New to discus, got a few questions and some pointer would be appreciated!

[ScottW]

I been keeping fish for alittle over a year. I have a heavily planted 60 gallon with angelfish, bosemani rainbow fish, tetras, and cories.

I am really interested on starting a discus tank. The tank will be 75 gallons and I already got a fx6 for it and was thinking about getting a sun sun 304b to pair with the fx6. I know it would be alot easier to do a bare bottom tank but I would like to use black sand and some manzanita driftwood I got laying around. Maybe eventually planting when the fish are adults. I am going to buy 2.5 to 3 inch fish from Hans and I know that will involve alot of water changes. Do they need to be daily? Lastly I would like to add a school of 10 or so sterbi cories.

Any suggestions are welcome and would be appreciated!

[Jenene]

Welcome Scott,
I am sure I will not be the only one to tell you that if you want to start off with small discus you will really want to start off with a bare bottom. The young ones really need clean water to grow their best and any substrate just harbors too much detritus. When they get some size on them you could add some substrate but many here will tell you lighter substrate will show off your discus better. Especially if you go with any that has the potential to pepper. Pigeon blood based fish will try to blend in with darker backgrounds.

I personally have decided to stay with the bare bottom just because it is so much easier to maintain. Many here use a thin layer of pool filter sand.

75 gallons is a great size. I have eight in mine and they have really grown over the past year. I would really plan on doing as big of a water change as you can do daily. The more you can change the better off your discus will be. I have been doing between 50% and 90% a day just because I can. They really appreciate the clean water- you can see it immediately. They are really active and feed so much better in clean water.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[Ryan925]

Welcome Scott,
I am sure I will not be the only one to tell you that if you want to start off with small discus you will really want to start off with a bare bottom. The young ones really need clean water to grow their best and any substrate just harbors too much detritus. When they get some size on them you could add some substrate but many here will tell you lighter substrate will show off your discus better. Especially if you go with any that has the potential to pepper. Pigeon blood based fish will try to blend in with darker backgrounds.

I personally have decided to stay with the bare bottom just because it is so much easier to maintain. Many here use a thin layer of pool filter sand.

75 gallons is a great size. I have eight in mine and they have really grown over the past year. I would really plan on doing as big of a water change as you can do daily. The more you can change the better off your discus will be. I have been doing between 50% and 90% a day just because I can. They really appreciate the clean water- you can see it immediately. They are really active and feed so much better in clean water.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

+1

If you do absolutely decide to go with black sand avoid any of the various PB strains as it will cause peppering. In general dark substrate will cause darker colors in fish. I went from black to white and difference was night and day with all of mine. I too have a 75.

Getting your fish at that size they are in their most important growth stage. The more you can change the better. Make it easier for yourself so it's not such a chore and you will.be grateful when you have big round fish in a year.

[cjvdhx]

I would suggest not doing black sand I made that mistake and I am in the process right now of removing it for PFS.

[ScottW]

Thanks I will go with pool filter sand than. What is the differemce in maintenance going with 4 inch discus over 2- 2.5 inches?

[Akili]

Thanks I will go with pool filter sand than. What is the difference in maintenance going with 4 inch discus over 2- 2.5 inches?

Juveniles are more demanding in terms of water changes and feeding.

[ScottW]

Juveniles are more demanding in terms of water changes and feeding.

I understand that. What I ment was will they need the same amount of water changes and feeding?

[DatDiscusDude]

Scott,

Go with the biggest you can afford and factor in your time effort supplies etc to get them to that stage...

Naz was spot on with what he said. The smaller the fish the more food and in turn the more water changes are needed to grow them. As they get past the 4-5" mark they don't require the heavy feedings nor the once to twice large daily water changes.

If your budget allows and you want to do substrate and an aquascape, I would save up or suggest doing 4" fish or bigger 5" is even better. Then you can do water changes say every other day and not feed as much.

If you get 2"-3" discus and want them to grow big and fat then yes daily water changes as big as possible is best as well as vaccuming out uneaten food.

Some people just love to grow the fish, they want to watch the progress and know their skill turned them out. Others, prefer to go with already grown fish so they see what they are getting and don't need to meet the demands of much smaller fish.

Based on your responses so far and your questioning water changes already, sans fish, it seems to me you are hesitant about the idea of big daily changes. If I am reading you correctly, then save up or spend up and get those bigger fish, you will be happy you did so and so will your fish.

[tonytheboss1]

As mentioned by several already, bare bottom is a better way to go to grow out babies (2-3"). Been down that other road & it wasn't pleasant. Very familiar w/ HANS & choices are abundant. PB's do better barebottom or white sand. Larger juvies require a LARGER initial financial investment but LESS time, food & maintenance. Aquascaping is a personal choice but usually works better w/ adults. Good luck. "T"

[Rosskeegan24]

Go barebottom at the start, you can always add substrate later, plenty of beefheart and 80% consistent water changes

[ScottW]

Thanks for the help guys. Doing water changes doesnt bother me. Actually I enjoy doing them! Will changing the water from tap be okay with discus? My tank ph is 6.4 but tap is 7.2. I do it in my 60 gallon for years and never had any problems.

[DatDiscusDude]

That's a big swing. Anyway to age your water

[ScottW]

That's a big swing. Anyway to age your water

I could probably use a new 50 gallon trash can. If it don't harm my fish now will it work for the discus. I understand they're very sensitive.

[Akili]

That's a big swing. Anyway to age your water

Going from lower pH to higher pH has no effect on discus but the other way around can have adverse effect on any fish even fatally.

[Jenene]

That's a big swing. Anyway to age your water

+1 It is a pretty big swing. If you search the forum on this topic you will get a variety of numbers as far as an acceptable swing. Yours in on the larger end of what most people would risk. You may not notice anything right away but after awhile you may see some stress and that could cause them to become ill.

Many of us use Brute garbage barrels. They are food safe and therefore safe for fish. You can also get the dolly for it which makes it easy to move around.

Some plastics may leach chemicals into the water so if you go with something else it should be food safe. You can also find suitable containers on Craig's List in the farm section. Many sell food grade barrels that contained syrup or other food items and they can be pretty affordable.

If it were me I would definitely age the water to give them the best chance of staying healthy and minimize risks that can be heartbreaking and expensive IMO.