discus questions

[neonmadness]

i want to set up a 55g discus tank, and had a few quick questions on keeping them. My plan is a planted tank with four discus which ill be buying as juvies, and a small school of 12 tetras and 12 cories (this stock sound good?). For filtration ill be using a 26g sump. For my water change schedule im planning to do 30% every other day, which leads to my first question, will this be sufficient or should i do more, and how should the schedule differ once they are adults? My second question is will three feedings daily consisting of two meals of bloodworms and a meal of pellets be sufficient? My third question is, is buying discus online a good idea, and if so which dealers would you recommend? thanks in advance for any help and advice

 

[BaTsBR]

well, I would not put the tetras, at least for now.
leave the discus only with corydoras (I guess 10 is ok, which species ??)
for W/C if you can, 30% a week, and clean the bottom every other day (just to take out the dirt) A lot of water changes may be good, but changing too much water (in short periods of time) may stress them.
Once they get along fine with your hand in the tank, it's fine. and fun.

 

[neonmadness]

i thought as little as 30% a week could lead to stunting? could i do more if i filled and drained the tank at the same time as to keep a constant water level which might not stress the fish as much? and should i not add the tetras to reduce bioload? as for the corys im not sure which species, was thinking a mix of a few different ones.

 

[Bderick67]

Stick wit the 30% every other day especially with juvies. Plants are likely not going to do well in this setup.

 

[neonmadness]

thanks for the input bderick, why wont the plants do well? not enough nutrients with the water changes? if so ill gladly hold off on them, will they do well once the discus are grown and my water change schedule is more lenient? btw, your discus setup is stunning!

 

[SusieQ]

Hi there... Great to see you are interested in starting with discus. I can strongly recommend you do a lot of research first. While the folks on this forum are great so are those on SimplyDiscus which specializes in discus. Alot of knowledge on both sites. I also recommend the Simply sponsers if you are going to buy fish on line. Don't know where you live but if you can drive to a breeder within a few hours thats best as you can pick out the fish you like.
Basically, discus are fantastic fish. They are much hardier than most folks think but they do require more care than your average tropical. They need warmer temps (about 83 or higher) and above all very clean water (lots of water changes).. As the discus mature, they become less sensitive to conditions, get fed less and less water changes are fine, but clean water is always a must. They seem to smile back at you after a water change like they are thanking you.
As you would expect, everyone has their own ideas as to what works best in growing discus. That said IMO usually it is best to grow out juvies in a nonplanted tank until they are about 4+ inches before putting them in a planted tank situation. At this young age they need lots of feedings and very clean water. This is much easier to control in a bare bottom tank. Also because of the many water changes required in the beginning while they are young and eating so often, plants usually don't do so well. You can usually have success in a tank with a thin layer of sand and maybe a piece of driftwood with anubias tied on or plants in pots. That way its not so sterile looking if it's a display tank and it's still easy to clean.
Alot depends what you are going for. If you want them to be the biggest, best they can be than patience is the way to go and either start bare bottom or with adult fish. If you just want good looking fish for a display tank then know that they may not reach their full potential if put in a planted tank as juvies.
Either way, they like to be in groups. 6 or more is ideal. And if possible, if you don't have your tank yet, I would go with a 75 instead of the 55. And if possible get the discus all at the same time from the same source. Whatever you decide to add to their tank... quarantine, quarantine, quarantine. Even if its other discus. The quickest way to lose discus is to not qt.
Hope I didn't babble on too much. Keeping discus is a great experience and you should go for it just be aware of their needs. HTH Sue

 

[StewHawke]

Don't trust me.

But I am planning a similar setup.

My idea that I have reasearched is to plant the tank AND AGE THE WATER. iT'S A 4FT TANK AND i HAVE ADDED SOME cYCLE BUT NO FISH YET(done)

Sorry to shout. I won't do it again.

But anyway I plan to add some Tetras, Neons, Cardinals. And some none aggresive catfish, for bottom cleaaning. Some Rams. Failry tame.

Then after much water testing to ensure a stable soft water nice warm tank (about 29C). With good Bio filtering as well as all other problems solved.

I thought maybe then I could put about 6 medium siize discus in there and I should get away with it. Not to big (cost to much and might die) Not to small (cheap but proably will die). But just medium size and see how they go.

I expect it to take some work. But a nice tank with nice fish? I think it's worth the effort.

But I wouldn't spend that much money on fish in an un tested to be stable tank. Discus cost a lot of money and they do die.

I plan to run it up first and put the Discus in last.

Other opinons may vary but my plan seems good to me. I have a fairly big tank (4ft) with no fish in it so far.

Maybe I'll go for Oscars instead or even put a stack of salt in it and do marine. Or 2000 Guppies or Africans. Or maybe all of them might be intersting for an afternoon. I'm kidding. The Guppies would just eat the other guys. Or Not.

I dunno yet.

But that's my plan if I go Discus. Nice fish.

Hawke