New Juvenile Discus

[Discusray]

Hey all!

I'm new to this forum and look forward to being here . A couple of days ago, I bought my first discus. I got a group of 5 Brilliant Blue/Turquoise Discus from a local breeder. They are 2.5 to 3 inches in size and are said to be 4 months old. I want some insight on feeding frequency, type of food, water change amount/frequency, and water temperature. Additionally, any tips would be appreciated as noted above this is my first time keeping these beautiful fish!

I've attached some images below. Let me know what you all think. They are in a 30 gallon growout/quarantine set up. I am a bit worried that they may be slightly stunted since the eye to body ratio is not amazing, although not sure if this is attributed to their young age and if this is "outgrowable". I would love to upgrade the 5 to my 75 planted and see them grow 6-7 inches in the coming years. Let me know what y'all think! Thanks

Best,
Ray

[Iminit]

They look fine! Eye to body looks right. Body looks right and round. You did good . Since they are young I’d be changing 50% or more water daily. Feed as often as you can. Feed good foods. What are they eating? Try freeze dried black worms. Can be bought from Al on this site. Vita-bites,sera discus bits,and good flake foods. I’ve got 3” guys now that are just eating the black worms now. 6+ times a day but I add the others just to get them used to them.
Keep them in the 30 till 4-4.5” than move to the 75 continuing the big water changes. When hitting 5” you can go to every other day. This grow out will take at least 6 more months.

[Discusray]

Thanks for all that information. Definitely helpful! I am planning on buying beef heart and making a beef heart mix and also just purchased some hikari vibra bites to supplement their diet. Currently feeding a freeze dried blood worm tetra flake mix which they are eating, but def isn't great nutrition and protein wise. I am probably going to do 2 water changes a week around 30-50 percent. Will that be enough ro are daily water changes necessary for the best growth? Also, might be a dumb question, but do y'all heat the water first and then pour it in the tank after siphoning? My tap is cold and I know adding cold water to the tank is going to stress out the fish and cause issues. I will probbaly leave a container/tank a few days before my water change and add that in to keep the temperature constant. I will give updates routinely and hope that these discus can reach their full potential and be enjoyable to keep!

[LizStreithorst]

I'd put a heater in a water storage container with an aquarium heater and bubbler. Overnight, the water would have "aged" and the temp and pH will match the temp and pH of the aquarium water. I'd do at least 30 percent WC daily. This will give the fish the best growth and health.

[Discusray]

I'd put a heater in a water storage container with an aquarium heater and bubbler. Overnight, the water would have "aged" and the temp and pH will match the temp and pH of the aquarium water. I'd do at least 30 percent WC daily. This will give the fish the best growth and health.

Thanks for this! Will be doing 30 percent water changes daily from now on. Currently using a python siphon to remove the water and have a plastic 30 gallon tote with a heater inside to keep the water warm and "aged". I do have a water pump so I'll look into using that as well. What kind of filtration should I use? Currently I have a sponge filter. Will that be enough? Appreciate all the input!

[pastry]

They look nice and THICK Beautiful early coloration that definitively says "we're going to be freak'n HOT". Great bars, dorsal & anal find, solid shape for my taste. Eye ratio at the age can be off... I don't see a concern. Definitely would love at least monthly update pics in this thread if you don't mind! (Pleeeaaase! )... maybe at least for 5 or 6 more months? Trust me, YOU will even love seeing the transformation (since it can be like watching and waiting for water to boil when you see them daily but updated pics every 2 to 4 weeks and you'll see cool as heck transformations)

[CliffsDiscus]

Looks good definity keepers, they might be 5 months because of the color. Please keep us posted.

Cliff

[jeep]

I think they are pretty nice looking. Still young and have lots of potential!

Am I seeing algae buildup in their tank? If so, get rid of that stuff. Algae alone won't do much harm, but it can be an indication of other things than can increase bioload.

Pound them with good foods and regular water changes and I think you'll be happy with the results...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...-Are-Important

[Discusray]

Thanks for your insight and reply! Will do monthly pictures and have been upping my water changes as well!

[Discusray]

I think they are pretty nice looking. Still young and have lots of potential!

