Discus...Boring or Not?

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The idea of overstocking your discus in tanks longer then 6 feet goes hand in hand with needing to perform water changes - discus are prone to parasites and infection to begin with and require above average water quality.

If your tank is under 6 feet long then generally you should go a bit more sparingly with how many you stock, but when you get into the 120 gallon + tanks you can really go all out with larger numbers.

I would never recommend anyone keep fewer then 6 discus in a tank and ideally 8+ with the exception of breeding pairs.

It's really all a matter of opinion, but I've dumped a lot of money into these fish through trial and error back when there wasn't a lot of information on the internet readily available - and I've found that unlike most CA/SA cichlids the more the merrier with these fish.

They very rarely get violent enough to kill eachother, inducing high numbers merely promotes a healthier environment all around, the dominate discus have more trouble setting up territories.

Similar to a tropheus tank.
 
WyldFya;1481686; said:
A tank that big with that few discus, will generally result in stunted discus. Discus can stunt by poor water parameters, and not enough, or poor quality of food. However, they also stunt from burning off too many calories.

I'd recommend at least 18, but you could pretty easily do more, if you setup the tank with auto water changers, or just water change very regularly.
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Okay, so I am not a millionaire to fork out all the money for 18 Discus. At most I can start out with 5-6 and add more gradually (when I have some extra money). So you are saying that until I work my way up to 18 Discus, they will be stunted? If so, I might as well forget the whole idea.
 
I think you'll be OK. Feed the heck out of them and keep the water clean. I'm almost ready to add a few discus to my old 240 gal. myself. Probably add 8 or so 4 inchers at first, and then a few more later.
 
Hi Sledge760,

I am new to this forum, have been keeping discus for about 12 years and breeding them 3 1/2.

If you are interested in keeping discus I would suggest going to a forum that specialises in discus (www.simplydiscus.com).

Discus do become stunted if the water quality is poor and not feed right , they are fussier than other fish regarding water quality. Personally I do daily WC my grow out tanks and in my display tank and tanks with larger discus every second day. Once Mature you can get away with 2 big WC a week depending on the boi load in your tank.

Oh and I don't think discus are boring, especially in large groups.

Cheers:)
 
Valkyrie;1486701; said:
Hi Sledge760,

I am new to this forum, have been keeping discus for about 12 years and breeding them 3 1/2.

If you are interested in keeping discus I would suggest going to a forum that specialises in discus (www.simplydiscus.com).

Discus do become stunted if the water quality is poor and not feed right , they are fussier than other fish regarding water quality. Personally I do daily WC my grow out tanks and in my display tank and tanks with larger discus every second day. Once Mature you can get away with 2 big WC a week depending on the boi load in your tank.

Oh and I don't think discus are boring, especially in large groups.

Cheers:)
Click to expand...

Thanks. I joined simplydiscus.com last week. I have been reading through their forum's. Good stuff.
 
I keep 18 discus in a 100 gallon setup. They all do just fine. I actually had 2 pairs spawning in the tank at the same time. That got a little interesting. The tank is 30 inches tall and they use all of the vertical space with the dominant fish at the top. Many of the fish have quite distinctive personalities. I would say that discus are more toward the "graceful" end of the behavior spectrum, but that doesn't mean that they aren't fun to watch. If any of them pair off, its really cool to watch the breeding process. Another thing is that they watch you. The tank is next to the couch and I will look up to a wall of fish all staring at me.

If you want to see how they react when its time to eat here is a video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTF5qX_dNxg
 
figured out with this pic of my thank fish
42.jpg
 
Ive have been wondering the same question.

I have wanted to start a Discus tank for many years. But have never pulled the trigger because of a few reasons. Cost, Water Quality Myths, and hearing people talk about Discus being boring after a while.

good discusion though. i think i may need to setup a smaller tank just to try them out. Before I swap out my current stocking in my 140Gallon for these guys. :)
 
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