water changes

[treylcham]

Hi guys so i just wanted to know if my planing on water changes is correct when i start my tank up. I am thinking that a 50% water change once a week will be good and also vacuming left over food at the bottom of the tank every other day. Is this going to be enough? I really dont want to go crazy on water changes so if this is good that would be awesome=)

[John_Nicholson]

It depends on several factors. If you are going to have a 200 gallon tank that is lightly stocked with adult discus then it will be fine. If you get anything smaller than 5 inches than that 50% a week needs to change to about 50% a day.

-john

[treylcham]

i was going to get a proven breeded pair of discus to put in my 50gallon since i dont think it would be right to put 6 discus in it.

[Rudustin]

Fifty gallons is fine for just the pair. However, water changes at fifty percent a day is the least that you could get away with and only if the tank is bare bottom with no substrate. Are you planning to breed these discus?

[treylcham]

no i was not. Or at least not for now
o and i just wanted to ask what did u mean by only if it was a bare bottom with no substrate? Does it go up if i have substrate like sand or somthing? I was thinking of having some java fern to make the tank look a little more natural with some sand mabe

[rickztahone]

If it is only a pair, I believe you can get away with maybe 2 WC's a week in a 50g. You have to keep in mind that with adults, you do not have to feed as much as with growouts. Additionally, you should really vac any left over food each day, preferably about 20 minutes after feeding to preventing the water fouling up. Many might disagree but your bio load wouldn't be that large to begin with.

[John_Nicholson]

With one pair and correct feeding 1 or 2 50% WC per week will get you by as long as you don't overload the tank with other fish. I do suggest though that you start with something other than a breeding pair. Get a 75 gallon tank and spend a little time learning discus before you get a pair.

-john

[DISCUS STU]

50% water change twice may work out depending on your filter system, if you using a bare bottom setup, types of food fed (some are cleaner and less wasteful than others) feeding schedule etc.

There's definitely a learning curve with these fish due to their high maintenance requirements. High maintenance when compared to other tropicals. I'd learn what works best and is practical before I bought a breeding pair.

[Rudustin]

I think the question is how experienced are you with discus? If this is your first experience with discus then you need to consider that as Stu and John said a breeding pair maybe a bit difficult without having experienced discus before. Regardless of that I wish you the best with your new discus. Rufus

[treylcham]

yea after seeing all your guyses comments it seems that unless i start with 6discus and work my way down to a pair that it isnt possible and i will probably end up killing them so idk i think i will just end up doing shrimp instead =/

[nabilbb]

Hi guys so i just wanted to know if my planing on water changes is correct when i start my tank up. I am thinking that a 50% water change once a week will be good and also vacuming left over food at the bottom of the tank every other day. Is this going to be enough? I really dont want to go crazy on water changes so if this is good that would be awesome=)

The more WC, the better
For me 2 changes a week
50% in the middle of the week and almost 100% on the weekend and it is working out fine for me

[treylcham]

The more WC, the better
For me 2 changes a week
50% in the middle of the week and almost 100% on the weekend and it is working out fine for me

What im trying to say is that they dont think i should be starting with a breeding pair since i have never had discus in my life, and i cant get 6discus since i dont have the correct tank size so i think it would be best if i just stuck to shrimp and small school fish because after reading more post on this forum it seem as if the only way to keep discus is if the tank is monitored 24/7 and i dont think that is what i want to be doing since i am not at the house alot. I think ill just stick to my high tech planted tanks =) I gave it a shot but i dont ant to be killing 250$ fish =)