numbers for a discus tank

[paulprovos]

i currently have a 55 gallon tank with 8 3.5 to 4.5 inch discus, i understand this is too many... Im upgrading to 70 galls next week (cant wait), i do regular water changes 15% 3 times a week.

Also in tank is: 4 cory
4 glass cats
3 black widow tetra
3 young ancistrus
2 opaline gourami

What i want to know, is the 70 gall tank able to house more fish, ive read 10 discus, to me this seems a lot. thanks in advance, when new tank is full, i will put some pics up

 

[blert]

I think the Discus 'rule of thumb' is one per ten gallons.

 

[paulprovos]

thanks, so im not getting any more discus, maybe even moving 1 on

 

[Hondatek]

You'll need to start doing daily minimum 50% Pwc to get your discus to grow to their full potential.

 

[paulprovos]

i was doing 30% daily when i started keeping them, i mentioned this to the guy at the lfs. He said he was surprised they were alive. ive just tested my water now the reading is
nitrate 30
nitrite 0
ammonia 0
ph 6.2
kh 20 mg/l
gh 60 mg/l

i live in a seriously hard water area so they live in 90% ro water


this reading is now and im due 15% wc

 

[paulprovos]

This might be important, tank is planted, and i run co2 unit when the lights are on

 

[Hondatek]

Are they wild caught discus or tank bred? I keep discus and I did over 50% until they where full grown. I just use tap water no ro no buffering down to 6.0 ph . Mine are tank raised and mine are fine and lay eggs regularly. I have heard a Lfs say that was too much as well but they are far from correct on that.

 

[paulprovos]

none are wild, the 4 ive had the longest have grown a bit about an inch in 6 months, they eat twice a day, they poop by the book (none hangs from them).
i dont buffer ph

however i am interested to see if it makes a difference, so im going to try raising to 30% 3 times a week. also i believe im fully stocked for the new tank already, i was thinking of adding some neons, not sure i can do this now

 

[Hondatek]

They should be almost 5 inches plus in 6 months . They may be stunted allready which isn't good but it's not the end of the world.you may not see a difference if you start now than if you would have if they were babies.

 

[paulprovos]

what would say is full grown for discus, 12 to 15 cm ive read, thats 4.5 to 6 inches in 18 months, after that they will only thicken a little, if this is the norm for captive discus, i reckon im not far off, i ve spoken too who i got the first ones from, i can now say mine are 9 months old.... they are 4 to 4.5 inches.

the smaller ones ive had from store for a month, so im guessing they are younger, either way thanks for your comments, im going with the larger changes, will let u kow how it pans out

 

[Hondatek]

Ok . Just my experience my discus went from 1 inch babies to 6 inches in 10 months.

 

[paulprovos]

mine are a little smaller than that, my largest like i said is 5 inch. as with everything you can find many veiws on the internet, ive also spoke to breeder i know.

i would say 60 percent of ppl agree with u, the others change less, due to my stock levels, i am gonna up my changes, well i did 40 % last night, and im currently warming another bucket now, its back to daily changes again now, wish me luck

thanks again...

im still interested what ppl think is full grown (size) for captive discus??

 

[Hondatek]

My Lfs had one that had to be almost 7 inches and about an inch wide. It was huge. That's the biggest I have seen.