Questions About Keeping Discus

[Mr._Fishy]

don't take aggression well at all.

Mine beat the crap out of each other. I siphon scales out of my adult tank

I housed mine temporarily with a semi mature green terror because of a broken tank. It didn't go very well.The discus had just underwent a move so that could have been part of it. However, about 1.5 weeks after the move, once the gt was gone they appeared much less stressed. It probably wasn't a good idea to house them together but the tank with the gt was broken in the move.

EDIT: The discus in this case were not fully mature and I only kept them for about a year so I probably don't have as good of an opinion of their behavior as others.

Your correct, they won't stand a chance with any highly aggressive fish. I will just being a goof, but seriously, mine rip each other to shreds and like I said, I siphon out scales! They can get pretty nasty with each other!

Wow, I don't think I've ever had to siphon out scales of anything, even a mbuna tank. Or maybe I just never pay close enough attention.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

don't take aggression well at all.

Mine beat the crap out of each other. I siphon scales out of my adult tank

I housed mine temporarily with a semi mature green terror because of a broken tank. It didn't go very well.The discus had just underwent a move so that could have been part of it. However, about 1.5 weeks after the move, once the gt was gone they appeared much less stressed. It probably wasn't a good idea to house them together but the tank with the gt was broken in the move.

EDIT: The discus in this case were not fully mature and I only kept them for about a year so I probably don't have as good of an opinion of their behavior as others.

Your correct, they won't stand a chance with any highly aggressive fish. I will just being a goof, but seriously, mine rip each other to shreds and like I said, I siphon out scales! They can get pretty nasty with each other!

Wow, I don't think I've ever had to siphon out scales of anything, even a mbuna tank. Or maybe I just never pay close enough attention.

Their easier to see without gravel

 

[Ed Green]

So my questions:

1) If I get a 180L tank - how many discus can I expect to house? I would have a few other small fish in there.

2) PH - is something between 6.3-6.9 right? how do I lower/raise my ph?

3) Is water hardness an issue? How do I lower/raise this if necessary?

4) Is there anything I am missing unique to keeping Discus?

Hi Ed,

1. 180 litres puts you around 50 gallons, so you could fit 5 Discus into your set up.

2. What exactly is your pH? As another member mentioned adjusting pH is normally only needed in wild stock or German stock. Most Discus are bred in Asia, where the they keep the pH relatively high (extra minerals are great for growing Discus.) You probably won't have to worry about adjusting pH, and if your going to use pressurized C02 this will lower pH slightly anyways.

3. Water hardness can also be adjusted with R/O but again, should be alright.

4. Temperature should stay around 30C. Juveniles have a hard time growing in planted tanks, so you should be aiming at buying Discus 4" or larger. Other then that buy from a good source (breeders are normally far superior to LFS.)

don't take aggression well at all.

Mine beat the crap out of each other. I siphon scales out of my adult tank

You still need RO water for Discus

Are you ever correct?

Thanks a lot that was very helpful. I will find out my PH when I get home from work tonight. I live in the SouthWest (bristol). There are so many contradictory comments that its hard to know who is right. Appreciate your help!