Discus Advice

[pentiumburner]

I have considered added 2-3 Discus to my 125 Gallon tank but am aware of the specific care involved and what I am wondering is how they wil be accepted into a very established tank.

At this time in my 125GAL I have the following:

3 Balas, one approx 8" in length
2 Cory Cats
3 Adult Angels
1 Bichir about half grown
2 Bristle Nose Plecos

Has anyone attempted to add a Discus to their community? And what was the outcome? THANKS!!!

 

[MyCatsDrool]

Hokay


Angels often have an illness that does not kill them, but will kill discus very fast.

The balas and bicher will stress the discus out pretty badly


What is your PH in that tank? Discus need peat or something to bring the PH down a lot. Needs to be very low

Also, temp needs to be around 88 -90F

water quality should be impeccable. And i mean really really impeccable. Discus are notoriously fussy.

 

[Ky'smommy]

i agree with mycatsdrool.

about the only thing i think on that list that i kept with my discus are bn plecos

 

[MyCatsDrool]

i would say discus are harder to keep alive and happy than most intense needs plants, corals and SW fish. I think there are very few fish that are as difficult as discus.

 

[Pleco]

I've heard GBR's are just as difficult if not more difficult to keep alive than discus. LWB will probably agree with me on that statement. GBR's are pretty picky on water quality and just as succeptible to the things Discus are.

I've also heard avarying on the temps, but most discus owners that i know kept their tanks around 84, 88-90 seems a bit high to me.

-Pleco

 

[Ky'smommy]

i keep mine in the 80's for temp.
I know discus.. and if your water is good they usually are.
and you can tell by looking at them. when they start to not like things..

They are difficult i agree.
But now a days they are tank breed and they are more adapt to higher ph.
We arent talking about wild ones.
Which makes it a little easier for people to keep them.
i know places here. that all they do is add a conditioner like prime.. including stores... and thats what they live at.
No lower p.h. ect.......
i also lower my ph. and have my water a little softer.

I usually do water changes every 2-3 days.
All my fish are healthy and trying to breed....

but thats besides the point.
The fish you have now the discus will probably not adapt to and it is a bad match.....

 

[bs6749]

GBR's are not that hard to keep. They will live AND BREED in a pH range of 6.0-8.0. They do not require pristine conditions as do discus. They key is to get GBR's that are not mass produced and they will be perfectly fine.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

GBR's are not that hard to keep. They will live AND BREED in a pH range of 6.0-8.0. They do not require pristine conditions as do discus. They key is to get GBR's that are not mass produced and they will be perfectly fine.

That's kind of hard to agree with in a way, lol. They can live and breed in various ph levels, but water quality is a must. The longest I have kept a GBR is about 7 months, and then they die. And if anything changes, the GBR's are the first to go. Once my GBR's are gone, I'm moving over to Apistos and try breeding them. I just can't seem to keep GBR's long enough, and my water quality is excellent.

 

[bs6749]

If you are suggesting that ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels need to be on the lower side (ammonia and nitrite 0ppm and nitrate under 20ppm) in order to keep GBR's health, then I will agree with that. They are certainly no tetra when it comes to hardiness but a cycled tank with the params above, would be fine for a GBR that was not wild and that was not mass produced and injected with hormones to induce early coloring. People are bound to have different experiences with different fish, but I feel that one of the most important factors in fishkeeping is the actual quality of the fish. I can't stress that enough. Good quality will give the fish the best chance at survival in a tank that may not have "perfect parameters".

 

[Lonewolfblue]

And that's where my parameters are, no ammonia, no nitrite, and I have to dose nitrates to keep them between 10ppm&20ppm for the plants, as my tanks are heavily planted.

 

[Zagz]

Discus are not hard to keep, clean water, warm temps, stable ph. My ph is 7.2 in my discus tank and the discus have been doing well for a year now. I do 2 pwc's per week and all is good. I have some loaches and a BN pleco in with them. I wouldn't put them in the tank you have because of the reasons MyCatsDrool lists with the other fish.

