How many discus in a 40 gallon?

[Mykuhl]

Hello folks :). I have been looking over the info in this forum and my understanding is that one can comfortably keep one discus for every 10 gallons of water. This guide is for adults, correct? I have also learned that juveniles should be kept in a group of at least 6-8. I have a 40 galllon tank that measures 36"L x 18"W x 15"T, would this size tank be good for a group of 6-8 juveniles 2- 3" in size? Also I am assuming that I will need to reduce the number if I want to keep them in the same size tank, since 6-8 adult discus would be too much for a 40 gallon tank. Am I right? Would 4 discus do well in this sized tank? Thanks.

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Mykuhl:
You are basically correct. When your discus are full grown and if they pair off you'll want to put one pair in a 29 gallon.

Personally I prefer a 55 gallon tank (48 inches long), but if I had a 40 gallon sitting around I'm sure I'd have it full of fish too ;D

[Mykuhl]

Thanks for the reply Carol. Would it be okay to keep 6 adult discus in the 40 gallon, or would this be too much? If it is okay, would it require more than 30-50% water changes daily if I did?

[Carol_Roberts]

6 adult discus would be pretty cramped - especially if a pair takes over one end of the tank. 36 inches doesn't leave much room for swimming around or keeping out of each other's way.

[3discus]

Id personally go with 3 young ones and if you get a pair later on...just house the pair there. But 3 adults wouldnt be to bad in a 40G.

[Mykuhl]

Thanks again. So if I were to keep only four as adults in this tank would they do fine? I have read that they do better in larger groups as juveniles but what about at adulthood, would 3 or 4 be fine without more company? I have the 40 gallon tank available that I would like to get some use out of. Although I would not want to house these fish in that tank if it is not suitable.

[Carol_Roberts]

Start with 6 or 8 and plan to thin the herd down to 4 ;D

[Rick00]

you'll start out with a 40 gal and 6 or 8 juvies.....then somehow....youll forget about the 40 gal and have a bunch of 75's and maybe even 125...and a whole bunch of fish... ;D ;D

Rick

[Bruce]

I don't think the question is whether 40 gallon is sufficient. The question is whether or not you want discus. I have been where you are now, trying to use the smallest possible tank to house discus. When you get bit by the discus bug, you are no longer concerned about the smallest tank, but instead keep trying to think of the largest possible tank you are willing to deal with; money, time and space-wise.

I got back into tropical fish after a 3 year break, whereby I had kept fish for nearly 20 years continuously since age 12, and started up again with a nice 1.2 gal. Betta bowl, which became a 3 gal. Eclipse, at which time I decided a single Discus would be a cool companion to the lonely Betta. Found the baby discus wouldn't be too happy there and moved up to a 10 gallon as it grew into a juvenile with a very friendly Betta. The 20 gallon upgrade I got a month later got cramped as I stuffed it with juveniles from around the country, so the following month it turned into a 40 gallon tank. But Discus look better in a large herd of bright colors and 40 gallons is no place for an eventual herd of adult discus (10 or 20), so now my Betta Bowl is a custom 60 with a ratio aspect of a 10 gal tank, along with a 40 gal water treatment tank below it. I still call it my Betta Bowl (My wife shakes in disbelief each time I use the term, as this was how I convinced her to let me keep fish again, its just a "Betta Bowl," I had no hidden agenda). The Betta continues to be King of the Aquarium (not the Discus) and rules supreme among them, asserting its authority and confidence when it needs to, yet conforming to collective patterns of behavior most of the time. I think that HE thinks he's a discus. Now I'm scheming to work out a 120 gallon in the same length as a 60 gal (4x2x2) so I can say: "Look honey, it doesn't take up much more wall space than the 40 I had here."

From 1.2 gallon to 120 gallons in 4 months, the compulsive path of a fish-aholic.

The answer to your question (4 in a 40) is yes and no. Yes, you can. No, you won't want to. There are generally no Discus enthusiasts with a 40 gal as their show tank. Keep the 40 around as you'll difinitely need it as auxillary age-water storage, breeding, grow out, or even isolation tank. It seems most people end up choosing 60-80 as a minimum reasonable size.

[ReeferKimberly]

VERY WELL SAID! i think that's exactly what many of us wanted to say, but couldn't find the right words..
kimberly :-*

[lesley]

Hi Mykuyl

I think I can give you a good reason not to have too many discus in a 40 gallon tank! I have had six younger discus (about 3") and one full grown discus in a 30 gallon tank, was picking up a 6' one and shifting them over this coming weekend. On Monday the filter went awry and almost quarter of a tank of water was pumped out over the floor. Told my son at home to switch off filter, make sure heater was covered with water and we would fix when we got home. Five hours later when we got home, fish were in dire straights. Have been doing 50% water changes morning and night to no avail. Also been adding salt. Have lost four, think I am about to lose the rest this morning. Up until this disaster everything had been running perfectly and fish looked stunning and were busy discusing around the tank.

I guess this shows that you can get away with a smaller tank while everything goes to plan, but there is no tolerance if something goes wrong.

[Mykuhl]

Thanks for the replies. Bruce believe me I am not opposed to large tanks, it is my wife that has a problem with multiple and large tanks. If it were up to me most of the wall space in my home would be covered with tanks ;D. The thing is I have this spare 40 gallon tank and stand that I want to put to use, and I was thinking about using it for discus if possible. Heck I still have to convice the wife to let me set up the 40 gallon tank. I currently have a 120 gallon and a 10 gallon in use, she is quite opposed to another tank in the apartment. Lesley, I was thinking about only having as many discus as I could safely and comfortably house in the 40 gallon, wether that be 3,4 or 6. I want what is best for my fish :).

[Willie]

I recommend you start with 6 - 8 2" discus in a barebottom 40 gallon tank. There's going to be some casualties and discus that size need some company to relax. Starting with fewer fish is problematic since the alpha will pick on all the others.

Small discus will handle a 40-gallon tank with no problems for 2 - 3 months. By then, you will be much more experienced with discus and understand the need for more tank space. This way, you'll have 60 - 90 days to clean out all those fish from the 120 for adult discus.

Willie

[Nightowl]

Hello, must agree w/ Willie to keep 6-8(maybe 10?) 2" fish in a 40g. tank. Fewer fish = more g.p.fish, but the dominant one will more easily rule the food, thus slowing growth rate of others. Also, more fish= more w/c's which leads to excellent fish growth which leads to " I need a bigger tank.." anyway. You see? Accept it... embrace it...(if you don't you'll be miserable) not really but someone said that to me once so I had to write it! Resistance is futile....... Later, J(Nightowl) :vanish: Hi Lesley, sorry to hear about your fish... was filter a fluval? just curious..... sending you an IM.... J.

[kdiao]

Bruce, I really enjoy reading your experience with fish keeping. My (and probably many others) experience is very similar to yours! Thanks to discus, people like us grow into this hobby extremely quickly. :)

This is my first posting on SimplyDiscus in over half a year. For various reasons, I took a half year hiatus from being actively involved with my fish keeping.

Mykuhl, to respond to your question, how many discus you can keep happily in a given tank depends on many factors. Some of the more important factors include: how big do you wish the discus to grow, how often and how much do you feed your discus; and finally how often are you willing to change the water. The last factor is most important. You can fit up to six or more discus in a 40g tank if you are will to do the dirty work; change a great deal of water on a daily basis, or feed the fish less.

I wish you the best of luck! Discus truly are great pets. ;D