20 gal long

[alxjss]

Hi Everyone,
I still am doing research and trying to figure out how to conserve water. I was wondering how many young can i put in a 20 gal long. I will be transfering them into a 75 gal. when they mature. Can anyone let me know?
thanks.

[AADiscus]

What size are you talking about when you say "young"? You will also have to do at least a 100% wc daily to keep the tank clean and the water quality good to grow young discus out.

[roclement]

Just my two cents...if you cram lot's of fish into a small tank, more water changes will be needed, therefore no water conservation...

Also, if discus don't grow out in optimum conditions, you may end up with stunted fish, so you end up with a bad return on your investment.

I am sorry to say that when in comes to water quality, there are very little shortcuts...

JMO

Rod

[aquaticplantman]

... I was wondering how many young can i put in a 20 gal long...
thanks.

Short answer... zero. I would say that a 20 long is only useful as a treatment tank when talking about discus. I've had one sitting empty for a couple years just becuase of that. From reading your other threads, it really sounds like you'd be better off spending a little more and getting some sub adults that can go directly into your planted tank. Otherwise, you need to set up a 55 gallon, do all the water changes -- and you said you don't want to waste all that water -- and hope that the juvies turn into nice adults. It's going to cost a few bucks either way. That's just the way it is.

Happy fish hunting,
-- Matt H.

[alxjss]

Man, you guys are rough. I am not particulary just talking about water cons. but cuting down on some of the water changes. If i do a 100% water change, how would the discus become used to their environment? I don't understand the logic. Am i missing something here?
Remember, no question is a dumb one!

[roclement]

Man, you guys are rough. I am not particulary just talking about water cons. but cuting down on some of the water changes. If i do a 100% water change, how would the discus become used to their environment? I don't understand the logic. Am i missing something here?
Remember, no question is a dumb one!

If you want to grow out juvies properly, there is no shortcut, you need to do water changes. A 20gl tank will not be suited because, in a best case scenario, you may fit 2 discus in there, since discus are social fish that respond better in a group, 5 on up would be ideal to grow out a socialized, happy group of fish. That is why a 20gl would not work.

If your goal is to stock your planted tank, look for some larger/older fish, they require less care and feeding, so you can achieve your goal of a beautifull planted tank with nice discus. Another option is to put the juvies in the larger tank from the beginning, but I don't believe that they would develop to their full potential, but still better then keeping them in a 20gl.

Anyways, how many fish are we talking about, what size? That may help everyone in helping you.

Rod

[alxjss]

well, I want to put 6 2.5" quality discus in my 75ga. As of right now, i don't have any plants in this tank. I have a comm. tank now which i will be getting rid of and turning it into a discus tank. Is there a way where i could keep them in the 75 gal. bare bottom after i change it over and then add what i want later when they become mature. If so, how would i do this?

[AADiscus]

6 2.5" discus will be fine in a 20 gal as long as you keep up with daily wc's. In my opinion that is not enough for a 75 right now because they are still a little small. You could always try it though. Keep them them fed good with multiple feedings daily and they will do great.

[alxjss]

I plan on adding a few bottom feeders like Bristle cats and maybe some small top dwellers that can handle the heat. I don't want to over stock because of bio and i don't want to do too many right away. From what i understand, discus can get quite big. I want them to be happy fish! Does anyone have an idea of what 2.5" discus may cost. I don't plan on going too rare or exotic right now. I wouldn;t mind having "common" discus if therer is such a thing. When i stock i probably will have to drive to farmington hills to great lakes discus cause thats the only place around MI that i know of. Would not buy from lfs around here!

[alxjss]

okay, now i am confused. I thought the gen. rule was 1 fish/10gal. Sure, they will be small, but what about when they get big. How would i keep them in a 75gal if i had more than 6? am i missing something?

[KJoFan]

I think what they meant was a 75g is kind of large for 6 small discus (2.5" like you were talking about). If they have too much room they can feel insecure, at least that's what I've gathered from others, I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong though. :) A 75g would be fine for the 6 adults though.

[alxjss]

so, maybe my 20gal. long would be okay. I also have a 20gal tall too (empty)
what is the senses on that? Then when they get too big for the 20 gal., they will be big enough to trans. to 75gal

[AmberC]

Dont get disheartened Eileen :) Everyone means well! I would definitely not do the 20 gallon tall. There is less surface area for the fish which means less oxygen.

When discus are invovled, basically you will be learning a whole new way of fish keeping. Some of the rules that apply with other fish, do not apply or can be changed/broken with discus in different ways.

Discus need clean water, this means lots of water changes. A lot of times, you can put more fish in a tank (overstock a bit) than you would with other types of fish. But that is ONLY if you have really good filtration and do tons of water changes. They love being in groups!

Personally (and this IS just my opinion.. I have known others to do it just fine) I would not use a 20 gallon tank for anything other than quarantine or medicating. Right now I have about 6 2-3.5 inch discus in a 55 gallon tank. They do just fine in this tank. When they are smaller, you do want them to be in groups of 6 or more to make them feel more comfortable and you dont want to throw them in a huge tank because they become very skittish. I find the 55 works pretty well. If all you have is your 75 though, then I would go ahead and put the fish in there. Just keep it bare bottom (nothing in it but your heaters and filters) until the fish are at least 5 inches in size. This way, you can keep the tank as clean as possible to help them grow.

As someone else suggested tho, you might want to look into getting them just a little bit bigger. Like 3-5 inches and they might do better than 2 inch size.

As far as a "common" discus.. I think the pigeon blood strain is the most often seen or "common" discus.

I hope this helped a little :)
Amber

[alxjss]

thanks amber. I think u r my discus gardian angel. I am a little skittish about these fish. I would HATE to spend all kinds of $$$ to have it put in my plants. Expensive fertilizer :o Anyway, i am currently talking to cary @ great lakes discus and he is willing to talk to me some more about this. From what i hear, he is one of the top breeders. I have also been looking @ the sponsers and i have a variety of options.
Thanks again;)
eileen

[AmberC]

thanks amber. I think u r my discus gardian angel.
eileen

No problem Eileen, and no I am just someone that was new here once too and knows how confusing it can all be lol. I really think that discus are worth it and your doing the right thing by trying to get the information before you buy.

That is great that you are going with our sponsors here at simply! It truly is the best route to go to know you are getting good fish and not being scammed.