Starting up a new tank

[discus4me]

Hey all

Starting up a 26" cube in the next few weeks.
I want to put 3-4 discus in there plus 8 rummy nose tetras and 8 cardinals plus some catfish

I will be purchasing mature media from a friend which should speed up the cycling process.

I was thinking of putting the discua in 3-4 weeks after as my local fish shop (reef river reptile @ Hornsby) have currently got a great shipment of discus in.

What would be some good plants to put in the tank?? Thinking of purchasing a 150w halide from bunnings @$20

Thanks all

[iro11a]

A tank that size is not ideal for more than 2 discus.I would keep tetra's only and maybe have a planted tank instead

[boxters]

I feel a disaster brewing

[discus4me]

Could I go a pairof discus? And tetras

I don't understand why I can only keep 2 discus, it is a 275 litre aquarium? Can someone please explain

[Merrilyn]

Rule of thumb is 40 litres per adult discus, so in theory you could safely keep 4 discus plus a small school of tetras in there.

A cube is an unusual shape to house discus. They won't have anywhere to get away from each other, so my suggestion would be to start with juveniles and let them grow up together. You may still have to rethink numbers if and when they pair off.

[BobbyBruce]

G'day,

Going from the information in your first post you certainly have the volume required for the fish numbers and mix that you indicated. Some of the issues you will face include number of discus, most on here don't recommend even numbers and not less than five. Three often results in a pair and one to bully, four, if your lucky will be two pair, but, both pair will try to stake territory. Your problems with a 26 inch cube is that there will not be enough "lateral" distance for unpaired fish to escape to nor will there be enough space for two pair to claim territory.

In regards to bringing in mature media you are also going to be bringing in all the bacteria which may not be beneficial to your new fish. The other issue with this process is that if you don't put fish (or other source of ammonia) into the tank immediately the bacteria will deal with the ammonia which is present then starve. If you choose to do a "fishless cycle" this cannot be rushed, it takes time but you should have a mature filter which is capable of supporting all the fish you want to put in when it has cycled. No need for quarantining if the fish are all bought together and they have been on the one system.

Are you going for adults or juveniles? Juvies do better growing out in a bare bottomed tank with plenty of feeding and lots of water changes. Plenty of posts here already dealing with that topic.

Plants look nice (and I have plenty in with my fish) but your discus will be more comfortable with some good pieces of driftwood to provide hiding places. It is easier to clean a tank with driftwood rather than gravel and plants. There are also some plants you can attach to your driftwood which look okay if you really want greenery.

I am not convinced that a $20 halogen from Bunnings would work well on a discus tank. These lights generate a lot of heat and I feel that you would end up with "layered" temperature at various depths.

Discus are probably the most expensive commonly kept fish, if you try to do things on the cheap they probably will not like it and you will be chasing your tail trying to fix cheap things to look after your expensive fish. Not recommended.

Regards,

Bob

[swampy1972]

Having owned a 2ft cube for some time, although they have great volume for their size, as Merrilyn says, there isn't the physical ability for one fish to evade another.

I had a pair of Apisto's in mine, and when they began spawning her '2ft territory' took up the entire tank. The smae will happen with your Discus when/if one begins to get bullied - it will simply have no where to go.

Halogens are no good for planted tanks as BB stated, and if you want to stay true to the species found with Discus naturally then you don't need high light.

Anubius, Swords, Crypts etc (google "Discus plants) are all low light, low demand plants. So for a tank that size you could get away with 2-4 tube T5 fitting and no Co2

[discus4me]

Hey guys

Thanks for al the great information.

So if I went with 2x3-4" discus and an assortment of tetras, everything would be ok?

I'll use t5's if that's what you all recommend, and ill get some nice
Pieces of driftwood and Anubius and some other small things to fill it up.

I will do weekly water changes and if needed could probably squeeze in another small one.

Am I on the right track here?

Ben

[Merrilyn]

I'd go for three or four juveniles. Two is not a good number because of the potential bullying, unless they are a mated pair.

[Nev]

2 x 2 is a good breeding tank.
But they won't like it forever. I'd go for 5 juvenile fish and your tetras. But with the aim of ending up with just the one pair. If they do spawn expect lots of bent tetras.