Some Questions for the Experts....

[thecoolguy]

so i have decided to take the discus plunge - following is the setup/plan, and of course, some questions.....

setup:

265gal 7x2.5x2 tank - black on 3 sides

3 Fluval FX5's for filtration

gravel bottom with malaysian driftwood and fake plants only

stocking plan:

20-30 assorted discus - 2.5"-5"

100-200 dither fish - including various tetras,cory cats, algae eaters


now, the plan and questions:

i know that discus like frequent water changes - but given the tank size/stocking/filtration for this setup - will 2 x 30-40% water changes weekly be enough? or even 1 50% weekly?

as for feeding - ill be mixing live with dry 2 x a day at most

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

Discus like calm waters, FYI.

To grow the discus out to maximum size you need to perform daily water changes - if you don't mind having discus that are healthy but not AAA in size then 2x of 40% should be fine.

I would suggest, down the line, setting up some sort of drip system on that tank so that it's in a constant state of water change.

A 2:2:1 mixture of trimmed beef heart, krill and some sort of seaweed/kelp supplement (Ocean Nutrition flake food) blended and then frozen will make your discus grow VERY fast.

Pick off small bits and feed in small amounts to ensure all of it gets eatin', or it will foul the tanks water parameters. It takes a bit more time each day to feed the fish like this, but the results are fantastic.

You can also add tetramin colorbits to enhance red and orange colors in the discus, but the krill does a nice job of that too.

 

[2sybs]

Black on 3 sides is not the ideal for a discus tank, A lighter color or even white will bring out the colors of the discus. They tend to darken with the darker background.
Feeding juvies only twice a day is not so good either, if it is a time issue an auto feeder would help.
Also you might consider doing WCs at least every other day a the min.
Ray