To many or just enough

[rebus20]

I have 4 discus I am about to move into a 60gal tank. I am getting 2 more this weekend possible, 3 are around 3.5"s and 3 are around 2"s. I also have 1 3" angel and 4 coreys. Is that too many fish for my tank or will they be ok? I do around 5 water changes a week. Its a planted tank with gravel substrate.

[moon_knight1971]

Is the 60 cycled? Are you going to put the 2 new ones in quarantine 1st?


Joey!

[Skip]

Is the 60 cycled? Are you going to put the 2 new ones in quarantine 1st?

Joey!

yep.. great questions..

[rebus20]

Yes. It has been running a few months with fish. I am going to take the 4 out of the 20gal and put them in the 60 this weekend and put the 2 new ones in the 20gal for a few weeks before moving them with the others.

[judy]

should be ok in terms of numbers of fish-- but you are growing out juvies which need to be fed very frequently, and keeping that substrate clean will be of MAJOR importance...

[rebus20]

I have had the ones in the bb for 3-4 months now. I feed them more than I should, 6-8 time a day.

[moon_knight1971]

Sounds like you got it handled! Best of luck!

Joey!

[ShinShin]

A good rule of thumb is 1 discus per 10 gal of water. Do an inside measurement of your tank. Multiply L x W x H divided by 231. That will tell you how many gal. your tank really is. Most likely it is less than 60 gal. Then subtract displacement caused by the gravel, plants and other unnecessary stuff in there, and you will see you have too many fish in your plan.

Mat

[discuspaul]

Just wanted to mention that I've had a number of contacts recently with rebus on another forum, both by pm and via his threads, and while he may be somewhat new to discus, he seems to have a good handle on things and has of pretty fair idea of how to proceed properly. He's planning on 6 relatively small juvie discus for his 60 gal tank, which should serve the purpose for the next few months at any rate, and he knows that, as well as the potential downsides to keeping them in a planted environment.

[rebus20]

Thanks again Paul. Maybe I should keep 5. I plan to have these discus for hopefully years but I have been reading that 6 is a good number to keep in a group. I dont want to have to remove one in several months although I could remove the angelfish. Or I could wait a few months and upgrade to larger tank. I am sure my wife would love that. lol If I do start another one one day I would like to do a dirt substrate. I have become addicted to discus and plants.

[rebus20]

Shin shin, according to your calculation I have 53 gallons before subtracting for plants and driftwood. I have 4 in a 20gal now and they have been in it for 3-4 months with nice growth. I got them at 2"s and they are around 3.5"s now. I change the water 5 times a week and feed them 6-8 times a day.

[ShinShin]

The 1 discus per 10 gal. is for adults, BTW.

Mat

[rebus20]

I bought 2 more yesterday for a total of 6. I put the 3 larger ones in my 60 and I am going to grow the 3 juvies out some in my 20. I got 2 neon blues. I was surprised at how many they have now. I had to special order my first 4 and now they have 15 in stock. They had 6 4-5" white ones too but I didnt want to spend that much money.