Determining number of discus

[gordo33]

First I want to thank Joey king of DIY for his you tube video how to raise discus featuring Al from this incredible web site. I have learned more in the last couple weeks from this site then in the 8 years I have kept discus. I must confess from what I have been reading I have been making a boat load of mistakes which leads me to my first of what will be many posts looking to improve my discus keeping knowledge and hopefully to healthy happy fish!!!

From what I have been reading here the consensus seems to be 1 adult fish per 10 galloons of water. So in a 75 gal I can provide a healthy environment for 7 adult discus. Does a 75 gal aquarium provide enough space for 7 adult discus? If my filtration includes a 30 gal sump for a total water vol 105 gal does that mean I can keep 10 discus? Is there a guide for determining how many adult discus can be kept in a given amount of space?

[MKD]

7 is a good number and require kinda maintain couple wc a week. If you pushing it to 10, thats fine but need to step up more wc and will be less room for mistake or skip wc. So it's up to you and your schedule. Good luck and share what you end up.

[discuspaul]

First, welcome to the forum.

Sorry, but there is no black or white, or cut & dried, accurate guide.

Yes, the general rule of thumb is said to be no more than 1 adult discus per 10 gals of water.
But it's not as simple as that - there are many different circumstances, or variables, which can alter, improve, or impede the generally accepted maximums or minimums.

Example: Can you successfully keep 7 adult discus in a 75 gal tank ? Yes, so long as there are no other fish in the tank, or that it's bare-bottom or not too heavily planted, or that you are doing a sufficient number of frequent, large water changes, or if you are paying enough attention to a good tank cleansing routine.

All of these things, and more, come into play when trying to determine the best, or the most appropriate, approach as to the number of discus that should be kept in a given tank volume.

If your 75 gal tank is also supplemented by a 30 gal sump, then yes, theoretically, you should be able to successfully keep 10 adult discus. However, that does not necessarily hold true if the tank is not receiving the care & attention it should, &/or if a reasonable number &/or quantity of wcs are not being done in order to maintain good water quality & conditions.

To be safe, one should always err on the side of conservatism, meaning doing things like under-stocking the tank with fish, eliminating or minimizing doing any planting, undertaking to do more tank maintenance & cleansing than you have been told is appropriate or necessary, increasing the quantity & frequency of wcs than you have been advised should be done - are you getting the idea here?

Proper judgment & sound common sense play a large role here - one needs to think it through & decide on the best approach to take to ensure the fish remain healthy & thriving.

[monching]

I have 12 ranging from 4.5 - 5.5 in size and 5 and 9 months(1st batch bought last Dec. and 2nd batch last March) respectively in my 75 gal. BB tank
80% WC daily, feed them BH,AFDBW and tetra bits 4 times a day. They are all voracious.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k233/monching44/Mobile%20Uploads/20150817_201326_zpsu7l1yupm.jpg (http://s89.photobucket.com/user/monching44/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20150817_201326_zpsu7l1yupm.jpg.html)
They're all doing good and still growing. I'm starting to see some courtship dance. I'm very well aware of the "1/10 ratio but can't see nothing wrong to deviate from the norm.
Lots of WC, good food and tons of TLC is the magic recipe.

[FishFanMan]

Ramon, beautiful discus. Great job raising them from juvies! What's your plan for them? Do you have a display tank ready for them? If need to sell some, let me know!

[gordo33]

@ discuspaul. Thanks for the detailed input I agree with erring on the side of conservatism with stocking the tank. One of my concerns is how is their health affected If they don't have enough room for movement even if well fed and great water parameters. I have not seen that addressed in the posts I've scanned.

[monching]

Ramon, beautiful discus. Great job raising them from juvies! What's your plan for them? Do you have a display tank ready for them? If need to sell some, let me know!

Thanks for the compliments Koji, will convert the same tank by December as they will be a year old by then. Already have all the necessary stuff like sand(pool filter sand), DW, plants and a root 3D background for a display/show tank. Still feeding them heavily that's why they will stay BB up to a year old to maximize their full potential. Plan to see them in a beautiful display/show tank by Christmas, sort of a gift to my self for my dedication to these magnificent creatures. As for the plan to sell....even if i will, you're in the US and I'm in Canada and knows nothing about shipping. I have plans to get at least 2 pairs from the group to spawn( my ultimate goal) I already have 4 tanks and can no longer add more(space restriction) so I might or probably sell some if i will be sucessful in having them spawn and have babies. I will keep them all if i will not be sucessful.