Can I house Discus in my 140?

theCarl has Discus with Angels, and some of the other fish I house. I've read Discus are sensitive  and can be difficult to house. All my current stock are dwarf cichlids, a bunch of small tetra, 2 adult angels, Cory cats, and a bunch of algae eaters, snails and stuff.

Current water parameters. PH 6.8, temp 78, 0 nitrates, haven't checked GH/KH in a while but was optimum for dwarf cichlids last time I checked. Weekly maintenance includes roughly 30% water change and pre filter rinse.

Seems Discus are plant friendly. Special plant needs in this tank are regular fertilizers and CO2 injection. Would any of these have a negative impact on Discus health?

So what special requirements do Discus need? What - if anything can I adjust/change in this ecosystem to keep Discus healthy?

I'd say the temp would be the biggest issue. Most discus prefer like 84-85 degrees.

Agree with Cory, you need to increase the temperature. I wouldn't recommend juveniles or babies, they need heavy feeding and masive water changes. Adults can compete for food with the angels.and they don't requirehigher temperatures. If you have babies or juveniles you can raise them in a 20-40 gal sterile tank first.
Discus is not a sensitivefish but they are a high maintenance fish.
If you use CO2 make sure you don't use it during the night. Actually I recommend to use an air pump all the time.

Okay, so do you guys think the high temp would be okay for all the other fish in my tank? Black neon's, glowlight tetra, emerald green corys, dwark pike, rams, mystery snails, otocinulas , simaese algae eaters?

Co2 is on a timer and off at night. I have good surface aeration, and an open trickle sump. Impossible to get high levels of CO2 saturation. Do you think an airpump is still necessary?

I've heard not a lot of plants enjoy temps that high though ... something to think about.

The pikes and rams could handle it, glowlights maybe ... the rest, less so.

I have SAE and cardinal tetras in my discus tank and they are OK at 82-84F.
I had a bad experience when I lost the aeration during the night that's why I recommend to make sure you have enough oxygen during the night. Also keep in mind that warm water is able to hold less oxygen than cold water.Your tank seems to have enough aeration but be prepare to add some extras just in case.
You may call it paranoia but I always run an airstone and a power head since I've lost some discus due to lack of oxygen.

Yeah, you would want to switch to high temp tetras ... cardinals, lemons, or rummynose.

Black neons come from much further south ... Mato Grasso region of Brazil and Bolivia, I wouldn't expect them to handle the temps well.

I would't worry to much for the planta. .A lot of plants can be grown in a discus tank.Most of Echinodorus, Crypts,, Blyxa, Mayaca, Myriophillum, Eichornia, many Hygrophila, Rotala, Ludwigia, Pogostemob erectus to name some of the plants that I've grown in my discus tank.

Discus do not have to be keep at 84-86. If you are not planning to breed then 79-80 works fine. Clean water is more important. Your 30% once a week could be bumped To twice a week and maybe going to 50% would be even better. A good UV would also Be a good investment.

zach_discus wrote:Discus do not have to be keep at 84-86. If you are not planning to breed then 79-80 works fine. Clean water is more important. Your 30% once a week could be bumped To twice a week and maybe going to 50% would be even better. A good UV would also Be a good investment.

I could do that! Got a auto water change system hooked right up to the tank, piece of cake :)and I do not plant on breeding. Your temp suggestion would only be a 1-2 degree increase.


Lots of good info here. In order for me to seriously contemplate this the parameter changes couldn't adversely effect current residents or plants. I've been working really hard the last few weeks re-aquascaping using more sinsivive not so common plants so I would hate for these plants to die off or get beat up on.

flo77 wrote:I have SAE and cardinal tetras in my discus tank and they are OK at 82-84F.
I had a bad experience when I lost the aeration during the night that's why I recommend to make sure you have enough oxygen during the night. Also keep in mind that warm water is able to hold less oxygen than cold water.Your tank seems to have enough aeration but be prepare to add some extras just in case.
You may call it paranoia but I always run an airstone and a power head since I've lost some discus due to lack of oxygen.

I'll definitely keep this in mind and have no problem plumping an airstone.

