Help On Discus Fish~

[pakpak]

Hey , i am new to Discus .. started my 2ft by 1.5ft tank of discus last year december. I have a air pump and a power head filter ( comes with the tank ) .. my tank has 7 discus. Not sure the species. Currently .. i have 2 driftwoods in my tank. I only put filter pads on my bio-mechanical filter. Can anyone tell me how to improve the filter of my tank? ..

Have not added any media to filter , only the pads. Water gets yellow easily and have to change between 2-3 days . I have no water heater in the tank .
Is it advisable to go for one or is it ok jus to leave it as it is??? Thanks

[Toshika]

may i check how big are they and what bred are they?local or wild discus?because if for wild discus, they require lower ph while local ones are ok with ph6.5-7.5. this will help determine what media to put inside.their sizes depend if your tank bioload is too high too.:>

[pakpak]

2 blue diamonds , 1 yellow mellon , 2 of them i dono the species .. ( but it has 12 stress stripes ) the fins are red in colour while body is brownish. one more is a snakeskin.and another is blue in colour but with red stripes. All are juvenile discus , about 2 -3 inches long. Pardon me if i dono the species .. i am new . Sorry.

Have not added any ceramics to it , or any O rings .

[pakpak]

also .. all are local discus

[khtee]

You can invest in another external filter running concurrently with your existing one.

[pakpak]

oh its ok . My uncle decided to give me a 3ft tank next week . Plus a very good filter . i have seven discus . Is it ok to add more if i have a 3ft tank? .. If yes , how many more can be added to make sure they have sufficient room for growing?

[khtee]

IMO, 3ft tank the most can host 5-7 discus as adult discus is really big. Those that you see in LFS is usually only half the size of the adult.

[barmby]

pakpak,

local juvenile discus love to have 4 meals a day, and water change (WC) every day. change 25% of H20 in each WC. Also, must use anti Chlorine and anti chloramines solutions. As they grow, you must segregate them. Preferably the smaller ones be housed in another separate tank to stop the bigger Discus from taking the food of the smaller ones.

They will grow nicely if you follow the steps above

[Toshika]

Hi, since they are local discus, you will most probably have a clean tank base and ph required is not low. so during water change with tap water, remember to put in anti-chlorine like what bro barmby have said. then your filter will be fine with just wool of different coarse type (with the least coarse ones on top to the most coarse ones below), can add in activated carbon too to remove all toxic stuff in the water.however some people did say that adding this will cause discus to have holes in their heads.this i not so sure.as mine is a planted tank , i dont use this. i just add wool on top, bio rings, biohomme into my external cannister filter.hope it helps.

[pakpak]

oh ok . i will follow these steps. Going to get 3ft next week . Btw , my bigger discus and smaller discus have no problems with food. All are eating well and growing healthy ..

Should i invest in a water heater? , i head this helps the discus to grow much faster .

[Toshika]

heater?i think not necessary unless they are sick.just stick to regular 3days 1 time water change for your type of tank setup will do.

[barmby]

Adding heater is another school of theory. Higher temperature induce spawning.

And the fishes get hungrier by adding heater, which allows you to feed more in order to get fast growth. Heated discus tank will also result in less dissolved oxygen and poorer water quality if you don't change water often. Discus will poo more as you increase feeding.

Also, be mindful with use of heater as fluctuating temperature can happen during interval between water change. As a result, fungus will attack the discus because fish become stress as temperature fluctuate.

As can be seen, adding a heater can promote growth and induce spawning, but you create a different set of problems.

[pakpak]

oh ok thanks to all who replied to this thread and helping me out along the way. I guess i'll stick to a no heater tank and maybe introduce another external cannister filter to my tank.

Thanks to all ... Cheers

[trident]

you mentioned that the water is turning yellow.
What are you feeding them? Pellets?

[pakpak]

eh no .. the cubed frozen blood worms . 4 cubes a day.

[pakpak]

4X cube
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Supper

[trident]

the stain is from the frozen blood worm's.
you feed them 4 times daily, water will get dirty quick fast.
just change the water to get rid of the stain.
or you can feed them less, that way water will foul up slower.

[pakpak]

oh . Its ok .. now i have 11 discus in a 3 Feet tanks already .
They just settled down ... but still all crowding to one side ... i think they still a bit unfamiliar to the tank .

Now got a very good filter already .. so i think also i'll feed them less

But if i feed them less ... they like very fast finish as if they not enough ....

[barmby]

Avoid reflection. Turn on small light or dim light during non light hours. Cover sides x 2 and back of fish tank. They do better

[pakpak]

wow ok .. thanks . i just bought tetras inside to make the tank look more lively .

barmby, ur zebra-striped sucker fish is nice , where u bought them?