55g Discus

[Charney]

So its been probably 15 years since I last bred discus, but I am getting that itch again to set up a discus show tank. How many adults can comfortably fit in a 55g planted? In the past I have only kept pairs in 50g for breeding. So I was thinking four would be good in a 55? Could I pull off five comfortably?

 

[3dees]

five will work with large wc's and good filtration. do you already have the tank? a 75 is about the same size and only a few dollars more.

 

[Charney]

I already have the tank and my 75 is going to house my baby wimpel piranhas. The piranha 75g has a wood stand. I am toying with the idea of getting another 75 with a double iron stand. Just worried that three 75g right next to each other on the first floor could be a little much. Feel a little better with the 75 and double 55g

 

[alexanian]

It's usually 10g per one discus, so 5 will do good

 

[arowanas lover]

how heavily planted is it? a 55 usually works for 5-6 discus depending on the decor. to say a 55 will house any amount of discus without knowing the planning of the decor is a wild guess.

as we all know a bare 55 holds more water and has more room than a fully decorated and super heavily planted 55

 

[Charney]

just in the planning stages now. probably medium planted.

 

[Aquanero]

5 in a 55 will work you're never going to have dinner plate size fish in there anyway unless you do daily 75% water changes and being practical that's never going to happen. 5 to 6" dia fish are a good size and is what can reasonalby be expected. Try sticking to some of the tank breed species that don't grow as large Yellow face Mellon, ghost nebulas, bulldogs off the top of my head don't grow as big as some of the snake skins for example. Use Vals (cork screw is nice) planted along the back wall of the tank they grow on runners so you can cut the runners and replant in open areas they also get tall so they will cover the top of the tank and difues some light, Discus love to swim through them.

 

[arowanas lover]

unless you do daily 75% water changes and being practical that's never going to happen.

speak for yourself i do daily 90% water change on all of my discus tank and 100%+ on my baby discuses

 

[Aquanero]

speak for yourself i do daily 90% water change on all of my discus tank and 100%+ on my baby discuses

That's great. In over 40 years of doing this I've long ago realized most can't or will not, that's the reality of the situation.

 

[arowanas lover]

That's great. In over 40 years of doing this I've long ago realized most can't or will not, that's the reality of the situation.

define most. you simply cant say they wont when you dont know them. 9/10 discus keepers where i am do wc every day and the other 1/10 do it every 2 days. so you can simply tell someone whether theyre going to or not since you dont know them.