Discus advice

[Kitekat87]

What is the recommended amount of water to take out in a water change and how often does it need doing in terms of a discus tank?

 

[Jesselav1233]

discus water change

hey first off let me say i am by no means an expert. that being said i have successfully been keeping discus for around 6 months or so. i would say water changes depend on how many fish are stocked and the size of the tank itself. in a fully cycled tank you should only get nitrate readings so this is probably one of the most important factors to pay attention to when figuring out when you should change your water. test it daily and see how long it takes to build when it reaches around the 20-40 mark (use liquid tests only) that's probably when you should get around to changing the water. now you should also test your tap water or whatever you use before it goes in the tank because tap water can have nitrates already in it so you want to know where your starting from. after that discus (and most cichlids) secrete a hormone that can stunt the fishes growth so this is another factor to just remember i don't know of any way to test for this its just another reason why discus need such heavy water changes. so all that being said i do 50% water changes twice a week i have 7 discus in a 55 gal tank i bit overstocked but they are still small and i just cant stop myself from buying a cool looking discus when i see one at the store lol.hope this helps let me know if i can help in any other way discus are my hands down favorite fish!!

 

[Kitekat87]

Thanks

 

[severum mama]

It depends on whether you are growing them out or whether you are keeping adults. The experts I know change as much as 100% every day when they are growing out juveniles, because they're feeding 4-5 times a day. Adults are typically easier to care for, and you can most often get by with a 50% change once or twice a week.

 

[Borderlesscott]

It depends on whether you are growing them out or whether you are keeping adults. The experts I know change as much as 100% every day when they are growing out juveniles, because they're feeding 4-5 times a day. Adults are typically easier to care for, and you can most often get by with a 50% change once or twice a week.

That's crazy, I didn't know that - that's some serious water changes.

 

[severum mama]

I'm far from an expert on discus myself, but I know several breeders that I would consider discus experts for sure. My experience growing out juvenile discus didn't yield the greatest results. I'd most definitely use their method if I had it to do over.

 

[Jesselav1233]

Yeah I know in Asia where they are commonly bred it's pretty regular for 100% water changes daily but I don't see that being very realistic in a non commercial setup.

 

[severum mama]

*shrug* It's realistic for them... and the growth rate speaks for itself.

 

[Hondatek]

I agree . When I kept discus I did daily 75% water changes. You wouldn't believe how fast they grew .

 

[Kitekat87]

I never knew that, thanks