discus in a 55G 4 foot tank ?

[melbfish20]

If i was to keep some discus in a 55g tank how long would i have unitl I needed to upgrade ?

I currently have some fish that are in a 85G aquarium that will be moved in the next few months to a larger tank.I will use the 85G to house 6 discus

do i need to wait unitl they go in the 85 G tank or will they be ok for up to 6 months in a 85 G if brought as small as possible?

cheers

[melbfish20]

by the way I am not a very artisitic/creative person so if anyone can reccomend 6 discus that will look awesome together i would love to hear it

[jestep]

6 in a 55 is tight, so you may be doing a lot of water changes, but you "can" put 6 in there. Also, if you are planning on purchasing juvenile discus, you will need to change water daily, and feed them about 5 times per day to prevent stunting. Many people recommend 100%+ water change per day. It's always best to purchase healthy adults as they are far easier to care for.

Artistic-wise, I would find a color pattern you like, and then buy the highest quality / healthiest discus you can find. You can mix and match, or do 3 of one type, 3 of another, or go all 6 of one strain. There's really no wrong way to go as long as you get healthy fish.

[melbfish20]

do you guys agree with the 15 Gallons per adult discus rule ?

secondly am i right in saying that discus are better of in taller tather than longer tanks ?

had a look at some discus today and i like the look of the pigeon bloods and blue turqs , so their is 2 that i can add to my list

[Lady Hobbs]

Mixed discus is nice but it's better if you plan to breed and sell them that you stick with one species so not to have color mutations and keep their blood line pure. That is if you can purchase them as pure. Many stores that have the cheaper discus have mixed bloods. Pure lines would probably have to come from a breeder.

If you're not picky and plan to sell them cheap, mixing will not matter.

[melbfish20]

just got an 85 G tank , is 6 discus too many ?

a number of people say that its best to get fully grown discus but this dosent sound appealing to me.Firstly their is the cost factor and secondly I get attatched to my fish so I want to be able to spend as much time with them as possible. the adult discus that i buy for the store could have only 1 or 2 years left

[melbfish20]

decided on 4 discus i like(excuse bad spelling) .Pigeon blood,blue turk,red leopard,yellow diamond.

any suggestionf for my final 2 ?

[jestep]

If you did buy juveniles, make sure you change the water a lot, and feed them as much as possible.

Most literature I've read attributes discus stunting to water quality. I've personally raised juveniles and have seen several others raise them several times.

At 50% water change per day, I haven't seen any stunting.

If you treat them like adults (say 50% per week), I've seen 100% stunting on an entire hatch.

[melbfish20]

is an RO unit needed for a discus tank ?

[SpyderSpy6]

There are many debates to whether a RO unit is beneficial in the aquarium hobby. I currently use one and have really good success with it.

What most people will tell you is that it kills organism's in the water that are beneficial to your aquarium. What most people don't realize is that just about every UV sterilizer on the market doesn't account for contact time. Meaning that the water flow is going to be going through the UV so quickly that it actually just becomes an algae zapper.

If you are doing a planted tank setup then I would recommend it for that reason. Do you really need one? No.

I like them because of how clear it keeps my water, and I hope that it rids any parasites or harmful bacteria... but like I said, I doubt there is enough contact time in it for that to be the case.

[Spardas]

RO is not needed in keeping discus but to have successful fertilization and hatch rate in discus, it's best to use RO or mix RO with tap.

RO is also needed for more sensitive wild discus like certain heckels if your water is too hard and the pH is too high.

[melbfish20]

is it true that with discus fish that the height of the tank is important more so than with most other fish ?

is a 6ft X18X18 100 G tank a good size for 6-8 ?

[melbfish20]

another question , how much personality do discus fish have ? as an oscer lover I prefer fish with some personality

[Spardas]

Your 100G is fine for 6-8. If you go with 6, you'll have room to add in schooling fishes in the tank. The discus will be more comfortable with some schooling fishes in the tank.

