Want To Add Adult Discus To Established Community Tank- Lots Of Advice

[freddiesfish]

Hi everyone, I have a 300l tank that has been running for about a year and I want to freshen it up a bit. I thought about converting it and trying out marine but it would be a shame to rehome all the existing fish we have. So I thought it would be an idea to try discus. I have been doing a bit of research but there have been so many different opinions and I am not sure I trust those of the lfs.
In the tank at the moment I have 5 torpedo barb, 3 angel fish, ten cardinals, 2 rams, 3 corys and a bristle nose. I have searched various forums and believe discuss would be okwith those that I have already (dont shoot me if i am wrong!! its what I have been led to believe so far). The tank has a sand substrate and is has a fair bit of plant to provide cover. Whats your thoughts on this?

The tank is filtered by a rena xp3 and jbl 1500 external filters at the minute with 50% weekly water changes.

The water, in our area is fairly hard I am told, yet to test but will be getting a kit in the morning.
I have been told by my lfs all I need to do to add discus to this tank is every ten days replace 50l of tank water with 50l of RO water and keep track of it with regular tests? I am to add some minerals (something in a packet he showed me) to the RO water otherwise the fish could die due to the water being so pure? Doing it this way will be fine for my existing fish and make them even more colourful as every fish prefers RO water? Does this sound as if its ok to do?

Also I was thinking of getting a more mature discus or maybe two as opposed to 2 juveniles and was told this would be ok, whats your thought on this?

Thanks in advance for any advice

ps all the usual readings are fine in the tank and have not had any problems with disease etc for some time.

 

[mattlee]

im not sure that the barbs and corys will tolerate the 30oC temps required for discus... but the other fish will be ok. angelfish can also be hit or miss with discus i had to rehome 2 very friendly angels after i added my discus as they bullied the new tank mates, also they are fast eaters and discus are quite slow so there could be too much competition for food with discus and angels, they can also carry diseases that can be passed onto discus so for these reasons its not advisable.
i dont use ro just tap water and have had discus for a few months now and they all seem fine. 50% every week water change would be a minimum and its best to keep a group of 4/5 discus not 1 or 2 even adults unless you get a breeding pair that will tolerate each other. also its advised to get bigger discus for your first as they are easier to care for than smaller specimins.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Mattlee has given you spot on information. Don't worry about the R/O and no, not all fish prefer R/O. Only thing I would say is can you do 50% twice weekly?

 

[mattlee]

Mattlee has given you spot on information. Don't worry about the R/O and no, not all fish prefer R/O. Only thing I would say is can you do 50% twice weekly?

still very much a beginer with discus but have learnt lots from people like connor on here, glad i can pass on what ive taken in so far the only other thing i can say is if you really want discus then if your prepared to do the maintenance then go for it. i put it off for far too long and regret it, just wish i had done it earlier..... stunning fish

 

[discus_lover]

the first and foremost thing regarding discus fish is partial water change. do 30% water change at least in a day. i do 25% water change twice in a day. and at the same time feed them proper balanced diet.you may feed beef heart mixture,tetra bits, sera discus granules, frozen tubiflex worms, live worms etc....

check continuously about the ammonia,nitrite reading of your tank,any slight deviation can cause disease of your discus....and i advice to keep discus in a bare bottom tank.....

 

[Balloons&killies]

if i were you id try getting like 4 discus.
if you get two they get alittle lonely. they like to be in groups of 4-6.
if you get 3 they play old man and kill the small weaker one

Ive never kept discus, but i've gotten alot of help on here and on the net.


the better info's here though

 

[freddiesfish]

Thanks for all the advice so far. With regard to keeping more than 2 would I not have a problem with the stocking in my tank? if not, great, more the merrier!! The temp is already at around 30c and the albino corys seem fine, always active and feeding.

thanks again

 

[mattlee]

Thanks for all the advice so far. With regard to keeping more than 2 would I not have a problem with the stocking in my tank? if not, great, more the merrier!! The temp is already at around 30c and the albino corys seem fine, always active and feeding.

thanks again

corys prefer temps at about 24oC, they may seem ok but at higher temps you run the risk of ending their lives prematurely im affraid. sterbai corys seem to be the only corys that can handle higher temps but 30oC is still a bit high for them.....

