planing to keep discus

Question
Hi I'm planing to keep discus my tank is 3 weeks old I've got 10 neon, 5 rummy nose and 3 peppered corys and lots of plants, my tank is fluval 240 which is 240ltrs, i have a problem got hair algae and snails and i want ask do red rams horn snail eat plants and is there a nice algae eater compatible with discus and also how many discus can i have in that tank, thanks

Answer
Hi Kop,

Your tank is probably not done cycling at 3 weeks and should have no fish in it.  Fish are extremely sensitive to the toxic ammonia and nitrite during the cycling process and this will kill any fish.  I don't see it listed but you should test your tank asap for ammonia (should be 0), nitrites (should be 0) and nitrates (should be 5-20 ppm)

Discus are extremely difficult to keep and require certain and very strict parameters.  I would not keep them with other fish until you have perfected them alone.  Most people keep them as a species only tank because they are so challenging and they require very high temps, high temps of which your tetra and cories will not appreciate.  If you have ANY problems with your tank, i.e., water quality or algae related I would advise you to skip the discus.  They require absolutely perfect water quality and a perfect tank 100% of the time or they will die.  If you do want to attempt discus, the best tips I can give you come from somethingsphisy.com:

1.  Discus need crystal clear, clean water.  Weekly partial water changes  will be necessary.  We recommend pure R/O water with deionization.
 
2.  Keep the pH around 6.5.
 
3.  Temperature around 84.  Breeding Discus should be kept at 88 degrees.
 
4.  Softwater is needed.  We recommend Blackwater Extract.
 
5.  Plants, especially sword plants, do nicely with Discus. Just remember to clean the gravel frequently. Plants act as a natural filter to enhance the water quality.
 
6.  Discus need lots of oxygen, so keep an outside filter and an inside sponge filter for extra aeration. We also highly recommend a UV sterilizer.  Ideally,  we recommend 1-micron filtration. Discus are extremely susceptible to external bacterial infections, so UV Filtration and special filtration are very important.
 
7.  We highly recommend keeping at least one Plecostomus catfish in the aquarium.  Some species of Plecostomus harass Discus, so we only sell Plecos on our website that are safe with Discus.  See www.somethingsphishy.com.
 
8.  Gouramis, Corydoras Catfish, and Angels are also compatible tank mates for Discus, but you have to be a little careful with the Angels, because they can be carriers of Discus Plague.
 
9.  Do not keep Discus with aggressive fish, which includes most Cichlid Species, or with fin-nipping species such as many Barbs and Tetras.
 
10.  Discus are grazers, so feed them several times a day with a food that slowly sinks to the bottom.  We recommend feeding Discus three times a day.  If that is impossible, feed them at least twice a day with as much as they can eat in 10 minutes.
 
11.  We feed our Discus the following foods.
(a)  Freeze Dried Blood Worms.
(b)  Sterilized Frozen Blood Worms frozen to -60 F. to kill Hexamita.
(c)  Glass Worms are high in fat content and the best food for Discus.
(d)  Frozen Brine Shrimp fortified with Spirulina Algae, because Discus require some plant material. We do not feed our Discus Beef Heart, because it ends to quickly foul the water. We supplement our food with vitamins and minerals.
 
12.  Many Discus do not show their full colors as juveniles and will not until they are mature adults.
 
13. Gallons per inch of Discus: 2-gallons for each 2" Discus, 3.25-gallons for 3", 5 for 4", 7.25 for 5", 9 for 6". Do not crowd Discus beyond these guidelines. So six 2" Discus will require at least 6 x 2-gallons = 12-gallons of water, and when grown to 6" they will require at least 6 x 9-gallons = 54-gallons. A bigger aquarium is always better.
 
Keith Titus

You may want to consider going with gouramis or angels instead as discus are just very highly demanding.

Good luck: ) April M.