Quarantine tank size

[lucasbuck2826]

Hi, so sometime in the future I was planning on buying discus from Kenny’s Discus and was wondering if I should quarantine the new fish even though Kenny is very well known for his quality fish. And if so, would a 10 gallon tank be an ok size to quarantine 2, 3-4” discus at a time? Thanks!

[peewee1]

Hi, so sometime in the future I was planning on buying discus from Kenny’s Discus and was wondering if I should quarantine the new fish even though Kenny is very well known for his quality fish. And if so, would a 10 gallon tank be an ok size to quarantine 2, 3-4” discus at a time? Thanks!

Two small fish in a 10 gallon would be okay. I now have one large in a 5 gallon tank and he seems to be happy and recovering.

[Iminit]

Funny for me any other fish I would say yes. I even cured a 6” angel of fin rot in a 5 gal. So yes it would work. But me for new discus I go big and qt for at least 4 weeks. I use a 45g for new fish. The more water the better. Remember they’re 3-4” so they’re growing and you want them to continue growing. Small tank may stress them. Last thing you want is for them to stop eating and possibly stunt them.

[14Discus]

I use a 5g for medium sized singles, a 10g for two med/one lg, and a 20g long for groups of three/four. Should I get a large group, I have a 40g on standby. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. I also keep a sponge filter in the sump of my big tanks all the time so I can quickly take it out and have the bio bacteria going strong in my QTs. Imo, two 3-4” fish in a ten gallon would be fine.

[Willie]

It really isn't the size of the tank as much as the schedule of water changes. For young discus, 100% daily water changes would really deliver growth. If you do that, 10 gallons would be good to start. My rule of thumb for new discus is six weeks quarantine.

Willie

[coralbandit]

I would have a hard time keeping any discus over 2 inches in a 10g? I think the 29 is tight for 2 inchers ?
3-4 inchers I would be nervous for sure ..
So much is said of these fish being jumpy and darting around ..That won't happen twice in a 10g IMO..

[Willie]

I got these Golden Leopard Intermediates five weeks ago from Winnie's Discus. They are in a 37 Gal cube (essentially half of a 75 gal tank). With 100% water change every morning, they're growing just fine. Carrying the gold gene means that they'll be hard pressed to hit 6". I'll be satisfied with 5.5" fish and hope for a 6" male.

GLI5wks(o8bQ3rBSft4).jpg

The stuff on the bottom is beefheart, Tetra-Bits and poop from two feedings today. They'll get one more feeding later. They share the tank with 10 cories. The discus will go into a larger tank in the next 10 - 14 days after quarantine, but the timing is not critical. Clean water is what drives growth.

Willie

[lucasbuck2826]

Would it be necessary to divide the tank with plants or a plastic divider due to aggression with just 2 discus or do you think it will be fine?

[lucasbuck2826]

I use a 5g for medium sized singles, a 10g for two med/one lg, and a 20g long for groups of three/four. Should I get a large group, I have a 40g on standby. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. I also keep a sponge filter in the sump of my big tanks all the time so I can quickly take it out and have the bio bacteria going strong in my QTs. Imo, two 3-4” fish in a ten gallon would be fine.

Would it be necessary to divide the tank with plants or a plastic divider due to aggression with just 2 discus or do you think it will be fine?

[lucasbuck2826]

It really isn't the size of the tank as much as the schedule of water changes. For young discus, 100% daily water changes would really deliver growth. If you do that, 10 gallons would be good to start. My rule of thumb for new discus is six weeks quarantine.

Willie

Do you think I would need to divide the tank due to aggression with just 2 discus or would it be ok? Thanks Lucas

[peewee1]

Do you think I would need to divide the tank due to aggression with just 2 discus or would it be ok? Thanks Lucas

My son, Little Ricky, while not a Aquarist but because of his innate understanding of human, and now it seems fish nature, because of his studies at both law and medical schools was observing aggression in my tank said that a wave maker might be the answer. His theory was that if the fish were kept busy navigating the currents creating by the wave maker that they would be too busy swimming the current to fight with one another. I thought his observation worthy so he ordered a wave maker for me from Amazon. I have yet to install it but once I see if it working I will come back here with a report. Discus by nature are river dwellers so their bodies are designed for river dwelling and the current generated by the wave maker will give them exercise. Has anyone else who has wave makers installed noticed this?

