looking to do my first discus tank

[Fishfiles1]

i have a 55 gallon tank and here is what i have sofare
50 lbs of razor back red gravels very small substrate
lots of drift wood
java fern and anubias soon to be more plants
water change 20% every week
temp 80 i will rais it for the discus
i feed my fish every day, a mix of miysis shrimp, blood worms, brine shrimp, and pellets
fluval 405 filter
T-5 lighting
black background
ph 6.8 i can change it
i would like to have a school of Dario loaches and some other schooling fish with the discus, and i would like to have 3-4 discus
please take the information i have provided and help guide me to keeping discus, the only thing that scares me is people say that it is a lot of money to keep up, and i only thought the fish where expensive sorry for the spelling

[fishorama]

Well I'm raising 8 2.5 inch discus in a 55g, bare bottom no other fish. They are a lot of work, I change 30-60% water a day & feed 5-7 times/day. Adults will need 10g per fish.

3 or 4 is not a good number, like angels they will pair up or 1 will be a bully. You could maybe do an adult pair ($$$) if they get along, not just any 2 discus. Adults don't need quite as many meals or daily water changes but 20% a week is not enough for any tank IMO.

[snoopy65]

i have a 55 gallon tank and here is what i have sofare
50 lbs of razor back red gravels very small substrate
lots of drift wood
java fern and anubias soon to be more plants
water change 20% every week
You will need to increase your water changes to at least 25-50% daily if you get young discus.
temp 80 i will rais it for the discus
i feed my fish every day, a mix of miysis shrimp, blood worms, brine shrimp, and pellets
Young discus need to be fed 5-6 times daily to get them to grow to their maximum potential.
fluval 405 filter
T-5 lighting
black background
Most people use a light background for discus unless they are of an albino strain. Discus tend to try and blend into their surroundings and a black background will cause them to darken and if they have pigeon blood in them they will "pepper".
ph 6.8 i can change it
Unless you get wild discus, do not play with the ph. The discus will be fine.
i would like to have a school of Dario loaches and some other schooling fish with the discus, and i would like to have 3-4 discus
If you are keeping discus, it is a DISCUS tank and everything else that is in there is secondary. Discus are schooling fish and do better with more. A minimum of 5, preferably more unless they are a proven pair.
please take the information i have provided and help guide me to keeping discus, the only thing that scares me is people say that it is a lot of money to keep up, and i only thought the fish where expensive sorry for the spelling
Discus are expensive fish and are expensive to keep due to the amount of food and water changes needed to get them to grow properly and not stunt. Not to mention the amount of electricity to keep the tank warmer, etc.

If you decide to jump into the discus world, make sure you do alot of researching before hand. Discus are not more difficult to keep. Just more time consuming and costly. We are all here to help you along the way.

[discus_lover]

nice suggesions..

[ponderingky]

:iagree:Listen to Snoopy - you have to really WANT to keep discus, they do require a lot more effort than most other tropical fish - beautiful but demanding. I would also try to find a local breeder - you will get more fish for your money and they will be in much better health. I drove over 2 hours one way to get mine - worth every minute!