New to discus need to know the do's and don'ts

Aquatank

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
May 30, 2017
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aquatank134.wixsite.com
Hey hi I am new to discus keeping I just got a pair of discus, they arrived is Monday
As stated in the forums and videos about discus care I have set up a 55 gal with pre cycled media and the temp. of the water is b/w 80-82°F and a canister filter is also up and running

First I temp.acclimated them and the slowly scouped them out from the bag and into the tank .
As they are juvenile of both different strains (leopard snake skin,heckel type)

I started them feeding blood worms and some pellets 4 times till date and
I do 25% in morning and 50% in evening for 2 days and planning to do so till the pack some meat on them.

Any suggestion on what I should do.
As I am a college student and living in dorms so I need to figure out a way from my acadamics as fish keeping is my addiction and relaxation
 

skjl47

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 16, 2011
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Hello; Do a search on this forum. Some experienced discus keepers here.

On an aside I cannot see how having a 55 gallon tank in a dorm will be relaxing especially with discus. From what I read you will be doing lots of WC.
 

Grasmere Discus

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2017
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Your water change schedule is just fine to keep discus healthy, especially if you stock the tank with more fish. The only concern is that maintaining canister filter can be a bit of a chore (and messy for your dorm). The mechanical pads must be replaced often because discus cannot tolerate build up of uneaten food scraps and waste products that accumulate in the filter. Other fish can handle it, but discus may have issues if decomposing food and poop are not physically removed from the environment completely. I prefer hang on back filters because replacing the pads take less than a minute. Hopefully your hobby won't take away too much time away from your studies. Good luck.
 
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Fish Tank Travis

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2016
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Do:

-Lots of water changes
-Clean uneaten food out of the tank after a few minutes
-Keep in groups of 6 or more
-Keep in a tank big enough to allow ten gallons per discus
-Keep bare bottom
-Keep nitrates below 10 (preferably below 5)
-Keep the temp 82-86deg F
-Feed several small meals a day

Don't:

-Keep in groups smaller than 6
-Allow uneaten food to sit
-Do water changes with straight tap water if there's a lot of dissolved co2 in your water, this will lead to ph swings
-Just feed flakes
-Neglect cleaning/changing the mechanical media in the filter
-Leave openings on top of the tank open
 
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