Hello, I want to know everything about discus. How many can I have in a 65 gallon tank? How the tank should be set up? What to feed them? And also,, breeding them. Advice is GREATLY appreciated.
Help With Discus Fish.
- Thread starter RiverMonsterFisher
- Start date
Theres a lot of info that the Discus forum lacks.
5 adults can fit comfortably in a 65 gallon, with no other tank mates. As a general rule, 10 gallons per Discus should be followed but 5 in a 65 is the right amount. Discus should not be kept in groups smaller than 5.
How should the tank set up be? Well, if you're raising juvies. Bare bottom. They need water changes everyday. If you don't, you run the risk of stunting them. If you're new to Discus, I suggest getting adult Discus. They're more expensive than Juvies, but they're "less work" if you will.
As for food, Juvies need to eat a lot to grow fast. Adults don't eat as much. Feed them high quality pellets such as NLS. Many Discus enthusiast feed their fish blackworms, bloodworms, beef heart etc. I say skip the beef heart. It won't be good for them in the long run.
Do not worry about ph when keeping Discus. As long as your ph is stable, they will be fine. When doing water changes, make sure the ph is the same coming out of the tap as it is in your tank. If there is a difference, age the water in a barrel with a heater and air pump. As for breeding, buying a large group and waiting till they pair off is best. If you want to go the more expensive route, you could go buy a confirmed pair. When breeding, its best to keep them in a bare bottom tank. When breeding, you should check if the TDS levels. I'm not sure what the specific TDS level should be but you could always find out googling it. Anyway, TDS stands for total dissolved solids I believe. If the tds levels are too high, then the Discus eggs won't hatch due to hardening of the Discus egg. If your TDS levels are too high.. Using RO water is the way to go.
When rearing Discus fry, its best to raise them in regular tap water and not RO water since they grow a lot faster in regular tap water. I hope my info is correct lol. Hopefully if its not, someone can correct me.
good info from water. my advice is to forget about breeding until you can keep them healthy for a while. look in simplydiscus.com for all the info you will ever need about these amazing fish.
My advice. I am no expert, but here's my advice for what its worth:
1. start with healthy stock.
2. feed high quality food.
3. Maintain low stocking levels
4. Use a bare bottomed tank.
5. Use warmer water than typical.
6. Over filter.
7. Over water change (I would do 50 per cent every other day.)
1. start with healthy stock.
2. feed high quality food.
3. Maintain low stocking levels
4. Use a bare bottomed tank.
5. Use warmer water than typical.
6. Over filter.
7. Over water change (I would do 50 per cent every other day.)
I don't think there is such a thing as a beginner Discus to be honest. Cost will depend, but i haven't seen them for cheap anywhere.
Theres a ton of different designer Discus. Pigeon bloods, Blue Diamonds, Red Melons. They're all the same, but Domesticated designer Discus will be a bit easier to take care of than wilds.. Since you're a beginner, don't get wilds lol. Start off with a healthy stock. Go to simplydiscus.com and check out the threads on how to determine if a Discus is stunted.. Take pics of the fish before buying them and post it on that site.. The price usually varies since theres different variants. But if you're going to buy 6"+ Discus, Expect to pay about 120+ for each. The smaller you go, the cheaper they are. Don't go cheap though. Go for as much as you can afford and start off with HEALTHY stock. Do not buy sick/stunted ones, unless you feel sorry for them and want to give them a good home.(Waste of money IMO)