New to discus

[Angelfish lover]

I have never kept discus my father did a long time ago when they were a lot harder to keep.

1 do i have do to bare bottom tank?
2 could i keep plant in with them?
3 do i have to do water changes every week or could i do them every 2 weeks..
4 if i got a 50 breeder would that be a good size for them...

[Longhorn2750]

You do not have to do a bare bottom tank, having a bare bottom helps with sanitation.
You can keep plants with discus; just make sure the plants can handle the warm water temperatures the discus requires.
You will have to do more water changes than once a week; it depends on the bio load in the tank. The more water changes the better.
You can do a fifty gallon tank, but remember not to over crowd the tank.

[DiscusDrew]

1) You can do whatever your heart desires... that said discus are very particular about their water quality and as such I recommend starting with BB tanks because they are far easier to keep in perfect conditions, if you choose to do differently that is your prerogative, however, then make sure you start with fish that are at LEAST 4" as they will be less demanding on the water quality. For instance, I raise my fry and juvies in BB tanks until they are around 5-6" at which time they are moved to a display tank (with substrate) or into my breeding program.

2)Start with the discus, you will have a very steep learning curve at first and plants will only complicate things. SO, get comfortable with the discus, maybe a piece of driftwood or two, then look at adding plants after a good 6 months or so of learning.

3)Your water change schedule will vary once again depending on the size of the fish you buy, for my fry and juvies they get no less than one 50% water change per DAY, any fish under 4" I would say this should be the general rule, ESPECIALLY if you ignore me and do substrate. At the very least for juvenile fish do every other day water changes of 50%. If you choose to do sub-adult discus, then they will be less demanding and you can get away with 2-3 50% water changes per week. But no matter what, the water change schedule you listed will prove to be insufficient and will put too much bio pressure on the fish, resulting in disease.

4) The general rule is 10 gallons of water per ADULT discus, meaning that if you do juvies you will easily be able to do 6-7 fish, even more with a heavy water change schedule. Again, this largely all depends on how good you are at doing water changes and keeping the tank clean. If you plan to buy adult fish, I would just get 5 of them and your good to go. QT all new arrivals, if they are going straight to the 50gal breeder, put them in the tank before any other fish or plants or anything for at least a month then QT anything you wish to add including plants.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY!!! Read through the sticky's in the beginners section of the forum. We can talk to you all day but doing your own personal research will pay off in ways I cant explain or emphasize enough. Best of luck with the new tank and we are here to help!

[Angelfish lover]

You do not have to do a bare bottom tank, having a bare bottom helps with sanitation.
You can keep plants with discus; just make sure the plants can handle the warm water temperatures the discus requires.
You will have to do more water changes than once a week; it depends on the bio load in the tank. The more water changes the better.
You can do a fifty gallon tank, but remember not to over crowd the tank.


1) You can do whatever your heart desires... that said discus are very particular about their water quality and as such I recommend starting with BB tanks because they are far easier to keep in perfect conditions, if you choose to do differently that is your prerogative, however, then make sure you start with fish that are at LEAST 4" as they will be less demanding on the water quality. For instance, I raise my fry and juvies in BB tanks until they are around 5-6" at which time they are moved to a display tank (with substrate) or into my breeding program.

2)Start with the discus, you will have a very steep learning curve at first and plants will only complicate things. SO, get comfortable with the discus, maybe a piece of driftwood or two, then look at adding plants after a good 6 months or so of learning.

3)Your water change schedule will vary once again depending on the size of the fish you buy, for my fry and juvies they get no less than one 50% water change per DAY, any fish under 4" I would say this should be the general rule, ESPECIALLY if you ignore me and do substrate. At the very least for juvenile fish do every other day water changes of 50%. If you choose to do sub-adult discus, then they will be less demanding and you can get away with 2-3 50% water changes per week. But no matter what, the water change schedule you listed will prove to be insufficient and will put too much bio pressure on the fish, resulting in disease.

