Discus,hard to keep?
- Thread starter piggy67
- Start date
I am by no means an expert, but I have found that as long as u set up the tank right from the begining and pay attention to what you are doing, they are not much harder, if any, than say angel fish....I currently have mine in a 125 with angels, geo's, severums, and a few other misc. Just make sure ur tank is set up to the correct params before u add them, remember that discus prefer their water a little warmer than most also. Pay attention to how they all behave once you add the new discus. My fish are apparently not very tolerant of baby angels, but fine with baby discus, so u just gotta pay attention a little more with discus, but no reason to be scared of them....
agree with those above. Make sure you get an adult and good quality discus 'cause jr discus requires more works. As far as tank mates, i am not familiar with those ones you have, but i'm thinking to add Geo Orange/RedHead to my display tank. let me know how they do.
Good Luck!!!
Good Luck!!!
^why wouldn't you recommend Geo's? Just curious cause I have 4 in with my 11 Discus and have had no issues to speak of so far...wondering if there is something that I should be watching for?
discus are NOT hard to keep. you hear all these people saying they are hard to keep is because they most likely didnt get them from a good source. one important thing is getting discus from a good source that has nice healthy discus. get them from a good source and your already a big step ahead. when i had discus i treat them like any other fish. feed good food and water change once a week. never had a problem. only time discus are high maintenance is when they are young. thats when you gotta feed a lot and do a lot of water changes.
Discus require lots of maintenance. I have bred and kept them for over 20 yrs now. I do not keep mine with anything other than a few corys and maybe some Cardinal or Neon Tetras. Water temps are usually higher for them and they normally don't like alot of rapid movers as tankmates. Water changes are a must regularly. If you do add, add a minimum of 3 to your tank. If you have the room 5 is an ideal number. Good luck.
Start with adults. Four is the absolute minimum I would do, but six is best. Three fish opens the door to a couple of scenarios. A) One dominant fish picks on two submissive fish until the submissive fish get stressed out and sick. B) Two dominant fish pick on one submissive fish until it gets stressed and sick, then one of the dominant fish becomes the new submissive fish, etc. Discus pecking orders are a complex thing, but basically the more fish you have, the better chance that the aggression will be spread around more evenly.
When you say things like, "I want to keep discus with geos and severums," there is no definite answer. It really depends on the temperament of the severums and the type of Geos. A lot of discus keepers have orange heads with their discus. Smaller, more peaceful geos like G. parnaibae would work as well. I've also kept severums with my discus but that has mixed results. Sometimes you get a peaceful severum, and sometimes you get a severum that learns it can push the discus around (especially at feeding time) and they take advantage of that.
Another thing to consider is tank size. Six adult discus will do best in about 75 gallons. You could get away with 55 to 60 gallons if there are no other tankmates and you're doing large water changes, but a 75 would be best. Add in a group of geos and severums, and you'll need at least a 125 IMO, maybe even bigger. This is assuming you keep the geos in groups like the discus, which is usually how they fare best.
Adult discus need to be kept warm, 84F or so, no lower than 82F. This shouldn't be a problem. Most of the SA tanks in my house are kept at 82F. The most important thing you can do is make sure to provide them with adequate water changes (if the tank is moderately stocked you can get away with one big one a week) and make sure they're getting enough to eat. Discus tend to like to pick at their food and forage after feeding time. Geos and severums will not usually let food stick around long enough for that to happen.
When you say things like, "I want to keep discus with geos and severums," there is no definite answer. It really depends on the temperament of the severums and the type of Geos. A lot of discus keepers have orange heads with their discus. Smaller, more peaceful geos like G. parnaibae would work as well. I've also kept severums with my discus but that has mixed results. Sometimes you get a peaceful severum, and sometimes you get a severum that learns it can push the discus around (especially at feeding time) and they take advantage of that.
Another thing to consider is tank size. Six adult discus will do best in about 75 gallons. You could get away with 55 to 60 gallons if there are no other tankmates and you're doing large water changes, but a 75 would be best. Add in a group of geos and severums, and you'll need at least a 125 IMO, maybe even bigger. This is assuming you keep the geos in groups like the discus, which is usually how they fare best.
Adult discus need to be kept warm, 84F or so, no lower than 82F. This shouldn't be a problem. Most of the SA tanks in my house are kept at 82F. The most important thing you can do is make sure to provide them with adequate water changes (if the tank is moderately stocked you can get away with one big one a week) and make sure they're getting enough to eat. Discus tend to like to pick at their food and forage after feeding time. Geos and severums will not usually let food stick around long enough for that to happen.
usually 1 fish per 10 gallons is a pretty good guide for discus keeping, with a minimum of 6 discus together as they do not do well in smaller numbers. The main thing in keeping them is to have good water conditions which mean lots of water changes. I have had discus for 2 years now and no problems. I have lost only one due to leaving the tank lid up and it jumped out of the tank. So if your water ph levels are stable, you should have no problems