Anyone successfully raise discus in a regular planted community tanks?

[andyl9063]

Anyone successfully raise fry in a regular planted community tanks? I want to start out with some discus fry about the size of quarters. I have a established 90g planted tank with some rams, neons, bloodfin, cory cats, serpaes, and white clouds.

Would I successfully be able to raise the frys in this condition? I know most suggest starting out with a bare tank for the frys, but I don't have any spare tanks to do it.

[moon_knight1971]

I would think they might be food for some of them. Only thing I can think of is adding a divider to seperate the rest of the tank mates from the fry, mom & dad.

[andyl9063]

No, i guess i should have phrase it right, the frys will be purchased for this tank, there will be no parents. I'll be buying like quarter-size frys. I had some tiger, cherry, and rosy barbs which i know would be too stressful and nippy for the discus. I have already move these guys out

[Northwoods Discus]

Welcome to Simply. You would be better off starting with good quality adults. Feeding heavily and water changes required for growth make it difficult to keep a planted community tank clean and healthy and get good growth. There have been many many threads lately on this topic. Get ready for a landslide of opinions. You will learn a lot though and then decide for yourself.

[moon_knight1971]

How many do you plan to buy? Depending on the number I personally think 90g is way too large for them and would still think a divider until they are a bit bigger is the best solution.

[andyl9063]

quarter size and maybe 6-7????
on the topic of buying full adult, I don't think I have the budget for that, I mean I have it, but don't want to.

[YSS]

I have successfully raised fry to 6 plus inch adults in a 265G community planted tank without a divider, but they around 3" when I bought them.

[YSS]

I have successfully raised fry to 6 plus inch adults in a 265G community planted tank without a divider, but they around 3" when I bought them.

May be 3" discus are not fry.

[andyl9063]

are quarter size discus still consider as fry?

[pcsb23]

Not sure how big a quarter is - we don't have them in blighty. I have raised discus to around the 6" mark (some bigger some smaller) in a high tech planted tank of 300 litres (about 75 US gallons). They were about 2" TL when I put them in, 5 of them.

[andyl9063]

i guess as along as i feed them a lot and keep up with the water condition, it should be fine.

[Skip]

you can raise them.. but they may not reach their full potential.. but they should live... if you don't care on what they will look like. then go for it :)

[PAR23]

It can be done but much more difficult and a lot more work involved. What kind of substrate do you have?

[Altum Nut]

In my opinion, something I would not recommend. The beauty of Discus is best displayed when they have reached their full potential size...5"-6"+. Your budget to purchase quarter size is fine but you maybe disappointed in the end result.
Now, if your planning on feeding 4 or 5+ times per day and 50% per day w/c...you may have a chance.
Additional advise would be to buy from a reputable source and making sure fry are not runts. SD sponsors will offer quality.
Why not just wait it out and plan things out first.
Just a suggestion.

...Ralph

[discuspaul]

Quarter-sized discus fry (barely 1") require frequent feedings and large frequent water changes to thrive and grow out properly, and are very susceptible to a number of health problems at that stage, with immune systems only in the development stage. Personally, I wouldn't even begin to think about anything less than around 2.5" juvie discus in a planted, community fish environment. Not to be overly negative, but in my view you would be undertaking a huge challenge, very prone to disappointing results.

[Bill63SG]

quarter size and maybe 6-7????
on the topic of buying full adult, I don't think I have the budget for that, I mean I have it, but don't want to.

IMO,if you stick with 6-7,you will do alright,just not reach they're full growth potential.I'm growing out in a planted 150,and got hit with parisite.Luckly,unluclky,I had a large tank to qurarintine in.I pushed it,6-7 should be O.K.

[andyl9063]

well i'm buying the fry from a reputable breeder on this site. I might decrease the number down to 5 and the discus fry is at 2.5 inch. I'm still planning everything out and will keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the tips.

update:
i might have change my mind a little bit. I have a spare 30g which I will setup for themselves. It would be better to change this tank water than a 90g tank everytime...........

[PAR23]

update:
i might have change my mind a little bit. I have a spare 30g which I will setup for themselves. It would be better to change this tank water than a 90g tank everytime...........

