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Thread: Discus Newb

  1. #1
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    Question Discus Newb

    My 1st post here. So a little background. I have been an aquarist for ~40yrs. I have run many different successful aquariums including saltwater, full blown reef tanks, freshwater and currently for the past ~9yrs freshwater planted tanks.

    I finally took the plunge into Discus , after doing some research for a while. I started with a lfs Discus that is ~3.5" and have had success with him eating and being active for the past month. He is in my 55g, CO2 injected, high LED light planted tank. I am running the temp 82-83F, PH 7.5 at night and 6.5 during day when CO2 is on. I also do 50%WC every week. In the long run will be upgrading to a 75g. Short term I have dialed back the CO2 a tad and I maybe getting rid of the 2nd LED strip and remove my red high light demanding plants.

    Since the new Discus has been doing well, I bought some really nice Discus from a very reputable place here in Florida. I have 4 new Discus now that are larger than I thought they were going to be from ~4.5-5.5" , I'm not complaining, I think their awesome and I didn't want too small of Discus anyway. And finally to my question...

    Do you think the ~3.5" smaller Discus need to be moved to another tank because he is significantly smaller? So far none of the new Discus have bothered the smaller one but its only been a few days.


    BTW here is a pic of one. The first 24hrs she was not happy, but is now slowly acclimating.
    20210323_223224-small.jpg
    Last edited by Syris71; 03-25-2021 at 01:42 PM.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    Hello.
    I would not worry about the size difference as long as the smaller fish is eating enough and not being bullied bad or cornering. There is usually a smaller fish and of course a large one. Nothing to worry about. Some bulling is normal especially when new fish are first put together
    What I do think is a potential big issue is your ph fluctuations. Especially since it going from alkaline to acidic. I would try hard to get that stable. This is very stressful on your fish. Keeping discus in a planted tank can be challenging at best but especially with major ph swings. As you probably already know discus are a tough and hardy fish only when they have clean and stable water.
    Nice looking fish!
    Good luck.
    Respectfully, Matt
    Last edited by matt parsons; 03-26-2021 at 04:21 AM.

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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    Hi Matt,

    Thanks for the advice. The smaller one is swimming with the bigger ones and eating well and I haven't seen any aggression so far. I have other FW tanks so I will move the smaller one if I have to.

    Yeah the more I read the more I see my "high throttle" planted tank is not a great choice for the Discus. Planted tanks are driven by 3 things light, CO2, and ferts(N,P,K). None of which I am reading are good for Discus in extremes. I have shutoff 1 of my LED strip lights, turned CO2 down so my PH is not fluctuated to badly (I use a Pinpoint PH Monitor), and I am reducing my fert schedule. In theory this should slow my plant growth and because all 3 are being reduced still somewhat keep the tank balanced. Of course I expect to be tweaking these for a while to "fine" tune it.
    I think I am going to add and air stone on a timer at night when the CO2 is off to help re-oxygenate the water.

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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    I recently had 4 large discus living in a tank with 1 other discus who was half the size of the others. While the 4, like all discus do, chased and fought one another none of them seemed to notice the little one.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    Hey Bill nice looking tank and discus. But.... these fish need clean fresh water. So not just clean nitrate free water but new water with whatever else comes with it . Planted tanks are not recommended with discus and I’m saying this a planted tank keeper! Plants can be done but you may have problems at your percentage. That tank looks like a beautifully planted tank. A planted discus tank needs to be vacuumed at every water change. Your smaller discus and all your new discus should be getting daily 50% or better water changes for at least the first month. To adjust to your water and just unstress. Discus are not your normal fish. Planted tanks will hold debris in the plants. Most beginners to discus will start with a bare bottom tank and grow there guys to 5+” and than move to a moderately planted tank with no co2. Your ph swings though great for plants are not so good for discus or any fish for the long run.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    As Tom indicated, that picture is of a discus under stress. Pigeon bloods don't have stress bars so that's not always obvious. But a fully acclimated fish would have prominently unfolded dorsal and ventral fins, and they do not stay in the plants. Even in heavily planted tanks, discus will move to the open spaces. I echo Tom's suggestion that you up the water changes, both amount and frequency. Gravel cleaning is also recommended. Otherwise, it's like changing the engine oil but keeping the oil filter!
    At my age, everything is irritating.

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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    I have been reading a lot about planted tanks and Discus. And as much as I want to say " I can do this..." I don't think I should. I read about others with the same ambition and in the end most fail. I do think it can be done but would be a very difficult balancing act between keeping high light demanding plants and keeping Discus happy and healthy. So I'm admitting this won't work in the long run and I'm listening...

