Greetings!

[Boscowoe]

Hello, everyone!

I recently began my journey into keeping discus fishes and transformed my 3-foot planted tank to accommodate these young fish. I'm here to learn and connect with fellow enthusiasts. Selecting a beautiful juvenile discus has proven to be quite a challenge for me. The fully grown ones can be quite costly, so I've opted to start with the younger ones.

Thank you, and I wish you all a fantastic weekend ahead.

[Iminit]

Nice looking discus! Looks like about 4” how many did you get and how many gallons is the tank? Is it still planted?

[Boscowoe]

Absolutely, you nailed it! The fish is around 4 inches in size.
I have 9 of them in a 55-gallon tank and plan to upsize once I get the hang of it.
The tank now features driftwoods and river sand as the base.
Interestingly, I only learned that the shape and form of the fish are more important than their coloration and patterns, especially in juveniles. I ended up with some fish with pointy beak, triangular shaped and etc..
Thank you for reaching out, and I hope you have a wonderful day ahead.136919

[brewmaster15]

Welcome to SimplyDiscus!

Theres a bit of a learning curve with discus and getting the hang of it can take some time and often comes with mistakes. Mistakes happen.. which is not really a bad thing if we learn from it.You found the best place to learn here at SimplyDiscus. Hopefully we can help the journey go more smoothly for you!

Al

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Boscowoe and welcome to SimplyDiscus. Your fish are still growing so they could round up as they grow. :D
Pat

[Iminit]

Got to say your main fish there is really nice! Where did you get them? Next 9 in a 55 is a lot. What is your water change routine. They’re not all 4” but they do look good and healthy. What are you feeding and how often?

[AquaticNerd]

Welcome to SimplyDiscus! I'm looking forward to seeing your tank and fish as they progress.

I like the substrate - I can't tell if it's the image or what, but that is some of the largest grained river sand I've ever seen! Do you remember the brand?

[Boscowoe]

Welcome to SimplyDiscus!

Theres a bit of a learning curve with discus and getting the hang of it can take some time and often comes with mistakes. Mistakes happen.. which is not really a bad thing if we learn from it.You found the best place to learn here at SimplyDiscus. Hopefully we can help the journey go more smoothly for you!

Al

Thank you so much for the encouragement:).

[Boscowoe]

Hi Boscowoe and welcome to SimplyDiscus. Your fish are still growing so they could round up as they grow. :D
Pat

Really? So there's a chance we'll see them transforming into rounder bodies. Thank you for the clarification as I was thinking of giving some of them away.

[Boscowoe]

Got to say your main fish there is really nice! Where did you get them? Next 9 in a 55 is a lot. What is your water change routine. They’re not all 4” but they do look good and healthy. What are you feeding and how often?

Thank you for your kind words! Beginner's luck might be at play here. I found these discus fishes at a local shop that sells various fish species, and it seems I lucked out with my choices.
I feed them dry food twice a day(Tropical Discus Gran D-50+ and Tetra Pro Colour Multi-Crisps), in the morning and evening. My routine includes a 50% water change every Saturday. The largest one measures 4 inches, while the others are smaller. They were bought at different times, and the earliest addition has been with me for just 2 months.
Unfortunately, my confined space doesn't allow for a larger tank yet, so I'll stick with the current setup. I might consider reducing the population as they grow larger.

[Boscowoe]

Welcome to SimplyDiscus! I'm looking forward to seeing your tank and fish as they progress.

I like the substrate - I can't tell if it's the image or what, but that is some of the largest grained river sand I've ever seen! Do you remember the brand?

I'm not familiar with the brand; they simply sold it to me in kilograms when I asked for 10kg. I'll capture some photos of my humble setup within the next two days. Apologies for the delay.

[Adamski77]

Very nice looking discus… I also think the substrate is looking great with nice contrast to the wood.

