New to discus.

[hkrayingboy]

Hello. I begin reading about discus and i have become really interested in discus. I have 3 tank as of right now. I have a 30 , 55, and a 90 gallon tank. I was wondering if it is a good idea to raise 1 to 2 in discus and as they get bigger, i upgrade the tank. My final goal will be keep 8-9 discus in a planted 90 gallon tank. My question is how many baby discus should i begin with? what should i feed them. i could feed them multiple time as i am a college student and i have time to go by home and change water and feed them. i order a hydro 5 filter and also wondering if i should add more filter in the 30 gallon. Any hob or canister filter? Thanks. i want to get this right. Ill buy the discus from a local breeder when my tank is ready. Thanks

[darkknight87]

Id say its always best to start off with 6 small ones, and upgrade them as they grow. Feeding a beefheart seafood mix is the best IMO, you just have to be able to change the water well.
I personally use HOB and Cannister, some others will tell you no need if you change the water as much as they recommend, I just know I do not have the time, so I have alot of filtration going on.

[hkrayingboy]

Beef heart? should i buy pre made or make it myself? also, should i feed other thing that i can buy and just put it in the tank? should i buy 6 and put it in the 30 gallon or just skip to the 55? thanks

[JaredP]

Id go with the 55, Having just gotten into discus not that long ago myself. I keep them in a barebottom 55, feeding them a mix of freeze dried black worms, some pellets.

Growing them out not only allows you to enter the hobby slightly cheaper, but gives you the chance to learn about their care.

[waters10]

Id go with the 55, Having just gotten into discus not that long ago myself. I keep them in a barebottom 55, feeding them a mix of freeze dried black worms, some pellets.

Growing them out not only allows you to enter the hobby slightly cheaper, but gives you the chance to learn about their care.
I'd go with the 55 as well, and use the 30 as hospital/quarantine tank.

You can get 8-9 juvies on the 55 and switch to the 90 when they get to a decent size. Just keep a good eye on water quality. If your goal is to have 8-9 discus, start with those, from the same source. Less chance of sick fish.

You didn't mention how experienced you are with planted tanks, but another thing you could do, is start the 90 planted in parallel. Planted tanks are a challenge on their own, so it's always easier to learn that without high demanding fish, meaning discus, there. It's one thing I wish I could've done, but I only have 1 tank ... But if you already familiar with planted tanks, maybe you don't need. It's just one thing you can do, if you have the time to maintain both.

Hope this helps.

[setarei]

You can get 8-9 juvies on the 55 and switch to the 90 when they get to a decent size.

What would be considered a good size, 4"?

[waters10]

What would be considered a good size, 4"?
I'd say it depends on the water quality that you can maintain on the 55g with 8-9 juvies. At 4-4.5" and 5+ feedings per day, they will be generating a lot of poo, so it requires heavy water changes to keep up with water quality on the 55g. You could move them to the 90g and start decreasing feeding to 3-4 times a day.

Also, 4" could mean final size for a stunted discus. Or it could also mean a discus that still has at least 2" more to grow.

If you feel some of your discus could grow a lot more than that, you could even split the group by moving the ones you feel are not going to grow much anymore to the 90g planted tank, and keep power feeding the ones you feel could grow even bigger on the 55g. But gotta be careful with aggression and pairs forming. Just throwing some alternatives out there.

[setarei]

So basically keep them in the grow out tank until you feel they have reached close to their final size? Or should you keep them there for a certain number of months instead?

[waters10]

So basically keep them in the grow out tank until you feel they have reached close to their final size? Or should you keep them there for a certain number of months instead?
It depends on what you want. Discus don't grow as fast after 4". Some people already reduce feedings after that, while others keep it. If it was me, I'd keep it as long as I could keep water quality. It's just that a 55g with 8-9 4-4.5" discus and feeding a lot will be tough to keep water pristine. So at that time, I'd evaluate where my discus are and decide.

Also, keep in mind that some strains grow faster than others. So while it makes sense to talk about a period of time, instead of size, you gotta account for strain differences and even differences per individual.

[setarei]

Thanks, that was something I could never really get. Now I just gotta find a list of sizes/growth rates of different strains.

[hkrayingboy]

Okay guys. So i got 7 discus just to start off. I am feeding them frozen bloodworm and frozen brine shrimp. i was wondering what other stuff can i feed them. I am looking at the frozen beef heart but what flake that is good for discus fry. any brand of flake i can get from store?

[setarei]

I believe fresh live food is better than frozen if you can get a good healthy supply. There's also food you can make yourself from mixes (fish and such) with plenty of recipes listed on this site.

As for other foods there's Tetra Color Bits that I've seen in stores.

Keep in mind I don't have discus yet so my advice is just based on things I've researched here and planning on doing for my own discus. Hopefully some pros will be able to confirm/correct my comment.

[waters10]

Okay guys. So i got 7 discus just to start off. I am feeding them frozen bloodworm and frozen brine shrimp. i was wondering what other stuff can i feed them. I am looking at the frozen beef heart but what flake that is good for discus fry. any brand of flake i can get from store?
Things you can add are, mal's blackworms (read more here (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=77064)), plus flakes and/or pellets. For flakes and pellets, the general recommendation is to go with Angelplus, Kensfish or Ocean Nutrition. I have tried both kenfish and ocean nutrition and I'm about to place an order at angelplus. Research more on those 3, there's plenty of info.

And as hkrayingboy said, you can make your own beefheart/seafood mix. There's a ton of info on those as well.

[calihawker]

I second the mal's blackworm thing. I just started using that myself. I have to disagree with feeding live foods, The only problem I EVER had with discus was feeding california blackworms that were supposed to be "excellent quality" and definately a seafood/beefheart mix. Lots of info on that in the feeding section.
Good Luck!