Just Thinking.....

[blang]

I am dreaming of my next tank which I am hoping is a 55 gallon. My ph is 7.4. Am I able to keep Discus?

[kalebjarrod]

Ph of 7.4 is not perfect but you will certainly be able to sucessfully keep Discus

stability is much more desirable than acidity

what is your pH if you leave the water sit for 48 hours? does it drop slightly

[blang]

My levels are very consistent. It is always 7.4 and ammonia and nitrites are always zero.

[nicholas76]

7.4 NO issue!


just keep an eye on your kh :D

[blang]

kh?????

[funkyfish]

kh carbonate harness from calcium in the water
my ph is 8.1 18dgh 16 dkh ur water sounds fine
stabilty is the key and w\c's
good luck

[Merrilyn]

A big welcome to the forum Blang. We want to see pics of discus swimming around in your new tank :P

[Trebs]

7.4 is fine. Just be sure it's well cycled. Go for a slightly bigger tank if possible, 55 gal is about bare minimum for discus.

[blang]

Pictures? I first have to convince my husband that we should have another tank. He thinks I already spend too much time with my two tanks so a third is going to be really difficult. I had a very difficult start with losing a lot of fish due to getting very bad advice from my LFS. I have since switched LFS's and now my oldest fish is 6 months old.

In any event, I am not sure having a discus tank is right for me. I think they are absolutely beautiful but I don't think I could commit to cleaning the tank twice a week.

I am so glad that I came to this website first as now I am make an informed decision. I will still continue to read the questions and answers until the time my husband says yes or no to a larger tank. Until then, thanks for all your help.

[jwight]

Tanks are not hard to clean. A lot of inexperienced or unsecussful fish keepers complain about water changers. I set up a semi-automatic water changer than changes 20% of the water three times a week in no longer than an hour. As soon as you work out how often and the best method to change water the only fish deaths will be old buggers.

[blang]

My 55 gallon tank will probably be set up in my livingroom on a buffet so I can't have any extra tanks or equipment in site. So, I don't know how I could have a sem-automatic water change system set up. Right now it takes me about 15-20 minutes per tank to clean one of my small tanks from start to finish. That includes setup and putting everything away. It's really no big deal and I kind of enjoy it but if I had to do it twice a week, it might become a chore.

However, I am certainly open to ideas to make it easier. Are discus really that messy that you have to clean it more than once a week?

[nicholas76]

ist not that they are messy bud its just that they require more attention tham most fish.

[leanne31]

And they can do HUGE poos :oops:

Leanne

[blang]

So if I try to be understocked could I get away with cleaning once a week or that still would be bad.

I am taking a look at a used 55 gallon tank.

[kalebjarrod]

you can clean once a week,

you just won't achive the growth of a tank cleaned every two to three days :wink:

[blang]

What do you mean "growth of a tank"?

[leanne31]

He means your fish may not grow as fast and get as big as they would if you did wc every couple of days

Leanne

[Merrilyn]

Cleaning your tank once a week will be fine if you understock, plant heavily and don't overfeed. You've had fish before, and you know what to look for. I'm sure you'll be fine.

[nicholas76]

And they can do HUGE poos :oops:

Leanne


You never have had Tank busters before have you LMOA


red devils put cows to shame

[blang]

So....should I buy myself a shovel?

Anyway, how many can I have in a 55 gallon with some bottom feeders?

[Merrilyn]

They're just teasing. Keeping discus sends you a bit loopy :lol: Just a very small shovel will be fine :roll:

Seriously, you could have four or five young discus in there with some bottom beeders, like cory cats and maybe a small school of some kind of tetra. Just watch your feeding, and don't be tempted to overfeed.

[blang]

Now, last two questions (probably not). Is there a better mix as far as male/females are concerned. I really don't want to get into breeding but I don't want any fighting either. I had that problem with too many male livebearers.

I don't think I want to get into live plants. Are the fake ones OK?

[Merrilyn]

Breeding won't be a problem. Small discus are impossible to sex (and almost impossible when they are mature). The ratio of males to females won't be important.

It's probably more important to get them of similar size, so one doesn't become dominant too quick.

Fake plants are fine. There are some really beautiful silk ones that look almost real. If you're looking for a more natural looking setting, driftwood is a necessity, and very few plants. There are very few plants in the amazon, the natural home of discus.

A thin layer of gravel will be fine, not more than an inch deep, so gravel vacuuming will be easier.

[blang]

Well, I'm almost convinced. When I look at purchasing the fish, what size should I get. The ones in the LFS were about 3 inches in diameter.

[Merrilyn]

Is that with or without the tail. Three inches is an ideal size to start with. Try to feed them three times a day. Just a small amount, so they finish it all within about 10 minutes.

[blang]

It's just a rough estimate. I am going to try to drag my husband to the fish store this week and I will get a better idea of the size. It's going to be awhile before I actually set up a bigger tank but I might as well start looking and dreaming.

It is so temping to buy a 75 but if it works out, I am getting a used 55 for a great deal.

[blang]

I read at another forum that Dicus need to be put into an established tank only, it should be at least 6 months old. What's your comment on that?

They also said to add your other fish first as any fish added while the Discus are in your tank will probably be viewed as food. Any comments?

[Merrilyn]

Gee, I'm going to have to disagree with that comment about only putting discus in a six month old tank. The tank must by cycled, but you can do a full cycle in about two weeks.

I can put breeding pairs in a new tank with a cycled filter, and they are fine. I have also bought a new tank, cycled it for two weeks or so (using the fishless cycle) and immediately added ten grown fish. Never any problems.

Grown discus will eat anything that fits in their mouth, regardless of whether the smaller fish are added first or last. However, if the discus are purchased small, and they grow up with the smaller fish, they usually learn to leave them alone, and live quite happily together.

[blang]

Now this is scarey......I certainly wouldn't want a fish to eat another pet fish. What is the minimum size a fish should be to be "safe"?

[Merrilyn]

LOL fortunately discus have a very small mouth, so only very tiny fish are at risk. A full grown discus can easily eat a small, half grown neon or cardinal tetra. So that's why we suggest getting your discus small if you want to have neons or other small tetras in the tank.

Lots of members have cardinal tetras or rummy nose tetras in with their grown discus. Any of the catfish family, bronze cats, bristlenose cats etc are good companions in a discus tank.