A few questions

[Hidan]

I am planning to start a discus tank, been planning for a while and have most of the basics down (bare bottom tanks, regular feeding and plenty of water changes).
Buying discus that were bred locally, so they are more adapted to the water conditions.


So the real question I have is regarding water changes. I come from a tropical country where the temperature is always high 20s or low 30s (even during winter).
So there is usually not much difference in the tank temperature and temperature of the new water being added to the tank, so have never had to preheat the water.
Just add the new water in and turn the heater back on and am good to go.
Never really lost fish doing this and have kept all kinds of fish.

What I was wondering is whether the discus are more susceptible to the temperature dropping a degree or two after the water changes and then going back up in an hour or so to their preferred temperature as the heater does it job?

Also how large/old does the discus have to be before you can somewhat safely add substrate and some non tetra tank mates?

[LJSmith]

Two things;

A degree or two of temp is not an issue for a healthy fish. What is most important is the stability of your parameters after 24 hrs. Measure your pH out of the tap. Then aerate the same water for 24 hrs and measure pH again. You want those two measurements to be in line.

Second, local fish is not as important as healthy fish. I know my water parameters are different outjofnthe tap than my neighbor around the corner, every situation is unique. In my expierence nothing makes Discus keeping easier than starting with healthy stock. The vendors here are top notch and should be the first stop.

[Hidan]

Two things;

A degree or two of temp is not an issue for a healthy fish. What is most important is the stability of your parameters after 24 hrs. Measure your pH out of the tap. Then aerate the same water for 24 hrs and measure pH again. You want those two measurements to be in line.

Second, local fish is not as important as healthy fish. I know my water parameters are different out of the tap than my neighbor around the corner, every situation is unique. In my expierence nothing makes Discus keeping easier than starting with healthy stock. The vendors here are top notch and should be the first stop.
Never tested these parameters as I have never had any issue with mass fish casualty during the 15+ years of keeping fish. Will get a testing kit and test.

Picking up Discus from a breeder. Doubt they will be the highest quality, but should be quite healty as I will be picking them out from his grow out tanks (about 2-3 inches in size), but I am looking to ease into Discus keeping and would rather buy reasonably priced fish, then spend a lot and be crushed if something goes wrong.


Lastly at what size/age are the discus ready for a planted tank and some tank mates as I would love to pair them up with dwarf gourami's and redline barbs in a planted setup.

[Hidan]

Also how many discus (when they are fully grown) would be ideal for a 120 gal tank (4 feet x2 x2)

[alron2]

lots of variables go into this decision, for example, how much water change will you do, what are you feeding, bare bottom tank or sand or gravel, live plants. under ideal conditions i would not exceed 12.

Ron

[Hidan]

lots of variables go into this decision, for example, how much water change will you do, what are you feeding, bare bottom tank or sand or gravel, live plants. under ideal conditions i would not exceed 12.

Ron
Once they are grown, I want a planted tank with sand. I'd say weekly 50% water changes. Have a canister filter from the old setup and plan to add a sump as well, so filtration should hopefully be good enough to maintain high water quality.

Was thinking of around 10 discus, so your answer is quite helpful as I was slightly worried that 10 would be overcrowded.