I am interested in starting a discus tank but have heard this can be quite difficult. I am hoping that someone out there can tell me a few things about them and their requirements. Here are some questions that I have:
How big of a tank should I have for them? Tall? Long?
What kind of Fish should I include with them?
How many should I get?
What is the best food for them?
What are the specific water qualities that they require?
What type of plants should I include?
What type of filtration should I include?
What type of lighting should I use?
What temperature should I keep the tank at?
What type of medacine is best for their immune system?
It depends on tank size and the age of the fish. I would get 6 very young ones and let them form pairs. If your tank is not large enough to house all the adults, you can rehome them and keep one pair. Discus CANNOT be sexed outside of breeding, so you need to get a group if you're hoping for a male and a female.
A variety. Don't feed bloodworms to young discus. Other than that, earthworms, beefheart, quality discus pellet food. Soaking their food in vitamins beforehand is also a good idea.
What are the specific water qualities that they require?
Soft, acidic water. If you're not breeding them you can probably keep them in a ph up to 7, but breeding discus will probably require r/o water that has minerals added back. Most importantly, they need frequent water changes and the temperature should be around 84 degrees.
I am not an expert by any means, but I do keep Discus.
For tank mates, I have had a lot of success with neons, khulis, otos, bristlenose pleco, hilstream loach, blue rams.
Basically, any South American fish that is smaller and no other chiclids (including angels) except for the dwarfs and only a couple of those. You want the Discus to be the kings of the tank. Also, no barbs or other agressive fish, no large plecos, etc that may be attracted to the broad sides of the Discus (I have not had problems with the dwarf plecos).
I keep my tank very well planted, so the light is blocked somewhat from above. The Discus love to play "tag" around the plants and the neons, etc feel secure.
Double the recommended filtration rate for other tanks and point the outflow so it doesn't disturb the tank as much.
I too am no expert on Discus But care for four. Two red turqouise, one snakeskin, and one marlboro red. Ditto everything mentioned. Temp. above 84 degrees will limit the fish species that can be kept with Discus. I have as tankmates... Gold white clouds. Blue Rams, Otocinclis, Neon Tetras, clown pleco, swartz corydoras and raphael catfish. I feed them all Frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, Cichlid crisps, flake food, Beefheart (once a week) Freezedried daphnia, marine algae ( hung on vege- clip their favorite) And occasional tubifex (freeze dried) 80 gal. Tank with 25percent water changes every five days without fail. They are sensitive to ANY sudden temp change or water parameter change . They truly are a beautiful fish. It was six months before they would take food from my hand. I would place the Tank in an area Where there is not heavy foot traffic. Nor would I place the tank in a posistion around a corner where they can be startled by sudden appearance . Plants in my tank (no co2) are wisteria, crypt,amazon sword, tiger lotus, and onion.
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