Discus tank underway!!! :)

[DanS180]

Hmm.. I've never had to add more after the initial group. Sorry :s I guess that's not a good question for me..

gotcha, 'roydooms' has said he has added like 1 a month after the initial batch so i guess they would be okay, thats how the whole topic came about me getting a QT. Guess we'll wait and see, besides my Birthday is coming up in 2 1/2weeks so maybe i can get some cash from that haha

 

[DanS180]

How long should I keep discus in a quarantine tank for?? Never quarantined anything before, never really needed to

 

[roydooms]

So what happens when i go to add others down the road?? are they not going to get along with the other ones?? lol

If you add more discus(after quarantine) the pecking order will change but they will eventually get along. Aggression, showing who is the boss is a sign that you have healthy discus. They won't show this behavior if they are in bad condition.

 

[roydooms]

IME, I use to buy cheap low quality discus(I didn't know). Some were stunted.. If you buy from the sponsors I told you about, you'll see pics of the discus that you're getting. These guys are top notch. Discus are imported from Malaysia and some from Germany depending on the sponsor. Spending a little extra now and getting better quality is better than wasting money buying poor quality ones. I'd also buy same size discus for the smaller ones tend to be the bottom of the pecking and doesn't really grow that much. Like I said. It's better to buy young adults or if you can afford it, buy 5"+. Also, I recommend you reading all the stickies regarding "discus beginners" at the forum that I told you about. Learn about everything first. It's better prepared. Search "water changes", "what not to buy", "what to buy", etc. You don't want to buy stunted, sick, deformed discus.

I learned while taking care of my discus and didn't really research prior to buying them. I learned the hard way, the expensive way.

I used to have a heavily planted tank with 6 discus. Even with thorough gravel cleaning and doing 80% WC 3 times a week the growth wasn't as good compare to my discus in my bare bottom tanks. Food and waste gets trapped in the gravel. Even if you have lots of plants it is not enough to absorb excess waste. Got rid of my plants. Change my gravel to sand but only less than an inch thick. There are cases where toxic gases accumulates in the sand and when released can kill what's in your tank. I hAve MTS and assassin snails to stir my stand to prevent this. HTH

 

[roydooms]

yeah ya know what? lol it may just be dirty, i havent gravel vac'd this tank since i had it up, there was really no need to, it was sooo clean but i guess ill just vaccuum it tomorrow or something, no biggie.

btw tell me if you think this is a good price
6 Discus (all young adults ranging from 2.5"-4")

2 Alenquer
1 Cobalt
1 Mercury
1 Red Spotted Turk
1 HB Turk

$142 plus shipping & handling, good deal???

Do you have pics?

 

[roydooms]

I would already own some if people didnt highly recommend buying 6 the first time lol I would have had 6 by now probably ... like if i dont buy 6 all at once, can i buy like 2 at once?? like 2 fish every 2 weeks?? i dunno lol

I wouldn't. Be patient and save the money until you can afford 6...

 

[roydooms]

How long should I keep discus in a quarantine tank for?? Never quarantined anything before, never really needed to

At least 3 weeks. I keep mine in the QT for at least a month. I just don't want to risk it. It's better than getting my other discus sick from the new one. Some people are against pre-treating discus but I treat mine for flukes and tape worm during the quarantine period. Read about discus diseases too. Like I said, if you want to really learn about discus....... There's this ultimate discus forum. No offense to this forum. I love this forum but if you're talking about discus, that's the place.

 

[DanS180]

At least 3 weeks. I keep mine in the QT for at least a month. I just don't want to risk it. It's better than getting my other discus sick from the new one. Some people are against pre-treating discus but I treat mine for flukes and tape worm during the quarantine period. Read about discus diseases too. Like I said, if you want to really learn about discus....... There's this ultimate discus forum. No offense to this forum. I love this forum but if you're talking about discus, that's the place.

Wow roydooms, you're awesome lol I'm gonna have to read your responses a few times but i do have a few questions..
1. So should I take out some sand or just go buy assassin snails? And what's MTS?
2. When i buy the initial batch of discus, should i quarantine them all for 3 weeks??
3. I should buy all the same size discus?? Don't range in size??

 

[DanS180]

Do you have pics?

