Maintaining stable pH and water parameters during water changes

good info here

read it and digest it. nothing is concrete but much of the information is valuable.

Baby fish Discus or otherwise will generally do best if the water is clean and the food plentiful.

you will find that Discus are actually pretty hardy fish.
 
I guess through all the conversation my intentions may have been muddled. I'll re-state my ideas.

I own a 55 gallon tank and am willing to upgrade to a larger tank when the time is right.
Can I raise 5-6 juvenile discus in the 55g bare bottom until they reach the 4" mark and then transfer them to a larger tank? (Possibly 90g)
Can I purchase a mated pair, instead of the 5-6 discus, and place them in the 55g with substrate, plants and other well chosen tank mates? Do they still require more "socio-discus" interaction than I can provide in my 55g?

I own two juvenile Geophagus Jurupari. I had planned on raising these fish with the (adult) discus. The temperament of these Geophagus is very docile. Will I have problems with these two species cohabiting the same tank?
I've yet to hear of someone raising Geophagus Jurupari and having them exceed 8". I have however seen on many site listings that they can attain 10" in length. Assuming a larger tank was used to allow the discus and geophagus to "grow out", will I have any temper issues with the discus?

It's late and I'm tired... I'll make more sense tomorrow morning.
 
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Muddled sometimes happens, I thought I looked through the thread yesterday to see if you had intentions of putting the discus in a larger tank later and didn't see it.....:)

BagelDog said:
I guess through all the conversation my intentions may have been muddled. I'll re-state my ideas.

I own a 55 gallon tank and am willing to upgrade to a larger tank when the time is right.
Can I raise 5-6 juvenile discus in the 55g bare bottom until they reach the 4" mark and then transfer them to a larger tank? (Possibly 90g)
Absolutely YES!

Can I purchase a mated pair, instead of the 5-6 discus, and place them in the 55g with substrate, plants and other well chosen tank mates?
Absolutely YES!

Do they still require more "socio-discus" interaction than I can provide in my 55g?
Not at all, the pair will be perfectly fine together.

I own two juvenile Geophagus Jurupari. I had planned on raising these fish with the (adult) discus. The temperament of these Geophagus is very docile. Will I have problems with these two species cohabiting the same tank?
I cannot answer this except only with a guess... but if the GJ's enjoy the same foods and water temperatures and don't outcompete the discus for food, I would guess it is possible.

I've yet to hear of someone raising Geophagus Jurupari and having them exceed 8". I have however seen on many site listings that they can attain 10" in length. Assuming a larger tank was used to allow the discus and geophagus to "grow out", will I have any temper issues with the discus?
No temper issues with the discus at all. While they are feisty amongst each other as growing juvies I have never witnessed a discus get feisty with any other fish in the tank no matter the size. And the feistiness is only sibling squabbling. They are extremely, extremely gentle giants.

It's late and I'm tired... I'll make more sense tomorrow morning.
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Hope you slept well and your tired eyes are ready for RED type!:thumbsup:
 
I don't know if my eyes are ready for the red type. I had no desire to sleep last night and an overwhelming desire to sleep now that I have eight hours of work ahead of me. Ugh...

After reading your answers I'll elaborate on my questions from last night:
Since the grown discus are such gentle giants do they even need to be a mated pair to occupy the same tank? Would a third discus throw off the peaceful nature of the tank?

I'll research the Geophagus compatibility. I've read of a few people keeping them together. My Geophagus are really well behaved unless they are cramped for space and even then the aggression is only between themselves. My German Ram routinely thumps and chases the Geophagus even though the Geophagus is about three times the size of the ram.

I doubt the Geophagus will out compete the discus for food. Mine are primarily bottom feeders unless the flake food won't sink.

Tell me if I have this correct- Discus are schooling fish and aggressive amongst themselves when being raised but their temperament calms down and they are OK with being in small groups as adults. Right?

What is the lowest temperature that I can keep my discus at and still have them happy and healthy? I currently keep the Geophagus at about 81-82F and they seem to be thriving. I know I'll have to go up from 82F but how much? 84F, 86F?

I think that my smaller Geophagus is convinced he is a clown loach. He spends all day swimming with them. It's pretty funny actually.
 
BagelDog said:
I don't know if my eyes are ready for the red type. I had no desire to sleep last night and an overwhelming desire to sleep now that I have eight hours of work ahead of me. Ugh...

