Newbie question

[Gin]

My husband has been bitten by the Discus bug. We have kept fish for many years. My husband has since decided he would like to try Discus, he likes a challenge. Frankly I am scared poopless. I reasearch everything to the nth degree, so thankfully I have stumbled across your site, it is very informative. Presently we have a 30 gallon that is being cycled. We are going the barebottom route with driftwood and some rocks, we never had any luck with plants so we will be holding off on those. I have searched the forum and I am unable to quickly find how many gallons per discus. We will be getting juvies from a reputable lfs here in Winnipeg, with plans to upgrade to a larger tank once our basement is built out this year....please advise on what is good to start with. I am a little leery to start with 6, which is what I see is recommended, but I don't know if this is pushing it for us newbies....thanks is advance for any help.

Ginette

[pcsb23]

Ginette,

Firstly welcome to Simply :)

Secondly, no need to be "scared poopless" :D Believe it or not discus are easy to care for, once you understand the basic requirements.

To answer your question, 6 would be a good number of juvvies to start with, many reasons but discus are a social animal and a larger group gives them security and when they start to bicker spreads the bickering about.

For you tank I would stronly recommend no rocks at all, and as much as I like driftwood I'd also hold off on that for now. Just a decent sponge or cannister (or HOB) filter and a heater is really all thats needed.

The golden rule is to look after your water! Basically this means regular and fairly frequent water changes, using a suitable dechlor or other emans to remove chlorine/chloramine. With juvvies you will be feeding them 3 or more times a day so they will need more w/c's. Once you get in the groove its pretty easy. Don't over complicate things, keep it nice and simple and all will be well.

the second golden rule is to start with good stock, check out the sponsors section on here, there are sponsors in Canada, and they will see you right.

Good luck.

[Gin]

Well, I am all about not complicating things lol, so I can let the wood waterlog for as long as needed then, when is a good time to add it? I guess the logical answer is when we have a handle on our water conditions right? We do have the sponge filter, we will be upgrading our other filter. I certainly will check out the sponsor section...I appreciate the help already, and I am so glad I found simply, I have lots of reading to do lol....and Paul, everytime I see your guitar playing smiley, it makes me laugh lol

Ginette

[pcsb23]

....and Paul, everytime I see your guitar playing smiley, it makes me laugh lol

Ginette
If you heard me playing recently it would make you wince! do I ever need some practice :(

You are quite right about when to add the wood back, once you understand your water then you can put the wood back. You may even consider a few annubias on the wood.... but that's for later ;)

[Tropical Haven]

Ginette,
To answer your other question, the rule of thumb for discus is 10 gallons per discus. Welcome to the site!!!!

[Gin]

Thanks for the welcome :) Now 10 gallons per ADULT discus? If not, then 6 still sounds like too many for our 30 gal. And until they get how big can I keep them in the 30 gal if I DO have 6? Geez, I hope that makes sense lol

G

[White Worm]

welcome, you may want to look into getting a 55g which is a great size to use considering you should get 5-6 juveniles to start with. They will quickly outgrow a 30g. You could always use the 30g later for a breeding tank :D

[Gin]

lol, my husband would LOOOOVE that suggestion. He is already e-mailing me from work wondering if a bigger tank would fit in our custom wall cutout lol, and breeding would be fun, we already breed dogs, so why not fish ;) rofl

G

[pcsb23]

Thanks for the welcome :) Now 10 gallons per ADULT discus?
Yes per adult discus, and remember its a guide NOT an absolute. With juvvies there is a benefit in having them in a smaller space, makes them feel secure. And yes with proper care they grow fast, but as you are sorting your basement, you can get a bigger tank then and use the 30 as qt.



If not, then 6 still sounds like too many for our 30 gal. And until they get how big can I keep them in the 30 gal if I DO have 6? Geez, I hope that makes sense lol

G
I regularly have more than 6 adults in 30 gals... - yes I have a bit of experience but the point remains. If 6 worries you go with 5, but I would strongly suggest no fewer.

[RyanH]

Yup, a 55 is the best size to start out with IMO. I will usually get a group of 8 juveniles in a 55 to start. You will inevitably have a runt or two. Cull down to the best 6.

[Gin]

OMG I don't know if I could cull :( I am a big suck lol. And again, I really appreciate all the info, it makes me feel a little more secure knowing that if I am having "issues" you guys are no further than a click away!

G

[White Worm]

Yup, 5-6 juvies in the 30 will work temporarily as long as you keep up on the water changes. You will be feeding lots of food for 5-6 fish (3-5x a day) so the water will foul quickly with the waste and left overs. Just vacuum every other day or more if needed and change water 50% or more every other day or more if needed. It is just a learning game. You will soon find that you just know what suits your situation best. Some people do more or less so start with more and then you can experiment with your tanks. The 55g will be more forgiving as far as room to grow, cichlid aggression and a skip here and there with water changes. The cull process is a part of life and would happen naturally in the wild. In order for the hobby to thrive, we should try our best to introduce high quality specimens. If you breed in the future, it will just make it easier for you if you get used to it now. With a batch of 100 fry, you may have to cull 1/3 of them because of deformities. Then more later for things that were not able to be seen at a young age.

[divingne1]

Your recommendations for # of discus has me asking if I should get more discus. I have a 55g with an Eheim 2224, and hangon the back filter type thing that came with the tank. I currently have 4 discus, 1 german blue ram (would love to put more of those in), 6 black neons, 5 typical blue/red neons, 2 cory cats and 1 rubber lip plecco. I just changed the lighting and added some real plants (seeing if they will take or not). Could I house one more discus comfortably with all the other fish? Yes I will be doing frequent water changes but if I go on vacation for a week, I don't want to have to worry about my tank going nuts.