How many Discus?

[silver dollars]

How many discus can i keep in my 55G with rams and apistos(the tank is not set up yet)??

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Depends on how many rams and apistos...

 

[silver dollars]

Probably 2 pairs of the rams and apistos(cockatoo apistos)

 

[Mahamotorworks]

2 Maybe 3 Discus.

MAHA

 

[silver dollars]

I am reading the sticky on discus and it says the 10G rule. So if i just put the rams and the apistos in the 75G, then could i get 4?? And how do you sex them?

 

[Mahamotorworks]

10G dosent sound right for some reason. I though the took close to 20. The Dr's Foster and Smith say 50G I have read about people that have put 4 in a 55G. MFT says 25 for a pair. I say that 4 with plenty of W/C would work. You can add a bottom eating crew also. No idea on sexing them.

MAHA

 

[silver dollars]

Yeah the 10G rule sounded cheesey... But i was planning n adding a cleaner crew to the tank.

 

[Mahamotorworks]

You will probably need a cintainer to age the water in. I have read that they dont do well with just dechloring the water then adding it to the tank. If you dont have one a RO filter might come in handy. Be careful where you buy them from. You get what you pay for.

MAHA

 

[silver dollars]

Ok i will watch for that! Thanks MAHA*thumbsups

 

[Cichlid-Man]

1 Adult per 10gals. You can do more with heavy upkeep. Like i could easily maintain 6-8 discus in a 55gal with multipule WCs a week. 4-6 would be a good number for weekly WCs. So yes, 10gal per adult is a correct rule.

Screw bottem crews...they are useless IMO. Not to mention some plecos, algae eaters have been known to attach to the discus and suck the slime coat off of them.

With multipule pairs of apistos and rams...i'd probably only shoot for 4.

 

[silver dollars]

Thanks for the heads up on the catfish matt! Would corys do the same thing as the plecos?

 

[Cichlid-Man]

No cories shouldn't do that, never heard of them doing it. Cories supposedly make good tankmates for discus.

 

[TheFighterFish]

I've actually read that you can keep 2 adult discus in a 20 Gallon. This was from a snipbit in Tropical Fish Hobbyist.

But I've read on the forum that the 2 have to be mated or paired.

 

[TheFool]

I would go for 6 and be aware you will need to keep up with regular big w/c's. A pair is a good option, 4 juvies is not so good - it is 2 to few to stop damaging hierarchical squabbles from being fatal to the victims. The water does not need to be super aged as long as it is dechlored and approx the same pH/temp.
Rams are good tankmates. The pleco sucking deal is very, very rare, effectively an old wives tail. Most cories do not do well in discus tanks as they are too warm, and it is to some extent true of A. cacatuoides as well.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

The pleco sucking deal is very, very rare, effectively an old wives tail. Most cories do not do well in discus tanks as they are too warm, and it is to some extent true of A. cacatuoides as well.

Yes but the fact still remains that plecos poop more then do any good. More poop = dirty water/more water changes.

You are correct, most cories no...but there are a few that can live in the low 80 degree temps.

 

[Pure]

Hold your tongue there Matt.

In a 55 I would keep 5 adult discus with doing 50% water changes every week and a BN. Some kind of dither fish will also help the discus to feel more comfortable.

One thing to think about with cories is some people have problems with them spooking the discus when they do their mad dash to the surface.

 

[silver dollars]

Thanks guys for the info! Whay if i did this? Got 5 Discus and a school of cardinal tetras???

 

[silver dollars]

So does anyone know how to sex discus???

 

[silver dollars]

I found out how to sex them. The males get bigger and there dorsal fin is pointed and there lips are thicker. Oh and what i ment by the tanks not setup yet, is that its cycleing(just so ya know!)

 

[usacutie81]

Thanks guys for the info! Whay if i did this? Got 5 Discus and a school of cardinal tetras???

You can't do that, that's what I'm doing! We can't have the exact same fish!