[coralbandit]

My son, Little Ricky, while not a Aquarist but because of his innate understanding of human, and now it seems fish nature, because of his studies at both law and medical schools was observing aggression in my tank said that a wave maker might be the answer. His theory was that if the fish were kept busy navigating the currents creating by the wave maker that they would be too busy swimming the current to fight with one another. I thought his observation worthy so he ordered a wave maker for me from Amazon. I have yet to install it but once I see if it working I will come back here with a report. Discus by nature are river dwellers so their bodies are designed for river dwelling and the current generated by the wave maker will give them exercise. Has anyone else who has wave makers installed noticed this?

This is a common strategy for African cichlids along with overstocking .
I am not sure how the round fish will appreciate constant current .Real river fish are torpedo shaped ...

[lucasbuck2826]

My son, Little Ricky, while not a Aquarist but because of his innate understanding of human, and now it seems fish nature, because of his studies at both law and medical schools was observing aggression in my tank said that a wave maker might be the answer. His theory was that if the fish were kept busy navigating the currents creating by the wave maker that they would be too busy swimming the current to fight with one another. I thought his observation worthy so he ordered a wave maker for me from Amazon. I have yet to install it but once I see if it working I will come back here with a report. Discus by nature are river dwellers so their bodies are designed for river dwelling and the current generated by the wave maker will give them exercise. Has anyone else who has wave makers installed noticed this?

Great, thanks!

[Willie]

Discus are cichlids which are inherently aggressive. A group of cichlids will systematically form a pecking order. You'll see this manifested in several ways. When new fish are put together, they will fight. Over time, the fighting will subside because a pecking order is established. If you remove one fish, or add a new one, the fighting will restart until a new pecking order is established. I see this regardless of the number of cichlids are involved. The concept of having 5 - 6 fish together is to diffuse the aggression over multiple specimens. There is no magic number - the more the better.

The concern expressed by many is that with two discus quarantined in a small tank, one will be dominant and the other will be submissive. The dominant fish has only one other fish to dominate, so the harassment will be endless. Aggression is variable, with some dominant fish being extremely aggressive, others less so. A less dominant alpha may just bump the other fish occasionally. A more dominant alpha may continuously chase the other one. There's no way to be sure. Fortunately, I've never had one dominant discus kill another. However, over a period of weeks for quarantine, the submissive fish may stop eating from stress and get sick.

A specific answer to your question is that you should have a divider ready to use. Alternatively, you can use other things that can allow the submissive fish to stay hidden.

Hope that helps, Willie

[lucasbuck2826]

Discus are cichlids which are inherently aggressive. A group of cichlids will systematically form a pecking order. You'll see this manifested in several ways. When new fish are put together, they will fight. Over time, the fighting will subside because a pecking order is established. If you remove one fish, or add a new one, the fighting will restart until a new pecking order is established. I see this regardless of the number of cichlids are involved. The concept of having 5 - 6 fish together is to diffuse the aggression over multiple specimens. There is no magic number - the more the better.

The concern expressed by many is that with two discus quarantined in a small tank, one will be dominant and the other will be submissive. The dominant fish has only one other fish to dominate, so the harassment will be endless. Aggression is variable, with some dominant fish being extremely aggressive, others less so. A less dominant alpha may just bump the other fish occasionally. A more dominant alpha may continuously chase the other one. There's no way to be sure. Fortunately, I've never had one dominant discus kill another. However, over a period of weeks for quarantine, the submissive fish may stop eating from stress and get sick.

A specific answer to your question is that you should have a divider ready to use. Alternatively, you can use other things that can allow the submissive fish to stay hidden.

Hope that helps, Willie

Great, thanks Willie! Much appreciated. I’ll be sure to set up a divider.