SZ Discus and Aquariums

[Daniel]

6 minutes ago, Stephen Zawacki said:

Well I can tell you this I test my water every two weeks and do weekly water changes. My local family fish store that sold me the discus said that thye only sell the discus to people that take care of their fish and have good quality of water they did all the tests and every test in the master api kit that I used and they used are perfect parameters for the discus. I take very great care of my animals all I was wondering was if I got the 60 gallon, and that would give them more space. Since the 40 breeder is deeper, and tbe 60 is 12 deep but 25 tall would the tall be better rather than depth. 

Sounds like you are good to go then!

[Stephen Zawacki]

Ok thank you for answering but my one question that was not answered was about the dimensions and if they are good for discus. The dimensions are 48 long 12 deep and 25 high. So they would have more vertical swimming versus the 40  breeder they are in. Any incite on this would be great.

[Brandy]

Hi @Stephen Zawacki.  So let me get this totally clear...you want to know if discus can be kept in a 40 breeder or if a 60 gallon tank is better...is that right?

The answer is simple. YES.

YES, they can be kept in a 40 breeder. YES, 60 gallons is better. 

No, the 40 breeder is not overstocked. But yes, bigger is always better. 

As @Daniel says, the fish need high quality water and food more than they need space, but if you want to buy a 60 gallon, please do. Given your level of experience and confidence, I highly reccomend that you DO buy a 60 gallon. It will be easier to maintain good water quality in a larger volume, and it will be more likely that the fish will not fall ill when you are out of state. 

[Stephen Zawacki]

Ok thanyou for answering the question. 

 

 

[anewbie]

I would consider a 50B - which is the same dimension as a 40B but 19 inch tall instead of 16.... The specific reason for this suggestion is that a tank with more width has advantages - alternative there is a 75 which is 48 x 18 x 21 (l,w,h). A tank with 12 inch width is (imho) a bit confining esp when they get older.

Edited April 14, 2021 by anewbie

[Stephen Zawacki]

Hey yall these are my four baby discus I was wondering if anyone knew what type they were I think they are royal purples but are probably wrong. Any incite would be great.

[KBOzzie59]

Possibly royal purple but I'm not prepared to start a riot.

[Stephen Zawacki]

Well I will take any answer I'm having a hard time deciphering them.

[Stephen Zawacki]

Hi I have a question I have a 40 breeder with 4 discus and 3 panda garas. If I upgrade to this 65 gallon could the 4 discus and panda garas get to full growth in the 65, and have plenty of room when full grown.  And live in the 65 for their whole life.

[Daniel]

The X factor with discus is that discus can be very political amongst themselves. There will always be a pecking order. Right now I have a pair of discus that are confining 8 other discus to 1/2 of the aquarium. The pair has established a territory in the middle of the tank and are guarding eggs. None of the other discus are allowed to cross to the other side. I am not sure happy is a word that would apply to these discus right now even though the aquarium is 500 gallons.

[Stephen Zawacki]

Well my two questions the picture with the dimensions above are those good dimensions for discus. The other thing is once the four discus and panda garas are full grown could they their full adult life in a 65 gallon. And would that be overstocked when their all full grown I don't think so but would like these questions answered. Thankyou 

[gardenman]

A 30" wide tank doesn't really give them a lot of room to get away from one another.  I'd be more inclined to go with a conventional 75 gallon tank (48" long.) Petsmart routinely has the full Marineland 75 gallon setup (tank stand, cover, light)  on sale for $299-$350. (It's at full price of $499 as I type this, but it's often on sale.) A 48" long tank can use more vision blockers here and there to give fish a place to get away from a more dominant fish. I'd be pretty comfortable with a few discus in a 75.

[KBOzzie59]

That tank is actually 51 physical gallons.  Not sure why they advertise it as a 65 gallon.  Seems like some deceptive marketing to me.

[Brandy]

1 hour ago, Daniel said:

The X factor with discus is that discus can be very political amongst themselves. There will always be a pecking order. Right now I have a pair of discus that are confining 8 other discus to 1/2 of the aquarium. The pair has established a territory in the middle of the tank and are guarding eggs. None of the other discus are allowed to cross to the other side. I am not sure happy is a word that would apply to these discus right now even though the aquarium is 500 gallons.

Wait let me get this straight-- @Daniel, you have 8 unhappy discus confined in a mere 250gallons? While the other pair control 250 gallons by themselves? Well there you go. Each discus clearly needs 125gallons to itself or it wont be happy! 😉 

In all seriousness, I broke out my google skilz to get a definitive answer. According to a major aquarium manufacturer (which I will not name as it is against forum rules):

Housing Requirements for Discus

Discus grow to be quite large and require an aquarium of 75 gallons or larger when full grown. Tall aquariums are best to accommodate their body shape. Water movement should be gentle, and décor should include large broadleaf plants and driftwood that is arranged vertically to simulate downed branches and trees.  A few floating plants can also be added to provide shaded areas and cover. Substrate should be sand or fine to medium grade, smooth-surfaced gravel as discus like to forage along the bottom for food.  

