I want to keep discus but ive heared that having gravel in a tank of discus can cause disease is this true?

Question

I want to keep discus but ive heared that having gravel in a tank of discus can cause disease is this true?

Answer 1

Generally not, if you wash the gravel first.  Keep washing the gravel and agitating it with your hands until the water is clear, then put it in your tank, add any decor, and then fill it up and add the discus.

Answer 2

The larger grain size of gravel creates crevices in between the pieces, where food, waste, and other organic material can get trapped.  As these decompose, ammonia is produced, which is very toxic to fish, and especially sensitive fish like Discus tend to drop dead.  Also, a dirty substrate can harbor parasites, fungal spores, and bacteria that will eventually infect fish, especially if they are stressed by other factors.  Having gravel isn't going to kill the fish, but lax maintenance and overfeeding will.  I use sand, mostly because I prefer the look, but it is MUCH easier to remove the waste, as it sits on top.  Also, since the food doesn't get lost in cracks, you get to see the Discus' natural behavior, which involves squirting jets of water onto the substrate to push food into the water column.  Honestly, I'd go with sand-- it looks nicer (in my opinion), is lower maintenance, and will allow the fish to eat with less trouble.

Answer 3

No, not true specially in a display tank at home.  Why?  Because you can easily clean the gravel with a gravel cleaner... clean gravel, no disease.

This is in contrast to breeder tanks.  Discus breeders deploy lots of tank, so washing/vacuuming gravel is very time consuming.  If they get lazy and the gravel becomes dirty, diseases set in.  Many equate this to the gravel being the culprit while in reality it is the laziness of the breeder that is at fault.  To counteract this, breeders use bare (no gravel) tanks which are easier to clean.

This is where the myth of gravel causing disease came from.  Not true at all.