

The big pleco would be a mess and also he could scare the slow moving discus and bother them during feeding time. I keep dwarf plecs with my Discus. I keep a queen arabesque and he doesn't bother them at all he usually just stays under the piece of drift wood. Also he does fine at high temps. Cardinal Tetras are good to keep with Discus but the seem to die a lot for me. Out of 6 I have 2 still alive after a few months.

A 50 Gallon would be ok for small Discus but when they grow you would need to move them into something bigger. A smaller tank makes water changes easier but you will need to change the water more often so it evens out.

For filters I use sponge filter and a hang on the back filter. I like the hang on the back filter because I can turn down the flow for feeding time. If I don't turn down the flow I notice a lot of the food ends up in the filter before the discus get a change to get to it. Have fun.

Ape

50% is a bit excessive for water changes, depends what you are keeping with them tho I suppose.
I change 25-50% weekly with aged tap water with peat - hardness is at 7degrees at the moment - will drop that to 2 when I want them to breed.

Get lots of plants for the discus

 

[Hels]

thank you all for the great info!

he decided to go for a different corner tank which is about 220L so i'll be passing all this info on and it seems he's got a lot to think about!!

 

[Sp00ky]

i currently have a selection of Discus that i bought from a friend who breeds them. I have Diamond Blues and Red Spotted Snakeskins. I had them in an 18 x 12 x 15 where they did fine with a sponge filter. I have since moved them as they had grown and i lost one. I checked the stats and i had a nitrite spike !! so i have now moved them in to their own 30 x 12 x 18 tank. I have the temp at 30-32 degrees and a ph of 6.0. I change the water once a week and they are with a red clawed crab and 4 bronze corys. Its best to have a few fast moving fish in there to keep the discus moving otherwise they will just sit in a corner all day and do squat all !!

if your lookin at breeding at any time in the future, wait until you 2 pair off in your tank. You will then have to move them to their own tank or remove the others in the tank. When they are breeding they really need to be out of the line of sight of other discus and defo not in the same tank as they are very terotorial when it comes to their young and the male over the female.

My friend keeps his breeding pairs in RO water and the fry in non RO water. He keeps his PH low for his breeding pairs as this helps induce breeding and he is very succcesful at it. So much so, im going to purchse more from him this evening.

Good luck

Sp00ks

 

[kev_kb]

Its best to have a few fast moving fish in there to keep the discus moving otherwise they will just sit in a corner all day and do squat all !!

This is not true! Discus should not be kept with fast swimming fish as they are easily spooked, but then I guess it depends what you mean by fast moving? They wouldn't mind a few cories, I just wanted to point this out for others reading this.

Discus do sometimes sit and do 'nothing', but they shouldn't do it so much you feel the need to keep other faster fish in with them just to keep them moving. If your Discus are really that inactive I would guess they are sick.

You don't mention the size of your fish, but you've shown that keeping Discus in small tanks doesn't work out and I would suggest you buy a suitable sized tank for the adult fish as your next upgrade.

 

[Sp00ky]

Its best to have a few fast moving fish in there to keep the discus moving otherwise they will just sit in a corner all day and do squat all !!

This is not true! Discus should not be kept with fast swimming fish as they are easily spooked, but then I guess it depends what you mean by fast moving? They wouldn't mind a few cories, I just wanted to point this out for others reading this.

Discus do sometimes sit and do 'nothing', but they shouldn't do it so much you feel the need to keep other faster fish in with them just to keep them moving. If your Discus are really that inactive I would guess they are sick.

You don't mention the size of your fish, but you've shown that keeping Discus in small tanks doesn't work out and I would suggest you buy a suitable sized tank for the adult fish as your next upgrade.

sorry but having seen discus in my LFS which are kept with tets and cardinals, and my discus i personally kept in my smaller tank at home with 3 zebras ( not many faster than that !) and they were perfectly fine.

Also, please explain how i have proved that keeping them in a smaller tank does not work? they were perfectly fine in my smaller tank as i stated. The reason i moved them was because i had bought more and i wanted them all to be together in the same tank. However, keeping 19 discus in 1 18" would not be right so thats why i moved them. Upon moving them i lost one of the younger ones, so if i had left them where they were they would have been perfectly fine ! The nitrite spike was my own fault and nothing to do with the stocking of the tank.

As for the size of my fish, the largest ones are about 3-4" and the smallest about 1 1/2 "

o yeah and there was also a male betta in there which also lived perfectly fine with the discus and zebs.

 

[kev_kb]

sorry but having seen discus in my LFS which are kept with tets and cardinals, and my discus i personally kept in my smaller tank at home with 3 zebras ( not many faster than that !) and they were perfectly fine.

Also, please explain how i have proved that keeping them in a smaller tank does not work? they were perfectly fine in my smaller tank as i stated. The reason i moved them was because i had bought more and i wanted them all to be together in the same tank. However, keeping 19 discus in 1 18" would not be right so thats why i moved them. Upon moving them i lost one of the younger ones, so if i had left them where they were they would have been perfectly fine ! The nitrite spike was my own fault and nothing to do with the stocking of the tank.

As for the size of my fish, the largest ones are about 3-4" and the smallest about 1 1/2 "

o yeah and there was also a male betta in there which also lived perfectly fine with the discus and zebs.

Danios are a lot more active than Cardinals though right?

Sorry I missread your post and thought the small tank caused your loss. However I still don't agree with your stocking levels. A full grown Discus needs around 10 gallons each, sure they aren't full grown, but still it's too much, remember they are cichlids.

 

[Sp00ky]

Danios are a lot more active than Cardinals though right?

yep, and i had 3 in a tank with 4 discus and a fighter along with 2 Skunk Botia.

I wasnt meaning things as fast as swordtails when they are at full pelt.

Sorry I missread your post and thought the small tank caused your loss. However I still don't agree with your stocking levels. A full grown Discus needs around 10 gallons each, sure they aren't full grown, but still it's too much, remember they are cichlids.

again, thats your own personal opinion, which you are entitled to. However ( and this is not something i would personally do) but i know of someone who keeps breeing pairs in a 4ft tank section off into 8" wide sections 18" high ( and some have been in these conditions quite happily on and off for 2 years +). They have little room to turn but they constantly spawn on a regular basis and appear quite happy. Like i said though i would never keep them in those conditions. i feel the 36 x 18 the 19 i have are now in is adequate for them as they are and once my fish house is built, they will be going in a 3 x 3 x 2 tank until they pair off.

like i said though mate, its down to your personaly preferance. I do intend to add a shoal of cardinals in with the discus when they are moved, cause they looked lovely all in the same tank together.

 

[Alex_]

Also forgot to add to not use carbon in your filters it leads to health problems later on

and also use as much filtartion as you can fit on your tank.

-Alex