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Any one know how big of tank you MUST have for discus? I'd like to get a few of these fish and have forever! Just dont have a big house at the moment

Hi,
Here is just one of many sites devoted to the "King" of
Tropical Fish:

http://www.rockymountaindiscus.com/Discus_Fish_Care.htm

You should allow at LEAST a minimum of 5 gallons per fish.
Keep in mind that these fish grow to a diameter of 8-10
inches, demand very "clean" water, and are intolerant of
water conditions that many others would thrive in.

Leave them plenty of swimming room all the way around the
fish. The tank should be about 24 inches of water depth,
and enough room to swim around in.

If your budget is tight, or the space available for the
tank is small, it would be better if you waited until
you could afford the fish and have the room for the tank
necessary.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

You should allow at LEAST a minimum of 5 gallons per fish.

5 gallons per discus?? I know that is what the linked site recommends but it does not seem like anywhere near enough to me... maybe 5 gals per inch of adult discus ie 10 inch discus = 50 gallons??

I've never kept discus (and don't plan to) but most of the discus tanks I have seen, with the exception of specific breeding setups, have been at least 50 gallons and often much, much larger. I think discus are schoolers too, so you should allow enough space in your setup for a few adult size discus and all the territory and swimming space that would require.

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Yeah I was gonna say that, taking adult sizes, their fragility in regard to large water changes and ammonia compound sensitivity into account youd wanna start at 50 gallon, a small shoal would be wanting near 100 gallon for proper housing. A discus in less than 30 gallon would be a pitiful sight. 5 gals per fish is more for bettas, apistos, or gouramis, a discus will need 4 times that at least, 6 x would be much better.

"Don't shoot the messenger!"
That was a quote from their site.
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Wow! Thanks you guys! Also what make these so expensive?

they hard to breed

5 Gallons per fish might be appropriate for juveniles, as some people keep them until they pair off and then just keep one pair. Jack Wattley reccomends at least 10 gallons per fish (minimally a 30-gallon tank for a breeding pair, but the smaller the tank, the more difficult it is to maintain the proper conditions for them), along with 50% water changes twice a week or more. And he tends to be against tankmates for discus.

10-inch discus!?! I don't know where you got that figure, but the profile here says 6.5 and I have never seen one over that size! That's an imaginitive size.

Maybe we should get someone down here who actually keeps discus. Where's Garry? I think I recall him having some very nice ones... All I know about discus is from a few years of reading Wattley's column in TFH.

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I owned one over 10 and chester zoo currently has two that are at least 11 inches. Most people dont keep em alive that long, and in common with angels many are partially dwarfed with inappropriate accomodation, diet and water quality.Proper adults kept to perfection are literally dinner plate sized.

Many of the harder to keep cichlids such as discus get developmental issues, its just poor care. Doing it properly is a lot harder than most people realise.In a standard sized 30, a fully adult discus would have only a few inches of water above and below, and could really only be kept humanely in 100 gallon plus at least a couple of feet deep or more. Mind you, how many people have even seen a discus over 8-9 years old, let alone owned one, and kept it in 150 -200 gallons for pretty much all of its life. Lets face it, most people have trouble getting them past year 5. Same deal with angels and severums, some out there are enormous but most keepers wont believe it until they see em.

Seen angels over a foot tall, but they bear almost no relation to most peoples experiences of them, yet I firmly believe many have the potential. Its just defecit care limiting their upper sizes. Lot of people keep all three species, but seeing them make old age and full size is a different league of ability.

When people insist on lower size lmits on tankspace , and with the knock-on consequences on water quality and tank stability, thats what you get. Never in a million years would I put a discus through 50% changes, for a fish that fragile it would be idiotic, you will inevitably cause long term gill lamellae scarring, and the incessant re-adjustment to ph will cause a lamellae response again, meaning periodic tissue thickening and a low personal oxygenation level, which sucks on the development front. Mine never saw more than a 10% change in their lives, and never saw nitrate of more than 10 ppm in their lives. Thats the advantage of a much larger aquarium. Even when they do find their way into huge aquaria, often the upscaling in aquarium size comes too late, people often start underestimating from the very beginning, and the damage is done during peak growth years, and it may be too late for the discus to ever gain true adult size.

General standards in discus keeping are dropping,as are sizes and longevities. People are expecting them to get by in smaller and smaller aquaria, and thats not really the way it should be done. Asian breeder culture techniques are catching on, becoming too mainstream, regarded as too normal, with very sterile bland aquaria, lack of microfauna availabilty for fry and developing young, early seperation from the parents, and small breeder setups. Its not really how its supposed to be for discus, the culture is becoming excessively exploitative and deeply flawed. People breed them, get them to midpoint sizes, see them make 5 years and thats it.

Thats not discus keeping, thats just watching them die in their middle ages, its like fish farming. It damages the overall size potential of the species multigenerationally. Its get rich quick culture. Discus keeping at its best is a carefully planned and very gentle labour of love.That way, you get the big adults, and often much better fry too.

Ever see people recommend you get them as yearlings- apparently theyre "tougher" that way. I'd rather get them as youngers, as soon as they disperse from parental care. I want them before the breeder culture and pet shop system does them the developmental damage. I dont want a fish that has 4 -12 months of other peoples mistakes, poor nutritional balancing and crazy OTT water changes because they cant be bothered to give them the water volume they should really have.

Hi there. From all I have read, you should have a minimum of 10 USG for each adult discus you keep,and more is better if you can. They are shoaling fish & prefer to be in groups. 5 is a good minimum number. You would only have 2 on their own if they are a mated pair in a breeding setup.

Good luck with your venture into discus. They are really beautiful fish. Have fun

Cheers
TW

maybe 2-3 full grown in a 55 gallon make sure you provide good hiding spots and plants

i like feesh

Hi again. Discus are shoaling fish. They will not be happy in such a small group. 2 discus should only be kept if they are a confirmed mated pair. 3 are not recommended. A bigger group of 5 or 6 is usually a much better choice.

Have fun

Cheers
TW

Wow! Thanks for all the help you guys! Im really excited and realized I need to save a little more before I start this!