Discus tankmates?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
hillbilly;3437596; said:
Yeah, more discus for a 300gal., but you're going to need more than 8, or they will feel lost in that big tank, won't eat, and hide in the corner if they are youngsters. You could get away with only 8 if the discus were all adults. I don't like angels mixed with discus, or much of anything else. In my experience, discus do best with other discus.

I agree here. I was a bit foolish to try to mix other fish with my juvie discus. so now I have 15 in a 72gal BF all alone & now doing much better all together (had gone thru my share of trials & tribulations with them from hunger strikes, darting like crazy, darkening/no coloration, Ich, planaria/little white mites, algae/diatom bloom, & now I hope only playful sparring & chasing)

many recommend BN plecos as they don't grow so large so s.b. less poop (I had 8babes but they all pooped a lot anyway!). I wanted to add my fav albino aeneus cory's but they do not do well in high discus temps (84-87).

angels are too aggressive come feeding time, will frighten juvies more often than not & then they poop a lot also.

as for the other fish others have had experience with & recommended - I would say for your 1st yr just go discus.

with a nice 300 (from your "large" 20gal) you can stock some nice varieties! I bought 1 of each variety Discus Hans had on hand & I only have a 72gal!

& many can recommend many reputable highly rated sellers/breeders. ken's in cal., marks in bklyn, discus hans in baltimore, poppopfish in pa, mountain discus in co., one in Ohio & one in Nevada - all very good.

so good luck in your decision. let us know & of course pics plz!!
 
TwistedPenguin;3437032; said:
Horrors! Corys aren't poop eaters! That's a myth about all bottom fish that needed put to rest 100 yrs ago. There's no fish that "recycle poop". They may stir it up so it gets sucked into the filter intake easier since they're mainly at the bottom (being bottom fish). But they do NOT eat poop.

I agree about corys eating poop but I would like to state for the record because I used to claim "no fish ate poop" there are in fact some fish that can will and do actually "eat poop".

Tilapia are a great example. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
 
TwistedPenguin;3470535; said:
There's thousands of different Plecs. It all depends on tank size, what water temp they like, what they eat, etc.

Keep that "what they eat" very much in mind when selecting plecos. Many of the more carnivorous fancy plecos can gnaw on discus when they are hungry.
 
FishPimpin101;3442703; said:
yes they can. ive seen videos of discus and aros together.

The Dallas World Aquarium has a huge Green Anaconda and toucans in a palludarium with discus but that doesn't mean I'd recommend it lol.

I've seen some crazy stuff kept with discus working in the industry and I've always noticed that the fish in tanks w/ odd tank mates never hold a candle to discus properly housed and maintained.
 
revkkoolaid;3478726; said:
I've seen some crazy stuff kept with discus working in the industry and I've always noticed that the fish in tanks w/ odd tank mates never hold a candle to discus properly housed and maintained.

It all depends what you consider a good looking discus. Those that look like jelly babies on steroids or wild fish? Wild fish tend to be up to 25% smaller than the varieties bred in South East Asia. But there body shape is much more in proportion. Ok, they are not the size of dinner plates but nicer looking fish all the same. And they naturally occur with other fish and why not keep them with such?
If you want to keep the Asian breeds that I think are offensive to the eye, keep them in unnatural surrounding like a bare bottom tank and feed them beefheart mixes laces with antibiotics...:screwy:
 
Oh.. thanks for the advice, but i was actually thinking that maybe the suckerfishes would suck on the protein coat or watever of the discus. So it is ok to keep them together as long as the suckers don't grow too big?
 
That'a too general of a statement. Find a Plec that can take warmer temps, is mainly a carnivore and is known to mind his own business. I've got an L114 in with my Discus and it's a perfect combo. But you should research on planetcatfish.com. There's literally thousands of Plecs.
 
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