I Need YOUR *Discus* Fish & Aquarium Advice!

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I Need YOUR Discus Fish & Aquarium Advice!

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Күн бұрын

Will converting my 90 gallon into a Discus tank work? Will the fish I need to move out of the 90 survive in their new tanks? Will they get along with the tank mates in the 210 gallon and will the Discus tank mates be compatible? This is truly one of those, "We all learn from each other!" moments and I need your advice and help. Tell me in the comments what you think about my plan as I move into what has been a very long term goal of mine to have a beautiful Discus Tank!
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Пікірлер: 58

@dillonpark7262 7 ай бұрын

Discus are very easily intimidated by most other breeds of fish. I recommend keeping the discus by themselves until they adjust and settle in. Then if you want to add other types of fish, try neons or cardinal tetras. I’ve always had the best results keeping discus by themselves.

@JimGuz56 7 ай бұрын

I have six discus with 40 rummy nose tetras, 15 cardinal tetras and eight sterbai cories in a 160 gallon tank with a 40 gallon sump. They all seem to be flourishing. I have watched tons of videos, and I’m on several discus forums, and I just haven’t seen acaras being mixed with discus so I wouldn’t go there. Just my opinion…

@arabs83 7 ай бұрын

Discus and tetras work great. These fish are a lot hardier than you think. I don't use any water treatment in any of my tanks and never have done. Have bred blue diamond discus on several occasions with no problems. I keep the same temperature about 82 and water changes at twenty percent once a week.

@TDSDevarowe 7 ай бұрын

Currently have a 75 gallon set up with 5 discus , 19 cardinal tetra , 1 bristle nose Pleco and 6 cory catfish. The tank is heavily planted with Amazon sword , cryptocoryne and Anubis do water change everyone to 1 to 2 weeks….. The tanks is thriving well over 8 months now….

@Whips_World 7 ай бұрын

I haven't tried to keep discus, but EBA have never proven to be overly aggressive for me personally, and the Albino's seem to have the same reputation. The only issue you might have is if the discus come in REAL small, there could be some nipping. I have 14 EBA being quarantined with 2 red hook silver dollars that are similarly shaped as discus, and they have been fine together. The larger cichlids could probably be moved over to the 210 without too much drama since none of the 90 gallon occupents are super aggressive. But, like I said in the live stream, you know as well as I do that the switch in their little cichlid heads could be flipped at any time and a backup plan will need to be implemented sooner rather than later.

@sebastianflores848 7 ай бұрын

Hi Ben, currently I have two Discus fish in a 55 gallon community tank with cardinals, corys, glow fish tetras, Bolivian rams and angelfish. Discus are actually really hardy and resilient fish if the set up is right. Since my tank is planted with amazon sword and anubias plants I keep the water at 82F. I do a weekly 25% water change and feed twice a day. I got a lot of my tips on discus keeping by reading books and articles by the late discus breeder Jack Wattley. I def recommend reading some literature by him to learn more about discus. I think the best tank mates for discus or other south american tetras and corys since they come from the same region in the amazon river. Welcome to the discus hobby can't wait to see your new tank setup!

@josephgadway8950 7 ай бұрын

Could you get a big tank just for the Discus? Like a 90 or bigger? Anything that might fit in the Oscar's mouth will. Tetra's I know can live with discus. Your tank is gorgeous now. What ever you choose will be good I'm sure. I always wanted discus. They are gorgeous.

