Big South American tank... thinking Discus... & what else???

I've always wanted a group of Discus... thinking a 250 ish gallon tank ( 6 feet X 30inches X 30 inches ) thinking 3-5, or more, Discus to start with...

other fish, that come to mind need to be bigger peaceful fish, that are ok at the high end for temperatures, & obviously soft water... maybe 3 - 4 Angel fish... 3-4 Red Shoulder Severum's... maybe a small group of Geo's... maybe a fancy Pleco... I'd really like a Royal, but it would get huge in a 250 gallon tank... maybe a school of larger Tetras... normally I go for bright colors, but the discus will be likely be a mix of yellow, orange, turquois, Blue... so maybe an active silver fish... if the Severum's wouldn't be a good fit, with the Discus or angels... I could see putting in a school of Tiger Stripe Silver dollars instead of a silver tetra...

are you picturing this??? options or substitution's needed??? this tank is going to go on line sometime next year, I have to do a few modifications to the house where I'm going to put the tank... I have the tank, but need to work out plumbing for frequent water changes, that the Discus will require, for that location, the filter system & lighting yet... so I have a while to decide on tank mates for the Discus...

Thanks for any suggestions

Hello Magnum. Could we see a photo of this monster some time? I love larger tanks!

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It’s standing on the end in my garage ( more pictures are in the big tank filter thread )

Full size appliance cart standing next to it, like you would use to move a refrigerator

I’ll get some better pictures, maybe later in the week, when I have some time

Magnum Man said:

It’s standing on the end in my garage ( more pictures are in the big tank filter thread )

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Is that the TANK?
You know, I needed help to get my 75 gallon tank on the stand. I can't imagine doing it with 250 gallons. You need a team LOL. Hey, I was poking around other forums the other day and came across a journal where this guy set up (I think) a 250 gallon tank also. He installed every conceivable convenience gadget and plumbing you can imagine. If I find it I'll post it. You might get some good ideas.

I'm excited to see it come together!

Magnum Man- I found the build I was talking about above- it's actually only 125 gallon, but he did so much to it that I think you still might find an idea or two. This is the kind of build I wish I had the engineering and diy aptitude for- dude controls everything from his phone and hardly has to lift a finger to perform maintenance.

I take the old school view.

Discus need specific conditions, including warmth. They aren't community fish. If you set up a discus tank, you put discus in it. Nothing else.

in looking through fish, there really are very few that have the exact same temperature range... but... it does look like common Rummy Nose Tetras do... a large school of those would look kinda cool...

looking at the www for tank mates for Discus... it's amusing how many times Cory's come up... my understanding they really don't like the hotter temps...

most of the fish they pair up with Discus are lower temperatures, & I assume you are supposed to keep the Discus on the cooler side, & these supposed tank mates warmer than they like... so you have a tank no one is happy in...

I found an interesting site, that among other particular information, lists each pleco types preferred temperature range, & many of them share the Discus's preferred range... in fact the little King Tiger Plecos, that I love & I have, match the Discus's temp range...
others include...
Zebra L-046
Peppermint L-31
King Tiger L-333
Broken Line Royal L-191
Leopard Frog L-134
Mango L-47

I'm sure there are more... & the ones listed vary a lot in size & diet

Many plecos or Loracarids poop like horses due to their diets, and that doesn't always work with cleanliness needing Discus.

You have to consider temperature, water hardness, disease exposure (a wild caught discus at $500 killed by a farm virus from a $5 tetra....), flow, etc. There is a lot of meanongless mystique about discus keeping, and you can ignore some of it. They should be moderately hardy fish on par with a Satanoperca for their needs. They don't let you screw up, but a lot of fish are like that.

I find a lot of the fancy colour morphs to be extremely ugly, but that's taste. Mine is bad according to some.

I was just thinking about a Broken Line Royal ( L-191 )... a seller that lists them for sale, say's up to 20 inches, which seems really likely, in a 250 gallon tank... wondering how you clean up after an animal like that... it would be like picking up poop from your poodle... no aquarium filter that I'm aware of, could pick it up or process something that size, let alone provide pristine water for the Discus

I'm back to thinking the King Tigers, or Leopard Frog... both of which max out at about 4"... & honestly, I have 5 of the King Tigers in one tank, at about 2 inches right now, & never seen a turd following one...

Interestingly one of the best Discus places actually recommends Rams, saying they are in the same temp range, & their presence actually calms the Discus???

Magnum Man said:

Interestingly one of the best Discus places actually recommends Rams, saying they are in the same temp range, & their presence actually calms the Discus???

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That's interesting- and they are colorful enough to compete for eye-time with the discus. I like the idea of those rummy-nose tetras, though- the attraction there is the fact that they are so different and you'd see the group of them swimming around- I think it would compliment the discus rather than compete, by bringing a completely different look to the aquascape.

Wow ! You’re actually considering Discus ? In my mind Discus are the King of tropical aquarium fishes and I have always thought of them as being way outside my ability . They’re expensive and hard to get ahold of and I would cry crocodile tears if a $75 dollar fish croaked on me . Now don’t get me wrong , I would love to have Discus but I’m afraid . Discus are , now how can I say this , Discus are not fish for mere mortals . Not knocking you just giving you the hard truth .

Coincidentally I was reading something today, that the rummy’s are one of the most schooling of the tetras, in the South America tank I ordered 6 from a seller I’d call “average” and all 6 died within 2 days… I ordered 8 more, thinking they may be harder to get started, from the dealer I got the African tetras from, that I would consider a “premium” seller, and all 8 are doing well, on the 3rd day, and they look amazing, swimming back and forth in that 55 gallon, in a tight group… I would think like 25 or 30 of them in a group, in the discus tank would look amazing, and not add as much bio load, as they would eye appeal… yes, I would have them also in another tank, but really no one else sees them in the tanks I’m the basement