Angels or Denison barbs with rams?

[Mythic Figment]

Me, too! According to my research their difficulty level is along the lines of the FW ray so decided againt it and went for angelfish instead. I'll be adding a shoal of 20-50 Denison barbs in my 250 gallon with 10-15 angelfish. Your tank is better off with Denison barbs, though.

Why do you say it's better off with the barbs? Because of space or tankmates?

A shoal of 50 would be amazing to see. My only issue with them is their price tag of $8 each. And those are the cheap Petsmart ones. The LFSs sell them for $15+ each!

I like angels. Plus they are cheaper than the barbs. Only issue is finding good ones. The LFSs sell bland mostly white and/or cream colored ones with none having black or silver. The big chain stores sell beautiful angels of all the color varieties, but their angels are notoriously sensitive. If I bought angels from them, chances are I would experience a 75% or higher die out rate and just keep returning the dead ones until I got 5-6 healthy ones. I don't want to kill off 30+ angelfish just to find some good ones.


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[Mythic Figment]

Keeping discus is along the lines of keeping sw fish. Not hard, just more effort and tampering.


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Have you kept discus? I read a lot of mixed practices as far as maintenance goes. Some say large water changes every day. Some say small daily changes with one 75%+ once a week. Some also say their discus keep just fine with regular once or twice a week 25-50% changes.


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[Mythic Figment]

I JUST SAW THE BUBBLIER OMG THAT'S SOOO EPIC

LOL Thank you. I like the central location that creates the bubble curtain effect.


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[Anchovie]

Have you kept discus? I read a lot of mixed practices as far as maintenance goes. Some say large water changes every day. Some say small daily changes with one 75%+ once a week. Some also say their discus keep just fine with regular once or twice a week 25-50% changes.


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Yea I've kept discus. To be honest the cheaper ones are easier to care for. The expensive f0 or f1 discus are tough.


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[Mythic Figment]

Well, facing reality...I work 6 days a week normally and combining that with the price of discus and the return policy of the only place I know of that sells them locally...I just don't think discus are practical for me at this point. I don't think I could give them all the care they need despite how much I want them. Maybe I will do something discus like in the future.

So the new plan for the 55 is this:
6 Denison barbs/roseline sharks
5 German blue rams (already have)
15 neons (10 are currently in the girlfriend's 20 gallon high)
1 Siamese algae eater (already have)

Think this is a good fit?


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[MrGillz]

And by the way, that second picture, the side shot, is absolutely gorgeous! Can I ask what you paid for each of your discus?


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I paid $65 each but they were much smaller. Bought them locally so they would be used to our tap water unsoftened! They do great and I do a weekly 50% water change! All i put is stress coat and warm water every water change. They have a fluval 405 I clean usually every 3 weeks.

 

[MrGillz]

How difficult is it to maintain your discus? I have heard some say its no worse than other sensitive fish like German blue rams, but others say its a nightmare of daily 50%+ water changes. Honestly I want discus so very bad, but the price combined with the LFS's crappy return policy and the stories I hear make me super leery of buying any.

I read that having less than 4 discus will result in violence amongst their ranks. Do your two beat on each other at all?


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One chases the other a lil but nothing serious. Perfect finnace and both stay out in the open, I'd say its only durring feeding. They eat tetramin crisps and every other day they get blood worms and brine shrimp.

 

[Mythic Figment]

One chases the other a lil but nothing serious. Perfect finnace and both stay out in the open, I'd say its only durring feeding. They eat tetramin crisps and every other day they get blood worms and brine shrimp.

I am so conflicted! LOL If I can find some discus that only need this level of care (or maybe a bit more), I would definitely take the plunge.


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[probassfisher010]

Just get adults, juvies are much more sensitive and they may require the daily water changes you hear about, adults not so much. You could get away with weeklywater changes with adults. I suggest peat and driftwood to maintain a stable ph. Black water extract on new water changes


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[Mythic Figment]

Just get adults, juvies are much more sensitive and they may require the daily water changes you hear about, adults not so much. You could get away with weeklywater changes with adults. I suggest peat and driftwood to maintain a stable ph. Black water extract on new water changes


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Is the black water extract on the new water changes for the tap water that is hard and higher pH?


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