keeping discus at work

[dax29]

I am getting a new, larger office and I'm considering keeping discus at work. However, I'm concerned that I won't be here enough to care for them. Is an automatic feeder for weekend feeding adequate? I could change the water several times during the week and do a big one right before I left on Friday. The thing is that I'm out of town a good bit, sometimes for a week at a time and my boss said that I shouldn't expect people to look after my fish at work. I guess I could lightly stock a tank. Does anyone here keep discus at work?

[discusgirl]

I had a small discus in a 10- gal tank for almost a year. After water changes, I'd give the used fish water to co-workers who had plants. I showed one of the gals how to do water changes so she would have water for her plants when I was gone. A win-win for my fish, and her plants. I did use an automatic feeder over the weekends and when I was on travel. You may consider this option. I did daily water changes, except on weekends; that helped the health of the tank.

A couple of things to be aware of, depending on where your building is, sunlight into the office will turn your water green (algae). Second is if your building undergoes power outages (scheduled or unscheduled) could be cause for alarm. Third, discus are very sensitive to vibration. We got a new person next to my office that would drop his feet constantly, causing everything in my office to reverberate. My fish became stressed and constantly hiding. I took him home, to aleviate his stress.

It was quite nice having the tank next to my desk. It definatley helped my stress. Good luck with your decision. :D

[dax29]

Actually, my office will have no windows and is on the bottom floor of a brick building. So that looks favorable.:)

[DarkDiscus]

I kept a 45 gallon tank with small african cichlids at work for 2 years. It was a lot of fun. I did my maintenance on my lunch break and didn't feed the fish over the weekends. I did 20% water changes twice a week using gallon jugs that I stored in the closet in my office.

In DC I worked in an office building where one office had a huge oscar tank - which must have involved major water changes - but likely was maintained by an off-site dealer.

Discus is a little different. The work involved in doing the w/c could be tough. I would consider keeping a breeding pair / pair in a 45 gallon - 55 gallon tank and do a couple of WC a week. Also consider such issues as spillage, leaks, decor, etc. Feeding could be accomplished by feeder when you are not around, but this depends mostly on how long you are gone on your trips.

In short, I feel it could be done, but make sure you plan for everything. It would be a great look, relaxing and a conversation piece, but could also be a nightmare if you're not up to it.

HTH,

John

[dax29]

Maybe I should keep the discus at home and move a blue dempsey to work.

[RyanH]

I would only keep adults at work.

Is there a sink and a drain close to where the tank will be?

[dax29]

I'd only keep adults as that is what I'm planning on buying. There are many faucets and sinks nearby as it is a science building with labs.

[Moon]

I have a 30g tank in my office with keyhole chiclids and some livebrearers. Like you I am out of the office quite a bit. My staff feed the fish but not on a regular basis. The fish are doing OK but not breeding. So my reccommendation is no discus but something not so demanding.

[MiamiDan]

Discus tend to be shy in a very lighted, crowded environment. If you decide to have them, then some plants would help. Or else, if you just want company, try a tankful of exotic plecos mixed with exotic goldfish or butterfly koi. All these are very hardy and not shy at all. Best of luck. :D

[Ax]

I got 29Gl with 4 mid bid size discus, and they are doing great, but they need to be away from the traffic. My co-workers love them.

Alex.

[White Worm]

As far as very lighted, crowded or even traffic areas. Discus will get accustomed to what ever environment they are in. Mine love to watch everything going on outside their tank. They never hide and they will sit and watch the kids wrestle around in front of the tank and they even enjoy watching my daughter jump rope right in front of them. It just depends how they are raised. They are not all shy timid creatures, most are very active, friendly, brave and generally curious animals. Whenever they see any movement in the room or by their tank, they come running to check it out. They are probably thinking....MMMMMM....Blood worms... but they are certainly not afraid.

[Bainbridge Mike]

I keep a 40 gallon tank in my office and have it stocked with six angels, a school of tetras, corries and bristlenose. Lots of people stop by to check on the fish from time to time. I change the water every friday and generally don't feed them on the weekends. I think discus are a little too high maintenance for an office tank.

Good luck,
Mike

[Dood Lee]

I know that it has been done before, and with great success. Aquarium Design Group, the American arm of Takashi Amano's ADA Group, designs and creates tanks for all sorts of clients. If you go to their site and look at their gallery, you will find a few offices that have gorgeous discus tanks.

[RyanH]

I know that it has been done before, and with great success. Aquarium Design Group, the American arm of Takashi Amano's ADA Group, designs and creates tanks for all sorts of clients. If you go to their site and look at their gallery, you will find a few offices that have gorgeous discus tanks.

The maintenence on those tanks is pretty much never done by the office staff but is hired out.

Which brings up a good point Dax. You could check into the cost of having somebody come out and care for the tank if you were concerned that it would get neglected. You could also install an autofeeder and you'd be good to go. :)

[korbi_doc]

:D Dax, your plan for W/C during the week & lg before the weekend is a sound one..be sure to put in adults & they can be left for your short absences & do ok...think that before you leave for the weekend or out of town, you could drop in a frozen BW cube (if you have a freezer in work that is), these are what I use when I leave someone to feed, maybe someone in the office could drop 1 in while your away...& adults can get by without for a reasonable time..... I second Ryan 'bout the autofeeder, I use'm on all my tanks all the time now, not just when I'm away, so I don't have to worry that they get enough food & the "schedule by auto" far surpasses my memory, lol....feeding horses twice a day is enough for these old neurons to manage....I'm even thinking 'bout auto-feeders for the horses, lol Dottie ;)

[CliffsDiscus]

I have work it on both sides in my office a small tank for 2 years and for
clients with tanks in their own personal offices or in the lobbys of large
offices. At work no one feeds the fish except for me, if its on the weekends
the Discus will get a heavy feeding a couple of days before, not feeding
on weekends this will help empty out their gut too. As for out side businesses
the feeding sometimes gets out of control for all tanks, maintenance can be
difficult, water damage can be a problem. Overfeeding by customers will result
in death and filter problems. My most recent problem was when someone
was feeding the fish they didn't know that they moved the intake filter
return the result half of the tank was empty so what they did was fill the
aquarium back up with 4 or 5 cases of bottle water.

Cliff