10 3" in 55 gallon grow-out tank

[ddr1981]

I'm buying 10 - 3" Discus from Hans that will eventually go in my 110 High. I don't want to remove the substrate or change out that much water daily. I can get a 55 gallon tank for $121 with hood, filter, and heater from PetSmart which is cheaper than buying used on Craigslist in my area. Is that big enough for a bare bottom grow-out tank?

How long will they need to stay in the grow out tank? Everyone says until they are "adult" but that doesn't mean much to a newbie.

[Larry Grenier]

I think a lot of people here will have a problem with "I don't want to remove the substrate or change out that much water daily." especially with "grow-out" and as the fish begin to out-grow the 55.

Personally, I think 10 3" in 55 is already over crowded without several large water changes per week.

Please define what you consider "Change out that much water"? How is the 55 set-up? How will the 110 be set-up? When will the 110 be ready? Hans - great source BTW.

Just my $.02.

[dprais1]

I think he is saying he wants to grow them out in a new 55 gallon so he doesn't have to remove substrate and change a bunch of water in his already set up 110. Personally I think 10 in a 55 is not overcrowded but will require some diligence in cleaning.

In my limited experience you will have more consistent growth with 10 fish than you would with 5. My group of 7 have sizes that range from about 2.25" to over 5". my second group of 11 are all about 4.5" with pretty consistent growth and similar sizes....so far no runts.

But tank size and number of fish are just two factors of many in raising discus.

[ddr1981]

When will they outgrow the 55? Are we talking a month? A year?

The 110 is lightly planted, has large driftwood, and two German Blue Rams plus some Neon, Rummynose, and Bloodfin Tetras.

As I posted, the 55 will be bare bottom. I am buying it solely as a grow-out tank. I can buy a bigger tank, but 55 gallons is cheap, holds less water to change out, and will fit on a countertop in my laundry room beside a large sink which will make water changes much easier. With feeding beefheart, I'm guessing I'm going to do at least 2 complete water changes a day, or as needed.

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[ddr1981]

I didn't see your post, dprais1, until after I posted my response but what you said is what I'm trying to do. Also, I wanted to start with 6-8, but Hans said to do 10-12, so that goes perfectly with what you experienced.

[Patrick84]

honestly speaking, I am having a 13 ranging 3-4.5" fish in my 45 gallon tank... they seems to be allright, and I am doing daily 60-80% WC

[ddr1981]

Nice. I bought the 55. It is set up and cycled. I'm going to order the Discus when I get back from vacation the first week of July.

[rickztahone]

55 is perfect for growouts. They will grow fast from the 2-5" range. After that you will see a dramatic decline in growth. At 5" you can place them in the 110 and slow down on daily water changes IMHO. a 55 bb tank is perfect though because it is very easy to do daily 100% WC's compared to that 110 tall tank you have :)

[DiscusRob]

Nice. I bought the 55. It is set up and cycled. I'm going to order the Discus when I get back from vacation the first week of July.

Excellent, I love the way your 110 looks, that is a nice looking tank.

[DISCUS STU]

Very nice looking clean tank.

[Loosir]

Here's my 55 gal with 9 2.5"-3" Stendkers from Hans that I bought last August. I see no problem with your plan.

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[ddr1981]

Nice, Loosir. Thanks for all the compliments everyone. I should get the fish in about two weeks, and I'll post pictures.

[ExtremeDiscus]

Hi everyone, I hope you guys don't mind me jumping in. I am pretty new and reassembly just got my 55 setup lightly planted with 5 discus with 10 guppies (that can be taken out if need be). In reading here and there, everyone said that the tank size could hold anywhere between 5 to 10 (2 - 3"). Depending on how the tank get setup. But in the other forum that I started, I was told that 55 gallons tank that I have is too small. So I am a little confused.

@ ddr1981 - The 110 tank looks nice. :D

[ddr1981]

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They made it safely in this morning. All are doing well, I'll post better pictures soon.

[strawberryblonde]

Hi ddr,

I think your original question was "How long will these little guys take to grow out", right? Not sure if you ever got an answer to it, so here goes. -(

I've grown out Hans juvies and at they should gain about 1/2" per month till they reach 5" - 6", then growth will slow significantly. After 6" they still add an inch or two over the course of a year to eighteen months.

It's safe to place them into your big tank when they reach about 4 1/2", so in about 3 months.

In the meantime, do one 50% water change and one 90% (drain the water to the top of their bodies - so that they just start to tilt over) per day. Feed them 5-6 meals of high quality discus appropriate foods and you'll be all set.

Oh! They build up slime on the bottom and sides of the tank very quickly at this size, so plan to give the sides and bottom a quick wipe down with a clean, untreated cloth or scrubbie once a day.

[ddr1981]

Thanks Toni! They've been in the tank about three hours. Should I feed them today? Or Wait until tomorrow?

[strawberryblonde]

You can try a light feeding later this evening, just don't panic if they refuse to eat. Just do a water change to remove any uneaten food and then try again in the morning.

Younger discus seem to handle the shipping process better than adults and I've found with mine that they'll often eat a little on the first day in the tank.

[ddr1981]

Two-month update: All survived (my first time with Discus so I'm happy with that). Most gained 2" in two months and went from 3" to about 5". I had two that didn't eat for over a good month; I probably should have culled them but didn't (they eat well now and aren't shaped too badly for as rough as they looked a month ago). Those two are much smaller, probably 4” or less.

I just ran out of beefheart mix and was tired of the mess and decided I wasn’t making any more, so it was time to move them from the 55 gallon bare tank in the basement up to the 110 gallon in the living room. For those that are interested, I fed a beefheart and raw shrimp mix made with peas, Cobalt flakes, human multi-vitamins, paprika, oatmeal, and garlic twice a day, and Cobalt flakes four times a day through an Eheim automatic feeder. I also did freeze-dried black worms in a cone some days. About a week ago I purchased AquaBites from Forrest and they seem to be nibbling on them pretty well. For now I’m going to see how they do with just the Cobalt flakes, AquaBites, and FDBW.

I did two big water changes every day, without missing a day. We'll see how I do with keeping a clean tank with substrate. I'm going to keep doing big daily water changes and will pull the sand if it gets ugly. I appreciate everyone's help and advice along the way and have really enjoyed reading and learning from the forum.

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[Ali20]

Dan you've done a great job! The fish are looking beautiful.

Love how clean your scape looks, would definitely love to see more pictures :)

[ddr1981]

Thanks Hamad. It isn't much of a scape. I had a big piece of driftwood and some other plants but took them all out since they were hiding places for gunk. Plus I'm overstocked so I wanted to get rid of the driftwood to increase my water volume.

So far it has been easy to keep clean, although today is the first day all the Discus are in it. I'm glad I got rid of the wide-leaved plants and replaced them with grass-types so I can put the siphon right on top of each plant and get detritus that hides at the base. The only plants in there are 20 Jungle Val at the back with 40 Dwarf Sag in front of it.

The pic is hard to see. It is getting dark out and I want to give the fish more time before i turn the lights on.

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[Ali20]

Very impressive!

The larger open space showcases the fish beautifully and it still looks pristine from what I can see. Great plant choices too, did you paint the background?

[ddr1981]

Yes, the background is the same color as the wall (Pittsburgh Paint, Sharkskin)