Can I get discus in my tank? Will my other fish tolerate the high temperature?

[Luis138]

Hello everyone,

I don't know in which part of the forum this thread should go so I figure since it has to do with my fish I will post it here. If any moderator disagrees, please move it to the appropriate one.

I want to know if I can eventually get a pair of discus in my tank. I am not interested in breeding them.

I have a 40 gallon tank with a 96W compact bulb. It is planted and I used Eco-Complete as the substrate. The filter is a Fluval 305 and by next week I will have pressurized CO2. My pH is 7.6 and my hardness is 300.

The breeder who I would be getting them raises them in tap water with the same pH and hardness.

My tank is inhabited by:

• 1 dojo loach
• 4 kuhli loaches
• 2 ottos
• 1 molly
• 2 bamboo shrimps
• 20 cherry shrimps
• 2 glass catfish
• 2 mystery snails
• Malaysian Trumpet Snails
• Ramhorn snails
• 5 ghost shrimps

I am hoping to be able to add discus. I would be getting 2 inch pigeon blood discus. My question is:

Will my fish be able to tolerate the high temperature that the discus needs? The tank is at 73º F, I would be increasing the temperature gradually over the period of two weeks until I reach 82º.

Will I be killing my fish and plants or they won't mind. From my research I think that the shrimp might not make it in such high temperature. I will move them to another tank if I have to. I don't want to cook them.

Should I forget about my idea of adding a discus to my tank? Will any of my fishies end up as lunch for my discus once he gets bigger?

Any help, tips, and/or critiques will be appreciated.

Thank you,

Luis

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[emjhay27]

if u increase the temp. slowly.. then i dont think there will be a problem..... lets just hope your shrimp wont be food for the discus
..


i sugget to get 2-3 discus only..iknow its a 40g but its gonna b hard to accumulate a discus by it self....try minimizing the light for 3days

[Luis138]

Originally Posted by emjhay27

if u increase the temp. slowly.. then i dont think there will be a problem..... lets just hope your shrimp wont be food for the discus
..


i sugget to get 2-3 discus only..iknow its a 40g but its gonna b hard to accumulate a discus by it self....try minimizing the light for 3days

That is another of my fears, the discus having shrimp cocktail.

Can you please explain what do you mean by minimizing the light for three days?

Thank you,

Luis

[crazie.eddie]

I agree about raising the temp slowly. Maybe 2° every other day.

As far as discus, are these adult or juveniles? If they are a breeding pair, then it should be fine. Otherwise, I would look into getting a small group. Discus are shy/nervous fish and do better in groups. It's just safety in numbers for them.

The fish should be fine, but the adult RCS might be fine as well. They may eat the young, but discus aren't really aggressive hunters. The discus may make an attempt, but once they realize the shrimp are too fast, then they will quickly give up.

[Luis138]

Originally Posted by crazie.eddie

I agree about raising the temp slowly. Maybe 2° every other day.

As far as discus, are these adult or juveniles? If they are a breeding pair, then it should be fine. Otherwise, I would look into getting a small group. Discus are shy/nervous fish and do better in groups. It's just safety in numbers for them.

The fish should be fine, but the adult RCS might be fine as well. They may eat the young, but discus aren't really aggressive hunters. The discus may make an attempt, but once they realize the shrimp are too fast, then they will quickly give up.

They are juveniles. They are barely 2 inches.

Regarding the shrimps, those are good news. It did cross my mind that they might be too fast for the discus. Do you think that they might tolerate the high temperatures?

Luis

[fishscale]

I think you'll be fine with regard to temperature, but if you are getting juveniles, please read up on discus. They require frequent feedings and water changes to avoid stunting. Try here: http://www.simplydiscus.com

Keeping discus in a 40g can be done, I just wouldn't recommend it. It is preferable to keep discus in schools, which is difficult in small tanks.

[Madfish]

Like fishscale said discus do better in groups. I smallest amount of discus I would ever keep is 5 and in a 40gal that is really pushing it with just the discus. Plus if you dont want stunted discus you will have to do alot of water changes. With them only at 2in you should be doing 50-100% daily water changes. The best thing I can say is read up as much as you can about them before you even start to pick them out. And when you think you know what your doing stop and learn some more. But hey what do I know other than I have been keeping and breeding them for one or two or ten years but who keeps track of years anyways. As for plants alot of them will take the higher temps that you will be keeping discus at but there is alot of them that will melt too. But for your 40 I would see if the breeder has a breeding pair that would be alot better and juvies.

[Luis138]

Thank you everyone for the help. I have never kept discus before but I have researched them and pretty much know their requirements. Juveniles need water changes, to be fed at least 5 times a day, not aggressive eaters as tank mates, etc.

But I need to know is if my existing fish will take the higher temperatures. I am not planning on getting rid of them just so that I could get discus. They are my fishies and I will keep them until they die. If they can tolerate the higher temperatures then I will research discus even more and maybe get a few, if they can't tolerate the higher temperatures then I will forget about discus until I set up a bigger discus only tank.

Luis