A Noob Question about Tank Size...

[32Bit_Fish]

Is it possible to grow two 4" discus to their full potential in a 20G tall BB tank?

Laid eggs at 4", does that mean the fish have reached adulthood already and could no longer grow much more (6"+)?

[Elliots]

Not possible to grow 4" Discus to full potential in a 20G tank. I do not know what the minimum size tank to raise Discus to their full potential is but I suspect it is quite large, way more than 55G. If they laid eggs at 4" it does not mean they will not grow larger. When you say 4" do you include the tail as most people on SD do? It is possible these fish are stunted at 4". How old are the fish? If you really want Discus buy the biggest tank you can afford and fit into your residence. I would not have Discus unless I had at least a 55G tank and hopefully much larger. I really think 100G should be the minimum size but many people are very successful with smaller tanks.

[32Bit_Fish]

Not possible to grow 4" Discus to full potential in a 20G tank. I do not know what the minimum size tank to raise Discus to their full potential is but I suspect it is quite large, way more than 55G. If they laid eggs at 4" it does not mean they will not grow larger. When you say 4" do you include the tail as most people on SD do? It is possible these fish are stunted at 4". How old are the fish? If you really want Discus buy the biggest tank you can afford and fit into your residence. I would not have Discus unless I had at least a 55G tank and hopefully much larger. I really think 100G should be the minimum size but many people are very successful with smaller tanks.

4" not including the tail. I will be adding them to my 75g planted tank. I was just wondering if they could grow to full potential, so I dont need to worry about their growth once they are in the planted tank due to less feeding or w/c.

They supposed to be less than a year old according to the reseller. But there is no proof of their true age. Here is a pic taken 3 days after they arrived in my tank. Also a pic of my 75G.

[Bill63SG]

Less then a year old is a pretty broad are.At six months,still some growing left,at 11 1/2,not so much.Could use a better pic.And no,a 20 is too small.I always try to grow out in a group,even if mixed types,in a 55 or bigger,peferably a 75 and a group of 6-10.And at around 5",i'll move to a 125 or bigger.

[32Bit_Fish]

For some reason, the pic is always small on this forum.

Those jumbo 7"+ discus must been growing in at least 100g if not larger?

[OC Discus]

The rule of size is 10 gallons per fish. If you only have two fish, and they are already spawning, theoretically you could keep them in the 20 gallon. They will probably not become jumbos- 8-9". They could either be fully grown now (stunted) or they could grow another inch or two in that tank with proper feeding and water changes.

[Elliots]

Your planted tank looks great, better than mine. You should consider when you put your Discus in the planted tank cutting back some plants so your fish have more swimming room.

[32Bit_Fish]

The discus would be in quarantine for anther two weeks. I have plenty time to figure out which plants I can trim. But plants should be dense according to the sticky here. More plants can absorb nutrient better.

[Elliots]

You may find that if you are doing many large percent water changes for Discus you may have to add plant food to the water column. I had that problem for a while now I add Flourish every second or third change. More plants will absorb more nutrients but what happens when there is not enough nutrient in the water column due to water changes?

[32Bit_Fish]

I have 39w T5 on for 8 hrs a day. Less light means less nutrient/fertz needed by the plants. However, I do believe the water will contain more nutrients when more feeding to the discus.

I'm planning to turn off CO2 in the beginning for discus to settle down. I have all the liquid and dry fertz available for dosing. Lets see how discus are going to fair out in my planted tank.