 

[bs6749]

And that's where my parameters are, no ammonia, no nitrite, and I have to dose nitrates to keep them between 10ppm&20ppm for the plants, as my tanks are heavily planted.

Yeah, I know you take care of your tanks. Maybe it was just the genetics of the fish or maybe they weren't "quality". I try to buy from breeders that way you know what you are getting and where they come from. Not only that but you can ask them questions about them as well that they should know.

 

[hulkamaniac]

Discus are not hard to keep, clean water, warm temps, stable ph. My ph is 7.2 in my discus tank and the discus have been doing well for a year now. I do 2 pwc's per week and all is good. I have some loaches and a BN pleco in with them. I wouldn't put them in the tank you have because of the reasons MyCatsDrool lists with the other fish.

I have a friend who would heartily disagree with you. He's tried to keep discus a couple of times and keeps failing. I confess I'm very tempted to try them in my 75g planted tank. Maybe this spring and summer after I overhaul the thing.

 

[Zagz]

IMO discus do prefer a planted tank. I know several people with discus successfully in their planted tanks.

 

[Ky'smommy]

i have mine in a unplanted tank and they are happy not to say that means anything.
but ive had mine for a long long time.
I want to plan a planted tank one day.

 

[STARFYRE]

I have a pair of Blue Diamonds in a 29 gal planted. The only tankmates are 1 pristella tetra, 1 black khuli loach, and 1 gold nugget pleco. (you can see pics of my discus in my gallery). The pH is at 6.8. Temp 80-82. I have been doing a 10-20% pwc once every week or two. My tank is not heavily planted. They have been in there for almost a year with no problems.
I would not add them to the tank you described, as those are not desireable tankmates. I wouldn't say they should be kept in a species only tank, but there are few compatable tankmates for these aquarium Divas.
Your tank sounds fantastic (and I'd love to see pics), but I do not think it is suitable for discus. You could always set up something a little smaller (55 or 70 gal would be a great size) and plan the tank with Discus as the main species.

 

[BrianNY]

Many of you know that Iv been keeping discus for years. There's a vast difference between what can be done, and what should be done. It's all a matter of percentages. Kind of like smoking. The chance that health problems will arise increase to the smoker. The chance of losing your discus increase when you don't provide them the best environment. That's certainly true when housing them with certain species such as angels.

Discus are not hard to keep. They simply require you have more knowledge and devote a bit more time than you would most other fish. The reason people think they are difficult to keep is because they try keeping them in community tanks and don't understand their needs. The end result is that the discus stops eating, turns dark and wastes away.

The only thing I strongly disagree with here is keeping the temperature below 84. Although they can survive lower temps, the discus will be under stress making the advent of digestive problems and infections very likely.

 

[kansei]

The nicest looking discus I have seen in my town are at the LFS I bought my large angels at who were in the same tank for awhile - the one thing the owner found was he had to pay attention that the discus were getting enough food , the angels are pigs . Except for feeding time thet seemed to get along great (LFS tank was 6.4 ph) . I also thought of putting in Discus but my Balas stop me as they can move very quickly ,but they are only 3-4inch now .

 

[STARFYRE]

I was reading over my post, and I wanted to clarify myself with the pwcs.

I have been doing a 10-20% pwc once every week or two.

This statement is true. However.....I strive to do the pwcs every week. It is only under certain circumstances that I will do the pwc every other week. I believe it is imperative that they're water conditions are up to par. Although I take very good care of all my aquariums, I pay much closer attention to my discus tank. I also clean plant and other debris from the tank and filter intake tube almost daily.
Also, compared to all my other tanks, my discus tank is well under stocked. I would like to have more fish in the tank , but I'd rather not risk any problems with my discus, as I know how sensitive they can be.
I just wanted to reiterate the importance of their special care.

 

[Zagz]

I can attest to BrianNY's expertise with discus, he got me started with them and it is a choice I will never regret. I keep my discus at 86F. All fish require good water parameters, discus can be more sensitive to water parameters for sure, but I personally have more trouble with gourami's than discus. I don't find my discus any more work than any of the other tanks I have. They are a beautiful fish but I don't personally think they are a community tank fish.