# How many Discus and SA invertebrates?



## DamascSt (Sep 1, 2011)

So we currently have a 55 gallon tank with the following SA fish: 11 Neon Tetras, 2 Cardinal Tetras, and 4 Rummy Noses that all school together, 3 German Blue Rams (possibly 1 German Blue and 2 Electric Blue), and 1 Bristlenose Plecos. I want to add Discus to the tank, I was thinking of adding about 3, but I'm not sure if our tank has the space for even that many, or if I might be able to add up to 5.

Right now we have a giant piece of driftwood in the middle of our tank, which we're thinking of swapping out for several smaller pieces at some point. Would that be advisable before we get the discus so we have more swimming room?

Also, are there any SA invertebrates (snails, shrimp, crabs, etc.) that we could add?

Any other suggestions are welcome!


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

Snails, probably; shrimps, maybe; discus? Sure if you want them to suffer :lol: 
Seriously though, WAY too small for discus IMHO. They like to be in a school of 5+, and for that you really want a 5-6 foot tank, or at least a 4 foot tank with a lot more height and depth.


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## Raylans_girl (Aug 11, 2011)

Too many other fish in there for discus, not to mention the tank is a little small. If you were going to put discus in a 55 they should really be the only fish in the tank, in a group of at least 4 or 5 with big weekly water changes....and even then I would suggest a bigger tank.

Reason being is that they require high temps which many other fish won't tolerate, they are sensitive to water quality and they need to be kept in groups to spread out the bickering.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

3 or 4 Discus hardly ever works. 3 pick on 1 till there are only 3... then 2 begin on 1


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## Turtlemaxxx (Jul 13, 2007)

I would agree with the 5+ discus and suggest getting a 75 or 90 gallon tank, same 4' wall space used as a 55.

-matt


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

rule of thumb is 10g per discus and taller is better than longer


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## Raylans_girl (Aug 11, 2011)

^ well if you put it that way I could put one in my 10 gallon....


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

I suppose you can since a 20g can house a mated pairpair


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

jd lover said:


> I suppose you can since a 20g can house a mated pairpair


Not really... yes, I have seen a breeding pair in a 20g with nothing but a cone in with them. I could house many a fish like that in tiny tanks but the fish merely exists. You don't see normal behaviour


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

Actually if you ask experienced discus keeper they will tell you a 20g is good for a mated pair and they will recomend atleast 10g a discus

Infact if you Google discus care most reputable website will say The same


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

jd lover said:


> Actually if you ask experienced discus keeper they will tell you a 20g is good for a mated pair and they will recomend atleast 10g a discus
> 
> Infact if you Google discus care most reputable website will say The same


I AM an experienced Discus keeper, as are friends and as I said, I've seen this done and it is NOT 'good' for a mated pair. By taking away all that the fish can do but spawn, well... they spawn. It is also useful for making sure the fry are well fed by their parents slime coat, supplemental feeding and the bare bottom makes cleaning a snap.

This of it as very utilitarian.

Back when I had Discus, they spawned in a community tank but eggs never made it to hatching. The advice I got from the pros was sound... pull them out into a 29g tank with nothing but a bubble filter and breeding cone to hatch the eggs and rear fry. I declined... I already had countless tanks just like that with apistos and wasn't interested in yet one more breeding tank.


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

then you should realize That the recommended min is 10g per discus and the reason for a 20g for a mated pair is that they wont fight. 20g sounds small but if you would put 2 CD in that tank it'll have room to swim and full grown discus is roughly the size of al CD [/u]


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

mated pairs do not "fight"... and a 20g was tiny seeing the Discus whose BODY ALONE was the size of a CD in there was pathetic.

As for the 10g per Discus minimum, that's a load of ****... the bare minimum tank size for young Discus to be grown out in is often said to be 6 or 7 in a 55g tank, 75g being better. Even better is a nice 5ft 100g tank and growing out a good dozen. Bare bottom is best of course as Discus love their water to be pristine.

12 Discus in a 100g tank works out to be 8.33g per each Discus.

7 Discus in a 55g would 7.85g per Discus...

3 Discus in a 40g breeder is more than 10g per Discus... yet it's a very bad recommendation.

See how 
rules of thumb" break down quickly as soon as they hit reality?


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

But as you state those that are less than 10g per discus are only grow out not full grown. Ad ad I stated 10g per discus having taller is better than longer.

Like I said a few post back do a quick Google search and most site will recommend 10g per discus in fact if you go to aquatic community's forum under the discus section experience keepers will tell you the same thing I'm trying to explain.


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## allierw (Apr 20, 2006)

What about considering angels instead? That might be a good alternative to discus.

As for invertebrates, you might be able to add large snails, like apple or mystery snails. Shrimp will definitely be eaten.


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

10 gallon per discus or not, a 55 is STILL too small for discus to live in happily, end of story. And yes you can put a pair of discus in a 20, but would they be happy? probably not.