I found that 82-84F is a good compromise between discus and pkants requirements.
There are mixed fillings about using an UV sterilizer in a planted tank especially if someone is using chelated iron and microelements.

flo77 wrote:I found that  82-84F is a good compromise between discus and pkants requirements.
There are mixed fillings about using an UV sterilizer in a planted tank especially if someone is using chelated iron and microelements.

Oh geez, I just did some reading on this and would explain some issues I have dosing iron solids in one of my planted tanks. Learn something new everyday. This one is a BIG lesson. Gotta do some more research on this subject. I appreciate this input Flow77.

Check out my buddy Brian's Discus tanks.  Feel free to pick his brain, tell him I sent you.  
Here is his youtube link:  
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Nice Madness, thanks!!

The other thing I would think about would be if you raise the temp is it going to trigger egg laying by your angels because that could be a big problem for all the tank mates.

discus_2013 wrote:The other thing I would think about would be if you raise the temp is it going to trigger egg laying by your angels because that could be a big problem for all the tank mates.

I am not sure of the sex of my Angels. But I have not gotten anything to breed in my 140. I've tried. But, sure....Murphy's law right? I would think the 30 or so tetra would pick eggs off real quick. I would defiantly watch out for this though...

All great advice   

I've been keeping discus for 15+ years. In my experience:

They will live in 80-82°F water, but they are generally not very happy at those temperatures. I've found that they really perk up if you have the temp running at least 86°F.  My 75 gallon is normally kept between 86 - 93°F, I've had it at 90°F for several months now because I have a couple of little discus still. They don't grow well in very acidic water I've learned. PH is probably best kept between 6.6-6.8, especially if you have small discus.  I've gotten mine to eat flake food and other normal foods but they really do best on either frozen blood worms or live black worms. I've had some success feeding them freeze dried brine shrimp too. I heard from a local breeder that beef heart is best, but I'm not into making my own fish food right now.  Angels are great tank mates because they bring the Discus out of hiding a lot better I've found, otherwise they get kind of shy and don't have as strong of an appetite. <-- Another trick I learned from a breeder.  Another advantage of a 86°F tank? You'll never get Ick.

I've also found that it really depends on who you get the Discus from. Some places they look good and healthy but then they go on a hunger strike a month later and waste away on me. Two places I've gotten discus at that do not have that problem was Maser's Grooming and Pet Botique in Kenmore on Hwy 522 and 65th Ave. The other place I've had good luck with is Aquarium Co-Op, which is hands down, my favorite and first place to go now for fish related stuff.

Currently with the tank at 90°F I have the following fish and they are doing very well, vigorous eaters:

18 Glow light tetras
16 Golden tetras
8 Gold tetras
6 Discus (2 small 1-2.5" in size)
4 Clown Loaches - I might be looking at re-homing these guys soon.
1 Candy Stripped Pleco
6 Siamese Algae eaters
4 Rosy Barbs - I might be looking to re-home these guys as well soon.

It's a little heavily populated *ahem* but I also have a lot of plants to help counter that and double the filtration capacity than what is normally recommended for a 75 gallon.  50% water changes once a week.  Discus love drift wood so I have that in there, I've also added Texas holy rock to help buffer the PH.  I'm only having some problems with Vail and java ferns in that tank right now, could be the temperature but I also do not run CO2 or air. I've started using Flourish to see if it helps perk up the not to happy plants. I also have a 7 watt UV filter on the tank, not really sure if it's necessary though.

-
Carl

Great info theCarl. Thanks!!

I was away from home when I was replying to this post.
When I return home I've found a big mess in my discus tank. The water was so green that I couldn't see the fish. and the plants were growing like crazy, the tank is a real jungle. So I had to stop the dosage of microelements and I've started the UV(I have a canister filter with UV ). After two days, a water change and canister clean-up the water was clear again. But the tank is still a mess will require a time consuming trimming. Here is a cell phone picture:
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fishNAbowl wrote:

flo77 wrote:I have SAE and cardinal tetras in my discus tank and they are OK at 82-84F.
I had a bad experience when I lost the aeration during the night that's why I recommend to make sure you have enough oxygen during the night. Also keep in mind that warm water is able to hold less oxygen than cold water.Your tank seems to have enough aeration but be prepare to add some extras just in case.
You may call it paranoia but I always run an airstone and a power head since I've lost some discus due to lack of oxygen.

