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This is one really nice looking fish
I saw some of them at my lfs...this is a must have for those who like discus
I just want to know if iam going to buy discus..how big tank should i buy..and how would you set up the tank..stones and plants?
Robby

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

Hi robby,

I would get a 55g tank and set it up with plants, driftwood and any gravel (apart from crushed coral) that you like. Keep the ph lower than normal around the 6.8 mark for optimal colour and health of the discus. Subdued lighting is better than bright sunlight globes, make sure the filter is strong enough but not too much current maybe use a rainbar for the outlet. Temp around 28 degrees.

As discus tend to swim in schools, I would suggest to maybe buy a pair but if you can afford it buy 4 discus, Keep other tetras with them and dont be worried if the first couple of days they seem to hide and dont seem to happy, they will soon adapt to their new environment. If they start to look dark and clamped then look for other causes eg: slime coat disease ect.

Dont forget to do regular small water changes about 10-20% twice a week and all will be good.

Good luck it is not as hard as everyone tells you.

Trace

Last edited by trace-russ at 03-Nov-2004 15:11

I actually recommand a bare tank for Discus if you intend to keep discus only in your tank, it works better than having gravel becasue much easier cleaning when you do feed them beef heart mix. But do have rocks or wood for hiding places

For a Disucs only tank 55gal will surely be a good start, get as much of them as u can at the same time with maxium of 8 (that's why suggesting a bare tank for easy water changes, no need to gravel clean everytime)

Discus love temp at 29-31 degrees C, you can also run peat if you dun mind the colouring of the water

Thanks for your replies
What about bottom feeder with discus..is ottos a good choice? i maybe thinking of buying 2 zebra plecos as well.

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

Robby,

Both Weekend and Russ give very good advice. Either otocinculus and bristlenose plecostomus (ancistrus) are excellent companions. If you chose BNs be sure to add a small amount of wood to the tank.

I just helped a friend set-up a 55 gallon tank for discus. Because of the cost of adult fish, he decided to start with 2.5 inch fish from a local breeder. The initial stocking is 9 fish. Since the fish are young, he will feed the fish 3 to 5 times per day and change 25% of the water each day. The combination of heavy feedings and clean water will give the fish rapid growth in the bare bottom tank. When he changes the water, he vacuums the tank bottom to remove feces and uneaten food.

The fish receive Tetra Min granules, bloodworms and blackworms. He will be avoiding beef heart as many of the commercially available compounds can easily degrade his water quality if the food remains uneaten for a period of time.

It is his intention to convert the tank from bare bottom to a biotope tank when the fish are 4 to 6 inches in length. I expect that his fish will attain his size objective in 4 to 6 months.

Accepted wisdom for discus is one adult (6 inch) for every ten gallons of water. You can increase the bio-load (number of fish) if you over-filter, clean and do regular water changes. In my case, I change the water up to 50% per day in my planted tanks.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 04-Nov-2004 14:58

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