@tazmex55 7 ай бұрын

With discus I would begin with rummynose and rose line shark(Denison barb). corys, geos as clean up crew. Preferably sand - plants, plants, plants, keep those nitrates low,low,low Once the discus are bigger get EBA and angels…Seems like the discus just need more patience and once they are confident they are absolutely PERFECT fish! 👍🏼

@DiscusNT 7 ай бұрын

I think the africans would be fine after the move, but I think they will bully and stress the SA fish. I could be wrong, I guess only way to find out is try. Cardinals hate the heat, my discus are not happy and healthy unless they are between 86 and 87 degrees. Rummy nose do fine, and black neons also don't mind it. Cardinals and regular neons will slim out and die. I think you are good with mechanical filtration, with Discs Canisters are bad, you need to clean you M-filters weekly for best growth results. UV is also perfect, but go overkill on UV buy a 2nd unit for the other side of the tank. (trust me it matters, major growth rate increase after adding 2nd unit here) If that 90g does not already have a sump, you should probably rig something up as a sump as well. Cleanliness and growth rates go hand in hand, overfiltering is key ! After that you will grow monsters, keep those filters clean weekly, rely on your sump for biofiltering so you can clean the HOBs weekly without any cycle issues. if you start with 1" babies your will lose over half of them, if you start with 4" babies you will lose 2 of 3, and the bigger they get the better they survive. I would aim for 3" babies, this way you can tell if they have been stunted or not, if you buy em much bigger they could be stunted and you won't know it till they don't grow out right.

@Awsimilate 7 ай бұрын

I like how well your eel gets along with your discus as well. Never see that combo.

@BenOchart 7 ай бұрын

Great tips! Thank you!

@SouthAustraliaDiscus 7 ай бұрын

6 - 10 Discus would work well. The tetras you suggest putting in with the discus will be fine. Things to watch out for: Corydoras can have moments of being too energetic and spook the discus making them skittish. There are common complaints that plecos can start feeding off discus skin/scales causing sores, that being said I've not had this occur and find common bristlenose work well as a clean up crew as well as a companion fish. I have no knowledge of Electric Blue Acaras but even though Discus are cichlids my experience has been to play it safe and never put other cichlids with them.

@rossmascaro6202 7 ай бұрын

Hi Ben, I have had discus for 25 years, Biggest problem with discus is when they are young they will spar with each other for dominance and you will get some that will hide always due to bullying and never come to eat, the weaker young discus will get stressed and get sick ( please remove those ones) Also treat all discus and tank mates with Metro, Discus succumb to internal hex/spiro easily. Other cichlids types/ tetra's ect.. can handle internal hex/spiro much easier. All my Discus tanks are bare bottom, with potted plants. River sand works ok , just gavel vac regular more so as they are young ...you will feed more and have more waste. All and any tetra's work well with discus, Cory's are great 1 pleco works great also or a bushy nose pleco. Heckelii and any other cichlid will eat food so much faster than the discus, that will be your concern. I am very interested to see how you go with you Discus set up ! Wishing you all the best, and keep doing your fish videos. Love your utube channel as many of us do. Feed frozen brine shimp at least once per week to help clean out there guts... ( Not a must but the roughage sure helps ) I have been waiting awhile to see if you will ever keep discus........ I look forward to see how you go. Its very rewarding as they are so colourful . Can become a pain when you have such a beautiful Discus but it gets bullied and goes down hill health wise. ( in a ideal world get more female's than males ) I Will be Watching with big Interest on how you go :) I might even learn something i missed during my discus keeping years.

@RaulsAquaticsandReptiles 7 ай бұрын

🔥🔥

@Towfish 7 ай бұрын

It’s just temporary but right now I have 4 discus with a juvenile Oscar, geophagus, a ghost knife, polar blue parrots, and a keyhole cichlid. The most aggressive fish is one of the discus lol

@BenOchart 7 ай бұрын

I believe it, after all, they are cichlids.

@harshtruth9148 7 ай бұрын

Ben wait till your Albino hecklii's get a bit bigger....I have 2 about 3 to 3.5" big and right around 2.5" they start to really color up in the cheek and gill area....bright orange and the fins begin to color and extend threads which are deep red.... they are beautiful but my two fight over territory alot....my Electric Blue Acaras and Geo's rarely interact other than bullying them but the two Hecklii's hate eachother. I may have to split them up. You can see discus with Electric Blue acara and Geo tapajos on Cichlid bros channel....he has a 150 with them in it. they will be fine. Also Ive seen Discus in a tank with 2 massive Arowana.

