Getting New Discus

[ekurutz]

Ok so currently I have two 3" discus that I purchased about 2 weeks, which are doing excellently in my tank, however as expected one has become territorial and chases the other one around the tank alot. The other discus seems to be dealing with the stress of the other fish chasing it quiet well, and eats like a pig at every feeding but I don't think raising it forever under this conditions will be good in the long run for the fish.

I am thinking about getting 2 more 3" discus to add to the aquarium to hopefully cut down on the stress that the one fish is receving from the constant chasing, however I am concerned with the size of my aquarium, and whether it will be able to comofortable house 4 growing discus.

Currently I have a 20 gallon high, however I will be upgrading to a 55 gallon or larger around christmas time. Do you think I will able to raise four 3" discus in a 20 gallon high for 2 1/2 months?

[j_li8]

for those few months it should be ok since you said your getting a 55 gallon tank near the end of the year. just be sure you stay on top of your water changes.

[ekurutz]

I currently do 20 percent water changes every other day, but I'll probably up that to 35 to 40% if I add two more fish.

[Hobby]

Those water changes are the key!

[Harriett]

Your tank is not large and juvies need lots of fresh water to grow well, since you should be feeding 4-6 x day and the tank water will get polluted under these conditions. Optimal in my opinion would be 70% a day changes for healthy fish and good growth. You will see a big difference. I am old school.
Best regards
Harriett

[zamboniMan]

I would risk doing more than 20 or 30% a day any more than that and you risk stressing the fish from temperature shock.

[ekurutz]

I make sure the temperature of the newly added water is ALWAYS the same temperature as the water in the fish tank before adding it

[ncyracer]

;)I personally ould also go with up tp 70% 20-30 wont cut it. Dont worry to much about the temp changes just try to warm the water or age it in a heated barrel. HTH

[zamboniMan]

Well if you have aged water obviously the temperature shocking problem shouldn't be an issue but if its comming out of the tap be carefull.

[Harriett]

I would risk doing more than 20 or 30% a day any more than that and you risk stressing the fish from temperature shock.

It's not hard to adjust temp whether it's aged or out of the tap. Frankly, however, I don't think it's a big deal to be off by a couple degrees. In fact, that kind of change often sets egg laying behaviour in motion in my tanks. Discus just are not THAT fragile if they are healthy, unless they are little pups, in which case I am careful to match the temp. JMO
Harriett

[ekurutz]

thank you for all the useful suggestions! assuming care and maintanence is not an issue, I guess my main question is...is a 20 gallon tank large enough to house four 2.5"-3" discus for 2 months?

[Harriett]

I would consider doing it if I were doing 70+% water changes daily and vacuuming the bottom, cleaning filter meticulously. I might suggest if you can, to do 50-60% water changes 2 x day as they grow. Is that possible?
Harriett

[ekurutz]

Yeah I can definitely do 60-70% water changes daily...It's not that big of a task with a 20 gallon fish tank! I just want to make sure before I order 2 discus that the fish aren't going to be stunted simply from the smaller size of the temporary tank they will be in.

[GrillMaster]

ekurutz...Get your 55G as fast as you can and raise them in that!! A 20G tank just wont let ya feed em the way they need to be fed without doin 3 WC's a day!! ;) :D