how long?

[born2lovefish]

How long could I keep 13 3-4 inch discus in a 75 gallon tank?

[svdfinally]

I asked this question of Cary from Great Lakes Discus. I wanted to use the 75 as a grow out tank so that I could move them to the show tank. I asked if it was ok to keep 11- 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" inch fish in a BB tank for 5-6 months to grow them out. He said as long as I keep up with the water changes it should be fine. I do 30-40% daily.:)

[born2lovefish]

WOW! Would I need to do them everyday even though I have excellent filtration on the tank?

[svdfinally]

That I don't know...it is just what I do because I have the time.

[sublevel007]

I currently have 12 - 2 1/2 discus in my 75 gallon show tank in my living room. They may even be larger just never measured them. I also have a rather large piece of driftwood, gravel and a few fake sword tail plants. I have no problem with this set up. I know when they get as large as some of my other fish I will have to transfer some of them into other tanks. I grew out 12 before just the same I am doing now and they are all very healty, colorful and love to eat. Those fish are all about 15-18 months old and about 5 1/2 - 6" now. The thing that is driving me crazy is that I have not seem to get any to pair off yet though.

[greyhoundfan]

Yes..everyday WC would be needed.. It'll be ok to skip a day here and there but I wouldn't make a habit of it.

Your babies will produce dissolved organic compound (DOC) that your filter can't remove. Build up of DOCs is just as toxic as having high ammonia or nitrite or nitrate..darn it's one of those two.. I always get them mixed up.

On top of that, juvies require a lot of food and clean water. Daily WCs is the way to go.

[born2lovefish]

they are already 3-4 inches.

[AADiscus]

You are fine but daily wc's are needed to keep them healthy and growing good. We have 15 5-6" fish in a 100 gallon but they get a 100% wc daily. 50 in the am and 50 in the pm. I would not recommend over stocking a tank unless you are going to do LARGE daily wc's.

[Darren's Discus]

Hi,
I agrre with Angela currently with my tan fish i have 6 29g with 12 3.5 discus and a 75g with 40 3.5 discus changing 50% morning and 50% at night.


cheers

[born2lovefish]

You are fine but daily wc's are needed to keep them healthy and growing good. We have 15 5-6" fish in a 100 gallon but they get a 100% wc daily. 50 in the am and 50 in the pm. I would not recommend over stocking a tank unless you are going to do LARGE daily wc's.

50% in the morning and 50% at night might add up to 100% for the day, but you are not actually changing 100% of the water...

[Don Trinko]

I think it's 75% because the second time you take out 50% you are taking out 25% of the new water you put in and 25% of what was the old water before you did your 1st 50% change.. Don T.

[born2lovefish]

Yes, 75% is what I believe it would be too.

[mvisocky]

No big deal, but it wouldn't really be 75% either. The water you replaced in the morning is now 8-12 hours old. So, it is actually 50% new 25% old and 25% slightly old water. Still better than 1 50% change daily though.

[surya_niki]

Hi,

Well its not whether you doing a complete 75-100% wc but its about maintaining good water quality throughout to avoid any toxins to build up.

And it also depends on the no: of fish you have in the tank. i do about 20-80% Wc daily for my 20gal tank. And I just have 4 discuss in it. I also clean the sponge filter every day.

Regards,
Surya

[alxjss]

Forgive me, but I am a little confused. I was told not to squeeze the sponge everyday. If doing such a large w/c, i don't understand what the deal is w/water changes. Do as much as u can as long as the fish stay healthy. I thought it depended on how much u feed. I feed heavily. I have 6 juvies in a 75gal and Cary told me 20% every other day. Of course, i do more. 50% + everyother day. So far, everything is good. Probably increase as they r growing crazy now after almost 4 wks of chowing, so i will be increasing the w/c's

[Apistomaster]

I think that more than ten discus in a bare bottom 75 gallon tank is asking for trouble unless you are already experienced with compensating strategies.

With ten discus you can change 75% of the water twice a week and maintain good water quality. More than ten and all you will be doing in constant water changes of 75% everyday and would not be unreasonable but surely you would like time to enjoy your fish rather than be a slave to them.

Over crowded discus do not pair off as easily as when they have enough room to control some private space within the communal tank.

In reality, discus keeping is much more relaxing and better for the fish if you follow the guideline of ten gallons per discus. Eight in a 75 is a good number.

I am answering a question in the beginners section and applying recommendations aimed for the beginner. Very experienced discus keepers/breeders are able to step outside these bounds because they have learned ways to push the boundaries but a beginner shouldn't try to imitate an expert. There is so much more thought and experience an expert has that allows them to get away with more.

[Harriett]

How long could I keep 13 3-4 inch discus in a 75 gallon tank?

I am just adding to the background noise here, but I've been doing the same thing for about 2 years now---I have 2 good sized aquaclears on a 75 discus grow out tank. Each filter has a large sponge prefilter on it. I do 80-90% water changes 1 x day everyday [or nearly every day], clean prefilters every other day, alternately clean sponges in the aquaclears weekly [do not clean both on the same day], wipe down the glass every other day. I typically feed 4-5 x day.
Never had a problem doing it as long as I adhere to the WC and cleaning schedule.
Harriett