New 100 gallon tank.. Need some help!

[salman]

Hello, i bought a 100 gallon tank a week ago, its in the process of cycling. I have neon tetra's inside now, about 40. I set up, everything, sand, driftwood and some plants. I am going to be adding some discus, about 10 depending on what i find in my LFS. I have kept discus before. I started with 6 juviniles in my 50 gallon. Then 3 died within 3 months. So i went out and bought 6 more. Now all i have is 3 in my 55 gallon. I think that the new ones had parasites or they were sick and maybe one infected all the others. So in a few days when my tank is cycled, how many should i get for my 100 gallon. And do you think i should get them all from one store or a little from each store? Should i medicate them or anything before i put them in the tank just incase they dont have any parasites or sickness?

[salman]

Also, I want to get about 10, and raise them so they can pair off. What size do you recommend me getting? I don't want the really small ones because they have a good chance of dyeing. What is the largest i can get so i can raise them to pair off?

[mmorris]

I think your original post makes one pretty clear point - don't buy from the LFS! They keep dying! Most LFS don't take care of discus the way they need to be treated. I'll never buy from the LFS again. Check out the sponsor section and see what the sponsors have. Generally, the quality will be better, the price better, and the health will almost certainly be better. The 100 gal. tank is fine for 10 discus but most people on this forum, including myself, recommend you raise juvies in a barebottom (bb) tank and then add sand, plants, etc when they are much older. Its hard to keep the tank clean enough when raising them. You could, of course, start with adults, but it would cost more. How old are the discus you have now? How long ago did you experience the deaths? I would be concerned mixing the three with new discus. Be sure to quarantine. I would put seven new ones in the 100 gal. and keep the three in the 55, strictly isolated from the new ones, for a month. Then, add a new one to the 55 gal. If it stays healthy with the original three for two more weeks and no others are showing symptoms of disease then go ahead and mix them. I doubt if 40 neons will cycle the tank for 10 discus. You might want to do a search on this forum for cycling. The sponsor selling you the discus might send you cycling media. I'm not sure if they do or can. You'd have to ask. If you intend to keep neons with the discus you might want to do a search in the tankmates section to see if they are compatible. I don't think neons can take the high heat. People usually go with cardinals. I wouldn't recommend adding new discus to the neons or cardinals unless they, too, have been quarantined for a month. IMO, I would start with 10 juvies from the same source, or 7 if the original three are roughly the same size, healthy and nice quality. I would keep them in a bb tank and I would only add other fish that were compatible and had gone through a lengthy quarantine. Once the discus were adult, then I might add sand, plants, etc. and a school of cardinals. hth
Martha

[FishLover888]

neons = Discus lunch, yum...

Tried before and they were eaten one by one till all were gone.

Don't buy discus from your LFS. If you are going to buy 7 or 10 of them, you will find it is actually much cheaper to buy from the sponsors here. I would say find a local sponsor and go to his/her site to pick up your own. If that's not possible, try to ask the sponsor send you the pictures of the fish you are getting. You will find even after the s&h charge (about $40 to $60) it is still cheaper than your LFS if you want 7 or 10.

Even if they are the same price, you will end up with much healther fish and better looking. You will be happy in the long run for sure. Plus, it will save you the money you would spend on medics and the stress of treating sick fish.

[salman]

LFS is my only luck in getting discus. I live in kuwait and no ones ships fish here. I found 2 websites that ship to where i am but they need a 1000 dollar minimum charge excluding shipping!
Is there any way i can treat the discus when i first get them, like put them all in a 15 gallon and treat them with pimafix to get rid of any sickness and then add them to the empty 100 gallon?

I know everyone recommends BB tanks, but i would rather not have a tank then to keep a BB tank. I dont like how a tank looks so empty and have all the wires and heaters showing.

I really need your help. I love discus but i am stuck with LFS discus.

[AmberC]

Hi Salman and welcome to SimplyDiscus!

First.. your set up. Its really much better if you keep your discus in a barebottom tank to grow them out. Perhaps take everything out of the 55 gallon (decor/substrate) and keep them there until they are bigger. You can keep the tank much cleaner in a barebottom tank.

Second, if you have to buy from an lfs, then you have to buy from an lfs. I have done it in the past and gotten good fish.

I think before you buy anymore discus though, you need to do a lot of reading here. There has to be a reason why they keep dying. You said you bought 6, and three died and bought 6 more and now all you have is 3 left. Did you quarantine the new fish or just add them right in with the others?

Can you tell us how you have been changing your tank water? How many times per week and how much water. Can you tell us your water parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates)?

Dont buy any more fish until you are certain the ones you have are healthy. You also need to make sure you have a place to put your new ones when you buy them, like a spare 20 gallon, barebottom, for quarantine to keep them there for 6 weeks.

Some people like to treat the fish in quarantine when they get them, I do not so I cannot tell you what meds to use on the new fish before adding them to the rest. But there are a ton of posts here. I think Marie has some links.

HTH,
Amber

[Cow Doc 09]

Hey there. Here's a link to check out that might spark your interest to bb tanks.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=53158

There are several options: potted plants, fleckstone paint (looks awesome) for ouside the back and bottom, driftwood (if there is any in Kuwait!)

[Cow Doc 09]

One more to check out:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=50294

[mmorris]

I know everyone recommends BB tanks, but i would rather not have a tank then to keep a BB tank. I dont like how a tank looks so empty and have all the wires and heaters showing.

I really need your help. I love discus but i am stuck with LFS discus.

I'm not certain that what you've been doin' has been working so good. You might want to try somethin' diff'rent.
Martha

[salman]

27061

This is my 100 gallon 10 days old tank.

I researched everything about them and i think i know almost everything about them.
Water Parameters:
pH: 7
GH: 14
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: Low
This is my old discus tank. I'm cycling the new 100 gallon.


I have sand, the dirt doesn't go inside, it just stays at the surface of the sand. And i will do a 15% daily water change and vacuum the sand.