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

*facepalm* instead of arguing if you guys would do a quick search you'll see MULTIPLE website saying the same thing I am. **** if you go to monsterfishkeeper they have a stick with the EXACT same information I'm saying.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

jd lover said:


> *facepalm* instead of arguing if you guys would do a quick search you'll see MULTIPLE website saying the same thing I am. #%$& if you go to monsterfishkeeper they have a stick with the EXACT same information I'm saying.


You don't get it do you... a general rule of thumb is called that because it is known to be wildly inaccurate! Thumbs as an estimating device is about as useful as... well... I can find many websites full of FALSE information. Posted on the web means posted on the web. Monsterfishkeepers is monsterfishkeepers... last time I checked, Discus are not monster fish, but hey... what do I know. :roll:

If you want to give in to the logical fallacy of appeal to authority, at least select an authority on the subject at hand. Simply Discus would do.

E.g. 
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthrea ... iscus-tank

Carol talks about a bare bottom 55g tank being a great grow out tank and mentions that 5 or 6 Adult Discus can live in a bare bottom 55g tank. She has a ton of info in that thread worth reading... now that's at least an authority you could appeal to, NOT "google it and see tons of rubbish".


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

Instead of arguing with me try reading the article yourself I was on that link for literally 30 second and i already saw She said a 55 will house 5-6 full grown discus

So once again try researching instead.of arguing with me


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

I am now looking around my office for the hidden cameras... as this has to be a joke. :lol:

Ignoring the rubbish, *DamascSt*, sorry but the answer is no... Discus are not really a good option for your 55g tank. As mentioned above, have you considered Angelfish?


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

Honestly I question if you have ever even kept discus. If its such rubbish why does all Tue experienced discus keeper recommends 10g per discus with height more important than length. And also you own link said a 55can house 5-6 discus. Is that not 10g per discus? And also if it was really inaccurate as you claim why do all reputable website say THE EXACT SAME thing?


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## phishNfilly (May 22, 2011)

Hello Guys,

I am not new to fish keeping but would be new to Discus if I venture into this. I have read the above posts and still will ask my questions so please don't slap me  I have a 46 bowfront aquarium ( be kind ) that I have always wanted to have just a pair of Discus. I don't want to breed them I just want a pair period. I see you recommend 3-5 discus, now is this a rule laid in stone? Is it impossible to have just a pair in a 46 bowfront? I really don't want 3-5 starting off with these fish. Also is there such a thing as a "starter discus "? I dont want a fancy high priced Discus, I just want something pretty to look at and possibly photograph well, I am not out to win awards but don't want a crappy fish either  . Also, price of Discus, how much money are we talking here per Discus for say just a nice looking fish but not a "OMG I am re-mortgaging my house Discus"? If I am successful with a few discus then possibly I might consider a 75 and 3-5 Discus, or should I just let the idea go of having a few of these simply gorgeous disc shapped fish  ! I am going to go to a LFS tomorrow and I will talk to the owner who has some beauties up there, I just don't want to go with no information at all under my belt. They want to sell fish and it's understandable but I need to do some homework so I don't get blindsided. Thanks for listening. Julia :?


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

A pair of discus can work in a 46 yes. BUT, it HAS to be a true pair, otherwise they might bicker and fight, and that may not end well. Of course, if they ARE a true pair, they'll probably end up breeding anyways. As for price, most of my discus over here cost between 50 and 100 dollars each for a 3-4 inch individual. True mated pairs usually cost quite a bit more though. Honestly though, discus a nor forgiving fish; they won't tolerate mistakes very well. If you really want to start a discus tank, I'd say get as big of a tank as you can that is at least 4 feet and 75 gallons, then find a reputable dealer or breeder who has healthy discus for a fair price, and obtain 6 or more juveniles and start from there. And there isn't really a starter discus, since they're all colour morphs of the same fish (symphysodon equifasciatus).

PS: next time, start your own thread. You'll probably get more responses, and you won't be hijacking someone else's thread.


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

Since you already hijack I might aswell answer. How big is you bow front from front to back as that's important. A pair will work if they have room to in the tank and if its a proven pair they WILL breed. If not one will most likely die. A pair of discus are gonna run you anywhere from 2x the price of one on you're area up to 5x+. Depending on the quality


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## phishNfilly (May 22, 2011)

I didn't realize I was hijacking, I just thought it was open discussion on discus. Forgive me.  
Thanks for the information, I will take it all into consideration if and when I do decide for sure what to do with this tank size problem. Thanks and sorry for the hijack. Julia


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

*phishNfilly*
3 to 5 Discus is actually the number of Discus that is not recommendable. They usually kill each other off at those numbers.

You might also want to see if you can find a Discus with the personality that would be fine on its own. A single Discus in a 46g bowfront could be a very fun setup. I have pAid as little as 10 dollars from a lfs for Discus and as much as 30. Shop around....


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## phishNfilly (May 22, 2011)

Number thanks for the shot in the arm. I am off to go see some discus today just to see what I have out there. I will start my own thread after this post. Julie


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