Anyone ever tried these combos?

[Farhan123]

I've had this 75 gallon set up with nothing but a green sev and 3 pearl gouramis. Really wanted to turn this into a discus show tank however with the pandemic and all, Ive never found the time. I think now may be the time. I plan on buying 5 4.5-5 inch discus but Ive raised this severum from 1.5 inch to 5 inches so I cant bring myself to rehome him. During the time I've had him Ive learned that he is very mellow, he hasnt hurt the tiny pencilfish when they were in there or the 2 inch discus that was in there for a brief period (long story). I feel as though I may try this and see how it goes.

Tank - light layer of pf sand lightly planted with driftwood, sunsun 370 gph filter, (125-gallon sponge filter and tetra whisper 40i, might remove one or both once my canister is seeded) will do 33-50% WC 2-3 times a week.

 

[Farhan123]

Pearls will be rehomed btw

 

[neutrino]

It's certainly been done and it's in the category of sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, largely because both sevs and discus vary in temperament, meaning you need a mellow severum and not overly timid discus.

My own reservations, and why I haven't done it personally, are discus temperatures are on the high side for Heros (my opinion, I prefer upper 70s to 80-ish for sevs and at these temperatures I find they live a long time, sometimes 15,16 years) and Heros tend to be more aggressive eaters. IF, a severum decided he didn't like the discus around, he could make them miserable. You also wouldn't want to feed a severum the "meaty" diet that some people (me not included) feed to discus. All of that said, I've kept Heros and wild angelfish together a few times without an issue, but, as I said, in cooler water, not in the temps most people keep discus.

All of that said, a 75 is on the small side for a discus show tank to include a severum once both species are adults.

 

[Farhan123]

I guess I should skip discus or rehome the sev?
Should I give it a shot with 3 discus at first and if anything happens I can just remove either or?

 

[fishguy1978]

It's not the number but the temperament of each species. Both can be timid or aggressive. My Sev's pretty much ignore the non-Sev tank mates. I do on occasion see a stinted charge at the SD to get them out of the Sev's personal space. I would set up a seperate tank for the Discus. More tanks are always better

 

[Farhan123]

I think I may see how the house feels about Salad (the sev). If he has to go Ill do a tank with just 5-6 discus, however, he may have to share the tank with a few for a few days until I can find him a suitable home. Of we choose not to rehome the sev and keep Salad i may just go out and get him some tank mates. Any suggestions?
I was thinking 2-4 angels
4 GBR or BR
the 3 pearls gouramis?
Another sev?

 

[fishguy1978]

4 GBR or BR?
I have 2 angels in the 120g with my 2 sev's they all do ok until the angels spawn. Male angel came out on the short end and no longer so beautiful. Any angel keeper who starts out with more than 2 ends with 2 if pairs are formed because of the aggression levels are rediculous. Can work though.
Is Salad male or female?Another Sev could work potentially based on Salad's gender acceptance standards

 

[Farhan123]

LOL, Salad is male.
I meant 4 German BLue Rams or Bolivian Rams

 

[neutrino]

I guess I should skip discus or rehome the sev?
Should I give it a shot with 3 discus at first and if anything happens I can just remove either or?

Not in every case, but that number can result in an odd man out-low man on the totem pole situation where one of them is constantly chased around. Again, not in every case-- personal experience-- but excepting a pair, too few discus in a group can lead to one being bullied and stressed by the others. Typically, 5 or 6 is a minimum group, more is even better to see their peaceful, shoaling behavior. Like I say, I've had exceptions to this and had 3 or 4 in tanks with a ton of plants and a mix of other fish, but this won't always work.

A number of geo species can make a nice mix with severums. In a 75 you'd want one of the smaller to medium geo species. Some, like Geo altifrons, would be too big as adults.

 

[neutrino]

...Some other types I've kept with Heros are guianacara, some small to medium acara types, a rivulatus green terror... and probably some I'm forgetting. Geos and Heros are one of my go to combinations, both are among my favorite fish.

...And in a larger tank there are even more possibilities, though some that have worked for me, like Mesonauta, haven't worked so well for other people.