Tank decision

[Stephen Zawacki]

Hi y’all I’m in college and have a 40 breeder with four discus and 3 panda  garas the dimensions are 36 wide x 15 long and 16 high.  Now would I be better off going with a 60 gallon tank the dimensions are 48 wide x 12 deep x 25 high. Would I be better with that any incite is great.

[Dawn T]

Though the extra length and height would be great to show off discus, I'm not sure the 12" deep will be enough for full-grown discus to be able to move freely. Seems like most folks I know with discus get tanks that are like 18" or more deep, with the nice height and length, too. Hopefully someone more up on discus will pipe in and offer some guidance.

[Stephen Zawacki]

Ok what about a 75 gallon ?

[Dawn T]

A 75 would be phenomenal if it's the standard size - 48x18x21. Would be gorgeous all laid out with discus in it. 🙂

[Stephen Zawacki]

Now I do have a question how would 6 in deeper make it a better option I know more gallons are better but would 6 in make a difference and I would be getting 20 more gallons. Sorry for all the questions?

[Schwack]

I think it's about taking into account the actual depth you'll get on a tank that's 12" deep. Assuming 2-3" of substrate and 1" or so of buffer at the top and you're left with a tank that only has ~9" of vertical space. A large, fully grown discus hitting the 6-8" inch mark wouldn't be left with much room to maneuver. 

[Stephen Zawacki]

Oh I was not meaning the depth I was meaning it is 12 inches front to back. 48 long and 25 high. Would 12 in deep be enough?

[Schwack]

17 minutes ago, Stephen Zawacki said:

Oh I was not meaning the depth I was meaning it is 12 inches front to back. 48 long and 25 high. Would 12 in deep be enough?

Derp, that makes more sense. That still seems a bit narrow once you've put in plants and hardscape etc, but I've never kept discus so I'd hate to answer authoritatively. Based on what I know about their size, the 75 suggested by @Dawn T seems like the ideal candidate. Going small and then sizing up is a pain in the butt, in my opinion. Unless there are space constraints, I'd shoot for the 75 since it should last the life of the fish.

[Daniel]

On 4/6/2021 at 7:12 PM, Stephen Zawacki said:

I had two large discus that I got that were constantly fighting. I returned them and got 4 babies of the same species. I have a 40 breeder heavy planted could 4 babies and 3 panda garas work for 2 years to 3 max.  My goal is to get a breeding pair and take the others back or could I keep all four and the pandas. I'm In college so 40 b is the max till I'm out water perameters are perfect also.  I will be taking the drift wood out and put in rocks for more space. And info is great thx. Could anyone give any incite that would be great thankyou. 

Probably more important than tank size is water quality. Do you test water quality? And if so, what are the results?