Can I Keep Discus?

[PrettyDiscus]

I am talking to The Godfather.

You said you had: "Ammonia=0 nitrate=0 nitrite=0" This is an un-cycled tank. If it were cycled you would have a nitrate reading higher than 0... unless you did a 100% water change before checking your levels??

My tank is a year old and i have always had 0 nitrate. Its called good water quality.

 

[TheGodfather]

I am talking to The Godfather.

You said you had: "Ammonia=0 nitrate=0 nitrite=0" This is an un-cycled tank. If it were cycled you would have a nitrate reading higher than 0... unless you did a 100% water change before checking your levels??

My tank is a year old and i have always had 0 nitrate. Its called good water quality.

Well in my 120l tank which has been running for 3 years. My nitrate has always been 0, so i beg to differ...

Ollie

 

[LisaLQ]

Are you guys for real?

No your tanks aren't big enough and even tap water has nitrates in - so you really either need to get a new test kit or cycle your tanks.

Unless as someone pointed out to me the other day your tanks are planted to the high heavens, and then in that case, discus aren't for you anyway - as they'll eat 'em.

Discus can get to 8", Kim, so if you think you can keep sevs in your tanks (which get to 10-12" with other fish) then I cant see why you would be concerned about discus. Personally, I wouldn't put anything bigger than a pair of angels in a tank of that size - it's not big enough for sevs, it's not big enough for discus. A pair of sevs need a minimum of 300L.

As for pairs of discus, unless you get a breeding pair - you cant just stick two discus in a tank and hope they get along. As breeding pairs cost into the hundreds, it might be a bit pricey? If you want more than a pair, you're going to need a tank much much much bigger than 180L.

And most folks recommend keeping discus and angels seperate as angels can carry diseases that can kill your discus, without your angels being affected.

So to summarise - no you cant keep discus in a 180L. These are big fish. Secondly, you shouldn't keep them with angels - although it is possible it could work, there's too much risk involved IMO. Thirdly - your tanks are probably uncycled or your test kits are faulty. You cant put discus (or indeed any fish - but especially not one so sensitive to water quality) in an uncycled tank.

Try reading up more - and talking to discus keepers, rather than just saying "Hey yeah you can cram that many in there - I did - I've even got a BGK and several other fish, I did it so it must be ok"....try talking to responsible discus keepers

 

[Castellop123]

I second what LisaLQ is saying... 180 litres is too small for a shoal of Discus!!!

 

[gsta13]

I second what LisaLQ is saying... 180 litres is too small for a shoal of Discus!!!

Im sure there has been many posts on discus before, and it always comes down to 240Ltrs is about firght for 4-5. Now i wouldn't reccomend (all coming from reasearch not experience) Keeping Discus in your tanks, mainly because of the size. As for angels and Discus it can be done however the discus can be intimmidated and stressed by the angels. Try using the search function, you will get more than ya need on discus
Greg

 

[crazie.eddie]

Unless as someone pointed out to me the other day your tanks are planted to the high heavens, and then in that case, discus aren't for you anyway - as they'll eat 'em.

Where did you get this information? Discus do not eat plants.

A 180 liter tank IS too small for a group of adult or sub-adult discus. It is fine for growing out juvenile discus, but you will need to move them to a larger tank once they get bigger. Unfortunately, if you want to grow out juvenile discus in a 180 liter tank, it's best to keep it as a BB tank, since it's easier to clean any uneaten food and fish waste. Then move them out to a larger tank once they grow out. The only adult discus you can keep in a 180 liter tank would be a confirmed breeding pair. This is a confirmed breeding pair not just a male and female you put in the same tank that you hope they would spawn

 

[TheGodfather]

First of all, i know my test kit is not faulty becuse i only just bought a new one... Secondly, if i am just keeping discus in the tank with a few tetras (not angels or any other fish) surely the tank is big enough??

Ollie

 

[KimA]

No your tanks aren't big enough and even tap water has nitrates in - so you really either need to get a new test kit or cycle your tanks. For the record, my stats are Nitrite 0, Ammonia 0, Nitrates 30-40 - I never said mine were 0

Discus can get to 8", Kim, so if you think you can keep sevs in your tanks (which get to 10-12" with other fish) then I cant see why you would be concerned about discus. Personally, I wouldn't put anything bigger than a pair of angels in a tank of that size - it's not big enough for sevs, it's not big enough for discus. A pair of sevs need a minimum of 300L. For the record I no longer have the Sevs - gone to a bigger home

As for pairs of discus, unless you get a breeding pair - you cant just stick two discus in a tank and hope they get along. As breeding pairs cost into the hundreds, it might be a bit pricey? What I do with my money is my business, not anyone elses

Thanks for the concern

 

[LisaLQ]

With regards the tank params, I was talking to the other two people who said their nitrate was 0.

My point was that if you thought sevs were ok in your tank, though Kim, why would you be concerned about smaller discus? I didn't mean either was suitable - more than your logic was a tad off.

And the money part was aimed at anyone wanting discus - especially if the reason they weren't getting a suitable tank was because of cost. I dont know whether that's the case or not - it wasn't aimed at anyone in particular, so no need for the narky reply

As for discus and plants - I was told by other discus owners that they eat many plants, hence why plant shops do specific discus collections of plants they wont eat.

