# Some queries regarding discus in planted tanks..



## sumer (Jul 19, 2010)

i have some queries in my mind....

1. planted tanks requires 24 25 Celsius and discus require 28 30 C so how would discus adopt such a difference in temperature.....??

2.we add fertilizers (nitrogen phosphorus potassium iron mg and micros)....
are these ferts harmful to discus...???

3.wont discus nibble the small plants like riccia, glosso , umbrosum...??

4.wont discus be a menace to shrimps as their compatibility is nil....???

5.wont the increased ammonia levels in planted tank cause any harm to discus....??
because even if we do water changes regularly , the substrate under the carpets cant be siphoned...!!!

6.wont the discus be disturbed due to high light and water flow as the filters are running 24 hrs...


please clear my doubts....O


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

1)Discus will andwont, your plants will. Discus like all fish are adaptable to their enviornments. I have a 210 discus tank at 86 degrees F heavily planted, no issues.

2) No

3)NO

4) Yes, they will have a shrimp dinner

5) NO, ammonia wont be there at all in a decently planted tank

6) I have 8x80w t5HO's on my tank and no issues, DIscus come from the amazon river, current is no issue, evolution shaped these fish for that specific reason.

Here is my tank









filter is a 300gph wet/dry and a eheim pro3 2080 with pressurized Co2 injection via reactor inline with eheim return.

Current is broken due to where you aim the outlets.
As you can tell Here is my filtration system for that tank w/ co2 and reactor(hidden behind eheim)









All your doubts are null and void. Discus are about as EASY to keep as any other delicate fish.

My temp as of right this moment is 86.6 degrees F, Temps can be kept higher with the correct plants and not cause any damage, plant species are far and few at these temps but to be honest even the most delicate plant thrives in this tank.

Discus are not as hard to keep as they lead you to believe, even a beginner can keep discus if they adhere to their basic needs. 2x pwc [email protected]%.

I dont gravel vac my tank, I let the banjo cats, corydoras,sae's and MTS take care of that. None of these cleaners will bother the discus. OTO's are iffy as they are known to eat the slimecoat but I have found they only do this when they have a lack of their own food,algae,diatoms ect.

anyways my pumps put out some current, got 2x1200 gph in the wet/dry and the eheim which blasts water out like no tomorrow.


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

Side note, I wouldnt go below 84degrees F with discus.
Discus, rams and angels live in the same body of water, if they and tetras can handle it then the discus will. I keep mine higher because ICH, it wont do anything in warmer waters. I have had this tank at 90 before for 6 weeks and all I got was trimming the plants 2x a week.


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

people keep discus in high temps to increase metabolism and grow them out fast. and also to ward off ich etc. it is not required.

i've read the temps in the wild are nowhere near that warm.


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## sumer (Jul 19, 2010)

thank you all for giving me such useful comments.

now one question.
at present my discus are in the water which is a bit harder than the water in my planted.so please suggest me how to acclimate them...??


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

Drip acclimation

basically get a 5g bucket or a few of them, airline hose, and a gang valve or just use a valve inline on each hose to each bucket.

This should help the best
http://www.aquaria.info/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=379&theme=Printer


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

Dielectric said:


> people keep discus in high temps to increase metabolism and grow them out fast. and also to ward off ich etc. it is not required.
> 
> i've read the temps in the wild are nowhere near that warm.


That all depends on the daytime high temps, its 90-100 there alot, the water will warm up with this daytime heating, 77 is an average high temp for amazon river water and 58-59 is a overnight low temp in the water.

I wouldnt keep them in water lower then 82 degrees at the absolute lowest. Cooler temps will make them lethargic and cause worries with the hobbyist as to why their fish are hiding and not swimming or eating.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I agree with what the others have said here, but I would like to add that you need soft water for discus. I suggest pure RO + DI water. I have tried them multiple times in other water conditions (city water, well water, etc...) and they have always been stressed and not eaten properly. 

Also, most plants will not be able to tolerate temperatures above 83-84F so if you plan on keeping the temps higher you will have a smaller pool of plants to choose from.

I keep mine at 83 F and they have even laid eggs about 15 times so far.


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

They do like the soft water, test your water source first. I only use RO water, DI isnt a must as it really strips the water down and additives are for sure needed such as discus buffer/equilibrium ect. 
However with RO-DI your Gh and Kh are vital especially with these fish, 3-6gh and 3-6 KH are idea with Kh being around 3 at optimal. I achieve this with acid buffer,alkaline buffer and equilibrium. A holding/aging tank is also a must. Mine is heated for immediate use when needed(top off sumps ect)
as you can tell my plants are doing great in 86 degree water. 

As you can see in my set up I run two filters, the ehiem is the Co2 injector as well and that is returned well under the water line, I have two of my 6 wet/dry returns above water to aerate a bit, I maintain a constant 30ppm of Co2 even aerating the water, this helps the plants and fish as there is less O2 in warmer waters.

its not rocket science and the internet info is so far left and right that its hard to understand these fish truly. They arent as delicate as the net perceives them to be.
This is my first attempt at discus and I only lost 3 out of 23, two were really stunted and one was all messed up not sure what he had but others are thriving and growing quite large.

The more you stress about it the harder they are to take care of, BEST advice I can give with these fish is set it up once, do it correctly(dont cut corners) and they will be perfectly fine. Alot of rescaping and rearranging stresses them when they dont need to be. My most recent loss was right after a total rescape, he was fine that morning and dead the next, all parameters are fine.
Also if you want to track use a spreadsheet, they help extremely when monitoring the parameters daily.
My tank is High tech, there is over $5,000 USD into the build, I set it up in march of this year. I wish you the best and dont hesitate to ask any discus keeper questions, if they are short forget them they are in it for profit not the hobby.


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## sumer (Jul 19, 2010)

thank you very much WhiteDevil and zappinns for your valuable knowledge.


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

i should add buy your discus from a breeder or hobbyist, not a pet store. unless you want problems.


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## Gordon C. Snelling (Jun 20, 2007)

"Modern" discus while they do like softer water, they are well adapted now to pretty much anyway you throw at them. Wilds on the other, yes soft water is a must for them. They admittedly do not breed well in harder water but generally will do fine in it. They are not adapted to flowing currents at all. If you look at the areas where they are collected you will see that they are slow, barely moving streams as opposed to large high volume rivers. If the tank is properly cycled there should be no ammonia. Fine sand, like silica sand makes the best substrate for discus as opposed to courser gravel, but only a shallow layer. Adult discus generally will do ok in a planted tank, juveniles should not be attempted in one. I personally would not risk discus in a tank that you are injecting CO2 into.


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

WhiteDevil said:


> DIscus come from the amazon river, current is no issue, evolution shaped these fish for that specific reason.


evolution shaped these fish for NO current.


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