Am I seeing algae buildup in their tank? If so, get rid of that stuff. Algae alone won't do much harm, but it can be an indication of other things than can increase bioload.

Pound them with good foods and regular water changes and I think you'll be happy with the results...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...-Are-Important

Sounds good will do as y’all advise! The tank used to be my angelfish dryer grow out and my prolonged light exposure on the tank led to the algae growth. The fry have long been removed and this tank has just been sitting there waiting for the discus. I did water changes but was too lazy to scrub the algae which is why it’s still semi green. The tank water is clear tho and algae is starting to fade so I don’t think it’s a problem. When I get the chance, I will scrub it off and limit my light exposure!

[Discusray]

Hey all, quick update. Discus are doing well, feeding 5 times a day on a variety of flakes, granule pellets, and beef heart mix. I am doing around 20 percent water change daily and making sure to siphon the tank well. I do have one concern and that is with aggression. First 3-4 days they were generally pretty peaceful, but recently a couple of them are bullying some of the others. They will bite and attack the other fish until it leaves the area and it’s not constantly happening but making me slightly worried. Fish don’t seem to have any damage to them and are all feeding so prob not that big of a deal (cichlids being cichlids), but kind of wondering if I should have gotten 6 instead of 5 to help with the aggression. Also found that some still have prominent stress bars while 2 of them don’t seem to show to bars and those without the bars also seem to be the most aggressive. Let me know what y’all think should I have more plants and structure or this is normal and most likely won’t lead to fish dying and issues!

[Iminit]

Well they are cichlids!! I’ve found that siblings fight the most. I’ve got 3 in my 180. 17 discus overall and those 3 are allways going at it. But amongst themselves. Seen this many times with siblings. I don’t by siblings and those are my only ones. All the rest get along fine. In both tanks. Oh I do have another pair . Just got them last week.255122A1-163B-43AF-887E-F02D42B64F44.jpg

[GeauxDiscus]

In my opinion, water changes for juvies should be at least 50% per day (or more if you can swing it). I don't think 20% WC's are enough, especially with all the food you're throwing in there. The #1 most important thing about keeping discus IMO is your water staging setup and water change routine. (I just said two things didn't I? Oh well - LOL!) You need to have a staging container that will replace at least 50% of your tank, and you need to have a pump and hose setup that will allow you to do water changes QUICKLY and easily (so you'll do it every day). You are keeping water - not fish!

Regarding the bullying, just watch it, and you would only need to consider re-homing the worst offenders if it was jeopardizing the health of the rest of them. But like you and Tom both said, they are cichlids, so if the health of the majority of your fish isn't declining, then just let them work it out. They're like dogs in that way. And you are right about the stress bars - they're called that for a reason. If they are always really dark/visible, then the next step may be the fish stops eating.

Regarding plants, many people can do it successfully, but given that you're new to discus I'd say absolutely NO. Learn how to keep them bare bottom for now - you'll have enough to deal with without the added variables that plants and decorations introduce. You want to make the tank as easy as possible to clean, and bare bottom is best for that. Good luck, and nice fish!

[Discusray]

Hey y'all. Been really busy with school and work (In college rn ). Here's a quick update:

1) My mom is taking care of them and they are all doing well. I know for juveniles its ideal to do water changes daily, but due to me being away and my mom's job situation, she's been doing 2 50 percent water changes a week. We will start upping that to 3 times a week but every day is prob not possible. So hoping they can still look good as adults and it doesn't stunt their growth too much.
2) They have almost doubled in size! Its been around 1-2 months so that's a great sign
3) Aggression is still present but no torn fins and everyone is eating, although one is def the slowest eater out of the group. I'm not too worried cause everyone is generally growing.
4) Currently feeding hikari libra bites 3 times a day and beef heart 1-2 times a week

Below I've attached a picture. Let me know what y'all think. I know the care def isn't the most ideal, but its the best I can do (or my mom can do LOL) at the moment. I will post more pics periodically and keep this thread going as long as I can so stay tuned. Thanks again for everyone's help on this forum as I've learned so much

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[pastry]

Your mom's doing a good job!