 

[freddiesfish]

Thanks for all the advice so far. With regard to keeping more than 2 would I not have a problem with the stocking in my tank? if not, great, more the merrier!! The temp is already at around 30c and the albino corys seem fine, always active and feeding.

thanks again

corys prefer temps at about 24oC, they may seem ok but at higher temps you run the risk of ending their lives prematurely im affraid. sterbai corys seem to be the only corys that can handle higher temps but 30oC is still a bit high for them.....

Fair enough but I have had these 3 albino cories for about 3 years! They have moved tanks 3 times as we went from a cube tank to a 120l to a 300l, never had a problem with them, I wont be adjusting the temp for the discus as it is already at around the 30 mark

 

[discus_lover]

i also have cory in my discus tank and the temp s obviously 30degree Celsius. and corys live well in the discus tank...

 

[roadmaster]

Were it me, I would want to select adult Discus taking care to note whether they are tank raised in water similar to my own (you say hard, how hard?) or whether they have been kept in soft acidic water. Many of these fish will do fine in moderately hard water but are not likely to reproduce as readily as they will in softer acidic conditions. I would also try and procure the fish from a breeder as opposed to local fish store where fishes may be kept in tanks harboring unknown pathogens and likely waters high in conductivity, or (total dissoled solids) due to possibly same water running through all tanks. I would want to know what the fish are being fed so that I could more easily get them eating once they have settled in. Have had Discus refuse foods for as long as a week when introduced to new enviornment and foods that they recognize will make things easier in my view.
Adult discus don't need nearly as much protein as young Discus who need the protein for proper growth much of which occurs in the first months. Adult discus in my view can get buy with weekly or twice weekly water changes. It is the frequent daily feedings of young fish that precipitate the frequent large water changes to help keep dissolved organics at minimum levels as well as provide minerals for fish development.
With respect to tankmates for Discus, Angelfish in my view might compete with the Discus for food but if tank was large enough ,perhaps they could be fed at one end while feeding Discus at the other ?

Corydoras with the exception of Sterbai all appreciate cooler temps rather than warmer and many of those who breed these fish, as well as sites dedicated to their care agree.Temps listed in older books or on some websites show a much wider range than most who keep and raise many species suggest. My own feelings are that temps listed could represent different times of the day that fish might expierience in the wild where more than a few still originate or,,perhaps different times of the year ,or preferred spawning temps.
In the wild ,fish can seek out cooler ,deeper,water much more easily than they can inside a glass box of water and to say that we are keeping them at upper limits of their comfort range ,does not really provide any benefit to the fish. Same goes for pH, and or alkalinity.

The German Blue ram in my view is excellent choice for Discus tanks as both enjoy similar enviornments.
Have no expierience with the Denison barbs but for my own tastes, I try to keep fishes at somewhere in the middle of listed comfort zones with respect to pH.KH.and temperatures. the fishes seem to do much better for me.

 

[smog_1130]

Hey there!
I would take out the barbs and angel fish. I had two angels with my discus and they ate too fast! Sometimes the discus couldn't keep up! I would add more cardinals as tithers (u can also get some neons..they will school together and theyre cheaper than cardinals). The rams are excellent mates because they love the same water parameters as the Discus. I would put more plants in. The same goes with the corys. I have 3 false juliis in my tank so far and I'm planning to add 1-2 more. If you're having problems with algae, get a bristlenose pleco..it's the safest pleco you can get in a discus tank since some larger plecos "suck" on to the discus because their skin mucus is so tasty for them! I believe most Ancistrus strains are your best bet.

Most of the Discus sold today are used to harder waters...at least the tank raised ones. If you buy the wild caught Discus, then they're harder to raise since they need soft water. I never alter my pH and hardness since I'm scared of sudden shocks and swings which can kill the fish. A few more experience and I will probably change those in the future. But for now, try having the same parameters as your LFS or wherever you get your discus from.

Enjoy! These guys are really beautiful

 

[freddiesfish]

I all and thanks for the replies, I managed to get the test kit for kh and gh at the weekend and have just done the test.
If i am reading it right the gh was 220 (i had to add 11 drops to get it to turn to the colour needed) and the kh was 80-90 (cant remember if I added 8 or nine drops how sad!!).