I'll definitely keep this in mind and have no problem plumping an airstone.

I'm new to the plants but all my readings seem to indicate that you don't want airstones in your high tech CO2 planted tanks as the airstones will "gas off" the CO2 and diminish its effectiveness? Adding extra aeration (like airstone(s)) could be counter productive to meeting the needs of those "special" plants that need the higher CO2. Just wondering if that could be an issue for you also?

Neat looking fish Flo77. Your fish may have gotten spooked or something causing them to tear through your plants?

cichlid-gal wrote:

fishNAbowl wrote:

flo77 wrote:I have SAE and cardinal tetras in my discus tank and they are OK at 82-84F.
I had a bad experience when I lost the aeration during the night that's why I recommend to make sure you have enough oxygen during the night. Also keep in mind that warm water is able to hold less oxygen than cold water.Your tank seems to have enough aeration but be prepare to add some extras just in case.
You may call it paranoia but I always run an airstone and a power head since I've lost some discus due to lack of oxygen.

I'll definitely keep this in mind and have no problem plumping an airstone.

I'm new to the plants but all my readings seem to indicate that you don't want airstones in your high tech CO2 planted tanks as the airstones will "gas off" the CO2 and diminish its effectiveness? Adding extra aeration (like airstone(s)) could be counter productive to meeting the needs of those "special" plants that need the higher CO2.   Just wondering if that could be an issue for you also?

This is a possibility. Surface aeration will cause CO2 to gas off into the atmosphere. I find there is a time when fish keeping and aquascaping become a fine balance. Trying to find an equilibrium between both requires research. Fish can thrash or eat plants, special requirements to keep a certain plant healthy may not be optimal for fish in an enclosed environment. Ultimately it's about the fish. So if a specialty plant has to suffer because I am unable to get it enough CO2 or any other supplement then I guess the plant will have to go. Lots of good info here, I appreciate the input.

pretty good info.
I do raise discus my pH is 6.8 and lower.  temp is 86..  especially for young discus.. discus in general are from low pH high oxygenated water.. they spawn in flood plains. their home pH is usually below 6.

young discus are best kept in a Bare bottom tank  temp 84-88  fed 3-4X daily with daily water changes.

discus are foragers and seek food continually thru the day.. you will often find them sifting the substrate and even blowing into the substrate to dislodge food

they often don't fare well in  planted tanks  especially  high tech..mostly due to Higher TDS that accumulates  from adding  ferts.
that said it is still often done with success.. but keep a watchful eye on them as they tend to show stress prety quickly

they also do well in fairly large shoals/schools as they are gregarious ...

they are also prone to Protozoan infestations(hexamita, naming one culprit) it is believed this is the  one that  causes the wasting  issues seen in some discus..this can be combated with meds like metro and prazi but  research is pointing to keeping high temps as the protozoa  have difficulty  completing their life cycles at temps above 86f.. wasting is more commonly seen in lower temp  tanks.

good luck and have fun

^ This guy.... Hey thanks! A fellow hobbiest has taken photos of his high tech tank woth Discus and I really like it. But I really want to learn as much as I can about the fish, care, and behavior before even attempting to house them.

Thanks a bunch!!

Looking around at planted stuff this morning I ran across this article Chad regarding Discus and planted tanks.  I'm sure there are lots of them but it seemed to have some really good info in it.  Just something to add to your knowledge bank if you haven't already seen it.

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Nice read Donna. I read it now a couple times :)trying to absorb any info on Discus. I've spent hundreds of dollars on new plant species this last few months so I am being very selective on what fish I put in these tanks. Right now many of the new plants are still very short and would like to grow them to the surface. Then perhaps I'll try Discus in the tank. This way the plants will be nice and established and Discus will have plenty of places to feel safe hiding in the background plants.

My sons gold fish have eaten all my Downi and other dwarf ground covers in the 140. So I moved the goldfish into my 9.5. I swear this was a good move because I think the Goldie is eating the string algae the tank is plagued with. LOL

I've read about goldfish and "soft" plants and that they can be real salad eaters. Glad you liked the link.