Just wondering, would a 20 gallon high aquarim be enough for one or two discus?

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$eaba$$

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Discus look cool, and I'm almost positive I would never get one. But I'm just curious to if you put a discus in a 20 gallon high, and not making the fish suffer? How many could fit? If too small, what is best size for a few discus? Are discus very delicate?
 
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Rbishop

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You need a minimum of a 55 for full grown.
 

Marinemom

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Discus are schooling fish. I would recommend no less then five of them in order for them to be happy. Of course this will require a large tank for them. At least 45-50 gallons and bigger is always better. They are also very sensitive fish and require frequent water changes. They like super clean pristine water and if they do not have that then they are open to getting all kinds of diseases including hole in the head which can be very difficult to treat. I have a discus tank and they get water changes five times a week. They can also be very fussy eaters. Mine took almost two weeks before they would even think about taking a morsel of food. If you want discus you will definetly need a much larger tank.

Marinemom
 

Star_Rider

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wild discus and young discus need clean water..very clean.

adult discus are large and you should calculate 10-15 gallons per fish(optimal) discus prefer schools if you want them to feel comfortable. 4 is bare minimum with 5-6 an actual better number to keep.

so my recomendation is to not keep only 2 discus..unless it is a bonifide pair and then you should have a 30 gallon minimum tank.btw..don't be afraid to raise discus. if you can find a local breeder and these are 'domestic' tank raised discus..they are proving to be a bit hardier than most would assume.
however, they are more sensitive than most other species.
if you decide to raise young discus you will need to feed them 4+ times per day mix the food and teach them to eat flake and bits.

be prepared to do almost daily water changes atleast 3-4 per week and large changes if you can't do small changes every day.

the cleaner the water the healthier the fish will be.
 
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BadRoma1

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you don't have to change water five times a week in discus tank. you can if you want, but once a week is fine. 20 gallons tank is too small for such big fish. also discus look better in the bigger tank. i just got 125 gallons for my 8 discus and they look stunning. i can't emangine to have anything smaller than 125 gallons tank for these fish. they also are not difficult fish to keep, just don't feed them live food to eliminate health problems.
 

Star_Rider

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if you want optimal growth for young discus you need to feed them 3-5 times per day..this means lots of waste which can lead to poor water conditions= possible HITH, HLLE.. discus are prone to these infections..sometimes this is considered discus disease(depending on the source of information).
young discus fed this many time will need more water changes.

this is recommended if you are trying to achieve optimal growth(dinner plate sized discus).

if you don't mind a more natrual approach and raise the discus in a planted tank feeding the young discus 3 small meals you do not need to change the water every day. however, your discus will reach a more natural size of 6-8 inches if you choose this route(on average)

if you want to read about the extreme raising of discus lots of info here not all of which I agree with ..check out simplydiscus.com.

keep in mind these are discus breeders trying to achieve show quality discus..very beautiful fish too I might add.
 

$eaba$$

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Ok.

Thanks guys.
 

Sportsnutim

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I have had success with mating discus in a 20 or better. Got to have clean water. I change mine at least once a week depending if I have gravel and live plants etc. I vary my food from blood worms and flakes two to three times a day sometimes beefheart. Yes, they do better in schools 4 or better and bigger the tank the better, I have 6 in my 55 and they do very well sometime a couple more.
 
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