Grow out setup questions?

[Ken]

I am in the process of putting together a 175 Bow front show tank.

So Far between the local fish clubs and Craig’s list I have been able to pick up everything used.


So would 20 discus be about right for the 175g,

What size to start with, 2.5” fish OK?

One tank or two smaller ones?


Thanks

[discuspaul]

If you're looking to grow out a good number of discus at once, you can go with 2 smaller tanks if you wish, but why bother to do that - when you already have a great-sized 175 bowfront.
20 discus in there would be just fine, but suggest you condider getting 3" fish rather than 2.5".

[Ken]

3" fish are not that much more than the 2.5" fish

I was thinking of a picking up a 55g , from reading i was worried that putting them into the 175g
would make it harder for them to find food

with a good feeding and water change schedule how much time would it take the to grow them from 3" to 5"

[TNT77]

You could always section off the 175g. But you then have to do massive water changes on a rather large tank. I'm also not sure a 55g is big enough for 20 2.5-3" juvies for very long. I would go for a 75 or 90g instead or 2 55s. Still will be a rather tight fit when they get some size to them. But then you can start adding the biggest ones to the 175.

[discuspaul]

3" fish are not that much more than the 2.5" fish

I was thinking of a picking up a 55g , from reading i was worried that putting them into the 175g
would make it harder for them to find food

with a good feeding and water change schedule how much time would it take the to grow them from 3" to 5"

There's a big difference between 2.5" and 3.0", and it's just not in inches, or portions thereof.
2.5" discus are barely out of the 'baby' stage, whereas 3" + discus are well into the juvenile stage and have better developed immune systems. Makes a big difference in facilitating their grow out without any problems surfacing.
Don't worry about the size of tank - if there's enough of them - you said 20 - that's enough - they'll find the food alright, and be better off over the grow-out term than trying to do that in a 55 gal, even with much less numbers of fish.
In that tank, bb to begin with, and frequent wcs - at least 3 X week, & with a good diet several X daily, they could readily grow from 3" to 5" in 3 - 4 to 6 months.

[Discus Origins]

Grow out is exactly that...job is to get as much food into them and do as many WC as possible. That being said, 20 fish at 2.5in size would grow at a much more uniform rate in a 55g than in a 125g. Key is at least two 50% WC daily and move them to the 125g once they reach 3.5-4 in. It doesn't sound like a big difference in 2:5 to 3.5 in but it is in discus development.

[ShinShin]

Agreed, Mark.

Mat

[chiligum]

I wish i had a tank big enough to hold 20 Discus...Good luck mate!

[Ken]

I wish i had a tank big enough to hold 20 Discus...Good luck mate!

I have been patiently picking items up used on the cheap for over a year, between local fish forums and Craig's list . you can build a system out and save quite a lot of $$ if your patient.*



Grow out is exactly that...job is to get as much food into them and do as many WC as possible. That being said, 20 fish at 2.5in size would grow at a much more uniform rate in a 55g than in a 125g. Key is at least two 50% WC daily and move them to the 125g once they reach 3.5-4 in. It doesn't sound like a big difference in 2:5 to 3.5 in but it is in discus development.

Mark thanks for the information
I will start looking for a 4 foot tank to use. Do at least 2 water changes a day and set up an automatic feeder and plan on moving them into the larger tank when they hit the 3.5 to 4" mark

At what point would overcrowding come into play

Thanks
Ken