change to a discus tank

[tacks]

I have a 90 gallon heavly planted tank contains 4 angels 4 dwarf gouramis will discus fit in here and how many should I put in re any discus eaiser to keep than others I was going to raise water to 83-85 will this be okay I will most likely lose some plants my ph is between6.6-6.9 any thing should be aware of thanks you have a greet site tacks








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[Proteus]

tacks, welcome to DF.com...

from what you have described, Discus will LOVE it in there, just make sure you keep on top of the water conditions and you will be fine...

[luvfishies]

Oh yeah, discus should love that tank! Waterchanges are *the* secret for discus rearing, along with feeding lots!

They do like it warmer, about 86F, which sometimes will limit tankmates, but my angels and cories and fancy plecs are all fine with that temperature. 3 @ weekly 40% w/c, NO3 always under 5 ppm, lightly planted, with substrate. Thats' my remimen, at least, any my discus are fat and sassy. It's doable, if you're willing to do the work!

EDIT
They should be in groups of no less than 5 fish, to disperse aggression issues (they are cichlids, after all). Blue Turks and Red Turks have proven to be as tough as nails for me, while the red varieties (Marlboro Red) have been a little more persnickety. 4 Angels and 5 Discus is a heavy load on even a 90g, but as said before, keep up on the water changes and you and they should be fine. Welcome to the addiction!

[DiscusMan]

Tacks,

The rule i can recall when i started keeping discus was 10g per adult fish. So your 4 angles and 5 discus is 9 = right ratio 8)

The other fish will be no problems either. I would also add that discus don't need ideal water parameters. People keep them in alkaline water with cichlids no problems. Breeding is when you may need to get the water perfect. The main thing is to make sure you acclimatise them to you tank rather than just putting them in. Especially if you are doing a large PH change from where you bought them. Ask the shop where you buy your fish what the parameters are then work out how much of a change you are going to get the fish to do and adjust the time accordingly.

It all depends on the water quality you keep as the two previous replies have stated to how many below or under the rule of 10g.

Hope you get some nice discus and lots of enjoyment out of them.

DiscusMan

[kevkoi]

Let me very quickly correct that b4 someone gets some funny idea that a Discus is not a cichlid. :lol:

Discus ARE cichlids... so are Angels.
So are Oscars, red devils, Electric yellows and frontosa.

--------------------------------------------------

Let us just say we can keep discus with a number of OTHER types of cichlids. Dwarf cichlids make a very very good companion... Bolivian butterfly rams (Microgeophagus altispinosa), Apistogramma sp., Discrosus sp. etc etc. I however do not feel that Oscars, Red devils, frontosa, Electric yellows are appropriate cichlid companions to your discus.

It is true that u can keep and grow discus at above neutral pH. In fact many breeders will say that growing young discus at pH 7.4 in slightly harder water is good for growth of the young fish as the calcium in the water promotes better bone growth/structure.

However, the down side is that with big appetites and frequent feeding (especially with high protein food like beef heart), if your filters can't cope with the waste, amonia very quickly gets toxic at above pH 7. However, if the pH was below neutral, the amonia is not free amonia and will not poison your fish!

So there... u have ur pros and cons. U decide.

kev

[DiscusMan]

Kev,

I realise they are cichlids. But i figured there was no point bringing up that argument here. It is commonly thought that Discus are a speical type of cichlid or hybrids, and when someone says cichlids they mean frontosa's etc.

Hey they are all FISH! Its just the more pompous keepers that always seem to have a problem with us saying that so i would rather just shutup about it persoanlly.

Discus are not just cichlids, they are far better than that. They are the aquarium kings!

just my $0.02 worth

DiscusMan

[nornicle]

hrmm I don't know about cichlids being though of as just frontosas and your africans... not arguing but not agreeing either, cichlids are cichlids, and there are many many species in the south american amazon too (and central america at that)

[Proteus]

They are the aquarium kings!

of course they are...

(it really amuses me when you find some hard core Cichlid keeper who REFUSES to acknowledge that Discus ARE from the Cichladae species)

as said before... They are the the aquarium Kings!!!

:wink:

[tacks]

I want to thank all from down under for there great replies you have soften some of my fears I leave in Fla where Jack Wattley lives and he seems to be highly rated in the world of discus so I may purchase 5 from him I havs started to raise my water temperture thanks to all tacks

[luvfishies]

Tacks, whereabouts are you? GreatLakesDiscus is in Michigan (just outside Detroit), and Cary raises and breeds exceptional discus. A Discus Obsession is also in the northern 'States, I believe. Discus Dream, and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head ('puter crashed, lost all my bookmarks :( ), but those should get you started, along with Wattley.

Don't take this the wrong way, but Wattley isn't considered the "best" out there for discus any more, just "one of the best". Depending on where you are, I might know of some others I could steer you to.