Much better idea......Greater chance of success.:)

[discuspaul]

Much better idea......Greater chance of success.:)

+1

[andyl9063]

a regular hob and sponge filter should do the job right?

[William Palumbo]

My first batch of Discus was in a tank with a ton of gravel, plastic plants and some live ones, all run on a cannister filter. They grew well and were THE oldest Discus I have kept to this day...Bill

[maxpain]

i'm also new to discus about 9 months now. i raised 6 juvies 2" to 3" in a planted community 90 gallon tank. i feed 4 to 5 times a day and i do a 50-70% WC/weekly. my largest one is 5+" and my smallest is a small 3" runt?/stunt?. my goal was to see if i can keep these guys alive. i've accomplished my goal. i've even got a pair out of them. last week they spawned and 2 days later i go wigglers. unfortunately, they were in a community tank and no more wigglers. will be relocating them soon. it could totally be done. i have another goal now. i want to raise discus to their fullest. anticipating 20+ 2" fry in a couple weeks. they will go into a bare bottom 65 gallon. have another 65 gallon to divide them when they get bigger. will be doing a 50% WC/ Daily. new set of goals, different way of going about it. my question to you, what do you want to accomplished, what is your goal?

[Natives]

I haven't been into discus long, but I thought I'd be hot stuff and show everyone I could raise discus in a planted community tank since I'm not new with fish or plants; Needless to say, my first batch of youngsters are now in their own tank. They still have plants and substrate, but they're doing much better alone (I had them with cardinals, cories, and plecos). I have 8 with my first group who are now about six months old, and they vary in sizes between almost 4 inches long and 2.5 inches long.

[two utes]

Going from my own experience, yes you can successfully raise discus in a planted community tank. I have done this on a few occasions, and was pleased with my end result. l then came across this wonderfull forum and learnt, and saw first hand how much more beautiful discus were, and could be.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPTB1VnPraE

During this time l was fortunate enough to take part in the first discus challenge run on this forum, and I set up a dedicated bare bottom tank to do so.
I can say that these fish quickly became larger than the discus in the community tank which had a few months head start.
As much as l liked my planted tank, l have recently stripped it to a bare bottom tank for the sole purpose of raising another group of juvinilles to give them the best care that l posibbly can and for them to reach close to full potential.

In saying all this l think it all depends on what you want back from your discus.

Good luck with it.

[gsteve]

I ll give you my story. I bought 4 discus and had them in a 65 gal planted and with gravel... things went well untill about 8 mons. I changed 30% water every 2 days. Had a great filter and vacced the gravel hard every wc. At about the 8 mon mark they all got sick. I tried everything. 3 died and the last one looked bad. I was told to go BB only. I got the tank BB ready expecting my last guy to die any day. Once the gravel was out he got better every day. A month later he is if 100% and i have 4 more growing. Even tho i thought i was keeping the gravel clean i wasnt. BB only for me. I have 3 plants in pots for some green. Gonna have somme rocks etc soon but no substrate. sj

[andyl9063]

ok, well i just got a batch of 13 fry this weekend from a breeder on here. Had the bb tank setup for them with the 84 temp. I almost lost one when i put them in the tank. I counted 12 and there was suppose to be 13. It was at least 5 minutes when one of that discus was in the bag with no water............. i was like noooo, off to a bad start already. I quickly dumped in the water and it took like 10 seconds for him to respond. He started shaking and took 5 minutes to fully recover. I was so glad. I feed them some bbs last night and this morning, but they're still a little shy and was picking at it. When I leave the room and come back, its gone.
Made a batch of beef heart yesterday, so surprise when my walmart actually sells them cut up in pieces. Brought an eheim fish feeder to feed them flakes when i'm at work.
I'll post up pics soon

trying to setup a moss wall for them, even though its bb tank, moss wall should be ok.

[andyl9063]

Here they are now feeding before a water change.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/DSC01077.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/DSC01078.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/DSC01079.jpg

Waiting to put in the moss wall later

[maxpain]

nice. good luck andy.

[gsteve]

Cute lil gaffers! I kinda wish i had got mine as fry... so fun seeing them grow up!

