Advice on if it is a good idea??

**Zanre96** · 09-03-2012, 05:08 PM

I have tried and failed with 2 inch discus but now I want to try 2, 4 inch red maps in this tank.

I will no longer be having rams since they are all hitting there 22 month mark and one of my mated pairs have already passed on. :( it is a 70 gallon.

I have set up a 29 gallon bare bottom with an aquaclear 50 pre established filter and a nano powerhead where the 10 gallon is in the video, to house them and watch for any unusual behavior.

Should I go through with it, any flaws, ideas?

Thanks

**ILuvMyGoldBarb** · 09-03-2012, 05:15 PM

My first question would be simply this: Have you figured out what went wrong with the 2" fish you tired?

**f1shg33kz** · 09-03-2012, 06:27 PM

Discus should be in schools, not in pairs.

The younger the Discus the more water changes you have to do. They also should be kept at about 84f, too warm to keep with many other species.

**Zanre96** · 09-03-2012, 07:08 PM

What went wrong was that I spooked them bye just introducing them into my tank as soon as I got them, then on top of that I had no drift wood and my ph was around 7-7.4. Also I have asked my brand fish store (big als) about the temperature of the tank that it should sit at and how many I should introduce just in case I am unsuccessful.

They said 81 Fahrenheit/ 30 Celsius for a 4 inch discus
And just to try a pair so I don't bankrupt myself. (but then after 2 months start introducing more)
My ph is now 6.3 thanks to peat in my filter and the huge piece of wood you saw in the video.

BTW is liquid fertilizer okay for discus?? I use it now.

**MuckyFish** · 09-04-2012, 03:42 AM

You should plan to house six as a minimum, tank (70G) is big enough but not with all the other guys in the tank I suspect. Need 10G per Discus. 2 is definitely not a good idea. One will chase the other and not let it out of its corner.

Raising juveniles in a community tank is not a good idea, but I would check at what size discus is considered okay for a planted community tank, I think it is more than 4 inches.

Read up on aclimatisation and get a drip kit it may avoid shock. Also consider a quarantine tank. If you put the fish in your tank and they die, you have no idea whether it is disease, your water parameters or something else.