Thinking about discus...

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Mudslinger14

Candiru
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Jul 17, 2010
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I have a 125g tank that I'm not happy with.
I want to change it, but I'm having trouble deciding what to change it to...
I was thinking about a paludarium, but it seems complicated with my filter and tank as it is now...
So I may want to try discus :)

Just a few questions...
1. Will my pictus catfish work with them? He's not extremely active, but he does move around a lot on the bottom, and when he gets spooked he darts to the other side of the tank really fast...Would he be too boisterous for the discus?
2. What are some easy to care for mosses? I was thinking of getting some big driftwood pieces and attaching some moss to the top like leaves on a tree.
3. What type of lighting should I go for? I have just a standard florescent strip on the tank at the moment which makes a horrible yellow colour, so what would be a good low intensity light that could still sustain low light plants?
4. I was going to purchase adult discus, after I've cycled the water properly with some tetras that I'll be keeping as a small shoal :) I'm going to do water changes every other day (vacuuming the sand probably 20% water change each time...So that makes it 80% water change each week. Is that appropriate?
 
4. I was going to purchase adult discus, after I've cycled the water properly with some tetras that I'll be keeping as a small shoal I'm going to do water changes every other day (vacuuming the sand probably 20% water change each time...So that makes it 80% water change each week. Is that appropriate?

Can't answer this question until you tell us how many Discus you will be getting.

As for the other questions, I can't give you a very accurate answer so I'm not even gonna try lol.
 
Oh, and I was only going to get 6 or so discus.
 
i think ur pictus will be fine...Most Discus will not stay on the bottom or anything. They might spook a little if the pictus darts across the tank, so don't leave a hole for them to get spooked and jump or anything, but otherwise you should be fine.
 
Alright. That's just what I wanted to hear :D
 
four 20% wc's per week does not equel 80% water being changed. well, it does but not the way you may think. say you have 50ppm of nitrates. you do a 50% wc and your nitrates drop to 25ppm. now if you do another 50% wc you will have 12 or 13 ppm of nitrates evae though you changed 100% of the water. thats why it's better for discus tanks to do a large wc instead of more small ones. does that make sense? adult discus do not need many wc's like juvies. I have 8 adult wilds in my 120 gal. and do a 60-70% every 5 or 6 days. with 6 to 8 discus you can add a larger school of tetras. the larger the school the more they will school, and looks much better than a small school.
 
Ohhh alright..Gotcha gotcha. So 60% ish water change once a week maybe?

Also about the light question, I was thinking of a 48inch t5 fixture, so it will be placed in the middle of the tank, so it kind of leaves darker spots at the ends of the tank. Would this be alright for the discus? Since I know they don't like bright lights..
 
the lighting will be fine. discus are happy with low light. if your planning on adults, then 60% would be fine. you really won't know until the tank is running for a while. test your nitrates before a wc for a few weeks. that should tell you how much water to change and how often.
 
dont pictus catfish go to the top to feed if they havent eaten in a while? I think discus would do well with pictus as long as the pictus are well fed theyll do fine
 
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