How many discus in a 75 gal?

[Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics]

Hello everyone,

I am hoping to restock my 75 gallon with discus and possibly Cardinal / Emperor tetras. The layout I am hoping to do is moderately planted with decent cover. I have a ph of 7-7.5, 0 nitrates and nitrites, kh of 80 and gh of 60. Would this work? Thanks in advance!

[FrozenFins]

1 hour ago, Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics said:

Hello everyone,

I am hoping to restock my 75 gallon with discus and possibly Cardinal / Emperor tetras. The layout I am hoping to do is moderately planted with decent cover. I have a ph of 7-7.5, 0 nitrates and nitrites, kh of 80 and gh of 60. Would this work? Thanks in advance!

the PH is a little high for discus, discus like it at 6-7. as far as how many I would do 6 discus.

[Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics]

Thanks! I am planning to invest in a reverse osmosis filter for the high ph.

[Paul]

Your water is pretty close to neutral you’ll be fine. If you want to reduce the pH a little more put some drift wood in. You can put 5-6 Discus in a 75 depending on size.

[Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics]

When you put driftwood in your aquarium, how do you prevent the Tanis from making your aquarium water into tea?

[Paul]

13 hours ago, Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics said:

When you put driftwood in your aquarium, how do you prevent the Tanis from making your aquarium water into tea?

Soak it for a few days then change the water and repeat. That should take care of most of the tannins. Once in the tank water changes will take care of the rest. Just remember Discus come from water loaded with tannins so they won't complain about the water being a little tea colored.

[Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics]

Thanks everyone! I am going to order 6 later today! I'll fill you in on the results.

Edited November 12, 2020 by Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics

[varanidguy]

Just be sure to get high quality, tank raised discus. They are actually quite hardy if you get fish from the right source, even able to breed in alkaline water.

 

Tank maintenance is top priority with discus as well as keeping them really toasty. They do not like a dirty tank.

Edited November 12, 2020 by varanidguy

[Daniel]

11 hours ago, Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics said:

Thanks everyone! I am going to order 6 later today! I'll fill you in on the results.

I had the best luck with nickel size or smaller discus when starting with discus.

[Andy's Fish Den]

I wouldn't worry about the pH of your water if you are getting some quality tank raised discus. The only time when I kept discus that I worried about messing with the pH was when I first got in my wild caught ones and when I was wanting to spawn them and the domestics I had. Otherwise, they lived in my normal tap water, which had a pH of 7.2-7.6. In a 75 gallon, you could keep a nice group of 6 comfortably.

Good luck and be sure to post some pictures when you get them in.

[Paul]

11 hours ago, Daniel said:

I had the best luck with nickel size or smaller discus when starting with discus.

@DanielI don’t know of any of the better Discus distributors selling smaller than  2.5” fish. Anything that small would probably come from a local breeder. 

Edited November 12, 2020 by Paul

[Daniel]

5 minutes ago, Paul said:

@DanielI don’t know of any of the better Discus distributors selling smaller than  2.5” fish. Anything that small would probably come from a local breeder. 

I purchased some nickel sized discus in July on Aquabid. They are 6 inches now.

[Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics]

I ended up deciding to slow down and do my hardscape first. I bought a 3d background and driftwood yesterday. Hardscape first, buy fertilizer second, buy plants third, then discus! Thanks for all of the information. 

[Daniel]

@Patrick M. Bodega AquaticsHow are the discus doing?

[Fish Folk]

We keep discus in pH around 7.8. They’re happy. 55 gal, 2x large sponge filters, extra air for circulation. Water changes 50% 1x per week. They like it hot. Ours are happiest around 87-degrees F. At that high temperature, you’ll want to watch out for plants “melting.” For breeding, pH needs to be low. Having soft water is preferable. We do buy ours pretty small and let them grow and adjust to our water. 

[Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics]

4 hours ago, Daniel said:

@Patrick M. Bodega AquaticsHow are the discus doing?

I ended up loosing the last one recently. Due to my slow reaction to the parasites, it was too advanced for the meds to make a difference. At least now I know what to do next time. What about you?

[Daniel]

On 12/1/2020 at 11:07 AM, Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics said:

I ended up loosing the last one recently. Due to my slow reaction to the parasites, it was too advanced for the meds to make a difference. At least now I know what to do next time. What about you?

@Patrick M. Bodega AquaticsMine are preparing to breed, or at least they are beginning to pair up. I am sorry for the trouble you had with your last batch, but I thought you had ordered some new one for the 75 gallon?