@user-mi9zo9ov4c 7 ай бұрын

Discus are best as a species only fish. Start the on their own. I had rainbow fish, a bristlenose pleco and clown loaches with mine but needed to remove the rainbow fish. They weren’t aggressive towards the discus but are very active fish and can outcompete the discus at feeding time. Most common companions are sterbi corys (can accept the higher temperatures) and rummy nose tetras. They weren’t to difficult once settled. Changed a third of the water twice a week, gravel vac on one of those water changes. Had the temp at 30 celsius. Discus are very slow and messy eaters. That is what causes compatibility issues with other fish (getting outcompeted and starving) and the increased water changes. The only other thing is is that they are susceptible to worms so it is recommended to use an anti wormer medication every 4-6 weeks as a precautionary measure. Some of the advice I saw when researching was like 90% water changes daily but that really isn’t necessary and I wonder if that will just lead to permanently stressed fish. Only extended to doing two water changes a week as I had some smaller discus that needed growing out a bit. Best advice I did find though was to buy discus over 3 inches minimum as they are much hardier and less susceptible to disease

@BenOchart 7 ай бұрын

Great points. Thank you!

@rajadey4919 3 ай бұрын

Also bare bottom tank for beginners for easy maintenance to remove the uneaten food and detritus. Discus poops are like tar and stick to the substrate. 40% WC twice a week if you are not feeding BH. It will cloud the water when the particles will mix and if water is not changed then ammonia level will elevate. Grow out will need more water change and more protein rich feed or else stunted growth. Wild discus doesn't require this kind of food like the hybrids or Malaysian discus.

@patrickmurray3724 7 ай бұрын

Another thought, you need a sand substrate for the Geos.

@BenOchart 7 ай бұрын

It’s all sand under that river rock. I would need to clear off some areas.

@StratosLoft 7 ай бұрын

I give you my two cents here . Just by experience from having discus for ten year’s in my 90 gallon tank . It was a planted aquarium when I first got them here somethings I can tell you about them. I had 10 small one to start with no losses . I got them at aquarium center at Blackwood Nj , back then he only had German discus the owner was very good about how to take care of them he was given me very good advice all the time his name is Dominic still open till this day but now he has the ones from Asia. Ok here we go the things I learned having them for so long heat is what makes them happy over 87F all the time yes I know many people disagree but hear me out they get very finicky when they get 6” or more some will refuse food if the temperature is lower not all but most some times I had to go to 90F to get them back to normal food refusal is the #1 problem plants will die in that temperature Cory cats forget it not many fish they can take the heat . As they get older the get worms I never medicate them crank up the temperature to 92F for four days they are back to normal heat is your friend when you have discus . I love them but I just got tire playing around with them all the time. They are beautiful miss them but is just none stop working on them . When they are young is no problem set the temperature to 84 F and you good to go as they get older you need to stay on the top of them . Good luck

@BenOchart 7 ай бұрын

Thank you😀👍🏻

@garygraham2089 7 ай бұрын

I have had discus for the past 10 years I'm a 75 gallon tank. I keep my temp at 82. I don't keep aggressive fish with them or any fish larger than them, or may grow larger than them. I top fill the tank with RODI water and only do water changes when needed per water test results that is seldom. Discus are not well suited to defend themselves with aggressive mates especially with berthing slime on their scales.

@user-ji1uf9sq5z 7 ай бұрын

I read 4 books on Discus before I purchased them. I did not use Carbon. Carbon breaks down and can get caught in the gills of Discus. Neons have their own Disease reason most keep cardianal tetras. Out of 6 Discus you will get a pair that may want to breed The Marineland double Bio-wheels are Great I made the switch to Seachem Tidal 55`s. Cories can take the heat.