[Discus-Hans]

I got a call last week from a very nice lady from Texas, Christine

Called my cell and asked for a manager or somebody in charge, so I asked her, I'm the owner, is that good enough? After she got it that my name was part of the company name and got over the shock that THE Hans picks up the phone himself, we had a very nice conversation. She bought 5 Discus at the store Aquatek in Austin, TX, back in April '08.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll62/Hans-Discus/Customer%20tanks/CatherinesDiscus.jpg

She just wanted to tell me how happy she was with her Discus and send me the picture and a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sApUASZJLXU

You know those things make my day,

Hans

[William Palumbo]

Great looking tank/fish. Those plants in the back really set off the blue in those fish!...Bill

[Discus-Hans]

Great looking tank/fish. Those plants in the back really set off the blue in those fish!...Bill

You saw the movie Bill?

Hans

[William Palumbo]

Yea...where she is petting them!...My Stendkers try and eat my fingers off when I do that when they have fry! I guess it takes a woman's touch!...Bill

[Altum Nut]

Very nice tank layout and fish. What strike me was how gentle she was when touching the Discus.
Hans, my Stendker Santerem's can be touch just the same but not while thier fry are attached or even in the same tank.
Funny how Discus can earn your trust if well taken care of.
Thanks for sharing Hans,

...Ralph

[mkv]

I currently have a 6" and a 5.5" discus raised in a planted tank with wet dry filter.... They were 3.5" when we started.... It is possible just requires more maintenance from you...

[strawberryblonde]

I successfully raised a Blue Face Heckel (have no idea if that's the correct name, just was the name given to me by the seller) back in the late 80's / early 90's in a community tank.

It was the size of a half dollar when I bought him and grew to over 6 inches. He was SO gorgeous. It was a nice quiet tank with a couple of dwarf gourami's, a cory, an angel and...hmmm.... hatchet fish maybe? But my point here is that it wasn't over crowded, there were lots and lots of safe hidey places for everyone and it was calm and quiet.

That was back when there weren't any forums to give me info on raising discus, so I just jumped in with both feet. I had NO idea that they grew so large and lived so long either! I sold him when he was 6 years old and still miss that guy.

So yes, raising young discus in a planted community tank is possible. In fact, I plan to do it again with the tank that I'm currently setting up, but it's probably not as easy as a BB tank. I just happen to want a tank that's pretty, informative, peaceful and non-fussy. If that means that my fish will never win first prize so be it, I'm ok with that. =)

On the other hand, raising them in a group is going to be a whole new challenge and no way I'd try it with anything smaller than 3 inches. The little piggies eat all day and make big messes...lol

SB

[strawberryblonde]

Ohhhh, forgot to say:

Hans, those fish are GORGEOUS and the video is awesome! I've been drooling over the fish on your website for weeks now but don't want to ship them all the way across the country to my wee cold corner of the world.

They tell me they have FedEx here, but all my shipments seem to arrive by Pony Express. LOL

Thanks for posting the pics and the video. =)

SB

[Discus-Hans]

All credits go to Christine in Texas, she raised and bred them.

SB email discus-hans@comcast.net me your zip, see what I can do for you.
If we can ship them to Alaska in a snow storm, your place shouldn't be a problem lol

Hans


Ohhhh, forgot to say:

Hans, those fish are GORGEOUS and the video is awesome! I've been drooling over the fish on your website for weeks now but don't want to ship them all the way across the country to my wee cold corner of the world.

They tell me they have FedEx here, but all my shipments seem to arrive by Pony Express. LOL

Thanks for posting the pics and the video. =)

SB

[Jennie]

sounds like fed ex is tendering your package to the post office. I would just go to fed ex and pick them up directly!

Ohhhh, forgot to say:

Hans, those fish are GORGEOUS and the video is awesome! I've been drooling over the fish on your website for weeks now but don't want to ship them all the way across the country to my wee cold corner of the world.

They tell me they have FedEx here, but all my shipments seem to arrive by Pony Express. LOL

Thanks for posting the pics and the video. =)

SB

[greg31]

I am raising mine in a planted right now. Hope everything works out!

[gsteve]

If they all suddenly get ill get ride of the substrate asap.