As for personality, they're in the cichlid family!!! :hmm3grin2orange:

[3dees]

100 gal is plenty. I have a 120 gal. (48x24x24) and have 8 wilds. I could have put more but I have 25 lemon tetras and there is still room If I want to add something. I see so many discus tanks with rummynose or cardinals so I wanted something a little different. the lemons school most of the time and are too large for the discus to dine on them. I think 6 would be great for your tank unless you want only discus. then maybe 8.

[melbfish20]

can someone please give me some suggestions on discus strains ? i know its a personal choice but their is just so many out their im having a hard time choosing

cheers

[Boo!!!!]

Hi Melbfish20

If this is your first Discus tank I would recommend go for the penguin blood they have been bred in captivity and that makes them a bit hardier and les expectable to diseases

They have been bred in higher ph and gh waters then the wilds and Heckles wish I personally believe must be kept in soft water to bring out the best in them

The penguins also come in an variety of colours

[Spardas]

Just be careful on your choice of pigeons. If you don't like heavy peppering, try to find certain pigeon crosses with less peppering. It's also a good idea to have a light to white colored bottom and background to help reduce the peppering. The bottom is more important than the background in term of effectiveness.

Since you're just starting out, don't get wild discus. Go for domesticated discus. There are so many varieties out there to choose from.

Here's a good link of different strains with pictures.

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[melbfish20]

was talking to my vet today who is a fish lover about getting discus and he told me that he has more sick discus fish taken to him than any other fish.I guess this just says that discus have a number needs that must be met and that they are not a beginers fish.

[Spardas]

They're not hard to keep but they require more work on your end. I find them much stronger than they're given credit for.

[melbfish20]

another question.How fast do discus grow if they are looked after well ?

[melbfish20]

my discus strains will be

pigeon blood
blue turq
red leopard snakeskin
some type of solid yellow , perhaps a gold milenium
blue diamond

can someone suggest a 6th discus that is not so common ? my choices so far are all common, would like something thats a bit rare

its a 120 G tank , all discus will be purchased as juveniles

thanks for the help

[Sandz]

I really like the look of the yellow face ica brown heckels. I think Spardas can correct me but all heckels are wild and not a perfect fit for a new discus experience. Also the white butterfly strains (search aquabid for pics) and the several "high fin" versions. Just my opinion.

[dbosman]

Read anything Jack Wattley has published, and take it to heart.
There is a reason for the massive and frequent water changes.
Adapt the fish to your water, not the water to the fish.
They will be healthier in the long run.
Your best source of discus will be a breeder. Period. No high end discus breeder would sell anything on most of the fish auction sites.

Join and participate in your local or reasonably local fish club(s).
Odds are someone there breeds, or keeps lots of, discus.

[WhiteDevil]

Jack wattley is one opinion on discus rearing.

if you want a nice fish that is uncommon, try luckytropicals, they have a strain called the mystique that is awesome.

its better to buy them bigger per the sellers because the bigger fish fetch alot more money then smaller ones do. I keep 20 discus in a 210g tank, RO water, 6.4 Ph heavily planted with lots of wood.

I prefer to buy them in the 2" range and grow them out, its all about water quality and quality of the foods they are eating.

Id get an RO unit only pending your tap water test results. the big advantage to an RO unit is the fact it produces PURE water with nothing in it.

the stock list you have sounds nice and I have atleast one of each of those strains.

I purchased my discus from 3 sources
windycitydiscus
discusmadness
hawaiidiscus

I was very uneasy ordering from jack wattley and a few other big name breeders due to their shadyness of answers and trying to beat around the bush on specific details I needed to set my tank and equipment up right.

You can have 6 2" fish in that 55g without an issue temperment wise, do atleast 25% pwc's every other day no more then 50% in a display aquarium, more then that will effect the BB and cause irregularities in the water quality thus possibly stunting the growth of the fish.
I grew 6 out in a 45H without any issues following the every other day PWC schedules, feeding top quality frozen,flake and live foods.

I do have a few breeding pairs in the tank and yes they will breed successfully if they are a TRUE pair in a community aquariums.