So, I know the following:
Discus do not mix well with Angels, for a variety of reasons.
Discus need specific, pristine water quality.
Other tank mates should be carefully selected for Discus.
But, what did I do, you ask? Yep, I bought two beautiful Discus. They're about an inch and half long. I put them in my 125 with 35 or 40 assorted tetras, 10 or so Cories, 6 two-inch Clown Loaches, and, yes, the breeding pair of Angels.
This was last night. My observations so far:
They hang out in the middle 1/3 of the tank, and stay together. At night, they hang around on the bottom part of the tank, stealing food from the catfish. They sometimes venture to the top portion, but not often.
They've eaten. Boy, have they eaten! I feed Freshwater Frenzy, Hikari Micro Wafers, and, after the lights go out, Shrimp pellets and Algae Wafers.
These two really eat!
They aren't getting picked on at all. I expected a little scuffle between them and the Angels, at least. But, it is a six-foot tank, and I didn't take that into account.
Extra info:
The tank is heavily planted (six Amazon Swords which are over a foot tall and about a foot wide).
Temp is at 78 degrees.
Ammonia, Nitrite - 0, Nitrate - 10, and I just did another water change today. Nitrate stays at 10-15 with bi-weekly water changes of about 40%. I plan on now doing weekly water changes of the same size, a 55 gallon barrel. pH - 7.2, KH - 4. I test bi-weekly, but now plan on testing weekly, since their addition. Filtration: XP3, XP4, and some crappy HOB that's only there because we can hook up a surface skimmer to it -- so there's a surface skimmer. I don't dose anything, and we do use CO2, which is also carefully monitored.
So, my question is, am I doomed? Be honest, but as kind as possible!
If I'm not completely doomed, and you can find some pointers to give, that would be great, too! Stories of Discus enjoying long lives in community tanks would be wonderful and appreciated!
Discus do not mix well with Angels, for a variety of reasons.
Discus need specific, pristine water quality.
Other tank mates should be carefully selected for Discus.
But, what did I do, you ask? Yep, I bought two beautiful Discus. They're about an inch and half long. I put them in my 125 with 35 or 40 assorted tetras, 10 or so Cories, 6 two-inch Clown Loaches, and, yes, the breeding pair of Angels.
This was last night. My observations so far:
They hang out in the middle 1/3 of the tank, and stay together. At night, they hang around on the bottom part of the tank, stealing food from the catfish. They sometimes venture to the top portion, but not often.
They've eaten. Boy, have they eaten! I feed Freshwater Frenzy, Hikari Micro Wafers, and, after the lights go out, Shrimp pellets and Algae Wafers.
These two really eat!
They aren't getting picked on at all. I expected a little scuffle between them and the Angels, at least. But, it is a six-foot tank, and I didn't take that into account.
Extra info:
The tank is heavily planted (six Amazon Swords which are over a foot tall and about a foot wide).
Temp is at 78 degrees.
Ammonia, Nitrite - 0, Nitrate - 10, and I just did another water change today. Nitrate stays at 10-15 with bi-weekly water changes of about 40%. I plan on now doing weekly water changes of the same size, a 55 gallon barrel. pH - 7.2, KH - 4. I test bi-weekly, but now plan on testing weekly, since their addition. Filtration: XP3, XP4, and some crappy HOB that's only there because we can hook up a surface skimmer to it -- so there's a surface skimmer. I don't dose anything, and we do use CO2, which is also carefully monitored.
So, my question is, am I doomed? Be honest, but as kind as possible!
If I'm not completely doomed, and you can find some pointers to give, that would be great, too! Stories of Discus enjoying long lives in community tanks would be wonderful and appreciated!
78 degrees for discus. That is not good. It should be at the very least 82.
,put your temp up to 82/84 now!!!!