OK since you are still sleepy I will type in a more soothing color:D

After reading your answers I'll elaborate on my questions from last night:
Since the grown discus are such gentle giants do they even need to be a mated pair to occupy the same tank? Would a third discus throw off the peaceful nature of the tank?

I'll research the Geophagus compatibility. I've read of a few people keeping them together. My Geophagus are really well behaved unless they are cramped for space and even then the aggression is only between themselves. My German Ram routinely thumps and chases the Geophagus even though the Geophagus is about three times the size of the ram.
When I had rams they thumped my disus taking the poor discus by surprise regularly when they were guarding their spawning site. Rams fear nothing! LOL!

I doubt the Geophagus will out compete the discus for food. Mine are primarily bottom feeders unless the flake food won't sink.
Discus will grab food from the water column and also the surface, but then they will spend a long time after feeding grazing the bottom of the tank for the food that drops.

Tell me if I have this correct- Discus are schooling fish and aggressive amongst themselves when being raised but their temperament calms down and they are OK with being in small groups as adults. Right? Yes. Every now and again you will run across an adult who is a life-long bully, no matter what. I had one. Key word HAD. She was so disruptive at feeding time especially that she stressed me and the rest of the discus out all the time. I rehomed her. Peace and tranquility set in immediately upon her departure. Adult discus aren't nearly as worried about being first to the food to grab the most nor to keep part of the tank to themselves as young growing discus are. Even when I have 2 adults spawning in their tank, there's only minor pushing away from the intended spawning object (filter intake).

What is the lowest temperature that I can keep my discus at and still have them happy and healthy? I currently keep the Geophagus at about 81-82F and they seem to be thriving. I know I'll have to go up from 82F but how much? 84F, 86F? Adult discus can be kept at a temperature a bit lower than young discus. 82-84 is ideal.

I think that my smaller Geophagus is convinced he is a clown loach. He spends all day swimming with them. It's pretty funny actually.
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That's funny! You've got a lot of activity for that 55 with the Geophagus, the rams, clown loaches and possibly discus. I think you're pushing the limits. And water quality and room are going to become an issue in the future. If that happens, the discus will be the first to show the stress. And if you buy adults, you'll pay a hefty price for them. I'm thinking that your geophagus seem quite similar to severums in size, tank requirements, and temperment. I had 3 severums prior to getting the discus. Bought them as babies. Two eventually paired off and I was forced to rehome the 3rd as it was a male and he was enduring aggressive attacks from the paired male. I had the paired severums in a 72G bowfront tank and felt it was too small for them. When they lip-locked and rocked-and-rolled in there you realized just how big an 8-10 inch fish really was. 55G tanks are only 12" front to back.....just not much room for large fish.
 
Ahhhhh..... Thank you for the soooothing color used.

It's funny when you're sending messages online, it is so easy to omit one key word or phrase and send someone else the wrong message.
I'll elaborate again! :)

I have clown loaches and one geophagus in one tank and a ram and one more geophagus in another. My 55 gallon is bare bottom and has only one betta in it! (How's that for under stocking:D!) I don't plan on keeping loaches, rams or any other fish in the discus tank other than:
Schooling fish (medium sized tetras)
Bottom feeders (geophagus and possibly a few corys)
Cleaning crew (bristlenose pleco)
and Mid level centerpiece fish (discus)

I think that this combination of fish will help disperse the fish nicely and give each species their own section of the tank to call home as well as give the tank a lively look without over crowding.

I am genuinely concerned about the well being of the discus so they are priority number one when it comes to feeding, swimming space and comfort, not only for their sake but to protect my investment in them as well. All aspects of the tank will revolve around their ideal preferences.

I only go on about the space issue because I have overstocked my tanks before but I really enjoy watching a fish who is enjoying life itself. That means taking care of all of the things I listed above.
I'M GOOD TO MY FISH!!! :)
 
Haha, you were scaring me there adding species of fish in your thread you hadn't mentioned before and you are right, how easy for the thread to go downhill with an omitted word.:nono: Just kidding!

What a spoiled betta with an ocean to live in! LOL!

Sounds like your plan will work then!:clap: Carry on and keep us posted with the progress!!
 
Snoop although I read it all before, I enjoyed reading it again!! Ehem......aren't we a little overdue for new pics??
 
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