Discus Ideas!!

[em_witt]

Have a Total of 2 tanks right now...getting #3 soon!! I have a 75 gallon regular, a 37 gallon with a length of 30" a height of 22.5" and a width of 12.75" and my third tank will prob be a 20gallon tall or long...(still deciding) and my big question is will this be enough tanks to breed and raise discus? If I sell all of my current stock and redecorate for discus only (with dither fish) will I be able to raise the pairs in the 75 and then use the 37 for breeding and egg laying then use the 20 for raising the fry? Will all this work if I have the time? And I have a lot o other questions but I will ask them later within the the thread!

 

[pattyfurg]

I dont own discus myself but I have bought billions of books and done heaps of study. I'm not sure if a 20 would be good for any discus but you could use it as a growout tank for a while.
You're 37 would be great for pairing and keeping the fry for a while. Do you want to artificially raise them or just leave it natural.
Sometimes you can just leave the fry in the 75 gallon and the other discus will leave them alone.

 

[em_witt]

I DON'T want to artificially raise them!! I mean if the parents can feed their fry for awhile then why not let them!!! I costs less for us to buy the baby food!!!

 

[pattyfurg]

Haha well you can try plenty of things seeing as discus pairs lay eggs around every ten days. BUT, if the discus start showing signs that they are about to breed again you must remove the fry imediatly.
I currently have a 67 gallon, a 29, for pairing, and I'll soon be getting another 29 for a QT tank I'm pretty sure that's all I'll be needing so your three tanks should be fine (maybe get a tank just a littttttle bit bigger then 20)

 

[em_witt]

Thanks I haven't Horton the 20 so thank for telling me soon enough!!

 

[Jacobsal91]

Dont make the mistake
I did! Get a 20 long... Unless your heart is set in discus then tall may be a little better dependent on their size. But for other cichlids and beyond the long is a lot better

 

[Jacobsal91]

Dont make the mistake
I did! Get a 20 long... Unless your heart is set in discus then tall may be a little better dependent on their size. But for other cichlids and beyond the long is a lot better

**small cichlids

 

[em_witt]

Ok ...here's the tank that I want...any ideas or feelings just chime in!!!
Tank
75 gallon

Lighting
1bulb, 65000k, T8

Substrate
Tan pool filter sand or can I use like play sandbox sand?

Filters
2 penguin emperor 350B filters and prob an up to 80gallon hydro sponge filter

Plants
Lots of assorted plants unless I can get a ton of cool varieties cheap

Live sttock
I don't kno if I can do this but...
8 assorted discus
3-4 angelfish
10-20 schooling dither fish(neons? Cardinals?)
8 black kohli loaches
5-7 clown loaches
6-14 Cory cats

Would I have to have an air pump? Or water circulator?

 

[em_witt]

???????any one ????????

 

[discus_lover]

no need to add air pumps any more.
i checked your wish list about fauna.if possible keep neons or cardinals or any smaller fish before introducing discus in your tank.other wise you'll face problem.

for breeding and raising purpose whenever you see that your discus start pairing separate in your 20 gallon tank and after hatching and growing upto .75-1 inch you can keep them in that tank.but after that you can raise them in your 37 gallon tank where water height will be 12-15 inch max.

 

[em_witt]

no need to add air pumps any more.
i checked your wish list about fauna.if possible keep neons or cardinals or any smaller fish before introducing discus in your tank.other wise you'll face problem.

for breeding and raising purpose whenever you see that your discus start pairing separate in your 20 gallon tank and after hatching and growing upto .75-1 inch you can keep them in that tank.but after that you can raise them in your 37 gallon tank where water height will be 12-15 inch max.

So will that livestock list work? And should i only get 6-7 discus?

 

[discus_lover]

but i suggest you to keep only discus in a BB tank.clown loach is a fast mover fish and discus is a slow mover.when clown loach becomes mature it can create problem for your discus. you may keep only 6-7 discus in your tank then find a pair one...

 

[em_witt]

but i suggest you to keep only discus in a BB tank.clown loach is a fast mover fish and discus is a slow mover.when clown loach becomes mature it can create problem for your discus. you may keep only 6-7 discus in your tank then find a pair one...

Why do u suggest that?? And it's a no to the clowns but what about the black kohlis??

 

[discus_lover]

i personally faced problem regarding clown loach and discus in a same tank.also from my little experience i see that discus lives healthy in a BB tank with good amount of WC and good filtration.

 

[em_witt]

i personally faced problem regarding clown loach and discus in a same tank.also from my little experience i see that discus lives healthy in a BB tank with good amount of WC and good filtration.

So regarding the bare bottom tank...why?? What's the advantage??

 

[pattyfurg]

Bare bottom is much easier to maintain food scraps that fall to the bottom and with gravel fry get stuck

 

[discus_lover]

exactly.

 

[em_witt]

Bare bottom is much easier to maintain food scraps that fall to the bottom and with gravel fry get stuck

What if I'm going for some looks on the tank too?? Will they be good on sand?...sorry I guess I'm really hooked on sand!!

 

[discus_lover]

it will be tougher to siphon uneaten BHM after feeding.

 

[OBEYtheFISH]

What if I'm going for some looks on the tank too?? Will they be good on sand?...sorry I guess I'm really hooked on sand!!

Going with looks you'll have to do about two 50% WC a week for healthy Discus