Introduction and New Discus

[schomin]

Hi

My name is Andrew I just started my first Discus tank on Sunday and this is my first post.

I got a Red Pearl, Marlboro Red, and a Blue Diamond. Along with 6 Cardinal Tetras. I added the Reds first and then yesterday added the Blue Diamond. I know they are kind of aggressive towards each other but the Reds are picking on the Blue Diamond pretty bad after I added him yesterday. I figured this is normal but wanted to make sure and find out if this will continue to happen or if they will chill out in the next couple of days. The Blue Diamond seems to be kind of stressed out because of all of this. He's breathing pretty quickly compared to the Reds but he is a little bit smaller too.

Thanks

Andrew

[DiscusBR]

Wecome to SD. I recommend that you fill the tank setup questionaire:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?94348-Tank-Setup-Questionaire

[schomin]

Sorry about that. I knew that.

1) Red Marlboro and Red Pearl are picking on Blue Diamond. Blue Diamond seems stressed out and breathing quickly. Blue Diamond has been in the tank <24hrs and Reds since Sunday night. Just started keeping Discus. I have currently keep community tanks, Salt Water reef tanks, and African Ciclid Tanks

2) I have done research and talk to the owner of the local fish store who has become a good friend of mine.

3) Tank has been cycled it has been setup for quite a while as a planted tank with various tetras in the past. I recently switched it over to discus/tetras and plants. It is 30 gal.

4) I have plant substrate down first then gravel. It is pretty heavily planted with driftwood as well.

5) I currently do 25% water changes every 1-2 weeks and have to add more almost daily as the top of the tank is open so evaporation happens quickly. I use de-chlorinated tap water.

6) I have a rena canister filter with inline Hydor heater and inline co2 reactor. Lighting is metal halide two x 6700k daylight and it also has lunar LEDs.

7)

- temp 88c

- tank ph 7

- Ph of the water straight out of your tap 7.6

- ammonia reading 0

- nitrite reading 0

- nitrate reading <20

- municipal water


8) What I mentioned is all I'm panning on having

9) 4x a day. I mix flakes, blood worms, and beef heart

10) I just love discus and the way they act and look. Beautiful fish. I would like to just admire their beauty.

[Teshi]

Welcome to SD

what size are the fish? I did the same thing and only got 3 fish. One is getting bigger than the others but the 2 pick on the one more than the other. I have a 55gal tank and have set up a QT to be able to get more fish. I've learned through this forum that these fish need 10gal/fish. And that they like to be in groups of 5 or more.

[DiscusBR]

Discus are a schooling fish that should be kept in groups of at leat 5, better 6. You have not informed if your discus are juvies or adults, but a 30 gallon tank is not enough to keep discus (the rule of thumb is 10 gallon per discus). You should get a bigger tank if you want to keep discus. It is not recommended to start keeping discus in a planted tank, you should rather starrt with a BB (bare bottom) setup, which is much easier to clean and keep water quality. Also, 25% water changes every 1-2 weeks is not enough. I strongly recommend Carol´s sticky on how to set up your first discus tank:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?28937-How-do-I-set-up-my-first-discus-tank

[schomin]

Welcome to SD

what size are the fish? I did the same thing and only got 3 fish. One is getting bigger than the others but the 2 pick on the one more than the other. I have a 55gal tank and have set up a QT to be able to get more fish. I've learned through this forum that these fish need 10gal/fish. And that they like to be in groups of 5 or more.

They are pretty small I would say for discus. Maybe 3-4 in on avg there's one that maybe a little bigger. I've heard that they better in larger groups before but just wanted to see how this went. If all goes well I might scrap my 55gal ciclid tanks and do that planted with discus. We will see.

[Teshi]

Please take what the people on this board tell you to heart. They are very experienced and do know what they are talking about. With discus you need to do daily WC. They aren't like other tropical fish. They require dedication and commitment!

I really wish I would have found this forum b/4 I purchased my fish. There are many things I would do differently now. And many things I've already changed. I would have bought all my fish at once from a supplier here on the forums. I would know more what to look for when buying fish. I would have started out with a BB tank instead of having to redo things. I would have been better prepared to do the required water changes (GO Python!) These are just a couple things.

[Larry Bugg]

The aggression will more than likely not stop. As already mentioned, these are a very social fish and need to be in groups of 5 to 6 or more. If you are trying to see how this works out before going to a bigger tank with more discus then you are not giving it a fair chance. You are also heading down a slippery slope with the heavily planted tank and young discus. They need VERY clean water to grow properly. This is very difficult to achieve with a heavily planted tank. I'm afraid you have set yourself up for failure. You need to dig into the begginer section and read all you can and then read some more.

[schomin]

Hmm. Ok well thanks for your help. I'll look at trying to set something up more appropriate for them. Probably just sell my African Ciclid's and set up that tank for them.

[Larry Bugg]

If you do, you will find the effort was definitely worth it. A tank full of happy, healthy discus is a beautiful thing!!

[schomin]

I agree! They have really become my favorite fish to watch.