My first discus tank

[Sicj]

Heys guys, well i am new to the discus hobby but have kept and bred many cichlids before. I now only have 1 tank but i used to have 40 :shock: . I have just set up a tank it is a 3 ft std tank with 2 corner filters and gravel would this be ok for some discus my ph is between 6.3 to 6.9 . How many discus can i keep in this tank and is there any other things i should know. I am scared that when i put the fish in they will die cause of how many bad things i have heard with discus getting diseases and all sorts of stuff so any info will really help me out. I live in sydney and i am thinking of going to the discus club for a look any opinions? Sorry about how long this question is :oops:

[Proteus]

First of all... Welcome to DF.com, glad you could stop by...

Most of the mis-information you hear about Discus is exactly that... Dis-information. They are no harder than most fish to keep, just your maintenance regime needs to be adapted to ensure they are happy and healthy.

I would suggest you visit the team down at SLS and have a chat, have a look at the fish and go from there.

I would be thinking 4 Discus, but personally I prefer keeping Discus in groups of 6 or more...

HTH

[flukes]

And you could also join the ADA seeing though your lucky enough too live in sydney, you's get it all SLS and ADA.

[kevkoi]

By all means, join up and support the Australian Discus Association.... there are lots of discus keepers there to talk to.

However, even among advanced discus keepers, there may be differing views as to what is the best way to propperly keep these magnificent fish. Take everything with a grain of salt....

Like Proteus says, discus are not as difficult as many make you believe they are.

Come down and have a look at the discus at Slippery Little Suckers
632, Anzac Pde
Kingsford, NSW 2032
ph: 93155288

We currently have over 300 discus in our little shop. U can judge the quality of our fish for yourself....

kev

[flukes]

Know what you mean about too many experts but he was looking for a discus club and ADA would have to be the biggest in AU.

[Sicj]

Thanx for all your help guys :) are the filters in my tank ok or do i need a better filter system
They are 2 very large corner filters
Also is my ph ok it is between 6.3and 6.9
Are there any other kinds of things i have to check in my water

[kevkoi]

What's a "corner filter"? It's it one of those Powerfilters with some spongy material below it?

Or are we talking corner air driven filters?

Either way, I'd suggest you upgrade your filter to either a large hang on the back (one that is rated at least twice the size!), or for best results go for a good canister filter.

I find the powerfilters create a bit too much water turbulance, and discus don't like that.

Airfilters; well, I'd suggest Sponge filters, but that will also mean you will need to do more maintenance if you will only be running them.

Either way, u must keep the water parameters pristine.... either by the use of a good biological filter, or thru regular water changes as u will need to feed your discus a very high protein diet which will add to the pollution.

Discus need to be well fed.... Runty, skinny discus look TERRIBLE!

your pH is fine... although, once u put in discus and start feeding them, u will need to monitor the pH often at least for the first month to see what sort of fluctuations u will get with the fish and the bioload the fish and food will produce.

U will also need to be testing for Amonia and Nitrite (Note: it is NitrIte and not NitrAte u must test for.... u'd be amazed how many ppl mix them up. One is TOXIC, the other is plant fertiliser.) in the water. Both these are toxic to your discus. Ideally, if your filters are prepped and good enough to handle the fish load, amonia and nitrite should ALWAYS register "O" on the test.

[fishpimp]

welcome to df.com sicj.
if u have the cash and time, save for a cannister filter, the added bio media area will handle the bio load better and as mentioned by kev discus are healthy eaters. will help to keep ammonia and nitrite under control not to mention ph.
a pitfall with the air driven filters is you don't actually know how much water is actually passing thru the medium. i do like them though.