Hopefully this clarifies the situation for @Stephen Zawacki. Based on this assessment of discus requirements (by an aquarium manufacturer), a 65 gallon is not ideal for discus joy. 

However, since I don't trust manufacturers, I used my mad google skilz to find out what Cory thinks...tank size is covered at 4:21.

 

 

[gardenman]

Yeah, the 75 gallon tanks are pretty much the minimum way to go for a small school of discus. If you just have a bonded pair, a 40 breeder, or even a twenty high, can be adequate, but with more than a bonded pair, you need more space. Lots more space. He was looking at $439 for the 51 gallon tank, so when you can get a decent tank, stand, cover and light for $499 at full price and $299-$349 fairly often on sale, the 75 just makes more sense. Assuming he had room for the 75. 

[Stephen Zawacki]

Hi yall I'm getting a seapora 75 gallon for my discus. I have a question I have an aqueon 40 breeder, my question is does tbe glass scratch easily or is it the same as all other glass tank manufacturers? Any incite is great.

[quikv6]

Hey Stephen,

     I don't have very much insight to add, but I do own a Seapora 40 long, and it was my favorite looking tank. I also have a Marineland, Aqueon, and TopFin, but the Seapora always seemed to be a bit "cleaner" with greater attention to detail. From the black silicone to the frame and pane fitment, it just looked more professional.

I can't speak to the scratch resistance, though. Sorry.

Edited April 16, 2021 by quikv6

[Stephen Zawacki]

OK I have a few questions I am upgrading my tank from a 40 breeder to a 75 gallon long. I have 4 juvenile royal purples and 3 panda garas.  Is that overstocked I don't think so, also if I got 3 more pandas would that make it overstocked. Also I got a fluval fx4 filter and tips to using it I have a 207 but this is my first big boy canister filter. So all in all all I want to know is if I have 4 discus with 6 panda garas could they live their full life out in a 75gallon. I am 90 percent sure yes but want to make sure.  Thankyou for any info.

[lefty o]

i think you'll be okay with a couple more pandagarras. 4 full sized discus in a 75 will be about maxed out, but the pandagarra's stay small and use the bottom etc so a few of them wont be overdoing things imo.

[Stephen Zawacki]

Hi yall just upgraded my tank to a 75 gallon long and I have 4 royal purple discus and 3 panda garas once full grown can they live their full lives in there without the tank being overstocked. I don't think it will be but just checking. Thankyou

 

moved to new thread by mod.

[Daniel]

Once the discus pair up, they might happier if there was only 1 pair in the 75 gallon.

[Stephen Zawacki]

Ok so If I have 1 full grown pair and 6 panda garas that would not be overstocked correct ? 

[Brandy]

1 hour ago, Stephen Zawacki said:

Hi yall just upgraded my tank to a 75 gallon long and I have 4 royal purple discus and 3 panda garas once full grown can they live their full lives in there without the tank being overstocked. I don't think it will be but just checking. Thankyou

@Stephen Zawacki, I am going to add this to the other thread where you adressed this question about 6 minutes later today.  I would like to not make this confusing for everyone else--Please just keep one thread going per question, it helps keep us organized. If you need help understanding how to use the forum, finding your questions, etc, please reach out to me and I will happily try to answer any questions about how the forum works that you have. You can either reply to this, or message me personally by clicking my face icon to the left of this post.

[Stephen Zawacki]

 Hi brandy my question is could I keep 4 discus and 3 panda garas at full grown In a 75 gallon for life and be comfortable without overstocking or would I be better off getting one breeding pair and the three panda garas.

[Brandy]

Yes, I understand that question. I have seen several people give their answer to that question, but ultimately these are opinions. There are as many ways to keep fish as there are fishkeepers. Starting new threads all over the forum is not a solution--people will answer you more effectively if you stick to one thread, because they can see what other people have said and they can better understand what you want to know, and give you new ideas.

If I were doing this I would get a few young discus, wait for a pair to develop, and rehome the other fish, as sexing these fish is hard. So the answer I would give is that first I would have 4 young discus, but then I would only keep 2 adults if they became territorial. If that is not something you want to do, an option would be to buy an established breeding pair, but that may be much more expensive. Alternatively you could just start with 2 young discus, and if they end up not breeding you can just enjoy them and not worry about it at all. If you start with 4 young discus and they end up being all the same sex, they may not have trouble co-existing at all, and you can keep and enjoy all 4. You would just need to watch for signs of aggression. Hopefully this makes sense. 

If you have more questions about stocking a discus tank, why don't you just ask them on this thread? As I have said, it helps us stay more organized, and will get you better answers.
 

 Thanks!