Hey guys! Have a few questions!

Another medium sized fish that might add to the tank would be a gourami. They come in a bunch of different varieties. Some grow 4-5 inches in length but aren't very tolerable of there own kind. I'd add a few of the more docile ones. 1-2 fish. Blues and Pearls seem to get the largest and can get kinda aggressive. I had a blue that was a giant bully. He ended up in a 20 gallon long by himself. IMO the dwarf's are really pretty. I like the hatchet fish too.There a top level swimmer but they can jump out of your tank so make sure you have a tight fitting lid and some type of mesh around your other openings in the back. Its important to have fish that swim at all levels. The top, the Middle and bottom, it adds balance to a tank. Giant Danios are cool too, some have a pearly color to them that is quite pretty. Hope I gave you some good solid advice. Let me know how it turns out ...

 

+1 to everyone here

I have kept a discus in a 55, I will say keep them in groups don't ever keep them alone. They are very very delicate fish and they will need you to be very diligent on your water changes and testing. Make sure you have a good lighting system in place so you can grow lots of plants. With that said you will prob need to get a co2 system so you can provide for the numerous plants. A hob filter will work but you will spend more money on filters than you would buying a canister filter because you have to change those filters before they become a nitrate trap.

If this is your first FW tank then I would suggest staying away from discus and leaning towards a community fish or a cichlid. Be aware that cichlids are aggressive and it's not a good idea to leave them with peaceful fish. Also if you end up getting a pair be prepared for numerous spawns.

 

I have two golden gouramis that have a fantastic personality, have never been aggressive and are now a mated pair.

Highly recommend them.

 

Agreed with above, Discus are very expensive usually and need to be kept in a larger group like most other cichlids so they do not pick each other off one by one. DO not keep angelfish or regular gouramis with discus as they are a little to aggressive and in a 55gallon would not be a good mix. Same with most species of barbs, although small they can be aggressive little buggers. Dwarf gouramis, tetras, cory catfish, loaches all make good takements.
Lots of liveplants are great especially large swordplants with large leaves and some sort of floating plant to provide hidign areas and a lot of shaded areas as discus are jumpy and like subdued lighting. A lfs around me breeds discus and suggest a UV sterilizer for all discus tanks since they are not very disease resistant. They often come down with some sort of infection and even as you cure it their immune system is weakened they often develop secondary infections and the cycle goes on and on until the tank is wiped out.

 

I have alot of co2 supplies since I work for a beverage company. I can get almost every thing I need besides the air stone. I think a 25 pd tank should last me for 6 months or so. I have no clue on planted stuff but I do know I want a natural look with a drift wood stump in the middle with maybe a branch. I think to much lol!

 

You can search planted tank forums there are not many people here into them but there are a few. I think its 2in10 if I remember correctly that has a large planted tank Ill see if I can find the link. Remember to plan before you start buying there are multiple types of planted tanks from low tech low light to high tech high light. You need a good substrate gravel is not the best choice but can work, something like ecocomplete and flourite are much better as they provide many nutrients and minerals the plants roots will absorb. Also a good quality light, only really need a doublebulb t5ho fixture.

I do not know much about CO2 except you need to be really careful. Too much and you can wipe out a whole tank by starving everything of O2 and dropping he pH to much. Also if you dose with CO2 the plants will need to be fertilizers to grow healthy.

 

If you do your research and take every precaution then you should be ok. But if you do not like the murky water look then you will need to soak your driftwood for a while because it will leach tannins that turns your water a brownish yellow. Discus love plants and driftwood so I would start soaking your driftwood now. As stated above a simple 2 bulb t5 will grow a large assortment of plants. You also may want to look into flourish and excel supps.

 

Ok I was reading some where to let it soak for 2+ weeks or you could boil it. I need to find every thing I want so I can get it set up. I am looking for short grass to cover the front and around the stump then tall in the back. Some thing like this

 

Dwarf hair grass... It grows like wildfire!!

As for tall plants you could look into amazon melon plants, anachris, cabomba, hornwort and there are so many more.

Making lots of caves and things to swim through will lead to a happy discus

 

I have never soaked my driftwood for mroe than 24 hours , carbon does a fine job at removing the tannins and discoloration of the water. When you buy plants make sure they are true aquatic plants!! Most of the ones sold at petco and petsmart are actually bog plants that do great in terrariums but when submersed for long times eventually rot away and die