discus questions

[WaterPond]

I am thinking of giving discus a try. LOL, i'm a little nerovus though. I am setting up a 55gal and would like to include some.

Should they be kept in groups? if so, how many?

why exactly are they such sensitive fish?

I think thats all i want to know for now. This post will probably decide if i go with them or not.

 

[BrianNY]

Discus are a great fish. They should only be kept by those willing to devote the time and attention they require. PWCs are a must as they do not do well in water with dissolved organics in it.

The beginning discus keeper should plan on housing only discus. Other species can easily introduce problems to the discus tank. A group of 5 or 6 can be grown to maturity in a 55g.

 

[krap101]

i've never kept discus, nor done any extensive research on them, but i think discus are schoolers? they prefer softer water and are pretty conscious of water quality. i don't really consider them hardy (once again not from my experience)

my guess is they are probably inbred to bring out the recessive traits for colors. by inbreeding they make the genetic pool smaller, and it weakens the immune system. obviously this doesnt occur as much in the wild because there isn't 1 isolated group of fish.

 

[WaterPond]

well, i would like to include them in a community tank but i guess i wont if i need to keep them alone, obviously. thanks for the help.

 

[anna]

Yeah....I wanted to keep discus, as well as angels. I was told they require softer, more alkeline water. Around here in Minnesota, we have the opposite comming out of the taps...hard, basic. I decided to start off with cichlids because they love the kind of conditions we get. (with safe treatments of course). I've had really bad luck with angels unless I set up a reverse osmosis system...or buy bottled water. I keep angels now, but it's much cheaper and easier with the cichlids. Besides, I wouldn't go there with discus unless you're sure...they are kinda pricey.

 

[weezerbot]

I actually have a spear 20 gallon tank sitting around, and I've been thinking about setting it up as a discus tank. I read in Tropical Fish Hobbyist that you can keep 2 discus in a 20 gal no problem. We have really hard water here in Phoenix too, so the only thing keeping me from jumping on the discus bandwagon is weekly water changes with RO. I've also read conflicting reports on the water change....some say weekly and it must be RO only...others say weekly and their tap water is fine....some say they only do monthly! Now on my other established 20 gal I do a 50% water change every 2 weeks without a hitch, but then again the fish in there aren't as sensitive as discus. Anyone have any other info or pointers on keeping discus? The other fish in the running is an electric blue Jack Dempsy, so discus v. JD opinions? TIA.

 

[WaterPond]

for the 20gal, neither, both get TOO BIG

 

[weezerbot]

Not even to start out two juveniles?

 

[WaterPond]

well, the discus i would say needs about 50gal to be happy. The JD would need 30gal. I might be wrong with the discus, but i really don't think they belong in a 20gal

 

[BrianNY]

I have kept and bred discus in a standard 20g. 2 adults only. The smaller the tank, the more water must be changed for them (and 30% daily is the right amount).

If you aren't prepared to put the time in, best to go with other species.

 

[weezerbot]

Thanks for all the info. I'm still not sure what I'll do at this point. I'm willing to do 50% water change once a week with RO for the discus, but an everyday event is just not something i have the time for right now.