Add discus?

[jkan0228]

So in the future if we have room, me and my dad might set up a 300G discus tank and we thought to give 2 of them a try in my current 95G.... What do you guys think? Anything I need to know? Do ottos suck on them? They're still small, only .75" u

[jkan0228]

Ok so if I got rid of the SAe's(which I will very soon) how many could I put without exceeding the bio load? Currently have
10 Amanos(soon to be 25-30)
6 ottos(soon to be a 18)
20 harlequin Rasboras
3 cherry barbs
4 SAE's
3 BNP's. (plecos

[Axelrodi202]

You'll have troubles if you have only 2 discus. The more dominant fish will pick on the smaller fish, and since there is only one fish for it to pick on, the aggression will all be directed at one fish. In a group, the dominant fish's aggression will be spread out. I'd say you could probably fit 4 or 5 in there. Depends on your filtration and the amount of plants you have though. I don't think I've ever heard of otos sucking on discus, or any other fish for that matter.

[jkan0228]

Well I'm counted as heavily planted. Got lots of stems and a sword or two. Everything in my 95G Journal.
I have the seaclear system II wet dry filtration system. Basically a built in sump. Takes up about 10-15gallons. Loaded with bioballs, some pads and a bag of 250ml purigen.

[150EH]

All I know is they like clean warm water.

[jkan0228]

Haha I know that too.
Never had a problem with ammonia or nitrites when I had 35 harlequins.

[Axelrodi202]

Also know that your Amano shrimp may not be too compatible. Discus like water in the low to mid 80's, while Amano shrimp are not technically tropical, and the upper part of their range is the high 70's.

[jkan0228]

Well people have told me that they can do fine in 77-78 and only need the mid 80's for breeding. I guess this is somewhat true?

[Axelrodi202]

They really do better in warmer temperatures. They seem to get slightly sick in colder temps.

[discuspaul]

First off - temp - you can't successfully keep discus under 82 F. so don't even think about keeping it any lower.
As Axelrodi said, you can't keep 2, (or even 3, 4, or 5 discus) without having aggression/pecking order problems big time. (Hey, they're Cichlids !)
In a 95 gal tank, with what you have now, WITHOUT ADDING ANYTHING ELSE, you may be allright with 6 to 8 discus.
For sure, don't add any more Otos, and keep an eye on what you now have - they have been known to take a liking to discus' slime coats as part of their diet - I know - It's happened to me ! Same thing for SAE's.
And do yourself a favor - don't add anymore Amanos, or anything else - at least for now.

Discus are not hard to keep - you just have to appreciate they are intolerant of sub-standard water conditions, and you just need you to follow a few simple "rules" to keep them successfully.
If you're serious about discus, it may help you to have a read of my Discus Guide in the simplydiscus.com forum - here's the link:
http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/sh...ed-with-Discus
One thing you don't want to do, is to lose beautiful, but expensive, fish.
If I can be of any help at any time, please don't hesitate to PM me.
BTW, a 300 gal discus tank would be awesome !

[jkan0228]

Originally Posted by Axelrodi202

They really do better in warmer temperatures. They seem to get slightly sick in colder temps.

Ok, well I just took out my UV since it was blocking a bit too much flow but would I need to add it to assure that any bad pests would be killed?

Originally Posted by discuspaul

First off - temp - you can't successfully keep discus under 82 F. so don't even think about keeping it any lower.
As Axelrodi said, you can't keep 2, (or even 3, 4, or 5 discus) without having aggression/pecking order problems big time. (Hey, they're Cichlids !)
In a 95 gal tank, with what you have now, WITHOUT ADDING ANYTHING ELSE, you may be allright with 6 to 8 discus.
For sure, don't add any more Otos, and keep an eye on what you now have - they have been known to take a liking to discus' slime coats as part of their diet - I know - It's happened to me ! Same thing for SAE's.
And do yourself a favor - don't add anymore Amanos, or anything else - at least for now.

Discus are not hard to keep - you just have to appreciate they are intolerant of sub-standard water conditions, and you just need you to follow a few simple "rules" to keep them successfully.
If you're serious about discus, it may help you to have a read of my Discus Guide in the simplydiscus.com forum - here's the link:
http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/sh...ed-with-Discus
One thing you don't want to do, is to lose beautiful, but expensive, fish.
If I can be of any help at any time, please don't hesitate to PM me.
BTW, a 300 gal discus tank would be awesome !

Well I've heard other wise. So I will have to look in that more. Won't everything die from heat if they're at 82F? Since I'm sure the Amanos will... Is that why you said no more amanos for now?Yea thats what I've heard about ottos. First time hearing about the SAE's, gonna get rid of them anyway.... Even though they're still small.... They are getting lazy....
So basically you wanna have stable, high water quality right?
Haha thats for sure. Thats why I don't have anything in my tank over 3$... hahaha Yes I will probably 120% pm you sooner or later if I do eventually add my discus.
Yup it sure would... I can actually imagine it.... 20 Discus in a 300G

[rickztahone]

i honestly think 8 would be absolutely pushing the boundries of someone starting with discus with that size tank and it being fully planted. The bio load is pretty high as is and i for one have seen oto's suck on my discus at night. I would put 6 discus in that tank, all from the same source at bought at the same time so they can battle out their pecking order.

