quick discus questions

[Big Ben]

Can discus be kept in a 20 gal tank? How fast do they grow to adult size from 2-3 inches?

-I have a standard 20 (not long)
-Nothing in it but a few corys and Bristle nose pleco to keep the bioload going.
-It's a planted tank.

I've been reading online quite a bit and I hear adults need 9-10 gallons each, but nowhere can I find it being mentioned what a minium size tank is. I hear they like being in groups, but in a 20 gal that's not really an option. I'd really like to put 2 discus in there with just 2-3 corys maybe the bristlenose too. I have a feeling this would be pushing it. Has anyone had any success keeping one discus?

Thanks in advance

 

[Fishyfanatic]

They grow to be 8" in size, I'd say 55 gal minimum. BTW, you can find the minimum tank size on Live Aquaria.

 

[Zagz]

I would highly recommend against putting any discus into a 20 gal tank. Also one discus is likely to be highly stressed which can bring on illness with discus.

 

[Sidi]

Agreed with above. Discus don't grow rapidly, so a small juvenile (a couple inches) would be ok in a 20 for a few months...but its not a long term home. And every move will be stressful for the fish.

As far as singles...I kept a single discus in my 55g planted tank for several months. Eventually I added two more discus. He still won't accept the other two, and is mildly aggressive towards them...so I would say add multiple discus all at once to prevent aggression. Theyre still cichlids, even if they're much calmer than a JD.

 

[Big Ben]

yeah I didnt have much hope of keeping them in a 20. Those red turquoise are so nice ! :x

if only there were dwarf discus!

I'm going to change paths and look into the apistos perhaps..

 

[triazole]

besides the size-issue, discus are social fish, so a group of 5-6 is recommended. by themselves, they tend to cower and get stressed out.

 

[macman7010]

Actually renowned discus expert jack wattley has stated that a discus pair can be kept, by themselves in a 20 gallon aquarium. In addition to that wattley's own breeding operation in Florida uses 20 gallon tanks to breed discus in on a regular basis. Naturally you would want to get a juvenile pair and allow them to grow out.

While Discus do get large they are not nearly as active as other cichlids. They don't require the immense swimming room that many other fish do. This said: when keeping Discus in a 20 gallon tank a 50-100% daily water change would likely be necessary since they are larger fish that would accumulate a bio-load in that aquarium. Discus are very sensitive to poor water quality so doing the water changes would be a must.

 

[Big Ben]

Yeah daily that's quite a bit. I have no problem doing changes on my tanks every 5-7 days, but that would get to me. I'm def going to get into discus sometime in the next couple of years with a 55+.

I just got 3 a.cacatuoides today