[Foxfire]

Can be done but you MUST do 70+% WC about every day; tank temp should be high, say 84 - 86 F (29 - 30 C), clean often. Otherwise, you are wasting your time and the fish if you want them 6 inch plus (15 cm +).

[Eddie]

Can be done but you MUST do 70+% WC about every day; tank temp should be high, say 84 - 86 F (29 - 30 C), clean often. Otherwise, you are wasting your time and the fish if you want them 6 inch plus (15 cm +).

Does it matter what size the tank is? Lol

Are you sure you can't just do 65% and be successful. Lol

Saying must or have is pretty extreme. Nobody must or has to do the same method as another, to be successful.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[x2h]

Does it matter what size the tank is? Lol

Are you sure you can't just do 65% and be successful. Lol

Saying must or have is pretty extreme. Nobody must or has to do the same method as another, to be successful.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

+1

[andyl9063]

well its been a month. I lost 1 out of 13. I think he was the weakling who got bully out of all the food. Now these 12 seems to be like a tight group. It is rewarding to see after all the feedings and water change that the fish are growing. Some grew about an inch and some grew 1/2 an inch. Some are starting to show colors.

this is in a 30g bb tank

[andyl9063]

Well here is some update.
Move them to a wider 30g tank for easy cleaning.

its been about another month and a half. before pics are on this post: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?85668-Anyone-successfully-raise-discus-in-a-regular-planted-community-tanks&p=726440&viewfull=1#post726440

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/DSC01279.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/DSC01278.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/DSC01276.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/DSC01275.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/DSC01273.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/DSC01271.jpg

[moon_knight1971]

Nice! Loving the blue!

[zchauvin]

Nice! Loving the blue!

+1 those are looking very nice

[andyl9063]

thanks guys, they sure are worth the trouble!!!!

[andyl9063]

Well this is going to be their new home soon. 220g baby!!! I'm make this my build thread.
These guys are getting to be around 4-5 in now. Trying to get them to fully size before putting them in the 220.

Just almost finish with the stand, got to get some doors as well.
Need some help with overflow and sumps

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/IMAG0009.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/IMAG0010.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/IMAG0011.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/IMAG0012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/drunkenmastera/IMAG0013.jpg

[Discus_Glen]

Looking forward to your build thread. I am already interested in your stand. Your fish look anxious for a pad of their own!

[raidendex]

Stand probably will be fine though I think it would be a lot more structurally sound if legs were right under the top frame not to the side of it. This way you're putting stress on whatever joins then screws/glue vs just on the legs.

Here's the design I usually use. Big plus with it is that you do not need to use any center legs, unless you desire them for mounting of doors etc.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1567110&highlight=diy+stand+plans

Highlights:
125g-240g: For tanks 72" long, I recommend a 2X8 top frame to span the full width of the tank without a center leg. Rest is 2x4. Green 2x4s only there to connect top and bottom frames to the legs and can be skipped if you use pocket holes I think it's called ... :)
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/148629DIY_Stand_Template.jpg

[andyl9063]

Stand probably will be fine though I think it would be a lot more structurally sound if legs were right under the top frame not to the side of it. This way you're putting stress on whatever joins then screws/glue vs just on the legs.

Here's the design I usually use. Big plus with it is that you do not need to use any center legs, unless you desire them for mounting of doors etc.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1567110&highlight=diy+stand+plans

Highlights:
125g-240g: For tanks 72" long, I recommend a 2X8 top frame to span the full width of the tank without a center leg. Rest is 2x4. Green 2x4s only there to connect top and bottom frames to the legs and can be skipped if you use pocket holes I think it's called ... :)
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/148629DIY_Stand_Template.jpg

no need to worry, i have added more structure to those legs, extra 2x4 as well.
Heres the build thread:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?89471-220G-simplistic-tank-build-!!!!!!!

[jarret8x]

2x8 is overkill for that span I ran 2x6 tops on my 125

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[mikmaq]

Great thread! I was considering starting off with fry in a well planted community tank as well but now I am thinking either go with the BB method or spending cash and going with the 4 inch plus or even adults.
Can't wait to see your babies when they reach adult colors!