@Awsimilate 7 ай бұрын

Yea I think the Congo Tetra and the Acara fish will mix well with your Discus. I would only worry about the Acara if your Discus are radicly smaller in size. Otherwise should be fine. Make sure th3 Discus outnumber the Acara, otherwise the Discus will feel more threatened. The Discus school should be the largest group of larger sized fish in the Discus tank. They need to feel like the superior and dominante cichlid group/species in the tank.

@jeremymoore450 7 ай бұрын

Ben, Coming from experience with the EBAs I would move them back in the 55 gal. Rummy can takes the higher water temp’s. I wouldn’t put neons in the discus tank they don’t seem to like warmer water. Cardinals would work better. The chocolate cichlids and the Severums will get torn apart with the salvini and the possibily the green terror would pick on them. I have a chocolate as you know and he is on the timid side and I think the other fish in there would tear them up. The EBAs would get destroyed also. The Buenos Aires would probably be fine. I would move the red terror into the 60 gal you have or into the 300 and move the other timid fish. The Severums, chocolate at least into the 75 gal. I would avoid the 210 for most of the fish. EBAs would be cool in the 75 also. With the chocolate and Severums and the albino heckali could work in the 75 for a while until they got bigger. The geos would probably work in the 210 since they are already bigger but I don’t know the salvinis can be mean. Or set up the 60 and move some of the heckali into there. But EBAs would get eaten or destroyed in the 210. Maybe the Firemouth would go after I am not sure. Yeah the fish in the 90 are on the calmer side. Or buy another tank like a 75 gal if needed. I forgot if the red terror is in a 55 or a 75. But you could move a few of the more timid fish in there. There are options and choices. Sorry this is long I know you appreciate are feedback. ❤😅

@SergioBernardoAlmi 7 ай бұрын

Thy will do fine

@johnwilliams3299 7 ай бұрын

Ben. General opinion with small discus is bare bottom tank. A few feeds a day and loads of water changes. Bare bottom is so much easier to keep clean. With gravel detritus gets trapped and causes nitrates to rise. Discus require pristine water. Especially small ones.

@kenji.23 7 ай бұрын

Hi Ben, the geos will suffer in the other tank with the central americans. They will develop Hith again if you move them also they require a sandy bottom. Get rid of the red terror altogether put discus in that grow them out get use to raising discus. The Severums and blue acara should be okay to move to 210 now. Then add the albino Heckelii to the 90g to grow out. That is what I would do.

@romindajessierichmond8958 7 ай бұрын

Put some discus in the 210. Watch them and see how it goes. If it doesn't work out pull em out. Would be super cool if it works

@markfranklin8831 7 ай бұрын

Sally the salvinni would be my concern when moving the fish to the 210. Then my other concern would be the high temperature for discus with the other fish? But i dont no anything about discus. Thats my 2 cents. Thanks for sharing

@paulneuman6021 7 ай бұрын

Keep those fish warm

@rickburt4275 7 ай бұрын

I heard someone say, "Discus are easy,.............as long as you do daily water changes." They need a LOT of work. Myrtle Beach discus is a good place to get them-Good reviews. Generally keep them by themselves , as they are VERY prone to get diseases that other species may be carrying without showing .any symptoms.

@DiscusNT 7 ай бұрын

My Discus tank is HEAvILY overpopulated with Discus, the people who need to do daily water changes simply didn't over filter enough. I could leave my water 2 weeks and my cycle will handle it, but I do two water changes a week 70% each and my growth rates are insane fast. 20+ Discus in a 90 gallon . I gravel vac once a week, clean filters weekly as well.

