Stocking My New Tank - Discus?

[FreshwaterMike]

hi all, my first post.

i bought a 36"/18"/12" tank off ebay with stand, hood, lighting, pump, 2 heaters, a spare filter and a big tetratec ex1200 external filter all for £75!

So i'v had it setup and running for about 2 weeks. I'v got 2 long airstones in there across the back of the tank, 2 nice pieces of bogwood, 3 rocks and 8 nice plants. Everythings been running smoothly and the filter is doing a great job of keeping the water crystal clear. So after running it in for 2 weeks, today i got my first fish.

I decided to get 2 small, silver angel fish with dark grey bands.

Originally i wanted discus but after hearing about the high temperatures they need, dim lighting and limited tankmates i decided not to. But when in the shop today i asked the woman in there and she said they only really need warmer water when they are young and that shes had her discus fish in a community tank with normal level lighting and they've done fine and so have all the discus in the main display tanks.

I still really want discus and the woman in the shop has given me hope that they will be fine without me having to make any drastic changes to my tank/tank mates.

Now i know angel fish will do fine at up to 27C and i also know discus will do fine at a minimum of 26C. So i know discus will be ok with angel fish and catfish (which i plan to get)

So realistically is it ok to have discus in a community tank? All the fish i am keen on are of resonable size anyway so should they be a problem? Is it a good idea?

 

[Night_Market]

I'm not entirely sure, there is so much conflicting information on discus these days.

I'm not sure that the 'kid glove' treatment that some keep their discus is completely neccessary.

I know they are timid, but after all they don't receive the kind of clinical, solitary, and pampering in the wild that they seem to in some keepers tanks.

Do discus in the wild not come across other fish everyday?

 

[cheesy feet]

Lowering temps on discus makes them more suseptible to diseases.

 

[craigybaby37]

hey there ime also interested in gettin a pair of discus for my spare tank with a few cardinal tetras as tank mates. are the requirements to keep the discuc realy that bad...like what temp does the water need to be idealy?? what kind of lighting do they need i currently have an arcadia fresh water lamp rated at 7500k will this be ok??? and will they be ok in a planted tank???

many thanks

 

[cheesy feet]

hey there ime also interested in gettin a pair of discus for my spare tank with a few cardinal tetras as tank mates. are the requirements to keep the discuc realy that bad...like what temp does the water need to be idealy?? what kind of lighting do they need i currently have an arcadia fresh water lamp rated at 7500k will this be ok??? and will they be ok in a planted tank???

many thanks

What size is the tank, what filtration and what are your water specs.There the things you need to get soughted out first

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I don't know all the requirements for discus but I can tell you one thing that's for sure, all delicate fish (which includes discus) need a nice mature tank. i.e. one that's been running disease and problem free with perfect water stats for at least 6 months. So you've 6 months to read read read and then you can make your descisions if you should get them or not.

 

[PufferFishRule]

yep i to thought about discus for a long while! and still thinking an reading lol it doesnt stop...nothing outlasts the fish hobbyist....he keeps going an going

 

[FreshwaterMike]

I also read on simplydiscus.com that you can't you carbon in your filter as it can give them deseases?

So with temperature is it more a case of the other fish being able to survive the higher temps rather than vise vesa for the discus?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I also read on simplydiscus.com that you can't you carbon in your filter as it can give them deseases?

So with temperature is it more a case of the other fish being able to survive the higher temps rather than vise vesa for the discus?

there's links between carbon and hole in the head (hexamita) however I don't think it's ever been fully proven one way or another.

however carbon is not essential to filtration by any means, many people (myself included) don't run filters with it in. Basically it's function is to remove toxins from your water, it does this very well, for about 12 hrs after you put it in the filter then it can't take any more in and basically becomes inert and it's just another surface for bacteria to grow on. IMO it's only use is if you have an accident and knock something bad into the tank or after medicating when you want to remove the meds, you can then add some to the filter and take it out the day after. However water changes will work just as well to do so.

As it's not essential and having dealt with HITH myself I would not run the risk of having carbon in the filter just incase there is a real threat.

if you do get discus they should be the most important fish in the tank, you should tailor the water to they're requirements, then pick tankmates to suit those requirements.

 

[FreshwaterMike]

From my research the only suitable tankmates i'v come across are bristlenose catfish and angel fish.

What other fish do people keep with they're discus?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

a lot of people would say angelfish are a bad idea, they often carry diseases and parasites which while they are relatively harmless to angels and most community fish are lethal to discus.

bristlenose plecs are high waste producers for they're size so too many of them in a small tank could spell disaster for the discus as they like they're water pristine

are you starting to see why a lot of people keep discus alone

 

[FreshwaterMike]

I'v read that brstlenose catfish are the perfect tank mate for discus. It's looking like a daft idea keeping discus

 

[Miss Wiggle]

not nescessarily a daft idea, just one that's not to be undertaken lightly.

have a read of this topic which has also been on-going the last few days about discus, there's so many different opinions out there you just have to read read read and then make your own mind up what to believe

 

[FreshwaterMike]

Yeah i read that yesterday. Everybody has such different opinions on discus needs i don't know what to believe

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Truth is you will get different opinions when it comes to discus, you just need to put the time into researching them and eventually you will find the good advice out weighing the bad. These really are not fish you can just go out and buy with no research, they have specialist requirements and you need to provide for them.

absolutely correct

30 years ago discus were considered practically impossible to keep, however relatively recent advances in our understanding of aquariums and the products available to us have made it easier. However as things are moving on all the time you're unlikely to find any set answers and it can be confusing wading through loads of information which is often conflicting.

All the advice I can offer you is do your own research and take your time, while your tank is maturing you have plenty of time to learn, you'll soon get a feel for whose advice you can and can't take and you've got to make up your own mind.

good luck.

copied this from that post, was only put on today so you may not have seen it. think it's appropriate!