Getting into discus for the first time

[Birdman34]

Hey guys, I am looking to start into discus for the first time. I have kept lots of aquariums in the past. Various reef tanks (SPS, LPS, softies), Oscars, Planted communitiy tanks. Now I want to do a discus planted tank. I have a 75 gallon tank already I may use and house about 7 adults, with a school of cardinal tetras and some corydoras. I may bump it up to a 120 or 125 gallon. But already have the 75 gallon so definitely no smaller than that. However in the meantime while im deciding and building the display I am thinking about getting 12-17 2-2.5 inch discus and start growing them out in a 55 gallon. Any information or recommendations you all would like to pass along to me?

[rickztahone]

Hey guys, I am looking to start into discus for the first time. I have kept lots of aquariums in the past. Various reef tanks (SPS, LPS, softies), Oscars, Planted communitiy tanks. Now I want to do a discus planted tank. I have a 75 gallon tank already I may use and house about 7 adults, with a school of cardinal tetras and some corydoras. I may bump it up to a 120 or 125 gallon. But already have the 75 gallon so definitely no smaller than that. However in the meantime while im deciding and building the display I am thinking about getting 12-17 2-2.5 inch discus and start growing them out in a 55 gallon. Any information or recommendations you all would like to pass along to me?

I would actually do the grow out process in the 75g directly. I would also do absolutely bare bottom with no decor in that tank until they were of adult size, say 5-6". Once they reach that size, take them out of the tank temporarily, and then add sand/substrate, plants and wood and reintroduce them to the tank. It is going to be a huge workload, but that would be my approach. Planted tanks are for adults only IMHO. I know many respected discus owners on this site that would beg to differ, but again, this IMHO.

[Kyla]

i'd stick to 10gal per discus rule for a 75gal tank. 12-17 discus is a huge bioload if u dont end upgrading the tank down the road.

[rickztahone]

i'd stick to 10gal per discus rule for a 75gal tank. 12-17 discus is a huge bioload if u dont end upgrading the tank down the road.

If you check out my grow out thread you will see that I started with 25 discus in my 75g. Granted, I don't go around telling everyone to do it, or the fact that not everyone can do it, but it is definitely possible. If OP were diligent enough to do daily water changes of at least 60% and feed heavy, it is sure possible to raise those 2.5" discus in the 75g. However, you'd have to know when to sell off a few when it starts getting crowded in there. Check out my time line to get a better feel for when it can be done.

Also, keep in mind, large water changes are a stabilizer amongst discus keepers. With very large WC's (100%), you can have fully grown adults packed in to smaller tanks. Just look at all of our sponsors, they do not go by the 1 discus per 10g rule. However, it isn't something everyone can do as I said prior. I am only pointing this out to show that it certainly can be done, and I have/am doing it currently and I do not see any negative repercussions to this approach. In fact, I felt that starting with such a large group actually helped tremendously WRT spreading out aggression with the discus.

[Birdman34]

Great advice so far guys. And yeah the 12-17 juveniles are in hopes that I have 6-7 that I like and sell the other offs. No way I would keep that many in a 75 gallon permanently. But definitely sounds like a lot of work. I may go ahead and set the tank up how I like and buy adults. Just not sure. Buying adults vs juvenile opinions would be welcomed as well!

[Akili]

Great advice so far guys. And yeah the 12-17 juveniles are in hopes that I have 6-7 that I like and sell the other offs. No way I would keep that many in a 75 gallon permanently. But definitely sounds like a lot of work. I may go ahead and set the tank up how I like and buy adults. Just not sure. Buying adults vs juvenile opinions would be welcomed as well!Raising Juveniles to Adulthood take over year and achieving successful pairs a bit longer than a year.Cost of feeding them and daily water changes is a cost factor.Taking time in account a lot of folks opt out to get Adult Discus from sponsors of SimplyDiscus.
By the way, To all newcomers to this site and this hobby, I recommend to go through the stickies’ in the Beginners Section and watch this video
https://youtu.be/VXe3VKh7qF8 it is just over an hour long but worth hours of information

P.S. A must read thread form the beginner section http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?86009-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Getting-Started-with-Discus

[Kyla]

yes ive seen the growout thread, im just always nervous when ppl overstock that they wont follow-thru with wc. but it sounds like OP has a plan, so it should work out well. i hear keeping lots of little guys together can help trigger competitive eating too

[Birdman34]

I'm actually leaning more towards just going ahead and setting up the 75 gallon how I want. Get it planted. Add some tetras, Rams, Corys and letting it run for a few months then adding adult discus. So maybe let's talk some other things about the tank set up. Canister filter recommendations, inline heaters vs the traditional heaters, plants suitable for the tank, etc.

[Jayy]

I'm actually leaning more towards just going ahead and setting up the 75 gallon how I want. Get it planted. Add some tetras, Rams, Corys and letting it run for a few months then adding adult discus. So maybe let's talk some other things about the tank set up. Canister filter recommendations, inline heaters vs the traditional heaters, plants suitable for the tank, etc.

If you have a suitable stand to hide it in, I would suggest using a sump. You can get a HOB overflow or if your 75 gallon isn't tempered glass you can drill it and install a bulkhead. You can buy a prepared sump or use any tank from 10 gallons on up and silicone in your own baffles.

You've done saltwater so I assume you know about the benefits of a sump. Personally with a 75 gallon tank I'd use a 40 gallon sump. Keeping it 3/4 full will give you an additional 30 gallons of water volume, plus you can use a wet\dry filter setup and fluidized media. And you can hide your heaters and all equipment down in the sump so you have a much cleaner look in the display tank.

[Birdman34]

Thanks for the great advice. I am firm believer in sumps and utilize them on all my saltwater and reef tanks. However, on this setup I'm going to stick to just a canister or two. I'm a real light sleeper and this tank is going to be in my bedroom so loudness is the number one factor for me. I will sacrifice stocking density before I sacrifice improved filtration for increased noise.

[Aquacrazed]

I would say, skip the 55g grow-out process altogether and get 7 discus that are at least 4" (ideally at least 5") and put them straight into your cycled 75g planted tank. Take a look at my thread on beginner discus strains for a planted tank here: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?124111-Beginner-Discus-Strains-for-a-Planted-Tank

You obviously have a lot of experience if you successfully kept a reef tank but keeping a grow-out discus tank is a whole different story. It is a LOT easier said than done, especially if this is your first time with discus. Huge daily water changes, many feedings per day, it's a lot of work. If you don't do it right and not consistent, you will end up with stunted (or dead) discus. Yes you will end up paying a fair bit more for 7 bigger discus but this way there is really no risk involved and a lot less work.

[Kyla]

i really like the api xp filters: http://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?id=752#.VyD4AIr3bCQ

they are silent and easy to open and clean.


i love my fx5s also (new version called fx6): https://ca-en.hagen.com/Fluval-fx6

fx6 on a 75gal is a lot of flow tho... maybe someone else who has tried it can chime in? i have mine on 180g+
a bonus is that u can hook an output hose right to the fx5 nozzle and plug in the filter to drain the tank SUPER fast for wc