Getting back into Discus

[Doug fir]

Got out of keeping fish for a few years, got the itch to try it again started wifes tank first 55 comunnity tank . now for my tank picked up used 55 to put with old oak cabinet and canopy I had,currently under gravel filter two aquaclear powerheads pointed at corners to keep current down and magnum 250 with bio wheel. With dirwfitwood and fake plants.
fish
Rams
rummy nose
cardinals
one gourami
two small albino bristle nose pelcos
one 3 inch blue diamond
two 3 inch pigeon bloods all from lfs
so far doing good starting to do more frequent wc and lots of vacuuming of gravel , and feeding aleast three times a day.
discus eating flake and tetra bits and come up when I get near tank I think I could feed every hour.

Goal to see if I have any issues , looking to get canister filter and do sand bottom get rid of under gravel filter.

[discuspaul]

Welcome to simply, Douglass.
Just some cautions - depending on how many Rams, Rummy-Noses and Cardinals you have, you might be stretching the bio-load limits in your 55 gal tank.

Discus don't generally do well when keeping only 2, 3, or 4. They're very sociable fish and do best in groups of at least 5 or 6 - keeping less than that is generally an invitation to unwanted pecking order aggression issues.

However, your tank with the existing tank-mates is too small to accommodate 3 more discus, so I hope your 2 LFS- bought discus get along together in future.

May I suggest you have a read of the Stickies in the Discus Basics for Beginners section. Lots of good info there to help you get to know the ins & outs of keeping discus successfully.

[musicmarn1]

Welcome Doug! :D hope you have fun with your tank, i think Paul covered the points, if they are coming to the front of the glass and eating well thats a great start at least :) usually small discus wont grow very big in a gravel tank because it holds too many nasties, but we wish you a lot of fun back in the hobby !

[Rudustin]

Hello Doug, Welcome to Discus keeping and to SD. Just a caution. Undergravel filters are not such a great idea. Under the filter itself one cannot get to the various "nasties" that are in the tank underneath. Gravel, no matter how much one vacuums seldom gets rid of the various wastes in a tank. Most people here suggest a bare bottom tank and if you find that not esthetic enough for your tastes then pool sand over the bottom because the poop and left over food tends to stay more one top of the fine sand and is more easily seen and vacuumed provided that you have a thin layer of sand. The various stickies here on the forum can help you make better choices. As stated from the others before me, discus are cichlids and they do spar for food and territory however, they love to be around each other and a minimum of six would be better. I agree with the others that your tank is a bit small for such a load of other fish and the discus. Welcome back to the keeping of a fish tank and good luck with your new babies. Rufus

[Doug fir]

Thank you for the advice , last time I had discus I did raise them in two tanks with graval filter bottoms and they did grow out.
I do plan to get rid of the gravel and filter soon , and go with a larger canister filter (thinking fluvel 406) and put sponge filters on the power heads. I did go with LFS fish to see if I can maitain the water and filters condtion to grow out the fish , also going to purchase two more discus to have five.
I will go and review past post and look through the information.