New to Discus...some advice please.

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K

KRUNNCH540

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 20, 2007
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Clearwater, FL
www.raymondjames.com
So far, I have a 75G that is minimally stocked right now, a 29G that is mainly all neons and a 55G that will be a sump for my new 170G tank. Could you let me know how the following setup including stocking would be good for the 170G?

Filtration: 1200GPH overflow with 55G sump + AC500 + (FX5 possibly...probably)
Stocking: Assortment of Discus, 20+ Neon Tetras, 3 clown loaches and a variety of smaller plecos like gold nugget, albino bristle, etc.

Thanks a bunch,
Kris
 
Looks good except the plecos. I don't like having them in with Discus. I have acually seen one stick to the side of a Discus and damage the scales. But that is just me. A freind of mine has one in his tank, no problem.
 
As long as you start with small discus, you won't have a problem with the neons being seen as food. Algae eaters are more inclined to suck on discus sides than plecos, but I would avoid plecos in general unless it's in a tall tank. I have one in my 65H with my discus and angels, but the tank is really tall.
 
Sounds similar to my 180, it should work out fine.

My stock list:

5 - Discus
5 - Angel fish
30-40 - Clown loaches
6 - Rainbows
2 - Plecos (A royal and a para)
2 - CAE
...and some other assorted stuff.

Funny thing is it doesn't look as overstocked as it sounds. I have some full tank shots that makes the tank look empty. :screwy:

This is by far my favorite tank. The only thing that I would say is more clown loaches. They like to be in groups of at least 5 or more.

The discus out compete all of the other fish for food...weird.
 
The tank is 72.5"Lx29.5Hx18.5"D, would that be tall enough to avoid the pleco/discus problem? I was thinking angel fish, but wasn't clear on how to introduce them. Perhaps if I get small Discus, small Angel Fish and larger neons in the beginning? Then if I decide to do the plecos, I could have a variety of driftwood and rocks for them to be preoccupied with. If I go with Discus, does the tank have to be planted or can it be heavily rock scaped? I am not quite sure if I could afford the amount of lighting plants need in a 170G. I would need at least 350+ watts.
 
I would be afraid the angel fish would eat the neons eventually. I have seen some really nice tanks where they had discus and neons with no problems.

My tank is a gravel substrate and a bunch of large driftwood pieces (I will see if I can get you a pic when I get home) and the plecos mainly hang out around the driftwood. The discus stay on one side of the tank and the angels on the other side. They all have their own little gangs.

I started my discus out with a planted tank and it became too much of a hassle and decided to eventually rip them all out. I don't know if I would do rocks with sharp corners, just in case the discus would run into them....maybe if you wanted to stack some large river rock.
 
Most people use cardinal tetras rather than neons. Neons don't fare quite as well in the temp that discus like. I wouldn't personally recommend combining angels and discus. Also, watch the clown loaches, as they can outcompete for food, and the discus will suffer. When small this isn't an issue but CL that are over 4", and young discus is setting up for a big problem. If you have aggressive eating discus, this won't be too much of a problem, but still can cause some stunting. As for the plecos, just choose good species, and you'll be fine. I keep a slew of them in my discus tank, with no problems.
 
Hm, pretty much solves my stocking question. Now I just need to learn more about Discus since I have never kept them before. I am usually just into community tanks, but with this tank I want to go above and beyond with the variety and colors. Thank you guys for helping me out. It is time to become a Discus research guru.
 
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