Water Change Schedule For Adult Discus?

[Pazzoman]

Hey Everyone,

Will be teasing around with a smaller tank for now. Will be dealing with a 65 gallon tank with corner overflow. In a sense I still would like to try discus but still unsure. If I was to do discus in the tank defiantly would do an adult pair. So what I was wondering if I was to obtain an adult discus pair and the tank mates are generally small fish could huge percentage of water change be done bi weekly? Also will have the hooked up to a sump but if more water changes are needed than most likely will not do the discus idea as than a sump wouldn't be necessary in a sense.

Thanks Everyone for your help

One really important question:

Since I will be cycling the tank with amino drops how should I get a "jump start" with bacteria growth? Do I add media or objects from an establish tank into my sump than start the process of cycling?

[Elliots]

If you do not have a lot of other fish and the bioload is not too great twice weekly "Huge Percentage" water change might work. What is "Huge Percentage"? I hope way over 50% More changes are always better. Watch how your Discus look and act, you can always up the changes.

[tonytheboss1]

There are a bunch of variables that could factor into that answer.
1) Which & how many "tankmates" are we talking?
2) What type of feeding regimen will you have?
3) What's the total volume of water. You said possible sump so 65g +?
4) Are you planning to breed?
5) What constitutes "HUGE" percentage?
6) Bare bottom, substrate, planted?
As Elliots said 'bioload' is key. An increased volume of water will give you some flexibility but ultimately you are gonna have to figure all the above into your equation. How quickly your nitrates increase will help dictate the W/C frequency & amount necessary to maintain .05 / .10 . For optimum health more is better. "T"

[du3ce]

Are u looking to breed? It would be pointless to have other small fish if u are planning on it.

[Pazzoman]

Personally Im not really looking into breeding just figure the cheapest way in obtaining adult discus might be a pair. Since you need at least 5 (think i read) to establish a pecking order that won't be too harmful. Fish basically would have been just the pair of discus 2 albino bushy nose plecos and some kind of tetras. The water changes would have been to whatever was desired would even do %100 if needed to try a biweekly water change schedule however its not the case which is ok. I personally can only commit to very large bi weekly water changes as it fits my schedule better and won't create a nuicense to the family. Every other need of discus I could establish however just the frequent water changes even adult discus requires is just not right for me at this time. Also I wouldn't want to create stress on the discus if I can only provide a bi weekly water change.

Thanks For All Your Help, appreciate it

If it helps sump would be a 20 gallon tank so I guess 65 +10...so 75 gallons total. Pool filter sand as substrate and food will be fed through syringe 3 times a day to help keep the tank clean

[Elliots]

Buying a "pair" is not a less expensive way to get adult Discus. A "Pair" means a male and female, that is much more expensive than two adults. I suggest buying 5 adults and let them pair off. To get an idea of the relative costs check out Discus Hans' thread "pairs, maybe pairs" to see what pairs cost then check his internet store to see how much adults are unpaired. That way you will have exact prices from the same supplier. Please read past the videos by Hans of his pairs for sale to see what has been sold if you are interested in one of the pairs from the video.

[tonytheboss1]

Personally Im not really looking into breeding just figure the cheapest way in obtaining adult discus might be a pair. Since you need at least 5 (think i read) to establish a pecking order that won't be too harmful. Fish basically would have been just the pair of discus 2 albino bushy nose plecos and some kind of tetras. The water changes would have been to whatever was desired would even do %100 if needed to try a biweekly water change schedule however its not the case which is ok. I personally can only commit to very large bi weekly water changes as it fits my schedule better and won't create a nuicense to the family. Every other need of discus I could establish however just the frequent water changes even adult discus requires is just not right for me at this time. Also I wouldn't want to create stress on the discus if I can only provide a bi weekly water change.

Thanks For All Your Help, appreciate it

If it helps sump would be a 20 gallon tank so I guess 65 +10...so 75 gallons total. Pool filter sand as substrate and food will be fed through syringe 3 times a day to help keep the tank clean

:bandana: Sounds do-able to me. 75g is a nice amount of water to work with given that stocking level. I would start out with 75% W/C's & see how my readings go & how the discus react. "T"

[Pazzoman]

Thanks for the replies I will check the prices again figured adults range in price from 200-250 so getting to adults would cost around 400-500 generally...and thought that a pair would at least not kill each other compared to getting multiple adult discus.

Btw what would you consider the size of an adult discus? Than that may be the reason why I think adults are way more expensive

[winn0923]

4" for adults


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[tonytheboss1]

A 'proven' pair can be costly depending on size, strain & source. Compare the prices cause you might come out cheaper with (5) 4 or 5 in. fish depending on the source & strain. Now of course that's an increase in bioload so you'll need to adjust your maintenance accordingly. "T"

[Pazzoman]

Really 4 inch for adults? So than it will be cheaper. If I did for 5 discus at 4 inches what would you recommend as a water change schedule? For me best would be more time in between water changes and very large 80% water changes at a time. Than I could eventually thin them out to 2 discus if they pair up...so I know they won't fight and less hit on the bio load.

[winn0923]

At 4" you can do 50-75% bi weekly without worrying about stunting their growth. Assuming that you feed 2x/day with non greasy food.


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[Elliots]

Look at the prices on Hans' site. If my memory is correct 5" is more than 4" but 6" is significantly more than 5". Hans is the only seller I have seen who lists a bunch of different sizes on the same type. Please remember that shipping is the same on every fish size 4 to 6 inches. As for water changes, I would say 3X weekly on 4" and 5" fish. When they get to 6" or stop growing 2X would be the minimum. Of course, the more and larger changes the better. Whoever you are going to buy from try to buy all your Discus at once.

[Pazzoman]

Hmm some varied answers however thank your for your replies. Defintly would push to get all the discus at once. So most likely will add them first after the cycle.

P.S. What would you consider greasy foods--beef heart?

[winn0923]

Yes beef heart. I don't like to feed my discus beef heart or flakes since it is messy. mostly I convert them to dry good like tetra bits or FDBW. I only feed beef heart twice a week before wc


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[Pazzoman]

Hey most likely I will be feeding mainly pellets like NLS however I will check some feeding threads to see what exactly members here are feeding. Since I hear beef heart is used I will most likely use it literally just before a water change.

Will check out tetra bits, what does FDBW mean?

[winn0923]

FDBW = freeze dried black worm


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[winn0923]

Also tetra bits now goes by tetra color I think... They are the red slow sinking granules. In my experience it's hard to wean discus to nls, for some reason mine don't really like it


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