4) The general rule is 10 gallons of water per ADULT discus, meaning that if you do juvies you will easily be able to do 6-7 fish, even more with a heavy water change schedule. Again, this largely all depends on how good you are at doing water changes and keeping the tank clean. If you plan to buy adult fish, I would just get 5 of them and your good to go. QT all new arrivals, if they are going straight to the 50gal breeder, put them in the tank before any other fish or plants or anything for at least a month then QT anything you wish to add including plants.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY!!! Read through the sticky's in the beginners section of the forum. We can talk to you all day but doing your own personal research will pay off in ways I cant explain or emphasize enough. Best of luck with the new tank and we are here to help!



Thanks guys i think i will want intill i have more room for discus. I think i will just stick to angelfish for right now.

[DiscusDrew]

I write all that and you run away.... pffft, I'm never responding to another post like this again. ;)

[Angelfish lover]

I write all that and you run away.... pffft, I'm never responding to another post like this again. ;)

lol i want to keep them i just don't think i am ready for them right now.

[a volar]

see Drew....... you scare a new prospect........... (JK) LOL

[Eddie]

1 do i have do to bare bottom tank? No but its recommended for beginners because its easier to maintain.
2 could i keep plant in with them? Yes, anubias are great, tied to driftwood/rocks or even potted.
3 do i have to do water changes every week or could i do them every 2 weeks? Depends, it really matters on your stocking levels and water composition.
4 if i got a 50 breeder would that be a good size for them? Yes, that would be fine for a group of 6.

[Poco]

I write all that and you run away.... pffft, I'm never responding to another post like this again. ;)

You definitely scared him off! Lol. Water changes are a big commitment.

[Donno]

Water changes are like taking a bath. For some it's a habit, for others it's a chore.

[Eddie]

Water changes are like taking a bath. For some it's a habit, for others it's a chore.

Awesome way of putting it!

[Poco]

Nice one Donno!

[DiscusDrew]

I was just kidding, I GREATLY respect the OP for determining if they have the time energy and resources to successfully keep discus. That is very wise and I have nothing but respect for that :)

[JenTN]

Water changes are like taking a bath. For some it's a habit, for others it's a chore.

This is very gross lol!

[Donno]

This is very gross lol!

Speaking as a fellow Tennessean, I'm sure you've been to a Walmart, or heaven forbid a Kmart.

[JenTN]

Speaking as a fellow Tennessean, I'm sure you've been to a Walmart, or heaven forbid a Kmart.

Oh lord...you are so right! My fishtanks are much cleaner than some of our locals!

[RodneyL001]

My comment, I am sure will distress some who visit this site. You could keep discus if you did "regular" water changes at least once a week. I know there are some who would strongly disagree, but if you were "regular", once a week would do it. And I am big on having a substrate in my tank and growing live plants. Although a bare bottom tank would be easier to take care of, I think having decorations adds so much to a tank, I personally wouldn't think of keeping discus in a bare bottom tank, but I understand that for some, bare bottom is the way to go. If you want to keep discus, and want to keep substrate and plants, go for it, believe me there are very experienced discus keepers who do the same thing.

[Big-Ken]

My comment, I am sure will distress some who visit this site. You could keep discus if you did "regular" water changes at least once a week. I know there are some who would strongly disagree, but if you were "regular", once a week would do it. And I am big on having a substrate in my tank and growing live plants. Although a bare bottom tank would be easier to take care of, I think having decorations adds so much to a tank, I personally wouldn't think of keeping discus in a bare bottom tank, but I understand that for some, bare bottom is the way to go. If you want to keep discus, and want to keep substrate and plants, go for it, believe me there are very experienced discus keepers who do the same thing.
Your right you might be able to get away with regular once a week large water change if you keep adults but i think its been proven pretty matter-a-factually that regular weekly wc are NOT acceptable for grow outs, they MIGHT survive but they wont thrive (heavy emphasis on might)

[RodneyL001]

Big-Ken, you are right, I should have made that distinction, if you are going to do once a week water changes, you should go with adults, if this is your first experience with discus, you might want to go with adults anyway.