Now, these results mea pretty little to me to be honest as by having a quick look I see discus keepers saying their kh was anything between 6 and 9 and gh between 4 and 8. Do they mean thats how many drops they added? Sorry if this a really stupid question but I want to try and get the water as good as possible. I have already removed 50l in the last water change and replaced with 50l of RO water and both the angels and the rams seem a lot happier, colours satnd out a bit more already. Planning on doing another water change/add RO tomorrow.

The other results are ph 8, ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate between 40 and 80 (hard to tell apart).

Any comments greatly appreciated

thanks

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

I all and thanks for the replies, I managed to get the test kit for kh and gh at the weekend and have just done the test.
If i am reading it right the gh was 220 (i had to add 11 drops to get it to turn to the colour needed) and the kh was 80-90 (cant remember if I added 8 or nine drops how sad!!).

Now, these results mea pretty little to me to be honest as by having a quick look I see discus keepers saying their kh was anything between 6 and 9 and gh between 4 and 8. Do they mean thats how many drops they added? Sorry if this a really stupid question but I want to try and get the water as good as possible. I have already removed 50l in the last water change and replaced with 50l of RO water and both the angels and the rams seem a lot happier, colours satnd out a bit more already. Planning on doing another water change/add RO tomorrow.

The other results are ph 8, ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate between 40 and 80 (hard to tell apart).

Any comments greatly appreciated

thanks

Do what you want because you obviously haven't taken our advice anyways. Your water was already perfect before you uselessly threw R/O into it. Your nitrates are through the roof which is probably why the water change seemed to have an effect on the fish.

Take a look at my water http/www.calgaryaquariumsociety.com/Articles/Calgary_Tap_Water_VS_Lake_Malawi_Water.html

Doing random periodic water changes with R/O will most likely kill your Discus, if not directly, your fish will get stressed due to changes in water chemistry and end up sick. It seems like your have your mind set on listening to your LFS and not us, so if you don't want my advice I won't answer your posts. Good luck with Discus keeping, by the looks of it it won't go well for you.

Connor

 

[freddiesfish]

I all and thanks for the replies, I managed to get the test kit for kh and gh at the weekend and have just done the test.
If i am reading it right the gh was 220 (i had to add 11 drops to get it to turn to the colour needed) and the kh was 80-90 (cant remember if I added 8 or nine drops how sad!!).

Now, these results mea pretty little to me to be honest as by having a quick look I see discus keepers saying their kh was anything between 6 and 9 and gh between 4 and 8. Do they mean thats how many drops they added? Sorry if this a really stupid question but I want to try and get the water as good as possible. I have already removed 50l in the last water change and replaced with 50l of RO water and both the angels and the rams seem a lot happier, colours satnd out a bit more already. Planning on doing another water change/add RO tomorrow.

The other results are ph 8, ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate between 40 and 80 (hard to tell apart).

Any comments greatly appreciated

thanks

Do what you want because you obviously haven't taken our advice anyways. Your water was already perfect before you uselessly threw R/O into it. Your nitrates are through the roof which is probably why the water change seemed to have an effect on the fish.

Take a look at my water http/www.calgaryaquariumsociety.com/Articles/Calgary_Tap_Water_VS_Lake_Malawi_Water.html

Doing random periodic water changes with R/O will most likely kill your Discus, if not directly, your fish will get stressed due to changes in water chemistry and end up sick. It seems like your have your mind set on listening to your LFS and not us, so if you don't want my advice I won't answer your posts. Good luck with Discus keeping, by the looks of it it won't go well for you.

Connor

Shame that you want to take that attitude, most people on here seem to want to help. I asked for advice and opinions not a lecture. Where are the random water changes? Every week I do water changes and for your info in our area the water comes out of the tap at 40 for the nitrates, hence the reason to very gradually add the ro water to improve this. I havent just gone out and bought 300l of RO and swapped it over and thrown in a load of discus have I? No, I have used 50l during a water change and carried on asking for advice. Just because I have not done exactly as YOU wanted please dont see it as a reason to slaughter me. I still may not go with discus but I am planning on seeking more opinions about the water etc. If this is a problem for you, dont let it keep you up at night, just dont reply. Also I am not determined to listen only to the lfs, I have asked the opinion of several and also on other websites and all have different conflicting views.

Sorry if these questions have upset anyone, I thought that was the point of the forum