    I am going to try and convince the wife to let me get another 55g or even a 75g just for the Discus. If that fails I will have to down-size plants+CO2, which I can accept but really hope the first option goes well

    Let me ask this, if I can get another tank and 4 of the 5 of my Discus are jr adults, they can go in a gravel tank with low light demanding plants (no co2) correct?


    Also my tap water is horrible, high ammonia, nitrates, TDS >400ppm. So I use RO in a 30g Brute barrel for aging and adding back some buffering (ie baking soda) so my water is 4dKH and 5dGH. Any issues with using RO and Discus?

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    00BD35CA-8470-457C-87A8-90E232CC9FD7.jpg yes it can be done. But it’s more work. This tank takes 2 hrs to clean. 3x a week. This next tank has a half inch of gravel. I use planters in the back for the plants.427B1B05-995E-4B77-A75F-2F09CEFB6617.jpg

    Yes many use RO systems. Some buffer with tap water. The tap water raises the kh and gh. You have to figure out how much to get where you want.

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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    That is a nice looking tank. That's what I would like in my new tank for the Discus.

    But, and I mean no disrespect, that is considered a low demanding planted tank. No CO2, no high PAR lighting, and low fertilizer dosed. Right?

    Here is a vid of my tank. Densely planted, 30ppm CO2 injected, high PAR lights. I really feel that this would be a difficult balancing act between the plants and Discus and one of them will suffer. The frequency of water changes alone would unbalance the NPK in the water column. I feel it would be too much work for me. The wife hasn't said "no" yet so I m hoping to get another 55g started up.



    peewee,
    Thanks. I am seeing the same thing, no one seems to notice the little one. I thought for sure she would be picked on. Also it seemed like she was eating well but now that the 4 larger ones are in the tank she is eating much more aggressively. I wonder if its the comfort of the other fish? She was in the tank for a month with no other Discus.

    Just did a 50%WC and I am also upping my WC to 2x 50%/week until the new tank gets ramped up. I am also going to add another 30g clean water barrel so I can do more WC as well.

    The new Discus after ~4days in the tank. They seem calmer and showing interest in food but not eating yet. I am trying FDBW, frozen bloodworms, frozen Hikari Discus cubes, flake, VibraBites.

    Last edited by Syris71; 03-27-2021 at 11:53 AM.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    Yes mine is low demand!! And most discus keepers would still frown on it . That’s why I showed it. Nothing red no co2 and ferts added once a week. My ph hold at 7.0. The thing with discus is discus first!! Anything else in the tank is expendable. So keep it simple .

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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    Wow, this is a great thread. Thank you all for sharing this information.

  12. #12
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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    Minor update:
    3 of the 4 new Discus are eating FDBW now Hopefully the last one will start eating soon too.

    I have the go ahead on the new 55g Making room for it and buying some equipment for it (heater, filter, etc.)

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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    Well the new 55g still hasn't been setup yet. The wife made a deal with me, upgrade her 20g to a bigger tank and then I can get the 55g.
    So I have a 37g cycling for her new tank. I am about to start building my stand for the new 55g.

    So I lost the the small discus from my lfs. Was doing great and eating but after a week of adding the new discus, she passed fast. From what I have read here I believe it was cross contamination. I did try a Prazipro treatment when she 1st starting getting dark, staying at bottom, and not eating. Saw no improvement, so the tank is currently being dosed with Metro at 1g/20g daily. And 50%wc twice a week. Hopefully the fish do well until I have the 55g setup and cycled.
    Last edited by Syris71; 04-15-2021 at 03:17 PM.

  14. #14
    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    Lol so as you saw everything is expendable but the discus! Also cc is real . So I removed my plants and treated with salt and rid-ich plus. Pazipro is for flukes and worms. Cc seems to be bacterial. I also started with metro but it did nothing. I’m all new to medicating. This was a first for me. As to the rid-ich plus that tanks plants did fine with it. I think it even helped them grow. Very impressed with the rid-ich stuff.

  15. #15
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    Default Re: Discus Newb

    Yeah I saw what you're going thru, that really sucks. Looks like you have a good handle on it though and the their improving.

    "..everything is expendable but the discus!" ringing in my ears I find myself removing more and more plants to my smaller tank. There not doin as well anyway because of the changes I've made for the Discus

    The smaller one that ended up passing showed signs of flickin/scratching on plants at first. I misdiagnosed this as gill flukes and treated the tank with Pazipro. I finished that treatment and her symptoms got worse. A couple days past before I could get Metro and only got 1 dose in before she passed. I'm still continuing the treatment for a full 10 day course though because I don't know if the others are sick or not. They all look healthy and are still eating except for the red melon. He hasn't eaten since day 1.

    I have Hikari Ich-x on hand, never used it, not sure if its similar to rid-ich plus. I only planned on using it if things start getting bad and the metro isn't working.

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