Goin with Discus

[Surfdog]

I am setting up my 24G Cube for a pair of Discus, male & female, nothing else. I am going with the Symphysodon aequifasciata haraldi - Blue Discus.
I am using EHIEM TORE pellets (filter peat moss) to drop my Ph naturaly. I am shooting for 6.0 to 6.3Ph at 82F, my KH is 1 (or less) and GH is 1 (or less).
The tank has a 2" layer of course black sand, the sand was stirred hourly and the tank has been on a diatom filter for 2 days while the sand was stirred. The water is pure. It has been on it's fishless cycle for over a week, going very quickly thanks to overstocked filter (EHEIM substrate) on my other FW tank as well as pure ammonia on hand. I have read the stickey's and look forward to this new project, as always made easier thanks to this forum!

:22:

[genocidex]

you shouldnt be posting things like this without pics how dare you!!!!

lol good luck with them XD

[Meecrow]

I don't think your plants and other fish will do well at 88 degrees. You may want to get a separate tank for the fish that is not eating.

[Lady Hobbs]

I don't think your plants and other fish will do well at 88 degrees. You may want to get a separate tank for the fish that is not eating.

Meecaw.......not sure what you are referring to. He said his temp is 82, not 88 and he says he plans to keep Discus alone, not with other fish. And he said nothing about plants or about a fish not eating. ........what post are you referring to?

Surfdog.....24 gallon is very small for Discus. And because you buy a male and female does not mean they will form a pair. Honestly I would look for a fish more suitable in size for Discus.

[ScottishFish]

I am currently doing research on discus for myself and it has become aparent that a 29g is the minimum tank size for one discus. Also as they are cichlids it is highly advised to get 6 or 8 to start with, this allows for pairing to occur, 1m and 1f isn't gona happen, one may hassle the other and cause stress, and as you know discus aren't really a fish you want to stress out. Sorry buddy if I've kinda rained on your parade here, but don't want you spending alota cash on discus for it to go wrong.

[Cermet]

I know that some claim that they can figure out a male vs. female but many say you can't. That said, who cares if you (general you, not you!) can? Discus, unless you treat with powerful hormones will almost never pair off just because you pair them off - they are not unlike people in that fashion and want to pick their own partner. Buy two adults will cost $$$ and they will most likely not breed. Buying mated pair is very $$$$ and they may not breed in a new tank after all that effort.

As Scottshfish said, starting with 6 - 10 young, then doing very large daily water changes, great diet and you will very likely get a breeding pair from them (and need a 75 - 100 gal tank for full growth - otherwise they will be stunted. Young DO need 84 - 88F to grow quickly so the plant issue does come into play (BUT many companies sell discus plant bundles!) Some fish can handle that range but why? If you are growing out young, don't waste resources on other fish until they grow out. By the way, tank breed young do not need acidic water so the issue of peat is not important. Many do breed them without peat - soft water is more important and even then, some discus don't care as long as not too hard (but of course, the softer and more acidic increases your chances.) Of course, with heavy water changes, peat is useless.

For two adult fish, you can force them in that size tank but water changes will be large and often in order to keep them healthy - such fish produce a lot of waste and algae will be a problem.

As Scottishfish says, reality is no fun but I don't want to see you waste $$$! Besides, for less than the cost of two adults, you can get ten young. For less than a breeding pair, you can get ten young or more and a new 125 gal tank with all needed stuff. Your choice.

Of course, if you can get a breeding pair cheap from Craig's list (not likely) then that is better! Good luck.

[Lady Hobbs]

More is also needed to hold down aggression towards each other. In 24 gallon, they have no place to get away from one another and forum territories of their own. And on the slight chance you did have young, where in the world would you put them?

SMALL TANKS = SMALL FISH!!!!!!!

[MuckyFish]

Two fish from a shoalling type is always a problem. One will ultimately chase the other. Often that is out of the way behind the heater or filter intake. I've seen it with discus as i have with neons.

There is a wealth of information in the archives of this discus forum, that's where I started. Having read huge chunks of that, I don't have a discus tank yet because of the resources, time and dare I say infrastructure that they require. So, I am still very much at the planning and research stage.

I really hope you'll be able to upgrade to something big enough for at least 6.

[William]

He can allways buy a breeding pair.

[homemadepopcorn]

+1 to William and another +2 for cleverness.

[MuckyFish]

That's true but it is more expensive and not guaranteed that they will still breed when you get them home.

[MLBfan]

Okay, so Surfdog originally posted this is October, so if he decided to get them after all, then he'll probably post on this thread soon.

[MLBfan]

I don't think he did a discus tank, read:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[MuckyFish]

Good point MLB +1 to the kids and -1 to the mods for not noticing... probably laughing their socks off at all of us.
-10 to meecrow for necropsying...........

[Surfdog]

YUP! MLB is correct...Decided tank to small so made a slight adjustment (added salt) and now have a thriving mini reef, Manderin and pair of Seahorses... I still plan on Discus down the road, but will do it in a 55G...:22: And will buy a breeding pair as William mentioned...