How Long will a 55 Gallon cut it for 6 discus.

[Kev29]

Wondering how long i can get away with a 55 gallon acrylic tank bare bottom with 6 discus that are like 3.5-4 only now.

[LizStreithorst]

Sure. Change enough water and a 55 is good enough for 6 adults.

[Phillydubs]

Forever ;)

Unless you want to or plan to upgrade then you could easily keep them there and happy.

I've had many more in a55 w no issues but 6 is a nice number

[Bizarro252]

Have 6 in my 55, plan to keep them in there forever since I do not have room for a 6ft long tank :( I dont plan for any other fish in there besides a pleco however either.

[RogueDiscus]

+1
10 gal per adult fish is the general guideline. 6 in a 55 will be fine. If they get big, you'll wish you had more room to let them swim :) I've kept 8 and 10 adults in a 55 for periods of time when space was limited. Just need to clean more often and change more water.

[jmf3460]

ill politely disagree here. IMO (only my opinion people not facts) a 75gal is the smallest I would do for 6 discus once they reach adult. You get any kind of breeding activity in that 55gal and your other fish are going to get creamed.

[sanjay21]

ill politely disagree here. IMO (only my opinion people not facts) a 75gal is the smallest I would do for 6 discus once they reach adult. You get any kind of breeding activity in that 55gal and your other fish are going to get creamed.
+1
I agree Jacklyn, I personally had bad experience with 55 with 6 adults when 2 of them started breeding they occupied 50% of the tank and rest 4 of them to one end. I moved to 75g and that helped me a lot the pair only occupied 30% of the tank. But Kev29, with 3.5" to 4" size you are good to have 6 for a good time till they grow to an adult. Good luck

[RogueDiscus]

I'll agree, too. You could raise 6 grow outs in a 55 just fine, and keep a group of adults there for a time, but for a long term display, you'd want at least a 75. I'm juggling breeding pairs and grow-outs, so 6 in a 55 happens frequently.

[Phillydubs]

All these responses make sense and as always the fish will surely dictate to you what they want and need.

The others make a good point. Can a 55 be done. Sure but as always if you can afford both monitarlily and space wise to go bigger by all means do so! It will also allow you to add more fish and a bigger group. Cause once you have 6 discus. You will want 12. Once you have 12...:24. You catch my drift

[Dhavalsp]

is this a conventional 55 with 4 ft length? then you will be fine...anything less than 4 ft is a problem...

[pitdogg2]

ill politely disagree here. IMO (only my opinion people not facts) a 75gal is the smallest I would do for 6 discus once they reach adult. You get any kind of breeding activity in that 55gal and your other fish are going to get creamed.

I'll also agree with this assessment.

[Ryan925]

Have 6 in my 55, plan to keep them in there forever since I do not have room for a 6ft long tank :( I dont plan for any other fish in there besides a pleco however either.

75 is only 4' wide also ;)

[Bizarro252]

Yep yep! OP, This link is for Aqeuon brand tanks, but it at least gives you an idea of what sizes are out there, and what options you have at 4 ft length. I also do not have room for more than 4ft unless I move some things around... I would REALLY like a 125 - but as Phil stated, then I would have 12 fish LOL...

https://www.aqueonproducts.com/-/media/files/aqueon-na/us/set-up-guides/criticaldimensions-pdf.pdf

[Kev29]

They're loving the tank so far. I have a good feeling about this one. I'm sure when they reach official adultsize i will upgrade.

http://i.imgur.com/ayvHkQo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Hk5QBjG.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4PXPHFP.jpg