discus noob, and setting up a new 100 gallon tank

[TheChad]

i recently acquired a 100 gallon tank. it is 6ft x 18" x18". Although i have been keeping fish a very long time, i have never had Discus.

i want a sand substrate, (pool filter sand) plants, driftwood, and i have two marineland 350 HOB filters for it.

The tankmates i am hoping to have with discus are: German Blue and Gold Rams, Cardinals, ancistrus, and probably cories. maybe even some danios as my LFS is finally getting some nice colour strains lately, like purple passion, and gold glowlight. and i would love a school of 10 or so Harlequin Rasboras as well.

are there some ancistrus that are better than others? as in higher temperature tolerance and algae control effectiveness?

are all cory cats acceptable tankmates?

also, which fish should i add first? do i add the discus last? i know i have to take it slow, only adding a few fish a week.

So what is the best way to set up my new discus aquarium? I know all about cycling and temp requirements, im mostly just curious about order of fish introduction.

But any other help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

[TheChad]

also, how many discus could i keep comfortably in a tank that size?

[TheChad]

somebody just told me that a 100gallon tank is way too big for juvenile discus, that i should start them in a smaller tank. but he didnt really give a reason....

anyone else care to elaborate?

[krislewis3]

Start by going to the section for beginners (for discus) and check out the stickys, which should answer most of your questions! Kris

[scottthomas]

somebody just told me that a 100gallon tank is way too big for juvenile discus, that i should start them in a smaller tank. but he didnt really give a reason....

anyone else care to elaborate?

Juvenile discus will not be as agressive as the tankmates you have planned. Therefore they will not feed as well. They also tend to be more shy in a large tank when small. They may hide and not thrive. I agree that to grow out juvies it is usually best practice to keep them in a smaller tank where they can school together and feel more secure. You will want to feed them often and keep the water very clean as they grow out in order to optimize their size, shape, and health as adult discus.

[dtl]

I'd start out with something smaller than a 100g, until they out grow it of course.

[Elliots]

I think some people on SD used a partition so the juveniles are only in half the tank or less.

[rickztahone]

simply lower the water level. it isn't a huge deal if that is truly all you have at your disposal.

[OC Discus]

The number and size of the fish is important too. If I had 100 gallon I'd get ten discus and forget the other stuff until they are grown. Also keep it bare bottom while they are growing, without plants.

[Udeservit]

I do agree with OC after reading this thread. However I know you are a plant lover. Juvies need to be fed often and poop ALOT, so clean up and water quality is easier with just discus and BB, you may want to try just discus and bare bottom first even if just for 2 - 3 weeks for an educational experiment to get to know the discus breed of fish and just how much waste there is with the kinds of food they eat (you choose to feed). I did this with my 30Gal and it was an eye opener to see how BB waste clean up and sand bottom clean up compared. As for order, My opinion is that it doesn't matter as long as there is a quarantine procedures that you plan to follow.

Oh, I found if I put a partition in my 75 gal the poop floated over to the other side of the tank....(fish on the first part of the flow) the poop floated to the empty partition and was easy to suction. That way the Corys who make a mess of the chunks of poop and left over food couldn't continue to mulch it up and make a mess with fine detritus particles. Hey good luck and can't wait to order some fishes with you!!! Cheers

[zachawry]

Are you dead set on juvenile discuss?

I have a 65-gallon planted community tank with 6 discus (4-6 inch) and lots of other fish and shrimp. It's awesome.

The discus don't bug any of the other fish (or shrimp; who started the rumor that discus eat shrimp?), and the other fish don't bug the discus. Everybody is happy, as far as I can see.

Sure I don't get to thump my chest and say "I grew these discus out myself," but who cares?

Set up the aquarium. First plants, then small fish. Once it's been well established (6 months?), put in your nearly-grown discus.

(I personally don't see the attraction to having discus in a bare-bottom tank, where they look like mere specimens in a bio lab. I understand that's what it takes to breed and grow them out, of course.)

Edit: Upon re-reading, this post is more antagonistic than I meant it to be. However, for the OP I do recommend the option of setting up a planted community tank, then once it's stable introducing discus that are already of a decent size. I wish I had 100 gallons to work with!

[2_Basic]

German rams and Bolivian rams I found out were way too aggressive for my discus.

The German rams were only 1.5" the size of neon tetras but "wow"....was I surprised just how agro they were scaring 5" discus. Your discus may lose an eye.

Got rid of them after few days.

[zachawry]

I have found checkerboard cichlids in particular to be wonderful to watch, and they are completely friendly to the discus.