Let's Discus Something ; )

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

Steveo McNello

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 30, 2010
2,009
2
53
SW Burbs of Chicago
Discus maintenance... who has any input?

I have read all of the stickies and posts, and just wondering if doing a 50% water change every other day is accurate/too much.

I'm debating whether I want to do discus, and want to be sure I'm ready for "the loads of extra work" that come along with them.

I have a planted 125. How many discus should I have?

Who has a working maintenance schedule?

Thanks guys!
 
If its planted dont get juvies, try to get some decent sized ones. You should be fine with atleast 8, probably more. 50% is just fine and its not extra work, i do 70-80% percent water changes 3 times a week and they love it.. Water changes depend on what filtration you have goin. I have a 120 with 13 discus in it but its bare bottom with a piece of drift wood. All my discus cruise and have a great time. Go for it man they are awesome fish. Snookn21 has awesome wilds and he may be updating his selection soon. So check those out and he has some decent sized ones and huge ones if your willing to spend the cash. So give that a look
 
What do you consider as decent size for getting my first ones? And what is the significance of plants and juvies? I have a 125 and not sure if my parents are cool with me using that much water.

I have an FX5 on my tank. Took off the HOB because it'll offgas my co2.
 
I got an fx-5 on my tank and made a spray bar for the return also and they dig that cause theres less current. 50% water changes would be just fine. I cant remember the exact reasoning behind havinga bare tank for juvies. I know they are fed way mare so clean up is easier and if they hide a lot and dont come out they may become stunted. im not an expert on that one. 3'' plus you should be fine. Just dont get any real small guys.
 
I have been debating about making a clear spray bar for my fx5 return regardless of what fish I decide to get. And all that info sounds good. Thank you very much!
 
if you get juvies, your gonna need to feed a lot and do water change once a day or every other day for best growth or your gonna stunt them. but if you get adults. you can do it once every week. in a 125 you can fit like 8-10 of them. i had 8 in my 135 and doesnt look overstock and it was in a planted tank. make sure you get them from a good source. simply discus forum has many good vendors over there that sells quality discus. get healthy ones and u will rarely run into problems. most of the time people get cheap ugly ones from the fish store and they think its nice ones and they start getting sick and people then think discus are hard to keep. in my opinion and my experience i treat my discus like any other fish. they're easy to keep..atleast to me.no special care for them.
 
Is the reason for the water changes to keep nitrates as close to 0 as possible, or is there some other reason? I maintain a planted 65g, and the nitrates are always 0 probably from the plants...curious if I can do discus in there, but I can only do weekly water changes.
 
nikond70s;4914451; said:
i treat my discus like any other fish. they're easy to keep..atleast to me.no special care for them.
Click to expand...

See that's what I was wondering... Is all of this extra special care really necessary? So far I have 1 vote no lol.
 
Water changes twice a week would be fine also. It really depends on your filtration. Cleaner water will help the fish grow at a faster rate and keep them in a healthier condition. My discus love to eat and i pretty much fed them all day. Probably five times a day. If you buy them from a reputable source you should be just fine. They arent hard fish to keep at all
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom