Starting Point

[Ken]

Greetings

I really want to setup a Discus tank, but the fall back is mbuna
I am dry now, my last setup was a 90g reef for 6 years, that got taken down when I moved, and before that many years of having a community tank 125g.

The tank I am working on is a 155g bowfront 72"x24"x30", the tank is drilled so it will have a sump for the filtration, media and floating plants

I picked up a 3d background, plan on using Leslie pool sand, tree branches and maybe a few low light plants.

questions
what size fish?
how many fish
Water , tap?
water changes how often, Keep Nitrates under 20-ppm?
what other maintenance is needed and how often

Thanx

[Second Hand Pat]

Ken, first off welcome to Simply even through you have been a member for a few months. There is a beginners guide in the beginners section of the forum posted as a sticky. I would suggest starting there along with the other stickies. Regarding your questions I would suggest four inch or larger fish and no more than 12. Your 3D background is going to consume some of the swimming space. You might consider testing your tap so you know what your water parameters are going to be. Maintenance includes vacuuming the sand, wiping the sides of the tank and of course WCs.

[Ken]

From all my reading it seems to all come down to water changes, with adult fish how often, are nitrates the issue, that's why I was asking about
the 20ppm or other trigger point to do a water change

as with everything there are trade offs, pay more upfront for bigger fish or the cost of growing 4" fish out,
to grow out 12 fish what size tank or tanks would be needed to grow them to 6", trying to figure costs, price of tank or tanks and changing water
every day and everything else that would be needed

would 4" fish continue to grow about 1" per month or do they start to slow down at some point, what size & age is considered adult fish

[lipadj46]

From my experience growing a fish out from 4" to 6" takes a while, 6 months or so. Some don't even make it

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

[discusjoe27]

if you still have your TDS meter from your saltwater days, I would test what the tap water reads. then age it for 24-48 hours. you will also need to clean the glass, and valcumm the sand. oh and well to simply neighbor. ha I'm in down here in plano.

you could use 75 gallons and grow out 5-7 of them in each tank. it comes down to good food stable parameters, good clean warm water changes etc. you can always start of with a 55 keep it bare bottom and get some juvies.

[strawberryblonde]

Hi Ken! =)

If I was going to grow 12 4" discus I'd purchase 2 55 gallon tanks, add 2 sponge filters per tank, one heater each and set them in a place where water changes are easiest. They don't need much more than clean water once a day and 5-6 feedings of high quality foods per day to grow nice and big.

If it helps, I chose to put my grow out 55g tank in my laundry room right across from the sink. I used a 6' siphon to drain the tank...takes about 10 minutes tops, wiped down the sides and bottom with a scrubbie while the tank drained, then filled it back up with a python hose straight from my tap. If you're aging water it'll go even faster on the fill ups..just use a powerful pump and large tubing. My whole water change routine took 15 minutes from start to finish.

For feeding I gave them flake food first thing in the morning, then stuck a couple of FDBW cubes to the glass for them to graze on. If you're at work during the day you can use an auto feeder for 2 more flake feedings, then offer frozen beefheart when you get home, do the water change after dinner and stick a few more FDBW cubes in there for the last meal of the day.

Doing it that way, my 4" discus (I've raised 3 batches this way) grew from 4" to 6" in 3 months. Yours might take 4 months if they are slow growers, but 4 months should be about the max.

Once they go into the big tank you'll need to continue with frequent large water changes and no less than 4 feedings per day if you want them to reach maximum size. Mine slowed down a LOT after 6" but continued to grow for another year and finally reached 8-9" and quit.

For nitrates, plan to keep them around 5ppm.

[blueluv]

Good morning strawberryblonde :D . I read your post here and it says that you feed them flake in the morning, and then right after two fdbw. Then at night two more fdbw. My question is, do they all still eat a variety of foods or are some addicted to only eating fdbw? Thank you

[strawberryblonde]

Hi Blue,

When I say FDBW I mean Freeze Dried Blackworms, not Bloodworms. My discus adore them, but don't get addicted to them in the same way that they get addicted to bloodworms. They eat a variety of foods, but sadly, I have never been able to get them to eat pellet food. I stick to Discus flakes, Spirulina flakes, Omni flakes, FDBW's and frozen Beefheart.

[blueluv]

Thank you very much:D . This gives me a better idea on how to better vary their diet. Mine eat tetra bits, super beef heart flakes, bh mix and freeze dried blackworms. I still think mine need a little more variety. I was thinking of trying new life spectrum or sera discus granules.