How and when do I introduce discus the tank?

[RipSlider]

Just wondering what the general consensus is about how long to wait for the tank to stabalise before I add discus?

I know that the dither fish and any other species should go in first.

Once the water has stablised, I've read waiting periods before the discus are added ranging anywhere between a few weeks and 6 months.

What do the majority of you guys do?

Secondly, I'd quite like to have a fairly large shoal of fish, maybe 12-15 discus. If I add these all at once, the water chemistry will go crazy. But I've read that problems can occur if they are added in stages.

What are people's experiences with this please?

many thanks

Steve

[ILLUSN]

if it's a new tank with a new filter i wait 3 months!!!
If it's a seasoned filter and a new tank i give it 2 weeks.
when stocking with fish i like to add maybe 4 at a time very 2 weeks or so again just to help the filter adjust.
but my wife says i'm paranoid

[RipSlider]

Do the older batches of discus have any problems getting along with the newer fish? Agression problems etc?

Thanks

Steve

[ILLUSN]

no never a problem, biggest fish rules the tank, but most of mine are 2 busy with their eggs to care what the other fish are doing(so long as they dont get too close)

[Merrilyn]

Hi Steve, if you're doing a fishless cycle, I amagine you'll be using liquid ammonia to kick it off. If you bring the ammonia level up to 5ppm it will encourage the growth of a huge bio colony, and you'll be able to immediagtely stock your tank with a full load of fish.

A lot of the cichlid keepers do that, when they can't add new fish to a tank at a later date because of the aggression.

Discus aren't terrible territorial (unless they're spawning) so adding fish to an established tank isn't too much of a problem, so long as you add two fish at a time, and not just one. Add two, three or four fish at a time, and the existing tank residents won't care.

Smaller tankmates, such as tetras should go in first, otherwise they may been seen as yummy live food. Give them a day or two to settle in, then add your discus, either as an entire group, or two or three at a time. If you decide to add a few at a time, then obviously you'll have to wait a few weeks between additions, to allow the bio filter to catch up with the additional waste.

If it were me, I'd do the fishless cycle keeping the ammonia at 5ppm daily till the tank cycled, then add all the residents at once, but it's really up to you.

[RipSlider]

Tank will be fishless cycled, mainly becuase it will have a fluid bed filter, and these things generate massive spikes as they set themselves up, so not worth risking the fish.

OK, looks like I will add fish in batches. Something like 3-4 batchs of four. Shouldn't overload any of the filters too much, but keeps the peace.


I've read, and ILLUSN also said, that the biggest fish rules the tank.

Lets say I have 6 fish already in the tank, and they have settled into some form of hierachy. If I now add a new, bigger, fish, does this cause an issue?

I.e do I need to try to stock similar sized or smaller fish as time goes on?

Thanks
Steve

[Merrilyn]

Tank will be fishless cycled, mainly becuase it will have a fluid bed filter, and these things generate massive spikes as they set themselves up, so not worth risking the fish.

OK, looks like I will add fish in batches. Something like 3-4 batchs of four. Shouldn't overload any of the filters too much, but keeps the peace.


I've read, and ILLUSN also said, that the biggest fish rules the tank.

Lets say I have 6 fish already in the tank, and they have settled into some form of hierachy. If I now add a new, bigger, fish, does this cause an issue?

I.e do I need to try to stock similar sized or smaller fish as time goes on?

Thanks
SteveThe more fish you have in a tank, the more peaceful things tend to be.

So if you already have six in the tank, and you add another couple of fish (one at a time is not a good idea) you'll find that they slip quite easily into the natural order. Should one of those fish be larger than the others, it may decide to challenge for leadership after a short time, but that's not necessarily the case. A spawning female will be top or the pecking order, no matter what size her tankmates.

Fish are all individuals so things may turn out different in your tank, but remember that discus are a naturally schooling fish, they like the company of other discus, so in a large group, you never have major problems. I had an 8 foot tank filled with 30 adult discus, and it was honestly the most peaceful tank you could imagine.

Most folk seem to strike problems when they have two or three discus in a relatively small tank. In that instance, one fish will always try to be top dog, and claim the territory.

With regard to size, yes it is better if you can keep the fish relatively uniform in size. That's not due to any form of agression, simply that a very small fish will have difficulty finding enough to eat with a group of hungry adults around, and small discus, under 2 inches, are the most difficult to raise.

Three or four inch fish are much more stable, and will give you the least problems.

[RipSlider]

Thanks for the info guys.

Will stock 3 bacthes of four fish, and try to keep them roughly the same size.

Also noted that probaby isn't a good idea to add in new stock during times of breeding.

Steve