Some newbie Discus questions

[skillzdatkillz]

I have gotten the ok to get another tank for the house and I was planning on a 55 planted discus setups. This is goin to be a show tank and will be in a place that everyone will see it. How many discus can I have in a 55? Ive heard that planted tanks arent very good for discus, why not? I was thinkin about getting some in the 2-2.5 inch range are these babys or subadults?

I was going to filter with an eheim 2217, I think it should be enough by itself. My tap water ph is 7.8 so I was thinking about running almond tree leaves in my canister which will give the water an darkish amazon tinge and lower ph to around 6.5.

Also does anyone have experience with ordering discus from TFD?

Sorry for all the questions, just tryin to soak up as much info as possible.

 

[Dkarc]

A 55 is a good size for a discus tank. Reason why discus dont do as well in a planted tank rather than a bare bottom tank is because of the water quality discus need. They need frequent water changes. Daily water changes are always recommended, but not practical for most people. You can get by with weekly water changesof say 30-50% with ease, as long as the tank is light stocked and has adequate filtration (wet/dry filters work wonders). As far as how many discus to put in there, I would go with no more than 6 (keeping with the 1 fish per 10 gallon rule). The 2-2.5" fish are just babies....which are not recommended when going into a planted tank. Reasons being are that younger discus will stunt out and not do as well as older, larger discus in a planted tank. If you are serious about a planted discus tank, then I highly recommend you get sub-adult or even full adult discus....yes they cost a considerable amount more, but you will have an easier time with them. Plus, adult discus are not nearly as picky about water conditions as smaller ones are.

Discus will do absolutely perfectly fine in your water...right from the tap. They will thrive. Do not worry so much about pH and hardness with discus as they can and will adapt to nearly any pH range. Water quality is what you should be thinking about instead. To maintain good water quality, do water changes frequently and clean your filters regularly.

As far as buying from TFD....sorry, cant help you there....I only breed discus. Only time I buy discus is when I import them for my own breeding stock.

-Ryan
Orlando Discus

 

[AlanSousa]

i agree with dkarc as far as getting older discus because they are tolerant. However, I would put those leaves or some granular peat in your eheim to improve water conditions, and if you want to do a planted tank, put less carbon in the filter than recommended, or no carbon at all. also plants tend to like softer water, so consider ion-exchange resins or RO, and a carbon diffuser, even if its just a 2L coke bottle sugar yeast DIY project. and in my experience, in my 55g i have gotten away very well since the tank is planted doing 5gal water changes twice a week.

as a last thought i work at a pet store and when people think of getting discus i usually recommend getting them in groups. it works out well. 2 groups of 3 would be my advice if you want 6 like dkarc suggested. and get them pre-adult so they bond.

 

[RedestWing]

I agree with both above.....With a 55 Myself I would do no more than five Discus and get them all at same time. Your water will be fine unless you are tryin to spawn the fish. As for Planted tank...... well that a VERY touchy subject when it comes to Disucs..... I have had many fights with people cause sum think BB tanks are the only way to go while sum feel Planted is only way to go. Just IMO, I have never had a problem with Planted tanks and Juvi's.....fish always grew out very nice and big. We all have our own experiences tho

 

[Tomlee87]