discus anyone ???[probz setting up]

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bra_van_drakh

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
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Kensington [Sydney], Australia
my aunt just bought a 20 gal, and i'll be done decorating it d dae after tmorrow. ..and just wondering, how many discus i can put inside it if each of them will only measure up to 1" in diameter ??? how's the water parameters supposed to be then ??? pH, temps, gH ? and do i need to put plants in it or is it unnecessair ???
 
Have to agree, Discus are not for beginners or new tanks. Are you going to be keeping the ank of your aunt? It will require a lot of good habits, and 20 gallons wll not be near enough space. They may start at 1", but the will be much larger and a 20 gallon is simply not sufficient.
 
Look up Apistogrammas if you're after a colorful Discus alternative... after you're cycled, of course.
 
I have a 75 gal tank with discus, I would not recommend putting discus in less that 55 gal. Tanks should be set up and cycled for a while before adding discus.
 
i'm cycling it right now with a tiny fish inside just to fill the emptiness, but i've already put some filter extract of my old good cycled tank, and whilst doing it, i'm planning on looking for the discus for my aunt...and yes, i'm helping her taking care of it.. .and i dont think she wants to change her opinion bout the species, she likes it because its very thin and wide besides its great colours. . .i did give some other species to keep, such as cardinal tetras, rasboras, but she said that it's to small to see T _ T' i told her it was hard to maintain, but she said it's quite okay for her.. .

so, until what size is it safe to keep in this 20gal ??? i heard that they'll reach 5" in 3 years. . .

they like aged tanks, but still need some water changes right ???
 
Discus prefer perfect water, they require most likely at least 2 water changes a week. I do 2 water changes a week with my discus. Some do daily water changes with juvies. Juvenilles are harder to keep than adults, adults will not fit in a 20 gal. Tell your aunt that discus will not work, it would be cruel to the fish. In a 20 gal she could have an angelfish same sort of body shape. No amount of discus, young or not, should be kept in a 20 gal.
 
coz i think she thinks it might work. ..
my father also kept lots of them in a 20 gal tanks [a pair in each tank, total of 12 tanks], 15 years ago, and got quite successful with it. ..they breed alot. ..
then a few weeks ago, my aunt saw her friend, keeping 10 1" discus in a 75gal, and thought, why didnt she kept some in a smaller tank in her house, coz she thought that my father was a successful breeder, why couldnt she just to keep some. ..
when i said "u might only keep a pair in that 20 gal" she replied.. ."hehh ??? what am i supposse to enjoy if i can barely see the fish ??"
i havent put anything in her tank though, just a 1" feeder goldfish to fill in, still cycling it.. .besides being very ill right now. ..
any other suggestions then ???
 
:(

Just because someone "wants" something does not mean that it is possible. Just because she wants discus in a 20 and thinks it will work does not make it succesful. You need to educate her on this if she wants to keep discus, at LEAST get a bigger tank. I also remember your post from a few weeks ago about keeping a arowana in a 55 gallon. C'mon man, everyone here is trying to be of help. There are a lot of years of experience and a wealth of knowledge on this board. Even if either of those "experiments" lived, they would be miserable and have terribly stunted growth. This hobby is about enjoyment for the fishkeeper but just as importantly the health and welfare of your pets. There is a lot of time and effort that go into succesful fish keeping, and to so blatantly disregard the knowledge being imparted to you would be terrible. Please, keep the welfare of your fish at heart, dont' let her start a 20 gallon discus tank and don't put an arowana in a 55 gallon. Use a bit of common sense and provide the best home possible for your fish, and you will in return get many years of enjoyment in this hobby.\

.......stepping down from the soapbox.
 
FYI, i canceled the arowana, and yes, i'm telling her to change her mind, i told her earlier though. ..but still gonna need some inhabitants for that 20 gal.. .preferably rather big, not as small as tetras. ..sorry all. ..
 
bra_van_drakh said:
FYI, i canceled the arowana, and yes, i'm telling her to change her mind, i told her earlier though. ..but still gonna need some inhabitants for that 20 gal.. .preferably rather big, not as small as tetras. ..sorry all. ..
Click to expand...

I have a 20g tall with 5 striata loches to cover the bottom, 5 ottos for algae/glass and plant cleanup, 3 rummynose tetras(started with 6 but they aren't very hardy fish and my tank got hit with ich), and 2 pairs of GBR's. I'm moving one of the pairs of GBR's out soon. I would say a couple GBR's would be a decent size and colorful for her. If not, look into maybe some triple red apistos.
 
As I said you could manage one angelfish in a 20 gal with proper water change schedule. You can add some other fish that stay small but not too small with an angelfish. You could start out with a larger size angel if you are able to find one. Does she realize that discus are also expensive usually? Convince her that it is cruel to put discus into a 20 gal.
 
so an angel as the centerpiece ??? can i mix it with GBRs ??since i'm starting to got interested in these ?

yeah, even here discus r expensive, Rp 50,000.00 for the 1", around US$5.00 each. ..i havent talked to her yet though, she's out to Bandung for a few days. ..later when it's cycled n well planted then i'll tell herr all. ..
 
bra_van_drakh said:
so an angel as the centerpiece ??? can i mix it with GBRs ??since i'm starting to got interested in these ?

yeah, even here discus r expensive, Rp 50,000.00 for the 1", around US$5.00 each. ..i havent talked to her yet though, she's out to Bandung for a few days. ..later when it's cycled n well planted then i'll tell herr all. ..
Click to expand...

Where the hell can you get Discus for 5 bucks each?
 
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