# new 55g want to keep discus fish



## bekka_nak (Dec 21, 2010)

Hello -

I have new 55g long tank I just started cycling with zebra danios. I am really interested in keeping discus fish, once I get the cycling done. I have some fishkeeping experience (not a whole lot) - I had a 10 gallon before I went to college and gave it away. 

In addition to the zebras who will hopefully live through the cycling, I was thinking about maybe 2-3 discus and 2-3 ram cichlids in the long run ? Would this be too many fish? What other cichlid fish would go well with the discus fish? 

Right now my tank has 7.8 PH. I added a couple of large pieces of driftwood and some live plants in hopes of softening the water. Would 7.8 be OK for discus fish? The LFS say they breed their fish in the local tap water, and the fish are acclimated, and it's better not to mess with ph. Do you guys think that's right?

Any advice appreciated!

Rebecca


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I agree it's better to not mess with ph with chemicals. As far as Discus go, I'd post the question in the Discus section. We have a few experienced owners here that can help you there. That ph seems a little high to me, but I've never tried to keep them before.


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## bekka_nak (Dec 21, 2010)

Thanks - I will check out the discus board. 

I see your point with the ph. My thoughts exactly. Reluctant to use chemicals, but 7.8 does seem a little high. We'll see.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Mixing 50/50 RO water will get you pretty close and it is another natural way of lowering your ph. The ph out of my RO is about 6.6 lately. My other system put out just under 7.0.


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## bekka_nak (Dec 21, 2010)

Thanks - what is RO water?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Water that has been through a reverse osmosis system.

From what I understand RO water, which usually also has zero hardness (KH), is the only form of water safe to add an acid/akaline buffer to raise or lower ph.


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## HUMAN1ESS (Oct 5, 2010)

The best tank mate for a discus is more discus. They do well in larger groups and many recommend 6+ for them to be at their healthiest. As far as your ph, I wouldn't really mess with it. Your local fish store keeps them in the same ph as yours it sounds like. You should do some research, and check out simplydiscus.com. It's a really good source of information if you'r planning on keeping discus. Also you should know what you are getting yourself into, keeping discus requires A LOT of water changes, and juvenile discus require at least 50% per day and feedings of 4+ times per day so they don't get stunted (grow deformed with larger eyes and misshaped bodies).


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