discus and Geophagus altifrons water parameters

[ucng]

Hey guys,
Just wanted to make sure that the water ph, hardness, and temp of these two species of fish are the same. Thank you very much. Also, if you guys know, can they be kept together without fights and such. Thanks
ucng

 

[hillbilly]

It's been years since I've kept Geos. In my experience, they are a pain in the rear. They pull up your landscape, dig up the substrate, and are generally annoying, much like Oscars in that respect. I'd say it be would hit or miss keeping some types of Geos with discus. I've never kept Altifrons. As far as water parameters, they should be able to adapt to discus water. If I tried such an experiment, I would only use adult discus to prevent any chance of stunting.

 

[revkkoolaid]

Hey guys,
Just wanted to make sure that the water ph, hardness, and temp of these two species of fish are the same. Thank you very much. Also, if you guys know, can they be kept together without fights and such. Thanks
ucng

One bit of advice I can give , if you wanna call it that, is hope your discus group is bold and are agressive feeders. We keep G. surinamensis in many of our large hardscaped discus tanks to help keep the sand bed stirred and consequently clean. As hillbilly mentioned they do dig and root around alot. Some sp. more than others. Which as I mentioned can actually be a benefit as far as hygiene.

They can out compete more timid discus that want to pick their food up of the bottom. The "mood" of the group is totally hit or miss from group to group and tank to tank. I've seen adult fish from the same batch be split into two groups of 10 and stocked in identical (even the decor was symetrical!) 300g. tanks and one was bold and outgoing as hell and the other shy and retiring.

I suppose if you were going to try it stock the discus well in advance and see how they are going to behave before choosing tankmates if you wish to mix other fish.