Discus - Please Help

[Steven A]

I am deciding between starting a saltwater or a Discus tank.
I have some research for S/W regarding money lol. So now I am for the Discus. I am not at all bothered about the cost of Discus as I can get them at an ok price from my local dealer lol. I am just concerned about the equiptment that may be needed. I want to know what I will need to house Discus.

I plan on getting 6 juvi's growing them up / pair them off and then selling the other 4 and keeping the pair.

Size: 36, 12, 18 inches 29 gals (UK) 33 Gals (US)
The tank has been set-up for more than a year.
The tank is a juwel tank therefore, it consists of a heater and filter, and light's.
What will I need to keep discus ?

 

[Blazeherd2306]

You could pm BrianNY.
Is that 18" tall? I think each pair needs their own tank, but I'm not sure about that.

 

[Steven A]

Yes it is 18" tall. I will only be keeping one pair once they reach adult size.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

If Brian doesn't chime in, I'd PM him. He knows ALOT about Discus.

 

[Steven A]

Thanx,

 

[macman7010]

Steven,

I would think you could keep more than one pair of juveniles in a 29 gallon tank. Considering Jack Wattley of Discus fame keeps his adult breeders in 20 gallon tanks when spawning, although as they grow they will need bigger quarters. Some experts recommend growing juveniles out in 29 gallon tanks but having larger tanks ready to accmodate them when they get bigger. Personally I have grown them out in 29's before and grown them out together in large tanks - both worked equally as well for me.

As far as what you need to keep them, it all depends on what you want to do. Some people keep discus in bare bottom tanks with a heater and sponge filter but do daily water changes. Others keep them in expensive planted tanks with C02 injection and the works. Others keep them in bare bottom tanks with plants, its really up to you. My personal Discus set up is a typical one, I have gravel some artificial plants, authentic driftwood and lots of filtration. Depending on your water change schedule you will need plenty of heat and good filtration, the rest is up to you.

 

[BrianNY]

If you really want to keep plants in your grow out tank, the best option is potted plants. You can also use small ceramic pots with a bit of gravel. This really makes cleaning the tank a breeze, and you don't have to worry anything accumulating in the gravel bed.

 

[Steven A]

Thank you for your help every one. I have decided to keep Discus again .
I am excited. i visted my local store and they only had 4 juvi's in, one of them was huge and kept on displaying. The smalest one is quite plain in colour but I think this mite be to do with his low age/size. Then there was 2 more. One was a rusty colour on his fins with freckles on his face and another one that was very dark. I asked the owner why one was alot darker and also display the "bars" and she said that the little rusty one had been displaying to this darker one. He also chases the darker one a bit. Is it darker and showing its bars due to courtship?

Size's are as follow's - (approx)
smallest = 2 inch in diameter
largest = 2.5 inches in diameter

Each one costs £15.00 each. This is roughly $25-30. (I think)
If I purchase the 4 am I likely to get a breeding pair from them?
These 4 discus have been together in the store for the last month and have beenno problems with them so far.

 

[greenmaji]

the darker color and showing of the stress bar is more likely from stress (getting picked on by a more dominate fish will do this) the group is less then a shoal at the store so the least dominate fish is alot more likely to get picked on. I would think it difficult to tell if the fish was heathy or not from this situation.. you dont want to start off with less then a shoal the same situation of bullying will end up happening in your tank you will want 6 fish.. your origanal plan of acquiring 6 fish then once they grow out and pair off removing 4 is good, I would stick to that.. You said that you had access to a local dealer, were you refiring to this LFS? If not you should check out this dealer your refiring to to see if they have 6 young of the same size that are all healthy, that includes lack of stress.. HTH