Discus Suggestions Please

[CandiBug2]

I've been doing some research online and have decided that I really like the Discus fish. More specifically, I saw a picture of a beautiful blue one and am most interested in them. Any clue as to what other fish may go best with the Discus species? How many Discus could I keep in my 55 gallon tank? I like the Angel fish too but am not sure if they would be compatible with the Discus. Any suggestions on what I should get for my tank?


Candi

[NJ Devils Fan]

I wouldn't keep more than 5 in there, try to keep it around 1 discus per 10 gallons. Fish that will tolerate the higher temperature will be fine. As the memember 80gJoe, he has an awesome discus tank you will drool over.

[Stephen]

Please remember that discus are considered delicate fish by most people and are usually expensive. My nephews father tried discus. He had kept fish for many years but failed greatly at keeping discus simply because he wasn't prepared to meet thier needs. I'd suggest a book. Or reading as much as you possibly can about them online. The best info would come from someone who already keeps them. I'm sure you won't have a problem at all finding someone on here with lots of experience in keeping them that would be willing to share and help you out. You're right about them being beautiful fish. I'd love to keep them myself but I'd rather devote my fish keeping time with and my already established tanks, ponds, and new (well it's been a few years since my last) saltwater tanks.

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by CandiBug2
I've been doing some research online ...... Any suggestions on what I should get for my tank?
Candi Take a minute and click on "Tank Specs" at the bottom of my post so you can see how we set-up our 80 gallon Discus Tank.

We have had our Discus about a year now. One per gallon is the absolute maximum for a tank. Our 8 in the 80 gallon is pushing it, but they are fine.

I would not have Angels with Discus. There's a 'rumor' that Angels can carry a certain disease that will harm the Discus. Also, I think Angels would not do as well with the high temperatures Discus enjoy (84 to 86F degrees)...

Discus need 'better' water than some other fish. Meaning, you may need to use Reverse Osmosis water for them to be healthy. It depends on how your tap water is. My tap water is very 'hard' and would not work well. So, I had to get a R/O System.

Read and research more... it helps! A website dedicated to Discus is "www.simplydiscus.com" If a few fanatics over there 'scare' you --- don't get discouraged!

Discus are not too complicated if you study a bit on what they need. High temperature, Lower pH, regular water changes, soft water are some basics... :)

note: (living in Orlando, my Discus said 'absolutely no plastic Disney toys in the tank...')

[TwoTankAmin]

There is a difference between how you keep discus you are trying to breed and those you have to adorn a display type tank. I have had 4 red turqs for several months now. I bought them from a local breeder and they are 4-5 inches. I did a lot of research by asking a number of discus keepers and breeders for advice. The one thing I decided in advance was that discus would have to live in my tap water or not live in my tanks- r/o is once step I will not take.

I keep those 4 discus in a 75 gal planted tank. It is pH 7.4, gh 6dg and kh 5dg well water, the temp is 82. It is filtered with an Eheim Pro II 2026, AquaClear 300 with peat added and a Hot Magnum with the micron cart. I change 35-40% of the water weekly.

I feed a high protein diet to include live red worms, frozen blood worms and mysis shrimp, flake and spirulina.

In the tank are also 4 clown loaches ranging from about 4.5 to 6+ inches, 9 sterbai cory (they have spawned in there but eggs dont last long), one brown and one albino dwarf bristlnose, one SAE, a few otos and a lonely z danio.

The upshot of this is while discus are a bit more demanding than some other fish, they will also tolerate a wider range of conditions than many so called experts recommend. I do know that they need good quality clean water and also need a somewhat warmer tank as well as a good diet. I also know that they are best bought from a local breeder. They will more likely have been spawned and/or raised/kept in similar water to what you have and taken good care of. Also it is much less stressful to go pick them up with a bucket and bring em home fast than it is to ship them, especially for larger ones.

I would suggest you start with less expensive discus to see how they and you do together because some of the fancier ones cost an arm and a leg and are not the best to learn with and are often more demanding.

To see pictures of the fish when I got them and then again last week go to (excuse my lack of photografic skills):
in Q tank: http://home.att.net/~c.leighton/wsb/media/39037/site1093.jpg
last week: http://home.att.net/~c.leighton/wsb/media/39037/site1097.jpg