@rickburt4275 7 ай бұрын

Could you tell me what your filtration system is on your 90 ? @@DiscusNT

@seansquill8773 7 ай бұрын

Hey Ben, hope all is well. I’ll give you my advice since I’ve kept many of the fish you’re thinking about moving around. I would not add the fish from the 90 into the 210! As they get older Salvini’s are ruthless and usually get really nasty as they get older, the Vieja has the potential as well, as does the Jack. Severums and Geos are for the most part peaceful and won’t stand a chance with any of those fish. Just my 2 cents from experience. As for Discus…great idea to keep them….i keep mine alone in a discus only tank that is minimal on the scape side because it keeps them from hiding and they are extremely comfortable being out in the open, give them a place to hide and they will only come out to eat has been my experience….as for plants that’s a tough one as most plants melt in the warmer waters…I keep my discus tank at 86, but some others have had success in the low 80’s…I have always had better success in the higher 80’s. As for tank mates I’d lean towards rummy nose or cardinals for schooling fish, and sterbai corys for some bottom dwelling fish if you want some fish to stir up the substrate. As far as Electric Blue Acara’s I’d steer away from adding them with discus, discus will stress easy if they have to fight for food with other larger species most of the time. Also try and get your discus in the 4-5 inch range from a reputable seller, discus Hans is great if you want some beautiful healthy fish. Hope this Helps 👍🏼

@paulneuman6021 7 ай бұрын

It would be nice to see electric blue acara with discus😊

@coolgeorgiaboy 7 ай бұрын

The Geos might struggle without the sand...they won't be able to act normal

@mikerosenzweig 7 ай бұрын

IMO, it’s time for another tank! I think a taller tank works beautifully for discus (24”+ high rather than 20” or less). By starting a new tank you would avoid the multiple issues that are possible from moving fish. Then you can get a beautifully planted tank set up for the discus and their schooling tank mates. I set up a discus tank with my dad when I was a teen. We had them with angels and groups of cardinal tetras and white clouds. They did really well. I would be careful with the EBA’s because if you end up with a breeding pair they may become more protective. I have an EBA-only tank filled with caves and rocks and wood. Now I have too many juveniles!My discus tank was a special 90 gallon that was super tall and not as wide. Perhaps Glass Cages could make you a really nice one? Go all in for those discus!

@johnwilliams3299 7 ай бұрын

Discus and Neons? Expensive snacks

@djsuss552 7 ай бұрын

My concern would be how aggressive those other fish are (fire mouth, jack Dempsey, salvini, etc) compared to the severum, geos, acara, etc) I have a red spotted gold severum, an electric blue acara, and a festivum all together. The severum’s the boss, but I don’t know how it would fare against those other more aggressive fish.

@walterotiepka1460 7 ай бұрын

Buy from discus hans water changes 75% every other day bare bottom no substrate

@patrickmurray3724 7 ай бұрын

I think moving those fish into the 210 is a mistake. The fish in the 210 are a lot more aggressive than the Geos and Heckelii. Even the Severums are going to be out matched. The tetras are going to get eaten. This is just my opinion, and I do keep all of these species. If you do that you will have to watch them closely for a while.

@BenOchart 7 ай бұрын

Good input, thanks!

@Rae707 7 ай бұрын

The tank would have to be to warm for the electric blue acara.

@keithduwe2647 7 ай бұрын

Most of the fish would fit into the 210, but the Buenos Aires I think would become fish food for the Oscars. Lol

@BenOchart 7 ай бұрын

You might be right. They are “feeder fish” size. I might have to find them a new home.

@patrickmurray3724 7 ай бұрын

You have a lot of fish. Maybe what you need is another tank.

@BenOchart 7 ай бұрын

Always an option worth considering🤣🤣👍🏻

@rossdingle6236 7 ай бұрын

I wouldnt risk the tetras with Oscars. It would be an expensive meal.

@Bellyup6969 7 ай бұрын

Im having a huge Oscar issue , had to separate a black and white one, poor white one was getting destroyed,, wondering if adding severums would mild the tank??

@BenOchart 7 ай бұрын

How big is the tank? More fish could spread the aggression but if it’s over territory and the tank is too small, and they’re both males, they will keep at it until the sub-dominant Oscar is taken out.