75g tank suggestions?

[Fishnerd360]

If your going the low tech planted tank, in my opinion it’ll be more rewarding as your seeing your fish in a more natural environment with plants. I’ll say get 6 red head tapajos earth eaters, a school of tetras(taller bodied will fill up the tank nicely), and a few bristlenose plecos.

 

[ben park]

Funny enough that's exactly what I am going to try in the next week or two. I had my 4-inch green severum with a 2-inch discus for 2-3 weeks where the only aggression was on the first introduction, putting him in his place in the pecking order, after that he completely ignored him.
Before anyone starts flaming me, it was only temporary and a last resort I advise no one to do this. This doesn't mean you cant keep discus with severum.

The first issue is aggression
Although both fish are pretty docile, depending on the nature of your severum. the discus would have to be a size where they can fend for themselves, 4 inches each MINUMUM with a 4-inch severum. They would also have to vastly outnumber the severum. For example 5 discus to 1 severum.

The next problem would be bioload in a 75-gallon tank.
if you are diligent with WC let's say changing 33-50% 2-3 times a week and have adequate heat. Also, I would say that there is enough space in a 4ft tank for both species to avoid/ignore each other. Discus like to shoal and will usually stick together. Maybe having the severum in the tank will increase shoaling behavior from the discus.

The would-be diet and temperature may be difficult to compensate for
While they are both South American cichlids they have slightly different requirements. Normal Discus temperatures are usually on the high end of the spectrum for severums. And discus have mainly high protein high meat diets while severums are primarily herbivores, however, a mixed diet can solve this. Also, the sevs are much more aggressive eaters than discus but with enough feedings and separate feedings, it can be done.

If you were to do discus and severum you could only keep 1 severum max along with 5-6 discus minimum and maximum with no other tankmates at all. I've never heard about the red severums being more peaceful than others but Deadeyeprobably knows more. It is possible but you have to be very cautious and be religious with maintenance and care.

That being said, you also have to make sure you know how to care for discus and have some fish keeping experience. The severums and planted tank idea are not necessarily always true because they will not eat all plants IME. If you think you can manage with all of this then go ahead, discus are not as weak as people make them out to be.

I see. I used to keep some fish around 2 years ago and took a break, coming back into the hobby now. If severums and discus are too much work, would angelfish and discus be better? If so, what type of angels tend to work best with discus?

 

[ben park]

Funny enough that's exactly what I am going to try in the next week or two. I had my 4-inch green severum with a 2-inch discus for 2-3 weeks where the only aggression was on the first introduction, putting him in his place in the pecking order, after that he completely ignored him.
Before anyone starts flaming me, it was only temporary and a last resort I advise no one to do this. This doesn't mean you cant keep discus with severum.

The first issue is aggression
Although both fish are pretty docile, depending on the nature of your severum. the discus would have to be a size where they can fend for themselves, 4 inches each MINUMUM with a 4-inch severum. They would also have to vastly outnumber the severum. For example 5 discus to 1 severum.

The next problem would be bioload in a 75-gallon tank.
if you are diligent with WC let's say changing 33-50% 2-3 times a week and have adequate heat. Also, I would say that there is enough space in a 4ft tank for both species to avoid/ignore each other. Discus like to shoal and will usually stick together. Maybe having the severum in the tank will increase shoaling behavior from the discus.

The would-be diet and temperature may be difficult to compensate for
While they are both South American cichlids they have slightly different requirements. Normal Discus temperatures are usually on the high end of the spectrum for severums. And discus have mainly high protein high meat diets while severums are primarily herbivores, however, a mixed diet can solve this. Also, the sevs are much more aggressive eaters than discus but with enough feedings and separate feedings, it can be done.

If you were to do discus and severum you could only keep 1 severum max along with 5-6 discus minimum and maximum with no other tankmates at all. I've never heard about the red severums being more peaceful than others but Deadeyeprobably knows more. It is possible but you have to be very cautious and be religious with maintenance and care.

