discus qustion

[Coralife205]

Hi , i am a begining (or going to be) a discus keeper. Im going to have a planted tank, 125 gallon this summer. im begining to have second thoughts about what fish im going to have in the tank. for someone who has never had discus before, would it be wise to have ONLY discus in the tank? i was hopeing to have some cardinals and otos and corrys in there as well, but as someone who is starting out keeping discus for the first time, is it best to not have any other kind of fish?

[Armandi_Fishcarer]

Hi Coralife205,

I wouldn't be put off having other fish in their with the Discus as it is going to be a planted & show tank!

As you are going planted assuming live plants. This needs IMO to be done in stages;
1. Plants, then when all settled, usually a good few months,(all depends if Co2,firtilizers etc...)
2. Discus
3. Other tank inhabitants, carfully selected & quarantined in separate tank.

If the Discus are bought at smaller size I would wait until they are, sub-adult too adult, until other inhabitants are placed in.

Regards,
Ahmed ;)

[poconogal]

If you are going to be raising juvies, I would keep the other fish to a minimum, maybe a clean up crew, and no plants either. Raising juvies in a planted tank is very difficult. To grow them out properly you needs lots of food and WC. Plants and substrate will make it very difficult. I'd recommend BB and when they get bigger, at least sub-adult age/size, you can plant up the tank.

[Coralife205]

the store im working with said that with a planted(yea live) that i should start out with discus at a half-dollar size. is that a juvinile? or is a juvinile the baby fry? also the store told me since ill be keeping cardinals, corys, and otos, that i sould add them all first before i add the discus because the discus might see them as food... hers a link to my 29 gallon, hope you enjoy. (the tank for the discus will be much bigger, 125.) http://s387.photobucket.com/albums/oo313/coralife205/?albumview=slideshow im fighting a little bit of algea right now...do i NEED an algea eater with a discus tank though? or theroreticly should i be fine if i keep my co2 up to 30ppm and lights on for less then 8 hours? i currently have 7 otos, 1 SAE , for algea eating fish...

[TankWatcher]

Your 29G looks very nice. Looks like you know what your doing there.

I don't know how big a US half-dollar is, but it sounds small. I put some juvenile discus in my planted tank, before I knew better. They are stunted now. Once stunted, there is no turning back. They are still my pets & are well & happy, but they do look odd with their large eyes & small bodies.

The reason pple will say not to add tank mates to a juvi tank is that you want to be sure the juvies are the ones eating the food, not the non discus tank mates.

IMO, put your juvies in a BB tank on their own. Later, when they are around a year old, add your substrate, plants & tank mates.

Have fun.

[Coralife205]

:) a U.S. half-dollar is a coin,(hardly used anymore by the way), about the size of the palm of someones hand.

[TankWatcher]

about the size of the palm of someones handWow, that is one big coin. I have never seen a coin that big & glad ours aren't. The coin compartment in my wallet would never be able close, with a coin that size.

[poconogal]

the store im working with said that with a planted(yea live) that i should start out with discus at a half-dollar size. is that a juvinile? or is a juvinile the baby fry?
Yes, that is juvie size.

[poconogal]

:) a U.S. half-dollar is a coin,(hardly used anymore by the way), about the size of the palm of someones hand.

Ummm, exactly what country's coin are you talking about? We have no coins even nearly that big here in the U.S. :confused::confused::confused:

[Coralife205]

yea we do. the 50 cent coin! they dont use it anymore. its not in circulation. its not the exact size of a palm of someones hand, i just cant think of any other way of something to compare it too. its like 3 times the size of a quarter.. its bigger then the screen on the newst iPod nano...

[poconogal]

3 times the size of a quarter ?????? I know what a 50 cent piece looks like and true, its no where near the size of the palm of anyone's hand, except maybe a baby's.

How about giving a diameter measurement?

[Peachtree Discus]

Hi , i am a begining (or going to be) a discus keeper. Im going to have a planted tank, 125 gallon this summer. im begining to have second thoughts about what fish im going to have in the tank. for someone who has never had discus before, would it be wise to have ONLY discus in the tank? i was hopeing to have some cardinals and otos and corrys in there as well, but as someone who is starting out keeping discus for the first time, is it best to not have any other kind of fish?

:thumbsup: i don't believe that adding compatible tankmates would complicate the equation. the challenge of water quality for plants vs. water quality for discus is your real issue. it can be done. i have seen several nice planted discus tanks on this forum.

research what additional hardwares may be necessary and use only adult discus. as long as the tankmates are compatible, they should get a free ride.

[Eddie]

3 times the size of a quarter ?????? I know what a 50 cent piece looks like and true, its no where near the size of the palm of anyone's hand, except maybe a baby's.

How about giving a diameter measurement?

I'm with Connie, the 50 cent piece is not even close to someones palm. That is actually quite small once you figure in the fishes tail. That would not be a good choice to start out with in a planted 125.

Eddie