Discus Tank

[mikeyjay8]

is a 120 gallon tank with 1080 gph filtration ok for discus ? there will be 5 discus and about 40 neon tetras
thanks

 

[markandhisfish]

tank and filtration are fine , but id up the discus 6 minimum altho in a 120g you could easily have 8 to 10 discus.the bigger the group the better they tend to do , also due to the higher temps discus require i would swap the neons for either cardinals or rummynose.

 

[mikeyjay8]

tank and filtration are fine , but id up the discus 6 minimum altho in a 120g you could easily have 8 to 10 discus.the bigger the group the better they tend to do , also due to the higher temps discus require i would swap the neons for either cardinals or rummynose.

what temp do you have yours at or what temp is best for them ? i read they do well in 79-85 anf i have my neons at 78 right now so can i do the 120 80-81 and just try to but in the neons ? do u recommend that ?

 

[markandhisfish]

ideal temp range for discus is 28 to 30 degrees centegrade which is 82 to 86 f. i kept mine at 30 degrees c , as the higher temp inreases their metabolism/appetite . but they will do just fine at 28 degrees c. discus tanks are too hot for neons to thrive in , they will kind of "live fast die young"

the most suted discus tankmates are

cardinal tetra
rymmynose tetra
sterbai corys ( the only corys that fare well in discus temps)
rams

 

[mikeyjay8]

perfect thanks
do u thing to have a fx5 filter in there would be to strong of a current ?

 

[mikeyjay8]

one more thing what do i feed them ?or what can i feed them ?

 

[markandhisfish]

possibly . but if the fish seem to not like it you can get around it by aiming the spraybar at the wall of the tank or just turning down the flow on the filter ( im not familiar with fx5 so im just assuming you can do that?)

they wont appreciate it too strong , but the fact that you have to have virtually no current for discus is 1 of the many myths about these fish

one more thing what do i feed them ?or what can i feed them ?

they need a higher protein diet than most fish . tetraprima is great you can also give frozen foods such as krill , mysis etc . some people make a beefheart mixture , of which there are lots of recipes online . live brineshrimp are great too .

 

[snowflake311]

Don't forget to give them some greens too. Mine love veggie flakes and they graze on my green algea.