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Thread: 55 Gallon grow out

  1. #1
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    Default 55 Gallon grow out

    Recently purchased 15 2.5+ assorted discus from Discus hans on a impulse decision. Was going to go with several larger sized (4 in+), but ultimately went with more smaller 2.5 discus out of pure greed. Having kept medium sized discus before, I knew somewhat of what I was going into before making the purchase. I currently have a 75 gallon stocked with 12 discus from Na discus, ranging from 3-5 inches. I decided to go with Hans this time due to the vast assortment of discus (25+ I believe) that his company sells.

    For my purchase, I chose 3x each of white leopard/ blue pigeon blood, 1x each of flachen, pigeon red, pigeon silver, cobalt, blue diamond, dark angel, red leopard. I was initially attracted to the pigeon blue and white leopard, but upon receiving the discus the dark angel and bd really stood out to me. Now I know why some people insist on driving hours to view their discus in person before purchasing as photos don't really show the true colors of discus.

    For my tank setup, I currently have a BB 55 gallon with a sponge filter. Since I'm keeping the setup in a shed, I don't have access to hot tap water, so I heat up my water in a empty 90 gallon bowfront. It's kind of a waste of tank, but I was too lazy to install a on-demand water heater or a aging barrel of any sort. I plan to perform 90% w/c every two days. I know the consensus is w/c every day, but I haven't started to feed heavily and thus the water remains pretty clear.

    I know it will take quite a while before the discus start to show their full colors, so I'm focusing my attention on the large discus I currently have in the other tank.

    In tank photos
    WIN_20191124_13_42_54_Pro.jpg
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    WIN_20191124_13_45_04_Pro.jpg
    WIN_20191124_13_46_26_Pro.jpg
    WIN_20191124_13_49_54_Pro.jpg
    WIN_20191124_13_48_21_Pro.jpg

  2. #2
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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Great bunch! I'm a fan of the flachens and dark angels. Good luck raising them!

    Instead of 90% every two days, why don't you do 50% daily? these Juvies require a lot of food and it's better to change it on a daily basis.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Yeah, I have to admit I really like those two varients the most too. I originally ordered just for the pigeon blue and white leopard, but upon opening the box, I was taken aback by the unique color of the flachen and the dark angel. The flachen is just otherworldly with its green hue, and the dark angel has a nice blue sheen- almost like the light blue paint on cars. I'm tempted to order more of the two, but I'm way overstocked as of right now.

    I thought of changing 90% everyday to remove the accumulated wastes that settle on the bottom. I thought it was better to do less frequent, greater w/c's as it allows for more complete removal of the organic compounds, since the more frequent w/c's would just dilute the waste matter. I hope that made sense. I originally read this on the forum too. With your suggestion though, I might just do daily w/c's.

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Wow, I totally forgot about this thread. I really don't remember what happened in between- I managed to keep up with biweekly water changes. During the month since I received them, the group hasn't really grown in size. The leaders are currently nearing 3" in length, while the rest are still around the same size 2.5" I received them. With a lack of growth, it's been pretty tempting to call it quits and just sell them. In addition, I lost a single discus that was dark and not eating. I suspect that it had been bullied into poor health.
    I know that to grow them out to their full potential would require daily w/c's, but I haven't been able to keep up due out of sheer laziness. The blue discus look great, but the pigeon bloods are heavily peppered.

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    One question to SD members- Would it be appropriate to transfer these to a 75 gallon housing larger discus with a tank divider? I'm concerned about the fact that disease could spread between the two groups, given that they came from two different sources.

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Are all of your tanks in the shed you mentioned? If so, aren't you concerned about cross-contamination, you said you have Na Discus (assuming Asians) and now you purchased Stendkers (German)?

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny95132 View Post
    One question to SD members- Would it be appropriate to transfer these to a 75 gallon housing larger discus with a tank divider? I'm concerned about the fact that disease could spread between the two groups, given that they came from two different sources.
    There's always a risk when doing that, also you mention that there are already 12 discus in that tank. That would be way overstocked, more than it already is. You're potentially creating more work for yourself if they get sick. You seem surprised that there was no growth with only two WC's a week?

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    I'm not going to lie, they looked a little stunted from day one. Some where beaky and some hard a large eye to body ratio. I was actually surprised that Han's would sell those but I did not want to make that comment early on in the post.

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Hey OP! Good luck man! I recently (less than a week) made the drive up to Hans and picked up 15 stendkers as well to grow out in my 55. I also have a thread in here too! I have been doing daily 80-90% water changes and feeding them 3-5 times a day. I hope mine grow out well, also looking forward to seeing how yours grows out!

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Here are some pics for an update. These photos were taken approx. 2.5 months after their arrival, which makes them about ~6 months in ages. Therefore, according to Stendker's info, they should be reaching 4 inches in length. Sadly, only two of them are close to the size, and most are around 3 inches while two haven't grown a millimeter. I can attribute this to poor care-taking on my own part. I moved them to the 75 gallon containing my other discus, which had discus from the source of Golden State, and Kenny. By doing so, I cross contaminated the three sources, introducing them all to disease. Some turned dark and stopped eating, which explains their stunted growth. In the process, I even lost three of the discus to disease.
    My historical average water change has been about twice a week at 100%, and have been feeding tetrabits.
    IMG_2121.jpgIMG_2108.jpg

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Quote Originally Posted by Mando View Post
    I'm not going to lie, they looked a little stunted from day one. Some where beaky and some hard a large eye to body ratio. I was actually surprised that Han's would sell those but I did not want to make that comment early on in the post.
    Given that they're stunted, are the discus in question still salvageable, meaning that could I still raise them to proper form and shape with proper care. Or are they destined to grow into beaky adult discus?

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Quote Originally Posted by Shan_Evolved View Post
    Hey OP! Good luck man! I recently (less than a week) made the drive up to Hans and picked up 15 stendkers as well to grow out in my 55. I also have a thread in here too! I have been doing daily 80-90% water changes and feeding them 3-5 times a day. I hope mine grow out well, also looking forward to seeing how yours grows out!
    Yeah, I saw your progress updates on the Discus Hans FB group too. Your group has been growing out well, with nice body shape. I can attribute that to the daily w/c's you're giving them. Keep up with the good work man! I wish that I was as caring in the early days, as it seems my discus haven't grown at a quick rate. It's cool that you were able to visit Han's fishroom in person as it must been a treat.

  13. #13
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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Yea man it was awesome. Hans is a real funny guy and busy too. Sorry about a couple of your losses, it happens sometimes. And I won't minimize the trouble of water changes. It's just making the actual change easier for myself was the most important thing

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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    Yeah, I remember seeing that you setup a bunch of pumps to help move the water for the water change in your tank journal. Maybe I'll consider using a few pumps considering how cheap they are right now. I've been relying on gravity to siphon out my water, which can take quite a while.

  15. #15
    Registered Member Shan_Evolved's Avatar
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    Default Re: 55 Gallon grow out

    I use a 1/8 hp pump and wish I got an even strong one. Takes about 5 minutes to fill/empty 55 gallons and it doesn't blow the fish away at all. They hardly get bothered by it

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