Originally Posted by
Second Hand Pat
This questionnaire may be used to either help you to describe your new tank setup for discus or
be a “food for thought” checklist while you consider what your goals are with your new discus tank setup.
1) Please Introduce your self and tell us what your experience is with fishkeeping, give us as much information as possible as to how long in the hobby, what you have kept in the past and what you currently are working with.
My name is Kyle and as far as fishkeeping experience goes I have little to none. My step-daughter wanted a tank and convinced us to get her one. After taking care of it for almost a year we decided to get our own. We went with glo-fish from the LPS and some cory catfish for a while but noticed the tank was lacking the pizazz. Then we found discus. After some research and some time to adjust the temperature of the tank to their warmer climate we added four 3.5 inch discus to our tank. After some trial and error and a deathly encounter with a heater failing we ended up with 4 discus and the corys alone. Two of the discus took a liking to each other so I set up a breeding tank.
2) If you have no previous experience with keeping discus, have you done any research to properly prepare yourself, e.g. have you read any Stickies in this section of SimplyDiscus, or other material?
I've been caring for the discus for a little over 8 months now and with the research ive accumulated from this forum as well as youtube has guided me to a more stable condition for all of my discus.
3) Describe your tank, its size and dimensions, breeding or display. Include how long it has been setup or if it is still being cycled.
For now lets focus on the community tank. Its currently a 46 gallon display tank that has been cycling for 11 months total
4) Describe the décor for the tank; type of substrate or bare bottom (BB), whether the tank will be planted or a biotope.
Its a gravel substrate that is lightly planted but I am planning on upgrading to a 75 gallon tank.
5) Describe your water changes planned or practiced, percentage and how often. Include if you age your water and use of tap/RO or mix.
Water changed 1 time every week, with the occasion 2 time a week to keep nitrates under control. It is a mix of both tap water and reverse osmosis.
6) Describe the type of filtration planned/used for the tank; sponge, HOB and/or sump. Also include the other equipment you are, or will be, using in your tank, e.g. heater, lighting, etc.
The current tank is a HOB but i plan on moving to a canister filter when I get the 75 gallon. I am running 2 airstones and a 300 watt heater with white and blue lights.
7) If the tank is already setup and running, include the water parameters;
- temp 85.5 degrees Fahrenheit
- tank ph 7.5
- Ph of the water straight out of your tap 7.8
- ammonia reading 0
- nitrite reading 0
- nitrate reading 0-5ppm
- well water No
- municipal water Yes
8) Describe your current or planned stocking levels; number/size of discus and number/type of dither fish. Where did you get your discus from or do you have a proposed source for getting your discus?
Currently in the tank I have 4 discus, 2 angelfish and 2 cory catfish. I plan on putting the current 6 discus, 2 angelfish and 2 cory catfish I have scattered in 2 tanks into the one 75 gallon tank. This will free up my community tank to raise single generations of fry when my discus start potentially pairing off. (I'm hoping)
9) Describe your planned or existing feeding regimen. Include what and how often you are feeding on a daily basis.
I feed the community tank twice a day: Flakes, vibrabites and dried blood worms in the morning, frozen bloodworms and beefheart in the evening.
10) What are your goals in this hobby? For example are you looking to keep discus in a planted community tank, or do you hope to become a hobby breeder of Discus? Do you want to raise Discus with the hopes of competing in shows?