i am about to start my first discus tank. it has been 7 years since i had to get rid of my 90 gallon angle and 125 gallon salt tank.

i bought a used 144 gallon half circle oceanic tank
fluval fx5
jager 300w heater(bought 2, but 1 is rated for up to 250 gallons) figure i will see how 1 works out.
rena 400 with a couple airstones
approx 1" pool filter sand with artificial plants and a piece of driftwood.

going to start the tank prob this weekend. if i don't put some fish in there my wife and kids will kill me. so fishless cycling is out.

any ideas on what fish and how many would be good to cycle the tank but also be discus friendly for the future.

its probably been 10 years since i started(cycled) a tank. don't remember what i started my others with but with regular water changes i think i only lost one fish.

Angels, Barbs and Bettas can be compatable, but Cory cats and Danios would be the best in terms of compatablity.

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J-Pond
http://j-pond.myminicity.com/

please click on the egg/baby to help it grow:

Please don't use live fish to cycle your tank. It's not fair to them...just explain that to your family.

If you must have something in there, buy some frozen shrimp at your local grocery store. They are VERY cheap. A few weeks back when I started my tank, I got 2 jumbo ones for roughly .50 each.

Just tell your family it's too cruel to put live fish in your tank when it's cycling. It's true, so they won't have room to complain.

Otherwise, props to you for a Discus tank. I only wish I had the room to set one up right now. Discus are my fav FW fish.

Keep us posted.

I used a dozen or so cardinal tetras and serpae minors for my cycling. The cardinals are great for the discus community tank but the serpaes (or any larger tetras) are probably too active and possibly aggressive...so once the ammonia cycle is finished, you should remove them.

Keep us updated! Send any messages if you need any other help!

I setup a new 54 gal corner bowfront for my discus about 9 months ago.

I have gotten a good bead on what fish are compatible/not compatible with the discus.

I highly disagree with the danios or any barbs... The are WAY too fast moving for the discus and often very aggressive. And corys are not usually comfortable in temps above 80 like the discus needs.

Beg borrow or steal some used filter media. I've been able to get a tank cycled in less than a week with fish in there... It's a bit of a balancing act... The used media.. (2 big hobs on a 125) produced the bacteria I needed but it would have starved without the ammonia from either decomposing food or fish waste. I went with fish waste. I went with Lampeye tetra's.. they seem to be the hardiest of all the tet's I've had experience with. Strain on the fish?.. Wild fish go through amazing variations of water conditions due to monsoons to droughts to something like the heat we're experiencing now.. (100 degree days).. OR....You can special order live bacteria that has like a shelf like of a day or so which will jump-start your cycle. It's not cheap but I know of two very specialized stores that utilize it for those customers that cannot wait the appropriate time.
I grow Vals, Crypts, Amz Swords,Java Fern and Sag's .... all low tech. no ferts, no CO2... I have to keep ahead of the swords, vals and sags else they'd over run the tank. I would have some to share but I'm setting up a 155 and moving the discus to there from the 75... Oh.. I use pool filter sand as my substrate.. 6700K lighting. Bill in Va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..