How many discus for 45 gallon?

brich999

Jack Dempsey
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Jul 3, 2010
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dont buy 2 of those filters for a 45g. 800 gph will have all ur discus plastered against the glass, and 2, you can really only polish water with their filter inserts and cant run without carbon. they are horrible for bio but work well for mechanical, i have 3 on my 150g
 

ryansmith83

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May 2, 2008
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Never keep less than six discus in a tank unless they're a proven pair. Sometimes you can get away with four or five, but aggression still tends to be an issue. Discus have a hierarchical pecking order -- the aggression needs to be spread out among several individuals. Three fish is almost always a recipe for disaster. You have two scenarios that usually play out:

1. Two discus gang up on the most submissive fish, which stresses/kills it. Then you end up with two discus, and the now dominant fish will do the same to the new submissive fish.
2. One dominant fish will bully two submissive fish with the same results as scenario #1.

A 55 gallon would be the minimum, but a 75 would be more comfortable.

If you're going to invest in discus, I suggest doing a lot of research and getting your fish from a reputable breeder (either commercial or hobbyist) rather than the LFS, which are known to carry lower quality fish and which also could have been exposed to disease/parasites in centrally-filtered LFS systems. This is why most LFS do not offer a guarantee on them.
 

rook45

Fire Eel
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Jan 9, 2006
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I agree....got to get more than 3 (I made this mistake).
If you Get the small ones you can grow them out in the 45, BB without tank mates!
Do not get them from a LFS.
Keeping discus is simple. With juveniles temps around 86, feed them ALOT (a varied high protein diet), and probably one of the more important things DAILY WATER CHANGES!!!!!!!!
 

sgraf07

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 12, 2013
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i had 3 discus that i bought at about 3" in my 46 bow and agression wasnt too big of an issue. i was told by my lfs that a weekly 50% change was sufficient, and that proved to be accurate, as i kept them successfully in the 46 for about 6 months (i recently upgraded to a 60 gal). they've all grown to about 5" and are looking better every day. im not sure if i just beat the odds, but 3 discus with two 50% changes a week in your tank sounds perfectly fine to me! just plan on a future tank upgrade.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

Aquanero

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Feb 16, 2009
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A 45 gallon tank is not a great Discus tank unless your going to keep a breeding pair of adult fish. Solo.
 

moneygetter1

Candiru
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Nov 2, 2005
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:popcorn: Agree w/ most of the others. Your odds for success will be greatly increased if you choose a larger tank (55g +) & a larger group (5 or better). Starting size is all about how much work you wanna put in. The reason 4,5 & 6in discus are so expensive is because somebody else put in all the work to get them to that size. Research, Research, Research, Research & then more Research will give you a better grasp of the do's & dont's when it comes to discus. Not trying to scare you off, just trying to let you know that planning, preparation & purpose go a long way in helping you to be successful. Think about it. "T"
 

lennym

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 7, 2013
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devon
yeah, a pair would be good, if it will be your show tank i suggest filling with plants and you coul keep your stocklist and potentially an angel although there is some debate in this.
 
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