Discus advice

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flossyfloofloo

flossyfloofloo

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Apr 14, 2008
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ok i know discus prefer it warmer than normal but would it seriously harm them if i had them at 26-27 degrees , im hearing mixxed stories saying they will die in days if kept below 30 degrees !!! i really want them but to keep my tank at that tempriture would seriously suck some power !!!

i have a moderatly overfiltered tank ( 100gal display and 40 gall sump with 50 liters of k1 plus nate and phos remover ) would i still need to be hitting 50% wc twice weekly or do you think if i closely monitored i could drop to once a week or just do 15 % twice a week ???

also i being told tank bred discus dont need the water to be super soft like the wilds have it , whats your experiances???

yes i have read up on them but i would prefer real experiances and not just out of the book comments
 
T

tolawdjk

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From the experience of a friend of mine, you can probably get away with the lower tempertures more so than on water quality. I know he kept his adult tank in the 80-82 range, but his grow out tanks were much higher. I don't really know if that was what he intended, or just a function of it being easier to maintain higher temps in the smaller grow out tank.

He never did skimp on the WC's though.

What kind of delta T would you be looking at between room temp and tank temp? With a sump and return lines, you have a lot of potential for heat loss.
 
wesleydnunder

wesleydnunder

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I have kept discus, wilds and domestics for decades. I wouldn't keep them at a temp below 28 C. I've kept discus in very hard water at a ph of 7.6. For my domestics I did 50% partials twice a week, wilds got 50% 3 times a week. They need the water clean so if you want to just do 1 partial a week, keep stocking low and feeding light as possible. This may require more feedings per day.

Are you planning on growing out young discus or buying adults?.. requirements change slightly for juvies.

Mark
 
flossyfloofloo

flossyfloofloo

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the biggest issue with tempreture is just in winter as that room does get cool . so i could just run an extra heater or two in that sorting time frame. delta T?? i aint a scientist lol .

yeah i plan on just having 3-4 but starting off with 6 juvies and growing them out and selling the ones i dont want , i can happily do 3 feedings a day with no worries .

i may have to start off with 2 50% changes and just monitor the water perams as i have the nate and po4 removers in the tank , also looking at a aneoxic (sp) filter . i have an RO unit i can plumb in but wasnt planning on using it if i could help it .
 
pinkertd

pinkertd

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May 29, 2007
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:iagree:with Mark. For juvie discus though I would not keep them at less than 30C. Adults can be kept at 28C.
 
wesleydnunder

wesleydnunder

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I've had the nitrate up to 20 ppm in high tech planted discus tanks with no adverse effects on the fish. I agree with Debi on the temp for juvies; at least 30 C. Juvies will need more water changes and at least 4 feedings a day to get optimum growth. I wouldn't bother with RO as juvies grow well with some hardness in the water. You HAVE to keep the tank clean. This is accomplished easiest with bare bottom and a minimum of tank decor. That's not to say it's not possible to successfully grow out discus in a planted, scaped tank btu it's just so much easier to keep the tank clean and make sure all are getting food in a bare bottom set up.

Mark
 
flossyfloofloo

flossyfloofloo

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ok should be able to keep it below 20 ppm quite easyily . im just worried about causing a spike , i am cycling some media in my channe tank ready for any fish i get , would u recomend just adding a couple at a time ??
 
wesleydnunder

wesleydnunder

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flossyfloofloo said:
ok should be able to keep it below 20 ppm quite easyily . im just worried about causing a spike , i am cycling some media in my channe tank ready for any fish i get , would u recomend just adding a couple at a time ??
Click to expand...
Yes, add two fish, take tests of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate during the week. If the filter handles the load, add two more a week after the first two. Test again for a week and add the last two if everything's ok at the end of that week.

Mark
 
flossyfloofloo

flossyfloofloo

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well if i add slowly i would have to do it al least 3 weeks apart due to my wages as shipping the fish will cost more than the actual fish . looking at tank bred browns as i am going after a wild looking tank
 
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