Discus Advice

[Ollie_butts]

Hey Guys wanting some advice on my soon to be new discus set up! i have a 80 gallon tank with 4000lph external filters + uv sterilization it will be heavily planted with 25 discus tank plants and carpet plants, im using a substrate which will bring the water ph to 6.5 plus RO water I have a large amount of drift wood and c02 system for the plants. I'm going to buy 7 discus as i know the general rule is 10g per discus i also want a golden nugget plec but not sure what other fish i can have? i want a few tetras but i need something thats about 3cm and eye catching?! I like bright colors! any ideas? any tips on discus care will be appreciated too! im intending to do Two 25% water changes weekly.....T I A

 

[UABsleeperSRNA]

have you already cycled the tank? and how do you plan on doing that.? i would for sure let the tank cycle without the discus in there as they can be pretty sensitive to ammonia/nitrates ext.. most say fish less cycle is best.. or go for a couple of hardy schooling fish that would work well with discus i cycled my tank with fish.. and bought the cheaper fish i was already planning to keep in the tank to cycle.. Good fish could be for discus and not to expensive could be Cardinal Tetras, Neon tetras, rummy nose tetras, anything like that which will help give the tank a little spunk! and can help keep the discus attention away from one another.. do you have another tank up and running already? or is this your first one?

 

[treemanone2003]

Hey Guys wanting some advice on my soon to be new discus set up! i have a 80 gallon tank with 4000lph external filters + uv sterilization it will be heavily planted with 25 discus tank plants and carpet plants, im using a substrate which will bring the water ph to 6.5 plus RO water I have a large amount of drift wood and c02 system for the plants. I'm going to buy 7 discus as i know the general rule is 10g per discus i also want a golden nugget plec but not sure what other fish i can have? i want a few tetras but i need something thats about 3cm and eye catching?! I like bright colors! any ideas? any tips on discus care will be appreciated too! im intending to do Two 25% water changes weekly.....T I A

As an avid Discus keeper, I'll point out a few simple things and then we can go from there. First off, I wouldn't plan on any set schedule for WC's. The age and size of the Discus you decide to purchase will dictate that for you. Juvies need multiple daily Feedings and WC's to enable them to grow out. Young adults not so many and adults even less. IMO, 25% twice a week will not work out well for them.

Next, I wouldn't get your heart set on trying to make the ideal pH level for them. They will not only survive, but thrive in any pH. It's much easier to be consistent with a ____ph value than trying to create the "perfect" value. You will drive yourself crazy. Trust me on that one !!!

Discus. Do a ton of research on different breeders/sellers. And then do some more. There are a few bad ones. Buy from a well trusted source. Not a chain store or LFS. There's one that advertises on the web that I would recommend to stay VERY FAR AWAY FROM, pm me for details about that one. Don't mix different types (Stendker, Asian, etc) as that is a bad idea for various reasons.

Probably, THE MOST IMPORTANT piece of advice I can offer is QT. I can't stress that enough !!!!! QT, QT, QT !!!!! It is imperative with Discus. It will be the difference between two possible threads you will post. One being "My Gorgeous Discus Tank" and the other being "What Are These Red Worms".

Tank mates. Cardinal, Black Phantom, Buenos Aires, or Pristella tetras are nice. They'll also accept the higher temp ranges better. I'd suggest to stay far away from neons. NO SUCKER FISH !! In time they will wind up attaching to them and pulling the slime coat off. Sterbai Cory are a nice addition. And can handle the heat better. Live Aquaria is a good source to search for companions.

IMO as far as the UV, I would say not it's needed as it's purpose is to manage various water born micro organisms and water clarity. If you practice excellent husbandry skills, there's no need for one. And that goes for carbon as well.

Anything else, just ask away !!!

 

[UABsleeperSRNA]

There's your real expert Treemanone2003 great advice! I found that very informative thanks for sharing! What is your current discus setup?

 

[treemanone2003]

There's your real expert Treemanone2003 great advice! I found that very informative thanks for sharing! What is your current discus setup?

Thank you for the kind words but I'd like to hold off on that title for a few more years. Around ten years of keeping them, and not having had the chance to get a breeding pair or fry yet, I'll just go with highly educated and experienced trophy for now, lol.

Currently I'm running a 55g BB. I've got 2, 6" ( eruption leopard and a carnation pigeon ) 2, 4" ( red turq and a peppered pigeon blood ) with 7 X-Ray Pristella Tetras. This tank has a Fluval 406 with 4 vertical coarse sponge filters, bottom tray is 2 fine sponge filters and three trays packed of BioMax ceramic rings. I use no carbon or any other form of water clarifiers. Just frequent large volume WC's. I haven't tested the tank water in 4 months, but can tell you from experience that I gauge my tanks based on how they smell.

Three other tanks include a 10g shrimp with about 8-10 juvies ( that I just got ) in the last week. Bubble filter only. A 20g with 2 angels that are separated due to aggression issues and 5 Black Skirt Tetras and one 3" Pleco. No clue what kind. It's my girls tank and she does all the maintenance on it. That has a Fluval 30 HOB and a Whisper 2 HOB. The last is a 12 or 14g SW nano, self contained unit. About 16 lbs of LR and LS each. 1 hermit crab, 6 snails, 1 lonely Ricordia, a Tiger Pistol Shrimp and Blue Dot Goby.

In my garage are 7 empty tanks waiting for us to move to our own place. A 10g, 20 long turtle, 2x40g 70 bow front, 75g standard, and a 265g. 4 of those, including the 265, were FREE !!!! There are also extra sponge filters in each tank in the event I need to set up and run a QT or hospital tank.

 

[UABsleeperSRNA]

That's Awesome! i'm jealous ha Maybe you will get a breeding pair out of the juvenile! sounds like you have a pretty awesome setup i've only been in the hobby for about 7 months now and already am addicted! HA Would love to have a 250 g one day after i finish school and gonna take a lot of buttering up the wife! but i do like your tank and good luck with the new fish!

 

[treemanone2003]

??. I have plans for all of them. And more that I don't have yet lol. After I move I will buy a confirmed breeding pair and take it from there. I'm trying to plan it so I do it in the winter when I'm slower work wise and can take the time off to dedicate to the fry. I'm not looking to get rich on them, just something I'd like to be able to say I did successfully. I do have an experiment that I wish to try with one group of fry and that would be the easiest and most cost effective way to do so.

 

[UABsleeperSRNA]

Experiment hugh now i'm interested! hey even if you don't make much money their's always some to be made with healthy discus i'm sure.. LFS i'm sure would buy some from you if their good stock my LFS's Would they never have them and always say oh yeah we are supposed to get some in a couple of weeks.. never happens though

 

[treemanone2003]

It will all come in time lol. There was a question posted on another forum I frequent and that's what led me to put my thoughts on paper. For now I'm just waiting for my own place.

 

[Dennisdiscus]

I have a school of cardinal tetras with my discus


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