Discus Help

@Frank007301

I am relatively new to Discus myself.
But here is my take on things.

1) General feeling is about 40L per fish. Some sources say more, up to 70L and I know of experienced keepers to have them in roughly 20L per fish.
But I think with 40L you should be ok.

2) Different species do you mean different colour forms?
Yes you can. But if you get them from different sources you have to qt first and introduce the new fish very carefully. You don't want to introduce the plague or other diseases to you tank

3). I suppose you could. I have known of Discus keepers to do it. But you need to make sure that the smaller ones are getitng a decent amount of food.
So it is probably easier if they are all the same size

4) Anything that can handle the higher temps, prefers the softer water, and isn't too boisterous.
So things like Tetras, dwarf cichlids (Rams, Apostos), some of the Corries, some of the smaller Plecs.
I see in your tank you have sharks and clown loaches. I think they will be too active and aggressive for Discus and I wouldn't keep them together.

5) I have seen some fantastic planted tanks. I think it is quite difficult to maintain though. The CO2/O2 levels and the higher temps may be difficult to maintain.
Also, with the regular vacuuming needed, it may be difficult to maintain the hygene levelsa needed if it is heavily planted.
My tank is just fine gravel and some wood. Once the Discus are bigger, I may add a few hardy plants.

6) Not true. Decent lights will show off their colours nicely. If you have an area where the fish can go to where the lights are more subdued, they will be fine.

As I say, I am new to keeping Discus. But have done a lot of research. And think I have an understanding of the basics.

Something to bear in mind is that there is a lot of confusing info out there.
There are many opinionons on how to keep them.
In fact, I won't go on Discus Forums any more. It was just too confusing. I have a friend/mentor who has been keeping Discus for many many years. And I listen to his advice.

The big big big (and I cannot stress this enough) point is buy decent fish to start off with.
If you buy poor quality or sick fish, you will struggle from the start.

Hope this all helps.