[Iminit]

Ok you may not like this! But! You need to change more water more often. 9 in a 55 with one 50% weekly water change just won’t work. These fish need clean water. More so when under 4”. Even more so when the tank is overstocked.
Now just saying. The people who’ve really read up on these fish and want the best would be changing 50% daily. These fish will stress in bad water. Stressed fish get sick. Sick fish die. When not in the best conditions they don’t grow.

Foods ok. Being there eating granules allready look into the sera discus granules and simply discus discus chow. Both better foods.
Next I think your 3’ tank is a 50g. Here’s a pic of my 50g136930

[Boscowoe]

Ok you may not like this! But! You need to change more water more often. 9 in a 55 with one 50% weekly water change just won’t work. These fish need clean water. More so when under 4”. Even more so when the tank is overstocked.
Now just saying. The people who’ve really read up on these fish and want the best would be changing 50% daily. These fish will stress in bad water. Stressed fish get sick. Sick fish die. When not in the best conditions they don’t grow.

Foods ok. Being there eating granules allready look into the sera discus granules and simply discus discus chow. Both better foods.
Next I think your 3’ tank is a 50g. Here’s a pic of my 50g136930

Respectfully, your advice led me to change 30% of the water just now.
I've diligently monitored the water chemistry daily, and the NO3 and NO2 levels have consistently been optimal for the past 2 months. My tank is equipped with one canister filter and one overhang filter. I believe that frequent water changes might disrupt the crucial work of beneficial bacteria responsible for nitrifying the water.
Having maintained a planted tank without frequent water changes for years in the past, it will take me some time to adjust to the idea of more frequent changes.
I appreciate your suggestion and need some time to adapt to this new approach. Thank you.

[Boscowoe]

Very nice looking discus… I also think the substrate is looking great with nice contrast to the wood.

Thank you. This is my modest setup featuring pointy beak discus. I've recently given one of them away.
136931
136932

[Iminit]

I hear you. But it’s not an approach it’s a necessity. Most successful keeper will tell you not to use substrate and if plants put they in cups that are easily removed. Water chemistry means nothing. 9 discus is a 50g tank are creating a lot of waste. Would you put 9 Oscar’s in that tank? It’s the same thing. I’ve got no clue why they need clean water but it’s the only way they survive.
As to beneficial bacteria. No clean water isn’t going to hurt your bacteria. 90% of your bacteria lives in your filters. Faster moving water flowing through media that’s made for the bacteria to grow on. Thing is even with both filters these fish are creating waste all day long. So they are swimming in it till the water gets filtered but even as it filtered more waste is being made. 9 discus. Even if you went with the 10g a discus that’s still 5 4” fish. Yes you’ll read that they don’t need that many water changes. But the people writing that are’nt going to pay when your fish die. Best and most successful approach is clean new water. Change 100% a week. 2 50% changes 4 25% or however you want. I like bigger changes and wouldn’t go smaller than 25% and again you’re overstocked. I’ve got 11 discus in a 125g getting 100% weekly 2 50%.136933

[Boscowoe]

I appreciate your advice and concern for the well-being of my discus. I understand the importance of clean water for these delicate fish. I'm going to make two changes:

1) I acknowledge that clean water is not just an approach but a necessity. I will increase the frequency of my water changes. I'll adopt a more rigorous water change schedule, either 100% a week or the equivalent in multiple smaller changes, as you've suggested.

2) I'll also consider reducing the number of discus in my tank down from 9 to 5 initially in the coming week and need to rehome them properly. I have posted the photos of the fishes, perhaps you may wish to advise me, which are the 4~5, I should be giving away.

Thank you for your valuable input, and I'm committed to making these adjustments for the well-being of my discus.

[Iminit]

:). Ok first do you plan on getting a bigger tank? If so then these fish can be grown out in this tank. The more water changed the better. Hard to say what to get rid of. I don’t see the beaks you mention and these fish are young not fully colored up. Did they all come from the same seller? Out of the same tank? They look like they could all be the same type of discus. Is the 1 you got rid of the first fish you posted? I don’t see it in your tank now.