That being said, you also have to make sure you know how to care for discus and have some fish keeping experience. The severums and planted tank idea are not necessarily always true because they will not eat all plants IME. If you think you can manage with all of this then go ahead, discus are not as weak as people make them out to be.

oh yea I've been wanting to keep some geophagus for some time

 

[Farhan123]

Its not too much work but depends on how diligent you are, if you have the time to monitor your tanks and do WC then it should be possible. If your tanks have stable conditions and you have general knowledge on fishkeeping, know how to care for your fish and what to do during diseases or emergencies then I think your set. Of it is your first time keeping discus it is highly recommending to buy sub-adults - adults and keep them w/o tankmates for a while to get a grip on discus and then introduce tankmates. Angels and discus have been done but many don't. I would say it's safe than being with a sev but discus school so you'd need 5-6 MiNIMUM and with angels you cant add more either. Angels can handle discus conditions but are also more aggressive eaters. With all that, if you can establish a school of discus and then introduce a sev or angel or 2 angels MAX then you should be okay. Don't take my word though. I think 5 discus and 2 angels is possible as long as there is no breeding and you are ready to remove it necessary. The angels should be smaller and introduced after the discus with proper qt. Also you will need to keep up maintenance. 5 discus and 2 angels are pretty similar to 7 discus I think as long as there is no breeding. But also if you want to go a safer route you could do a severum with some angelfish maybe 2-4. Also Bolivian rams or germans are a lot like geophagus where they sift sand and look similar but they don't create as much of a bioload and are more peaceful. I think a moderately planted 75 with a severum 3-4 angels and a group of rams and some manzanita branches would be really cool. If you are looking for wood for your tank manzanita branches are really cool and give a really natural look, check out blooms and branches sanblasted manzanita branches. I got mine for cheap and they look really good and release no tannins.

 

[ben park]

Gotcha. I'll probably go with the discus route but would like 30-40 percent WC weekly be enough for them? Also with wood, do i need a specific substrate or would sand or tile work? Sorry, I've never had any type of plant or wood in my tanks before.

 

[neko1]

Would recommand some sand for plants. 30% wc should be enough. Just figure it out urself. If its to messy you will need to do more. But i think it should be fine.

 

[esoxlucius]

Hello, I got a empty 75g running on a fx4 with only water in it, what are some fish suggestions? I'm thinking about either tiling it or having a very low-tech planted tank. Thank you very much

Just an unrelated observation from me. You say your 75g is already up and running with an FX4 on it, but it's empty fish wise, is this correct? If you are planning on introducing fish anytime soon shouldn't you be thinking of preparing your 75g cycle wise so it is safe for whatever fish you eventually choose?

The reason I ask is that if it's not cycled, and then you go and choose your fish, you will have to wait a fair while before introducing them, unless you've got a ready supply of mature bio media from another tank. It's just not clear from any of your posts.

 

[Farhan123]

With wood, you don't need any specific substrate but with discus, a thin layer of sand will be best or BB. I prefer thin layers of sand 1 to 1.5 inches so you can gravel vac easily and clean the bottom. Sand is preferred among discus keepers because A it looks more natural and B it will be easier to clean. You will require hardy plants with the severum who will occasionally snack on them. I currently have Camboba and Amazon Swords. Although he munches on them a little they do not die. You can also use Java Fern, Java Moss, and Anubias. Also, I would try to up the WC and at MINIMUM change all 75 gallons throughout the week. So 15 gallons a day for 5 weeks, or 25 gallons for 3 days, so the least you should be doing is changing all 75 gallons throughout the week, but more is better. Also, discus require very clean water. I would also suggest getting s UV light which makes your water clearer and cleaner.

 

[ben park]

Just an unrelated observation from me. You say your 75g is already up and running with an FX4 on it, but it's empty fish wise, is this correct? If you are planning on introducing fish anytime soon shouldn't you be thinking of preparing your 75g cycle wise so it is safe for whatever fish you eventually choose?

The reason I ask is that if it's not cycled, and then you go and choose your fish, you will have to wait a fair while before introducing them, unless you've got a ready supply of mature bio media from another tank. It's just not clear from any of your posts.

yea i still gotta start cycling and getting the water ready, just trying to get a plan with what fish/scape in going to do with the tank.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

Honestly, I dig the planted tanks and community tanks, but something else I would do would be an assortment of eels, Bichir tank, Geophagus, some Larger Catfish species, Dojo Loaches and some cold water fish (They are addorable), and if you want something not a lot of people do, a Giant Pea Puffer tank. My personal fav is the pea puffers just because they are adorable, and they seem to have a lot of personality. I would DEFINETLY not Discus because of the water parameters; always need pristine water. Good luck!