brucifer
02-28-2003, 01:51 PM
Hey everyone,
I'm interested in getting a discus for my tank. I've read a lot of posts saying to buy several at the same time. Are there problems with only having one discus in a tank?
The tank I want a discus for is a 20 gal high. It's a community tank with 6 corydoras, 1 yoyo loach, 1 bristlenose pleco, 3 otos, 3 cherry barbs, and 3 rosy barbs. I've never seen either the cherry or rosy barbs chase anything other than a member of their own species. The tank is heavily planted, but provides open swimming areas along with shaded areas. CO2 injection lowers the pH to about 7.0. The water from my tap is 3 dKH and 4 dGH. Weekly water changes and topping off maintains this. I have to add KNO3 regularly in order to get 5-10 ppm NO3 because of the plants. The tank temperature fluctuates between 80 and 82 F. It never seems to drop below 80 despite the heater (set at 76 F) never turning on.
I'm not interested in breeding discus or trying to maximize their growth with elevated temperatures (i.e., 86 F). I don't mind if my discus has stunted growth as long as it's otherwise healthy.
I just want some eyecandy and more character in my tank.
Would a single discus be fine in my tank? Could I even fit more than 1 juvenile discus? (Nitrates are well under control in my tank.) A larger tank is out of the question for the next year and a half.
I'm interested in getting a discus for my tank. I've read a lot of posts saying to buy several at the same time. Are there problems with only having one discus in a tank?
The tank I want a discus for is a 20 gal high. It's a community tank with 6 corydoras, 1 yoyo loach, 1 bristlenose pleco, 3 otos, 3 cherry barbs, and 3 rosy barbs. I've never seen either the cherry or rosy barbs chase anything other than a member of their own species. The tank is heavily planted, but provides open swimming areas along with shaded areas. CO2 injection lowers the pH to about 7.0. The water from my tap is 3 dKH and 4 dGH. Weekly water changes and topping off maintains this. I have to add KNO3 regularly in order to get 5-10 ppm NO3 because of the plants. The tank temperature fluctuates between 80 and 82 F. It never seems to drop below 80 despite the heater (set at 76 F) never turning on.
I'm not interested in breeding discus or trying to maximize their growth with elevated temperatures (i.e., 86 F). I don't mind if my discus has stunted growth as long as it's otherwise healthy.
I just want some eyecandy and more character in my tank.
Would a single discus be fine in my tank? Could I even fit more than 1 juvenile discus? (Nitrates are well under control in my tank.) A larger tank is out of the question for the next year and a half.