# of discus per tank

[Skip]

DanW..
the Discus would prefer FRESH CLEAN TAP water over RO.. many people of us in SD have fish in TAP water.. if you are new to discus.. you need to decide which fish are your priority.. having plants and CO2.. (thats a whole nother ball game).. you need a solid foundation of fish keeping skills then build up from there... get the disus happy eating living, with good frequent water changes/.. with lots of water changes its very hard to keep the kh/gh/stp/ABC/NBC/ESPN all at consistent levels, hence TAP (you can notice i just use tap!).. they fish are alot tougher and stronger then their owners.. )) i use to think discus could only be in RO, so i stayed away.. but once i found out you could go with tap. i was ALL IN!!!

this is just food for thought.. its your tank.. take everything with a grain of salt.. and you WILL LEARN from your Mistakes.. may they be small! ))

[DiscusOnly]

It's all about clean water. I do daily 70% WC in my 75gal with 2 times feeding a day. Number of discus in the tank? About 30-35 young adult that is 4.5"-5" There goes the 10/gal a fish rule.

Yes.. the tank is very crowded and that's the way they like it. I don't spend time testing the water. Just do my routine WC. I also don't feed FBH as much.

[Dan W]

I am a newbie, what is FBH??

It's all about clean water. I do daily 70% WC in my 75gal with 2 times feeding a day. Number of discus in the tank? About 30-35 young adult that is 4.5"-5" There goes the 10/gal a fish rule.

Yes.. the tank is very crowded and that's the way they like it. I don't spend time testing the water. Just do my routine WC. I also don't feed FBH as much.

[DiscusOnly]

I am a newbie, what is FBH??

FBH - Frozen Beefheart. A lot of discus keepers make their own discus food using beefheart.

[Brevcom]

This is good info to know. I have a large 300 gallon tank, so I could stock quite a few discus.

[Jennie]

Yes, with adequate filteration ..you certainly could.

[PAR23]

This is good info to know. I have a large 300 gallon tank, so I could stock quite a few discus.

300G....That's SWEET. Good luck with it.

[Dan W]

someday when I meet the minimum post requirement here, I will post pics of the tank. My post was rejected with a link to an HD video I took last night of my new tank.

-Dan

[Dan W]

only 5 more posts to go.

[Dan W]

only 4 more posts to go

[scottthomas]

Do you really need RO water? I have lived many places in my life and most have tap water that is good enough for discus in a show tank. I did have well water once that was so hard, I moved because I hated showers, washing etc. so much.

Warlock, I am just now realizing the size of that enchilada; I am starting to feel a bit of indigestion now... My RO can only do 100 GPD and the salts, equilibrium alone looks like it will be $60 bucks a month. Guess I will be kicking up the water change volume starting tonight. I will be more aggressively looking at a way to partially automate the water/brew preparation process. I wonder if I can mix my RO with my well water to get my KH/GH close with less chemical additives without adding lots of things i do not want in the tank? Thanks for the input guys, living on the internet trying to make sure I am doing the right things to keep these fish healthy. I will post pics in a more appropriate place here on SD.

[Skip]

Nah.. only for breeding (most of the time, once egg hatch.. they start adding TAP).. but some have tap water good enuff for hatching eggs.. IMHO.. mixing water is too much trouble and not consistant chemistry..

[Apistomaster]

I have bred wild Discus, all S. haraldi, in water with a pH and a the TDS was as high as 500 ppm.
domestic Discus are even less demanding so about the only times I think there is much to gain by using extreme soft and acidic water is if you are keeping Heckels and Green Discus.
Few have bred Heckels so what you gain when you keep them in very soft acid water is happier and more colorful fish. Wild Greens fall somewhere in between and do not need as soft and acid water as their natural habitat except for breeding because you are apt to get them to spawn easier and hatches from eggs will improve.

Daily water changes may seem like a good idea but wait until you get older and more experienced and you won't be as tempted to keep too many fish in your tanks and you will find that discus do fine if you change about 70% of their water every 3 or 4 days. I personally only get around to about 75% water changes about every 5 days.
More than that is what I consider just unnecessary work and I refuse to be a slave to my fish.
I am their god so I get to decide what they get and when. My Discus live for my pleasure and not the other way around. Other fish like my plecos which I breed receive even less attention. One can learn when is the right time and how much water changing is enough with a little experience because you become aware of what is sufficient. Massive daily water changes are fine if your system is automated but otherwise I think it is for the birds.
I have found it necessary to change more water than 75% and at more frequent interval when growing out fry and juveniles being kept in crowded conditions. That should be obvious but just to keep Discus in good condition for many years you do not have to put so much work into them as some of you do. It is the privilege of everyone who keeps fish to do it in a style which befits them.

[sparkyreed/u.k]

I have a 55 gallon tank and i'll be adding 5 maybe 6, but i'll be doing water changes of over 50% every 4 days. I also feed mine FBH as the Discus will not eat any flake, tetra prima etc. I,m feeding them 2-3 times a day and staving them on the 6 day as i understand Discus need 1 day to digest.

[Jennie]

are you asking for advice?? If so up those changes to 50% min. a day...what else is in the tank?
EDIT:
so I'm seeing this post here where others are advising you to up those wc as well. It may seem like a PITA to you now, but after awhile it becomes second nature. Better to take advice on WC than to have to take it on treating sick fish down the road.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...9-New-to-Forum.