mytmouse
07-12-2023, 02:21 PM
Hi everyone,
First time poster and hopefully a soon to be first time Discus keeper. I’m not terribly new to the hobby, probably a little over 5 years. I’ve kept pea puffers, Apistogramma (bred a little), and other community fish. The biggest barrier to my love for the hobby is space. I’d love a nice 120+ gallon setup (I really love the 150 high), but I don’t logistically have the space in my home. Well not enough where my wife won’t fuss at me so I’m limited to my fish room/office/storage/everything. LOL!
I’ve got a 28 gal bowfront, a couple nano setups, a 20 high, and my latest a 40 breeder. My plan was to make a nice planted showcase setup with the 40 breeder by transferring everything off the 28 gallon. It’s CO2 injected and has an Eheim 2213 filter. I started my planning, the 40 has the back painted black, I put pool filter sand in it, I’ve got a nice piece of driftwood. But I wasn’t moved. :( My dream fish are Discus. And I’ve been reading a whole lot about the 10 gallon rule, how 40s aren’t optimal, but I’ve seen folks do it. So understanding that it isn’t the optimal route, I’d like to get honest perspective about my plan before I move forward.
I am thinking of starting with 4-6 SMALL Discus. I’m talking about 2-3”. With them being juvies, I’m anticipating any potential loss (which there shouldn’t be) and realistically just keeping 3-4 of the ones I like the best as they grow out. I know my LFS will gladly give me a couple of bucks store credit or trade when they get older. I already have a sponge filter from another setup that I would use, but I will bump it to 2 and possibly a HOB AC(something). I thought about using the Eheim, but I wasn't sure if that would be too much flow and I've seen a lot of people like the sponge filters. After I thin the herd, I may add a few anubias and some little small schooling fish. I really love green neons but people say they get eaten so I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. I plan on weekly large water changes, I am religious on that. And I’ll have a Rubbermaid tote for my aged water. Since this is my first forage into Discus I am erring on keeping things simple. I’ve never been a “I need a million fish” in a setup to be happy so I won’t be overstocking and I also don’t want to bring in the complications of co2 and lighting and all that jazz along with the higher temps. I plan on making/buying a beefheart feed and also feed other foods.
Does that sound like a good plan? Anything you’d suggest or change? Thank in advance and any advice you have! I have started watching the presentation by Al Sabetta, I already see I’m going to have to forego most of my sand to make it much thinner. Such good info! I’m also thinking of just going with 2-3 almost grown Discus to cut down on feedings and water changes. But please let me know your thoughts.
Best,
James
First time poster and hopefully a soon to be first time Discus keeper. I’m not terribly new to the hobby, probably a little over 5 years. I’ve kept pea puffers, Apistogramma (bred a little), and other community fish. The biggest barrier to my love for the hobby is space. I’d love a nice 120+ gallon setup (I really love the 150 high), but I don’t logistically have the space in my home. Well not enough where my wife won’t fuss at me so I’m limited to my fish room/office/storage/everything. LOL!
I’ve got a 28 gal bowfront, a couple nano setups, a 20 high, and my latest a 40 breeder. My plan was to make a nice planted showcase setup with the 40 breeder by transferring everything off the 28 gallon. It’s CO2 injected and has an Eheim 2213 filter. I started my planning, the 40 has the back painted black, I put pool filter sand in it, I’ve got a nice piece of driftwood. But I wasn’t moved. :( My dream fish are Discus. And I’ve been reading a whole lot about the 10 gallon rule, how 40s aren’t optimal, but I’ve seen folks do it. So understanding that it isn’t the optimal route, I’d like to get honest perspective about my plan before I move forward.
I am thinking of starting with 4-6 SMALL Discus. I’m talking about 2-3”. With them being juvies, I’m anticipating any potential loss (which there shouldn’t be) and realistically just keeping 3-4 of the ones I like the best as they grow out. I know my LFS will gladly give me a couple of bucks store credit or trade when they get older. I already have a sponge filter from another setup that I would use, but I will bump it to 2 and possibly a HOB AC(something). I thought about using the Eheim, but I wasn't sure if that would be too much flow and I've seen a lot of people like the sponge filters. After I thin the herd, I may add a few anubias and some little small schooling fish. I really love green neons but people say they get eaten so I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. I plan on weekly large water changes, I am religious on that. And I’ll have a Rubbermaid tote for my aged water. Since this is my first forage into Discus I am erring on keeping things simple. I’ve never been a “I need a million fish” in a setup to be happy so I won’t be overstocking and I also don’t want to bring in the complications of co2 and lighting and all that jazz along with the higher temps. I plan on making/buying a beefheart feed and also feed other foods.
Does that sound like a good plan? Anything you’d suggest or change? Thank in advance and any advice you have! I have started watching the presentation by Al Sabetta, I already see I’m going to have to forego most of my sand to make it much thinner. Such good info! I’m also thinking of just going with 2-3 almost grown Discus to cut down on feedings and water changes. But please let me know your thoughts.
Best,
James