Discus question!

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ktrom13

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Feb 4, 2013
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Kyle
I have a 40B that has 4 discus in it. They are in the 40B because im just watching them for a friend for a few months while hes away. There us a breeding pair and a potential breeding pair. He said if they do end up breeding then a can keep a few. But my concern is my biggest tank is a 40B . So is my tank large enough for discus? And if so how many?

Thanks, Kyle

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discuspaul

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Jun 22, 2010
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The answer to your question is not as simple as you might think.

First, IF the mated pair spawned in that tank, with 2 other discus around, it's not likely any eggs or free-swimming fry (if they got that far) would survive. The parents or the other two could and may well eat the eggs (or the fry).
If the pair had not spawned before, being new parents it could take them several more 'tries' before they 'got it right', and fry actually hatched. And if that did happen, the other two discus would need to be taken out of that tank, to give those fry a chance to start attaching to the parents, so as to get nourishment from the parents' slime coatings. Then it would take another week or two until the fry needed to be moved to their own grow out tank, in which one would need to do large, daily water changes, and provide feedings 5 to 6 times a day, if they were to grow out properly, remain healthy, and not become stunted.

It would likely take another month for those youngsters to get to about 1" size, which is about the smallest size that any experienced discus keeper would suggest to a novice discus-keeper to try growing them out to a size where their immune system is strong enough to deal with any problem conditions with changing water params, etc. Growing out young discus is quite time-consuming, and requires experienced and careful attention.
However, re: your question:
Let's assume the unlikely event that there was a spawn that was successful, i.e. some fry became free-swimming, got nourishment from the parents, and you were then able to move them to your other 40 gal. (either that, or remove the parents from the spawning tank).
This is assuming too that you had done your homework, and were prepared to try to grow them out properly in order to save them.
You could actually keep quite a large number of youngsters under 1" in size in a 40, at least for a while.
From 1" to say, just under 3", you could keep approx. 20 to maybe 40 in that tank, following which the remaining near 3" juvie discus would need to be moved to a larger tank.

I know this isn't an answer you were looking for, but it's basically the realities of the matter.
 

ktrom13

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Thats some great info, thanks. Could i possibly keep like 2 full grown discus in my tank? They are absolutely beautiful and i would love to keep them. Im going to be buying a 75gallon soon and im thinking about purchasing either discus for it. I understand the extra work that i would have to do such as keeping the ph lower. Any more info on keeping discus would be greatly appreciated!

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discuspaul

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Jun 22, 2010
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You could keep 2 discus in your 40 gal, as long as they were a proven mated pair.

The minimum number of discus you should keep together is 5, for social compatability reasons, otherwise you'd likely be faced with excessive aggression/ pecking order problems (unless of course they were a mated pair).

Otherwise, you may be able to keep 5 adult or near adult discus in that tank if you were prepared to go bare-bottom, and do large frequent, if not daily, wcs (say, min. 3 X a week of 50% or more).

Another alternative would be to use the tank to grow out say, 6 to 8 juvenile discus of around 3" - but that would only be a temporary thing, for just a couple of months, as you'd need to rehome them to a larger tank when they reached around 4".

If you plan on keeping discus, the most important things you need to do as a novice, is to do your homework well, ahead of time, and be sure you get good quality stock of a decent size (3" or larger), from a well- known, experienced, reputable supplier of healthy, quality fish.

You might start by having a read of my 'Beginner's Guide to Getting Started with Discus', located right here as the first sticky in this Discus & Angel Fish section.
If I can be of any further help regarding discus, don't hesitate to post again, or pm me anytime - I'd be glad to guide you properly, and provide you with names/locations, etc. of good sources for getting high quality discus.
Regards,
Paul
 

ktrom13

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I just read the sticky and by god there was alot of helpful information on there. Some i knew and most that i didnt. I knew to maintain good water quality through water changes but i have to up the water changes im doing due to my tank size. Also i need to raise the temperature to 84 instead of 78-80. That sticky was extremely useful to me and make me want to get a larger tank up and cycled asap to accomidate discus. Thank you once again. If and when i get some discus ill be sure to post some pictures for you to check out

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