is it possible

[blaze]

first let me say 'This is the best site i have ever come across for my babies'
i have been lurking in the shadow for around months, And i felt the urge to learn form You all the pros.
btw. I live tn Jamaica West Indies (yes the little island in the Caribbean, so I cant have everything at my discus's disposal)
now to business
pllz dont hate the new kid

is it possible to keep 3 fish in a 25 gallon
1)one medium discus 3& 1/2 inch
2)one medium discus 3inches
3)one medium angel 3inches
I have had the discus for 6 weeks to the day now.


*the tank has;
1 & a 1/2 inch of gravel, a few plastic plants (still scared to use the real stuff), a few river rocks, a Whisper2powerfilter.

*Maintainance;
25-30% W/C twice per week & gravel VAC-ed, conditioned with Amquel & Novaqua.

*I feed with:
Nippon Cichlid Deluxe pellets medium size
OceanNutrition Goldfish Deluxe mini (the angel loves them)
Tried pieces of raw shrimp - they dont even notice the stuff
I have tried Beef liver 3 times last week & i am still uncertain if they like it (the angel loves it)
No hand feeding as yet apart from the angel.
>
I am going to try beef heart soon, switch to HIKARI Cichlid Pellets & try my hand at the gelatine recipies.

*the water quality....well the ammonia is always sweetly LOW.
k to be honest the ammonia test kit is the only one i have right how, I plan to get the Nitrate/Nitrite & ph test kit weekend.

*all the fishes are from the same Breeder, i never buy fishes at any LFS. Infact Its almost impossible to get a Decent Discus in a Pet shop in jamaica, as only a few ppl breed them out here.

I think both of the discus are male, cant tell for sure as yet. Well the larger discus (Maya) kinnda bullies the smaller one (Inca): nothing serious only tailswats,soft pushes & nips.
espically at food time (go figure), but he still get some. I am going to add some more plants (probably some real one) a driftwood.

I should be Building a 55 gallon tank for them soon. Its is impossible to get Cardinals out there only one person really imports them twice a year,very limited quantity.
BUT in the mean time I was thinking of adding 2smaller Discus to the tank (crossing finger for females)

Let me know what you all think. PLLZ (yes i beg)

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Blaze, welcome to SimplyDiscus

Is it possible to keep 3 fish in a 29? . . . . yes.

Is that the best conditions? . . . . no.


The 55 wil be perfect to grow out 6 -8 young discus. For grow outs we suggest bare bottom with a hang on the back filter like your whisper. I like an Aqua Clear 500 for that size tank. CAn you order online from places like Aqua Cave (click on banner at bottom) or www.petsolutions.com. You'll find it is much cheaper than pet stores.

As to food . . . be very careful with liver and shrimp, especially in gravel tanks. They foul the water VERY quickly and it is hard to get every speck out. Can you get Tetra Color Bits? That is a good pellet food for discus.

You'll find most of us do daily water changes of 25% or more. The discus just grow faster and stay healthier with lots of clean water.

[blaze]

Thanks for the speedy reply.

Today I got 'KENTS Zoe' and a Larger (plastic - please forgive me) Amazon Sword. I know i was supposed to get the test kits today, but the cash ran out (my mother-in-law KITTEN got worms :'( .
I forgot to mention I think they are Blue Turquoise but one has had more Stripes.
So should I get the :
'Tetra Color Bits' or the 'HIKARI Cichlid Pellets' the is also 'HIKARI Discus Pellets- red enhanceing'
I know for as fact the 'HIKARI Cichlid Pellets' brings out the BLUES .
I am curious to know if the "Hikari Red" would turn the brown on the discus into REDS, or darken the brown ? I know if they (the discus) have no Red Pigments nothing will bring red out. I want to try it but my wife dosen't want me messing with the fish color :P . But I Told her that the 'Tetra bits' will also bring out the BLUE ( what say y'all ?)

I am considering getting a bottle of 'KENTS DISCUS ESSENTIALS" but I'm not sure of the benefits since im going to increase the number of water changes per week?


forgive for my RAMBLING , but I just need to Learn for the PROS
note the pics attached are not my Discus , but that what the look like , stop worrying i'll soon take some pics k.

[blaze]

the previous post shows what the larger discus (MAYA) looks like
the pic below show what the smaller discus (INCA) looks like

I apologise for using anyone's pics ,if i have ofended anyone :-[

[Carol_Roberts]

Tetra bits - yes
Test kits for pH, ammonia and nitrIte - yes
Discus essential - not needed

Tetra bits may turn the brown red if your discus is a red turquoise

[blaze]

I'm getting 'TETRA BITS' but dont tell my wife :-X
a little red never hurt anyone - except maybe a bullfighter

are the Phosphate removal pads actually beneficial in my situaltion

I really appreciate all the attention & advice u have provided for me so far .THANKS

[Carol_Roberts]

With all the water changes and wiping down the inside of the tank I don't use them.

[blaze]

dont worry about the beef heart/liver, shrimp anymore until I get around to building the 55gallon. Then i'll takeing out the gravel out of the current 25 gallon ;barebottom few plants ...then i'll try back the beef stuff.

I cant wait to build the 55gal ;D....MORE fish, i'm currently in discussion with an imported to bring some [glow=red,2,300]'more colors' [/glow] to Jamaica.