How many D i s c u s ?

[jayclaire]

Hi All,

Kinda new in keeping Discus. I used to have 2 large FH in my 125 gallon tank, it measures 72x18x22. How many Discus can put in the tank?

Thanks,
Jay

[Bainbridge Mike]

Hi Jay:

What is an "FH"? What else do you have in the tank? How often are you willing to do water changes and how much water at each change? A very rough rule of thumb is one discus per 10 gallons of tank water--but that number starts to go down quickly if your tank has other fish or gravel substrate.

Mike

[Ryan]

I think FH = Flowerhorn?

You could probably raise 10 - 12 nice adult discus in that tank with proper water changes and good food. A word of warning, though... 10 babies in a tank that size are going to be scared at first. They don't seem to like big open spaces when they're little. Even my 10 discus at 2" were intimidated by the 55 gallon I put them in. It took them a couple weeks to come around and get comfortable.

Ryan

[Marinemom]

That is the exact same size tank I have set up for my South American cichlids. With that footprint of a tank you could easily do 8-10 adult discus without worrying that they do not have enough space. Personally, I think that would make a beautiful display in a tank that size.

Diane

[lhforbes12]

Ryan,
Thanks for that. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what strain of discus FH could possibly be.

Jay,
If it is flowerhorns that you have, putting them with discus is not recommended. As I understand it flowerhorns give new meaning to the word "aggressive" and I seriously doubt that discus would do well, or even live, in the same tank as them.

[II j L c II]

Flowerhorns are the most aggressive cichlid you could own. I advise you to not put discus as they will be torn apart. I know from experience because I've grown a 10'' flowerhorn and it has killed nearly everything. You could actually see his picture on www.waterwolves.com they used him as the buy/sell icon at the top.

Jon

[ahmad]

Hi Jay,

It is advisable to put 10 Discus fish of size 3 - 4 inches in your tank, and it is better to move the FH to another tank, and change the water 3 times a week at a 30% rate. Make sure that the temperature is around 28 degrees and the PH between 6.5 and 7. You can put Cory fish too to help clean the wastes.

Thanks

Ahmad

[Seaco]

I have seven full grown discus in my 44 gallon tank with no problems at all including 2 pairs I'm getting eggs every week or so...

[Graham]

I used to have 2 large FH in my 125 gallon tank

I don't think he's planning to mix the 2 species

[White Worm]

I have seven full grown discus in my 44 gallon tank with no problems at all including 2 pairs I'm getting eggs every week or so...

That is fine and with proper w/c's that is more than manageable. With someone new though, it would be in their best interests to go with 1 per 10g rule until they get the hang of things. If you are not up to par on your care, a high fish load may be asking for trouble in the future.