Am I crazy for considering discus in a planted tank?

[Minninips]

Woke up today contemplating what I was going to do with my 120p I bought in November. I started down the rabbit hole of fish and started briefly looking at discus. The only general thing I ever really knew was they were high maintenance fish and RO is pretty much a requirement. Any time I'd go to a LFS and see them, I'd simply go "wow, but I can't consider them" and ogle and move along quickly.

So today, here am I giving discus genuine consideration as I look at my 75p that's doing pretty well. Can someone give me a reality check?

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Paging @Koan and @*Ci*

 

[Koan]

Any time I'd go to a LFS and see them, I'd simply go "wow

Right? What is not to love



Definitely recommend sourcing from discus pros, like these and not from The Fish Store, however

So today, here am I giving discus genuine consideration

Here's a conversation thread that we had on this just a couple weeks ago!

Hello Post in thread 'Welcome, Sepia0203'

Feb 24, 2026

Beautiful! Is this your first discus tank?

Keeping young growing discus healthy with a planted substrate can be a real challenge. If you have questions or get into trouble, you can find help here, and here

• Koan

• 

Hello Post in thread 'Welcome, Sepia0203'

Feb 25, 2026

You're from Adelaide! Awesome RFDS season 3 finally just arrived over here

affected by tap water if I don’t pretreat the water with de-chlorinator for at least 5 minutes

I'm so sorry to hear you lost some. Levels of chloramine in your municipal water can vary hugely over different seasons of the year.

Discus are actually affected by other issues on top of chloramines in the water. This is the reason that so many keepers find it beneficial to go to the extra trouble of aging tap water for a day before using it.

Aging allows you to aerate the water to drive...

• Koan

• 

Short answer: for your first try at discus, trying to do it with plants in a substrate is has a high chance of being a recipe for heartbreak

By contrast, our own @*Ci* 's first pass at discus using a bare bottom and plants in pots, is going great!

 

[techman81]

Right? What is not to love

The constant worry that looking at them the wrong way might kill them and all that money down the drain. One of the reasons I don't do saltwater.

 

[Koan]

​

 

[*Ci*]

The constant worry that looking at them the wrong way might kill them and all that money down the drain. One of the reasons I don't do saltwater.

I worried about that, as well. Spent a lot of money stocking up on every conceivable medication and a complete 55g quarantine/hospital tank, and here I am over a year later and I haven’t needed a single one of these items.
Buying quality fish, keeping the tank stable and clean, I think, are key. I don’t use RO (my tap is close to RO anyway), but I do age and preheat water for 2x 50% changes every week. The bare bottom is swept clean and the canister pre-filters are rinsed weekly.
Making the water change regime convenient is another key to success. If it’s hard to do it will be too easy to skimp.
Although I am not automated, my syphon lives in the tank, drain and water change hose is thru the floor right behind the tank. I simply turn valves on and off and the water change happens. I add ferts, kH and gH salts as I’m re-filling. Same with my ageing barrel in the basement. A hose with hot and cold water mixed is permanently hooked up to the barrel with a float valve, a heater, utility pump and airstones live in there, as well, all on one plug. The day after a tank cleaning, I just flip a valve to start the barrel fill, and turn on the heater/airstones to be ready for the next water change.

With low demand plants, it is a very easy tank, now that it is all set up and established.

So, @Minninips, that is my reality (read my journal for more details), yours may differ but If the passion is there, a way can be found! (You were looking for enablement, were you not? Lol!)

 

[*Ci*]

The only general thing I ever really knew was they were high maintenance fish and RO is pretty much a requirement.

Depends on your source water. Mine is low chlorine, zero kH and gH from the tap. I remineralize to 4dKh to make sure my filter bacterial colony stays robust and 5dGh for fish growth and plant health.
Chlorine is off gassed in the ageing barrel, but for redundancy I also add a dechlor to the tank while refilling.

 

[Minninips]

So, @Minninips, that is my reality (read my journal for more details), yours may differ but If the passion is there, a way can be found! (You were looking for enablement, were you not? Lol!)

I'm certainly looking for enablement, but I'm unsure it's for me. I'm not a big fan of the bare bottom look. I'd be open to sand or BDBS , but then I'm not sure I'm ready for the commitment of maintenance. I'll continue reading your journal and poking around SimplyDiscus.

Depends on your source water. Mine is low chlorine, zero kH and gH from the tap. I remineralize to 4dKh to make sure my filter bacterial colony stays robust and 5dGh for fish growth and plant health.
Chlorine is off gassed in the ageing barrel, but for redundancy I also add a dechlor to the tank while refilling.

My water source is an artesian well, so there's no concerns of chlorine. I've been using RO water that reads 0 TDS .