Low maintenance discus....

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carcinoma

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 6, 2005
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I am considering starting a discus tank. I would like to start a 135g tank with plants and other tankmates, ie cories, angels, etc.
I've read that small juvie discus are recommended barebottom tanks and require several feedings/day and daily water changes. This definetly won't work for my plans with the 135g.

My question is: Is there a minimum size, where the discus is large enough so that they are fed just a couple of times/day and water changes can be performed only twice/week?

Thanks!
 
The discus I got are slightly bigger than golf balls. I would start at this size since they're not as fragile and doesn't require feeding all day. I wouldn't recommend getting anything smaller than a golf ball size. I'm only doing a 30% weekly waterchange using tap water and they're completely ok with it. As long as you have good filtration then doing weekly waterchanges can get you by.

I think the key to discus is to minimize the stress during acclimation to the tank and buy from a good breeder locally. It's easier to get them to adjust to your water when it's coming from a local seller. This process can take them 48 hours to adjust. Plus not all angels will tolerate sharing tank with discus. I was lucky enough to have a batch of wild angels that hardly ever bother the discus. I have had domestic angels before and they would be way too mean to share a tank with discus. Bro, if you can keep altums alive then I'm sure discus wouldn't be a problem for you. Oh ya, buy them all at once so it's easier to get the acclimation done once.
 
I've got 4 Discus (4" or so), 6 Geophagus babies (3"), a 6" s.leucosticta (aka Jurupari), 5 Glass Catfish and a black veiltail Angelfish in a 150 g (4'x2'x30" tall). They're fed 1-2 times a day and get a weekly 50% water change, nitrates never get above 10 ppm, temp at 81 degres & all are doing wonderful. 2 of the Discus breed constantly but still end up eating the eggs, I think they're just too young. If it matters I have hard water (kh 14 pH 8). Discus aren't as hard as their reputation would lead you to believe. After all they're Cichlids and Cichlids are pretty resilient.
Edit: I've got sand at the bottom, barebottom tanks are too extreme for my tastes.
 
FishGoneWild;2403459; said:
The discus I got are slightly bigger than golf balls. I would start at this size since they're not as fragile and doesn't require feeding all day. I wouldn't recommend getting anything smaller than a golf ball size. I'm only doing a 30% weekly waterchange using tap water and they're completely ok with it. As long as you have good filtration then doing weekly waterchanges can get you by.

I think the key to discus is to minimize the stress during acclimation to the tank and buy from a good breeder locally. It's easier to get them to adjust to your water when it's coming from a local seller. This process can take them 48 hours to adjust. Plus not all angels will tolerate sharing tank with discus. I was lucky enough to have a batch of wild angels that hardly ever bother the discus. I have had domestic angels before and they would be way too mean to share a tank with discus. Bro, if you can keep altums alive then I'm sure discus wouldn't be a problem for you. Oh ya, buy them all at once so it's easier to get the acclimation done once.
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FGW, at golf ball size, do they eat aggressively with their other tankmates? At this size, are they big enough to compete and not get stunted?
 
TwistedPenguin;2403461; said:
I've got 4 Discus (4" or so), 6 Geophagus babies (3"), a 6" s.leucosticta (aka Jurupari), 5 Glass Catfish and a black veiltail Angelfish in a 150 g (4'x2'x30" tall). They're fed 1-2 times a day and get a weekly 50% water change, nitrates never get above 10 ppm, temp at 81 degres & all are doing wonderful. 2 of the Discus breed constantly but still end up eating the eggs, I think they're just too young. If it matters I have hard water (kh 14 pH 8). Discus aren't as hard as their reputation would lead you to believe. After all they're Cichlids and Cichlids are pretty resilient.
Edit: I've got sand at the bottom, barebottom tanks are too extreme for my tastes.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I want to do. 1-2 feedings/day and just weekly water changes. So yours are 4" inches. That's not too bad. I was worried I had to spend a load of cash on large 5-6" specimens...
 
carcinoma;2403502; said:
FGW, at golf ball size, do they eat aggressively with their other tankmates? At this size, are they big enough to compete and not get stunted?
Click to expand...
Discus actually do not like to compete for food since they do not eat aggressive. Their eating habits are similiar to bichirs. They are very SLOW eaters and usually eat food from the middle to the bottom of the tank. They have gotten used to my bichirs and do not shy away from my bichirs. Some of my bichirs are 12.5" yet they'll still eat knowing that they are surrounded by beasts.:) Angelfish will eat from all level of the tanks and they usually start at the top then move their way to the tank bottom. Angels are the most aggressive eaters in my tank and will go to the spot of the tank that has food. One of my golf ball size discus actually chase my largest angel away once. That angel was 3x the discus size.:WHOA: That was the first time I've witnessed any discus aggression. Oh ya, discus do better in group of 4 or more.
 
I have heard that you should not mix alngels and discus, so you might want to look into you tank mates alittle closer.
 
snaggle;2403737; said:
I have heard that you should not mix alngels and discus, so you might want to look into you tank mates alittle closer.
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Yes and no. In the wild, both cichlids exist together. The problem is tanks are closed ecosystems so space is always the issue. As long as the tank has a wide area and the discus already established well in the tank, they can stand their ground well. The other issue is diseases and immunity. Angels are more immune to pathogens than discus are so this is kinda the main problem often faced although if quarantined, there shouldn't be much trouble at all. I've done this before and isolate any pair that are about to spawn. Angels are not difficult to condition to spawn at all.
 
carcinoma;2403508; said:
That's exactly what I want to do. 1-2 feedings/day and just weekly water changes. So yours are 4" inches. That's not too bad. I was worried I had to spend a load of cash on large 5-6" specimens...
Click to expand...

I ordered mine online at Rocky Mountain Discus 4-5 months ago, they were right around $50 each. The smallest was 2" then and the biggest was 3 1/2" (as far as I remember). Now they range from 3 1/2" to 5 1/2" (4" was average). $50 is a typical price online. I'd definintely order that way because you know the fish have only been there at the breeders place, not shipped from who-knows-where and mixed with who-knows-what-other-Discus at a fish shop.
 
i do crazy water changes everyday about 15-20 percent high temps and double filter and feed them two - three times a day so they can grow faster. mines are small but for the past two weeks they grow in size until they are a good size then ill change water every week about 20 percent
 
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