New set up

[Jimbo662]

I've currently got two tropical tanks set up. I'm thinking about trying discus for the first time. Do i need to do anything special to convert a tank for discus?

James

[ericatdallas]

The equipment requirements are the same. For best practices, some may recommend you get rid of things (i.e. gravel) or downgrade (i.e. lights), but can't know for sure without knowing what the setup you're planning to use is like.

...but that's assuming you follow best practices with your tanks to begin with.

[Jimbo662]

I'm going to start out with a 40g tank that's got medium light, gravel and several live plants. I'm using an XP2 filter. it's currenly in an east facing room which gets quite a bit of light and causes lots of algea. I'm planning to move it to a different room that gets no light at all. I've currently got a breeding pair of angels in it which will go back into the 125g.

[PAR23]

What size and how many discus are you planning on getting in the planted 40G?

[Jimbo662]

had thought of 3 small. one of the LFS's has some that are about 2 1/2-3".

[discuspaul]

You could begin with 6 of that size (presumably good quality fish from a reputable, experienced source) in your 40 gal. planted, as long as your mind-set is prepared to move them into the 125 (assuming you can & want to, i.e. that it's prepared for discus with the right tankmates, etc.) within a couple/few months. You'll also need to be willing to undertake at least 2-3 large wcs a week, more frequent feeding than normal for other tropicals, and a good tank & filter cleansing routine, temp @ 84 F, and pH ideally between 6.5 and 7.5. Lighting not too important, & gravel is ok, but PFS would be better.
Hope this is helpful.

[Jimbo662]

I'd better wait a while then...don't want get rid of the angels just yet. In addition to the two currently in the 40g I've got 3 in the 125g. The 3 males are all appx 3". On the 125g I've got two XP3's. I set that one up a year ago in July. The water changes wouldn't be too bad. I used to raise angels so I was doing lots of water changes in the 11 tanks I had set up. I bought a furniture dolly and put one of the big gray rubbermaid tubs on it with a powerhead in it to pump the water into the tanks. My ph is about 7.2 and I'm waiting for test kits to arrive so i can test the hardness...I know it's hard...gotta have a water softener for the house. I used all softened water when I was raising the angels and got great results. I've read differing opinions on here about whether to use softened or straight out of the tap. I currently feed every morning and evening. Do discus need more than that? Or is that just for the juvi's? PFS?

[discuspaul]

Many discus-keepers have successfully kept angels with discus, and that could eventually work in your 125 if you're not concerned with keeping that angel pair spawning. With juvie discus under 4", many discus people would argue, correctly I might add, for daily wcs and several daily feedings for good grow out purposes. You can get by with less than that, say 2 -3 X weekly wc's as I have mentioned, and 2 feedings a day, but by doing so you'll very likely sacrifice some quality growth in your fish, and may get some stunting. You may not get 6" beauties in time, but you can still get a satisfactory result.
As for water, I have always used water straight out of the tap for my discus. In our area, tap water is @ pH of 6.8 - 7.0, which is great, and it varies little with ageing - maintains stability. Having said that, discus can & will do well in any pH, pretty much, from 6.0 to 8.0 or so, so long as it doesn't move up or down rapidly. Your 7.2 isn't hard to speak of - would be great for discus. Test it after it sits in a bucket for 24 hours - if it doesn't vary by much more than .5 or so, then you would be good to go, right out of the tap.
PFS - pool filter sand - great look & easy to keep clean for discus, if you're wanting to do a planted tank.

[ericatdallas]

Straight from tap, dechlor, 7 pH, 300-350ppm TDS for me.

[Jimbo662]

thanks for all the great info! lots to think about now!

[Melissa]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but socially, the discus at such a small size would benefit from being in a group of 6 or more. When they're small, larger numbers = security. When they're older larger numbers = aggression more evenly spread out within the group... Just my $0.02 :) :) :)

Good luck Jimbo!