Most plants tend not to do that great in the temps required to keep discus, that is why most keep swords, ferns and other easy to keep plants with discus. they like floaters as well.

Keeping the water clean is important for sure but it being a fully planted tank helps immensely. The plants tend to take up a lot of the waste but water changes are still needed. If you start with adults it will be easier on you as a beginner since the water changes and feeding heavily are not as crucial to growing them out, it has already been done for you. Find a reputable source (many on Simplydisus.com) But getting adults can cost you a pretty penny.

The primer that Paul linked to is a good basic beginners starting point for setting up a discus tank, read it.

They really aren't as difficult to keep as most people claim them to be. some good husbandry is all that is needed lol ;-)

[jkan0228]

Originally Posted by rickztahone

i honestly think 8 would be absolutely pushing the boundries of someone starting with discus with that size tank and it being fully planted. The bio load is pretty high as is and i for one have seen oto's suck on my discus at night. I would put 6 discus in that tank, all from the same source at bought at the same time so they can battle out their pecking order.

Most plants tend not to do that great in the temps required to keep discus, that is why most keep swords, ferns and other easy to keep plants with discus. they like floaters as well.

Keeping the water clean is important for sure but it being a fully planted tank helps immensely. The plants tend to take up a lot of the waste but water changes are still needed. If you start with adults it will be easier on you as a beginner since the water changes and feeding heavily are not as crucial to growing them out, it has already been done for you. Find a reputable source (many on Simplydisus.com) But getting adults can cost you a pretty penny.

The primer that Paul linked to is a good basic beginners starting point for setting up a discus tank, read it.

They really aren't as difficult to keep as most people claim them to be. some good husbandry is all that is needed lol ;-)

Even if I did only start with 2, wouldn't the 2 have enough room for territory? So what happened if I bought all 6 at once and then I screwed up? Thats what I'm afraid of... Haha
Thats why I would wanna keep them at a slightly temperature... I mean it can't do them THAT much harm right?
You just gave me an idea for what plants to use
Yea when I get the plants I'm sure I'm gonna do weekly water changes even though I use PPS-Pro
I know I'll be able to keep up with the water changes since they're expensive fish but the only thing I'm worried about is that the young are sensitive... I can get young ones (2.5") at around 25$ at my LFS(The Wet Spot)
Haha yea... Hopefully thats how it'll turn out for me... Maybe I'll even turn out to be really good!

[discuspaul]

Well, jkan, if you've heard otherwise, you've received some very poor information.
Seriously, if you want to successfuly keep discus, you do have to work a little harder to maintain the right tank conditions to properly raise these fish.
They absolutely must have the higher temps - low to mid/high eighties, just like their temps in the wild - the S.A. Amazon tributaries.
And other things will do well at those temps as well - plants & tankmates, e.g.
Amanos are doing quite well in my discus tank - @ 84 F no less, and have done so for quite a long time.
When I mentioned no more Amanos or anything else, I was simply talking about not adding any further bio-load whatesoever to your tank, if you want to keep a reasonable number ( 6-8) of discus in that tank along with what you already have in there.
Just trying to help you avoid the pitfalls of newbies to discus-keeping, many of whom end up losing some very expensive and beautiful fish, as I mentioned earlier.
If you're intending to keep discus, it would help you to do a little more research and I would respectfully suggest you spend some time going through the Stickies, threads & posts on the simplydiscus.com forum. I'm sure it could save you money & heartache in the long run.
Please take no offense, just trying to be help you get off on the right footing.
All the best of luck.
Paul

[jkan0228]

Originally Posted by discuspaul

Well, jkan, if you've heard otherwise, you've received some very poor information.
Seriously, if you want to successfuly keep discus, you do have to work a little harder to maintain the right tank conditions to properly raise these fish.
They absolutely must have the higher temps - low to mid/high eighties, just like their temps in the wild - the S.A. Amazon tributaries.
And other things will do well at those temps as well - plants & tankmates, e.g.
Amanos are doing quite well in my discus tank - @ 84 F no less, and have done so for quite a long time.
When I mentioned no more Amanos or anything else, I was simply talking about not adding any further bio-load whatesoever to your tank, if you want to keep a reasonable number ( 6-8) of discus in that tank along with what you already have in there.
Just trying to help you avoid the pitfalls of newbies to discus-keeping, many of whom end up losing some very expensive and beautiful fish, as I mentioned earlier.
If you're intending to keep discus, it would help you to do a little more research and I would respectfully suggest you spend some time going through the Stickies, threads & posts on the simplydiscus.com forum. I'm sure it could save you money & heartache in the long run.
Please take no offense, just trying to be help you get off on the right footing.
All the best of luck.
Paul

Well the guy that I talked to is actually quite an expert....Like I said, I'll look into it more...
With the plants that I have, I'm not sure that they could withstand temps of 84F....
Don't amanos have a small bio load? And since mostly what they eat is algae, won't that mean that their waste doesn't have as much ammonia as a normally would if it just ate normal foods?
I will most definitely check out simplydiscus
Haha none taken... Just helpful criticism....