this will be a simple question for discus fans

stupid question this i know folks but to keep discus are they best in pairs or groups?
they do look magnificent fish i just ain't kept them myself like
also given the size of this pair ... what size
(in INCHES or FEET please!!! i'm an old relic! don't understand tanks sized by litres!) tank would be best for them also what physical size (again in english inches/feet) would be a bare minimum?
apologies to the discus disciples for what must be janet and john type questions but when you ain't kept something the easiest way is to ask some-one who has like!!

discus are best in groups and when breeding pairs are formed they can then be removed and placed on their own. they are a shoaling fish but with the hierachy of any cichlid group. 6 seems to be a good number for a minimum long term as any fewer one of the fish will be bullied and struggle to feed. they do get quite big though and to home 6 long term i wouldnt recommend anything smaller than a 300 litre setup (4 footish but taller than a foot).

my advice wud be to get the biggest tank you can afford because as always once you start keeping discus you will want more and eventually your tank will be to small,but as kevin says minimum 4ft and minimum height has to be 18 inches