I can get pictures, ill put em up later when I get onto my computer

 

[roydooms]

Wow roydooms, you're awesome lol I'm gonna have to read your responses a few times but i do have a few questions..
1. So should I take out some sand or just go buy assassin snails? And what's MTS?
2. When i buy the initial batch of discus, should i quarantine them all for 3 weeks??
3. I should buy all the same size discus?? Don't range in size??

1. I'd do both. Take out most of the sand and add snails. MTS= Malaysian trumpet snail. They multiply fast if you over feed and assassin snails eats MTS. You don't need to add MTS if you'll buy a lot of assassins(expensive) but you'll need to feed them. I feed tropical granules.

2. Since you already have fish in your tank, I would quarantine any other fish your planning to add in the DT.

3. It doesn't have to be exactly the same size. Less than an inch difference.

 

[DanS180]

1. I'd do both. Take out most of the sand and add snails. MTS= Malaysian trumpet snail. They multiply fast if you over feed and assassin snails eats MTS. You don't need to add MTS if you'll buy a lot of assassins(expensive) but you'll need to feed them. I feed tropical granules.

2. Since you already have fish in your tank, I would quarantine any other fish your planning to add in the DT.

3. It doesn't have to be exactly the same size. Less than an inch difference.

1. I think I may take out half, there's about 200lbs of sand in there and its only like 3wks old :/ ill just go out n get a few assassin snails

2. The biggest QT I could get at the time was a 10gallon, is it okay to quarantine 6 discus in such a small space??

 

[roydooms]

1. I think I may take out half, there's about 200lbs of sand in there and its only like 3wks old :/ ill just go out n get a few assassin snails

2. The biggest QT I could get at the time was a 10gallon, is it okay to quarantine 6 discus in such a small space??

1. That should be fine. Add some MTS to stir the sand. Your assassins will control the MTS population. I also stir my sand using a stick or just my finger every now and then just to make sure than no gases will accumulate.

2. I'd wait till you get at least a 40B before I buy 6. There's a $1 per gallon going on at petco right now.

 

[DanS180]

1. That should be fine. Add some MTS to stir the sand. Your assassins will control the MTS population. I also stir my sand using a stick or just my finger every now and then just to make sure than no gases will accumulate.

2. I'd wait till you get at least a 40B before I buy 6. There's a $1 per gallon going on at petco right now.

40B? As in 40 breeder?? What if i have no room to put it? Lol I'm in an apartment with my gf and i don't know how shed feel about another tank lol

 

[paytertot]

40B? As in 40 breeder?? What if i have no room to put it? Lol I'm in an apartment with my gf and i don't know how shed feel about another tank lol

It's only temporary, then you can put it away after you're done quarantining (sp? Lol) the fish.

 

[DanS180]

It's only temporary, then you can put it away after you're done quarantining (sp? Lol) the fish.

See if i was in a house id say yeah that could work but were in a 1 bedroom apartment!! I dont have storage like that lol

 

[paytertot]

1. I'd do both. Take out most of the sand and add snails. MTS= Malaysian trumpet snail. They multiply fast if you over feed and assassin snails eats MTS. You don't need to add MTS if you'll buy a lot of assassins(expensive) but you'll need to feed them. I feed tropical granules.

2. Since you already have fish in your tank, I would quarantine any other fish your planning to add in the DT.

3. It doesn't have to be exactly the same size. Less than an inch difference.

Why should he remove most of the sand?

 

[roydooms]

40B? As in 40 breeder?? What if i have no room to put it? Lol I'm in an apartment with my gf and i don't know how shed feel about another tank lol

Okay. Minimum is 5-6 but 6 really is the recommended min#. If your getting 4" discus, 5 should be fine in a 30g QT but that's pushing it. Do a lot of water changes.

 

[roydooms]

Why should he remove most of the sand?

Read other posts

 

[roydooms]

Why should he remove most of the sand?

Easier to clean. More water space. Less chance of toxic gases accumulating in the sand. I'd go BB if I were you but you want plants.

 

[DanS180]

Okay. Minimum is 5-6 but 6 really is the recommended min#. If your getting 4" discus, 5 should be fine in a 30g QT but that's pushing it. Do a lot of water changes.

Okay then... um i just went online and looked at petsmart and petco and both places do not mention anything about the $1 per gallon sale :/ is it in stores only??