Discus Display Tank!

[RJ_Archer]

iv got a 3x15x22 and thinking of turning it into a dsicus discus display tank, once i sell my surinamensis pair....
What are the most hearty plants to use?
and how many discus can i have in there?
i was thinking 3x Pure Orange Discus, 2x Pure White Discus, 2x blue diamonds or cobalts is that to many?
Thanks

[goldenpigeon]

hey,
the general rule is 1 discus to 40L of water. ofcourse if you have younger discus you can have more in the tank.

[jho51e]

hey,
the general rule is 1 discus to 40L of water. ofcourse if you have younger discus you can have more in the tank.

thanks for posting this goldenpigeon, i was not sure of the standards... so if i were to get 4 more discus later on (i currently have 2 little ones) and I have a 6x2x2 tank, then all 6 would be ok?

[goldenpigeon]

oh yes that would be very fine lol. at one stage i kept over 20 discus in my 6x2x2 lol. thats was overstocking it but they were all ok! i have lots of filters and do lots of water changes thoagh.

[Proteus]

In a 6x2x2 I had 18 large Discus and they were as happy as pigs in mud.

200L weekly water change, massive filtration system = happy campers

RJ, do you want the fish to be the feature or the plants/biotope?

[jho51e]

aha! great news, 6 would be fine...

now just need to keep up my wc of 200L weekly... that is around 30% yes?

[RJ_Archer]

ok my filtration will be undergravel filters all the way across the bottom with 4+ up takes, 2x Sacem Marathon 300 canisters

[goldenpigeon]

hey RJ,
IMHO undergravel filters are ShItE. just go with your 2 canisters and try and get another one soon or get a sponge filter. undergravel filters dont really go with discus, they poop and eat so much that there is just going to be no need for the filter and it will just hide all the sludge under the gravel making your fish sick.

[RJ_Archer]

Thanks 4 da info....so would the 2 canisters be fine + ill be doing 10-20% waterchange EVERY DAY

[Merrilyn]

Your 3 foot tank holds about 190 litres, so you could have about 4 adult or 5 smaller discus in there without any problems.

Your two filters will be ample for that tank. You certainly don't need anything else. As a rule of thumb, you should turn over the water in your tank about 4 times each hour. Your filters are probably doing way more than that. Try to use spray bars on the filters, so you don't have too much current in the tank. Discus prefer fairly still water.