How many discus for 45 gallon?

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Skittle

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 26, 2012
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Ive never had discus before mainly because their so expensive. At my lfs they cost $50 for a 2-3" discus. Ive always loved their coloration but besides the money, my lfs has no 5 day garuntee on them like they do most other fish. What has always scared me is $50 goin strait down the pipes. Anyway i was wonderin the amount of them i could keep in a 45 gallon tank. Tryin to switch my filters to 2 aqueon 55/75. I just think that the decor i have rite now would make it great for discus, so if i wanted a BN pleco, some cory cats, a small school of rummy nose tetras, how many discus should i get?


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If you are going to get into discus, stay away from the smaller ones. You are better off starting with 4-5" fish. Discus require lots of water changes. If you are not willing to do them, don't get discus. I wouldn't put more than 3 discus in a 45 gallon tank. They are going to grow.
 
it depend on how much water you can change per week. Anyway, I do agreed with Joe that for beginner, it good to start with sub-adult size discus since the smaller they are, the more water change you will need to do per week to keep them grow for you. Also, if you plan to run HOB filter, make sure to pull out the carbon and only keep the sponges inside but best to go with sponge filter and bare bottom for the size you mentioned above.

Also, if you can, get yourself a 75g then you can keep 6 discus.

good luck
 
Thanks for helpful replies guys, since this would be my show tank id prefer not to go bare bottom, but ill figure that out. Id try to do 2 50% water changes a week


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I'd check the parameters of your water change water as well that way you can see what's going into your tank when doing a water change. If your water is at 40ppm Nate then your never gonna get it below that level. If that's the case consider using a nitrate removal pad and a phosphate removal pad as well a carbon in your filter.

Keep a close eye on your perameters as discus require higher protein foods the water can mess up in a very short period of time. This will help you know what water changes to do and when to do them.


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Skittle said:
How does this stock list sound?
3 discus
10-15 rummy nose or neon tetras
2 bn plecos
And either a raphael cat or 6 or so cories


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Click to expand...
The fact that you want other fish and your water change schedule is almost a recipe for disaster in this size of tank unless you just stick with an adult pair. More than two in this setup is a bad idea imo.
 
TNT77 said:
The fact that you want other fish and your water change schedule is almost a recipe for disaster in this size of tank unless you just stick with an adult pair. More than two in this setup is a bad idea imo.
Click to expand...

I agree totally. If you start with 3 subadults and they grow and two of them turn out to be males, they will continue to fight between them. Discus are a schooling fish so you would want to not keep them less than 6 unless you have breeding pairs.
 
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