[Boscowoe]

I don't anticipate getting a larger 6-foot tank. Buying a new tank is easy, but it could be challenging to get rid of it if my interest wanes in the future since I just started. I prefer to stick with just 5 attractive fishes for now. Regarding the one I showed you earlier, it was hidden behind the wood; it was shy when I first introduced it to the tank environment.
Interesting, what defined a pointy beak then?
These fishes were sourced from different times and tanks, and I didn't inquire about their origins extensively.
I chose the red and brighter colored discus from the tanks, which contained a mix of different strains.

[Iminit]

Nice! So you’ve been very lucky so far with adding fish. Where are you located? Next if that fish is hidden you’ve got 10 in there. Those are some good looking discus to be found at a pet store.

[brewmaster15]

I don't anticipate getting a larger 6-foot tank. Buying a new tank is easy, but it could be challenging to get rid of it if my interest wanes in the future since I just started. I prefer to stick with just 5 attractive fishes for now. Regarding the one I showed you earlier, it was hidden behind the wood; it was shy when I first introduced it to the tank environment.
Interesting, what defined a pointy beak then?
These fishes were sourced from different times and tanks, and I didn't inquire about their origins extensively.
I chose the red and brighter colored discus from the tanks, which contained a mix of different strains.


I have marked up your pics to answer that question. "Beaky" can be a physical pointy look or sometimes its a very weak chin that makes the mouth area look beaky. Sometimes the fish will fill out as it grows and improve in shape, often it doesn't. These fish often find their way to Local fish shops as they are considered by breeders to be lesser quality but often are passable quality to most novices. Sometimes picture angles make this issue look worse.


136941


136942

hth,
al

[Boscowoe]

Nice! So you’ve been very lucky so far with adding fish. Where are you located? Next if that fish is hidden you’ve got 10 in there. Those are some good looking discus to be found at a pet store.

One of them has already been given away, so there are still 9 fishes in total. I'm based in Singapore and although there might be good-looking ones available, I can't keep too many. Therefore, I'll have to settle for quality over quantity. Thank you.

[Boscowoe]

I have marked up your pics to answer that question. "Beaky" can be a physical pointy look or sometimes its a very weak chin that makes the mouth area look beaky. Sometimes the fish will fill out as it grows and improve in shape, often it doesn't. These fish often find their way to Local fish shops as they are considered by breeders to be lesser quality but often are passable quality to most novices. Sometimes picture angles make this issue look worse.


Thank you for the detailed explanation and clarification.
I understand that lesser quality means pet quality in this context. I'm in the process of deciding which 4 fishes to give away this weekend. Thanks again for your advice.

[Boscowoe]

Hi all,

I've decided to reduce my juvenile discus population from the previous 9 to 5, and currently, I have 7 of them.
The attached photos showcase the six pet quality discus fishes that I am looking to give away 3 of these.
Would greatly appreciate your advice on which ones I should keep in my fish tank.

Thank you for your assistance, and I wish you all a delightful weekend.

[brewmaster15]

Its a bit subjective here as they are all similar in quality.. One option is go with all solids or all patterned..

If its a decision based on shape alone. I think the 3rd,4th and 6th have the least desireable shape... hard to really tell from one picture.


Honestly, let me give you a bit of advice.:) look at the tank of fish and go with your gut as to what YOU like. The hobby is full of opinions as to what makes one discus better than another in terms of quality and while theres nothing wrong with using those criteria when selecting discus and they can be very helpful, at the end if the day you are the one sitting in front of your tank as a hobbyist enjoying your fish. See what you want to see in the tank ...not what someone else says you should see.

[Boscowoe]

Thank you for your insightful advice; it resonates with my thoughts.
I've been contemplating the first three fishes, especially drawn to the intense red of the third one. However, I'm curious about your perspective on the sixth fish. What aspects of its shape don't specifically appeal to you?