I read the rule for discus is 20g min for one, then 10g after that for each discus in the tank. So for 7 discus you'd need an absolute minimum of 70g. But DiscusAngel - that would be without the angels, BGK and other fish. If you insisted on keeping them all, you'd need probably another 30g at least on top of that for the angels, BGKs need a very large tank (I realise you may be rehoming him - but this is theoretical in case you wanted to keep them) - you'd probably be looking at a 135-150g tank. Easily.

A 180l tank is 40g. You could technically - going on gallons per discus rule - fit 4 discus in there. Going on dimensions, it's unlikely though - as these are big fish - the ones you see in your LFS are usually just babies or half grown, they can get to 8". To keep discus you either have to keep a known breeding pair, or 5+. Therefore you'd only be able to keep a known breeding pair in your 180l tank, and only then if the dimensions are suitable. A known breeding pair will set you back a lot of money - if you've got that, great.

But there's no way in hell that 7 discus, 4 angels, a BGK, a butterfly fish and 5 cories would fit in a 180l. Or a 70g. My point is to Ollie - if you're looking for advice, I would take it from people who know what they're talking about - post on a discus forum perhaps. Dont take it from someone who already has a vastly overstocked tank and seems to have little intention of improving on it suitably.

 

[PrettyDiscus]

My 180ltr tank is bare bottom and i do daily water changes. I have six juvenille Discus and plan on keeping them there whilst adults. Many breeders use bare bottom tanks as they are easier to clean. They put about 10 Discus in a 40g (im not saying this is right). Do you ever see their Discus are stunted? No. Why? Because they do large water changes almost 100% every day. They raise Discus to be healthy adults with beautiful colours. Lisa, it is a lot worse than putting 7 Discus in a 70g Discus tank and doing weekly water changes than it is putting them in a 40g tank with daily water changes. Discus secrete a hormone into the water everytime it is changed which is why daily water changes make them grow much faster than weekly water changes.

 

[LisaLQ]

Why couldn't they do frequent water changes in a 70g? I dont get you here, youre not making sense. I do 2-3 changes per week on my 180g, which hasn't even got discus in. If you dont have the space and time for a suitable tank, get different fish - it's simple.

10 fish in a 180l? That's shocking. It's only big enough for 4, but you cant keep just four - it's either a pair or a big group - so they can only keep a pair in a 180l.

I dont get why that's unreasonable? I've had a 180l, and it aint big enough for the amount of fish people are "recommending" on here.

I also dont appreciate "nicey nicey" replies on here, then nasty ones in pm. One or the other please - this isn't a place for childish games playing on popularity.

 

[PrettyDiscus]

Lisa, your just the argumentative type that thinks she knows everything. Have you even kept Discus? If not then i suggest you go to another thread because your just making a fool of yourself. If you claim to know this much about Discus then why do you mention they eat plants? That is just some jibberish rubbish you have read somewhere. To call me irresponsible on the pm because i keep Discus in a 40g tank is just plain ignorance. Surely an adult of your age would be able to give encouragement to hobbyists a lot younger than you.

Godfather, your tank is fine for Discus as long as you go bare bottom. This way its easier to clean. If using a substrate or a planted tank then i would only put Discus of at least 4" in your tank otherwise they will become stunted. As long as you do water changes at least every other day then your Discus will thrive.

 

[crazie.eddie]

I agree with PrettyDiscus. I also keep discus and I am a responsible discus keeper. I know of several many other responsible discus breeders who have planted tanks. I also know lots of people with planted tanks who keep discus. Nobody has ever reported of the discus eating any plants. My discus has never eaten any of my plants in my 125 US gallon (473 liter) tank. I keep both angels and discus in the tanks with no problems. The only fish that have taken nibbles on the plants are my clown loaches. My discus will not eat any kind of vegetation UNLESS I hand feed it to them.

So, I am a responsible discus keeper, as you can see from my hand feeding videos here. I even had to move 2 of my discus since they started spawning, as you can see from the spawning videos here.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

in my opinion, the original poster should request a mod to move this to New World Cichlids were more than 2 discus-keepers can give opinions on the relative suitability of the tank. this is not to disparage the advice of any of the discus keepers--so far it seems fairly accurate. but there are a number of other discus people on this forum who (i'm sure) would love to help you figure this out, but haven't seen the topic because it's in chitchat. if you're in the UK, then there's even a good chance that we already have a breeder who lives near you.

one thing that i would ask, but seems to have been overlooked, is what tetras do you have, Godfather? there's a pretty decent chance that they aren't actually well-suited to a discus tank (given that there are hundreds of species of tetras).

 

[TheGodfather]

in my opinion, the original poster should request a mod to move this to New World Cichlids were more than 2 discus-keepers can give opinions on the relative suitability of the tank. this is not to disparage the advice of any of the discus keepers--so far it seems fairly accurate. but there are a number of other discus people on this forum who (i'm sure) would love to help you figure this out, but haven't seen the topic because it's in chitchat. if you're in the UK, then there's even a good chance that we already have a breeder who lives near you.

one thing that i would ask, but seems to have been overlooked, is what tetras do you have, Godfather? there's a pretty decent chance that they aren't actually well-suited to a discus tank (given that there are hundreds of species of tetras).

I have just ten cardinal tetras. I was told these are fine.... I really appreciate all this advice but without being rude i would like to get a final answer. Lets say i keep 4-5 discus in my 180l tank with my ten cardinal tetras, is this enough space???