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Don't freak out when you see the topic! I currently have a blue snakeskin discus in a 10 gallon tank. The water temperature is 84 degrees. The ph is 6.3. There are also 3 small Amazon sword plants in the tank and 2 neon tetras. I put them in as dither fish to make the discus feel more confident. The discus in currently about 1 and a half to 2 inches long. It seem happy in my tank although it is still shy. And No it is not in its 10 gallon its whole life. I currently have a 55 gallon tank in my room that i would like to put the discus in. The only problem is that there is an oscar, a green terror, and a convict cichlid in there. The oscar is about 6 inches so its hard to find a home for it. Also i need a solution to keep the ph low all the time. I have heard that you can run peat over ur filter to keep the water soft, but i am not sure what to do. The discus will be in the 10 gallon tank for 2 months. Is this too long? will his growth be affected?
All help is greatly appreciated!!
Thankyou!!!

my opinion is you have alot of stocking issues right now. the 55 even without the oscar is still overstocked with teh GT and the convict. that i dont see turning out very well.

discus are more delicate than those fishes, so i wouldn't even consider mixing the discus with the other ccihlidds..

i would get a 75 gallon and house some more discus, maybe around 3 with some schools of cardinals.

I metioned in my post but not too clearly i am getting rid of the cichlids in the 55 gallon for the discus. Sorry if u did not understand.

ok, but discus would probably need more than a 55 gallon, i would keep the convict, and get a mate and breed them, and get a new tank for the discus.

Discus do better in groups also. They are shoaling fish, so prefer the company of their own.

*Kristin*

I know that the bigger the tank the better, but a 55 gallon is probably a perfect size tank for a discus.

Discus require about 10 gallons per fish when fully grown. They also will do much better if you have a group of at least 5 fish. Any less and you will find that they will hide all the time, and smaller fish will be bullied.
You can keep them in smaller tanks and fewer numbers, but you will never see the discus in its' full potential.

You can buy discus buffer at your LFS and add to the water when doing changes. Driftwood should also help to lower the ph and soften the water.

2 months should be ok for the 10 gallon, but I would definately not leave it any longer.

Cordain,

The 55 gallon would be great for discus. I do agree with GG's comment that discus will do best in groups. I like a minimum of 5 discus in a tank. I also agree with DD's statement that discus need 10 gallons per fish but I would amend that comment to say, "When they are adults". Smaller fish would love to have 10 gallons to themselves but do not require that much room.

Much of the literature on discus states that you need soft, acidic water. You do need soft, acidic water to breed discus. You need clean, low nitrate water to raise discus. I have raised discus in water with a pH of 8.0 and extreme hardness. Don't worry about the acidity or hardness of your water until you have a pair of fish that are ready to breed (age 18 to 24 months). Do worry about keeping the water clean through water changes.

Having said that, you have a very young or small discus at 1.5 to 2 inches. Fish that yound have immature immune systems that means they get sick very easily. When you buy discus that size, you need to have great tank maintenance to have them survive and grow.



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

I am in 100% agreement with Bob there. I have kept discus in ph as high as 8.5 without any problems or loses. However, I have yet to breed them. I also know of many people that have kept them in that ph as well, and still do. I have kept up to three together in a 55 gal as well.

And, as Bob stated, they need very clean water. So in a 55 gal, be sure to do many larger amounts of water changes.

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