Cleaner Required For Discus Tank

[jmuccillo]

I have four discus residing in a 250 l bare bottomed tank and require an appropriate tank mate to keep the tank clean. The tank is furnished with driftwood, some small rocks and an amazon sword in a pot. A medium bristlenose also resides in the tank whos job is to keep the driftwood clean and remove algae. Tankmates job is to remove left over food from bottom of tank and not cause undue stress to the other residence.

Any takers?

 

[randomguysmell]

shrimp may work but I dunno if they will get eaten

 

[Seb R]

Depends what your feeding, but cories would work, aslong as they are not too active a species

 

[Inchworm]

Many people choose to keep a school of C. sterbai with their discus, since they are warm water corys that thrive in the same conditions the discus do. They are very beautiful too.

They are not garbage eaters, however. They need to be well fed and cared for in their own right.

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/calli...ydora/316_F.PHP

 

[jmuccillo]

How about a couple of clown loaches? Would they be too active for the discus?

 

[simonbrown403]

How about a couple of clown loaches? Would they be too active for the discus?

Clowns are not the bes thing as they a quite active a night and can grow to a fair old size in wamer waters, shrimp tend to looked on as food, even bigger ones.

I,d go for C. sterbai as inchworm sujests, any fish you put in will only add to your tank stocking level, and as inchworm say you will need to make sure they are feed.

 

[jmuccillo]

O.K C. Sterbai sounds good.

What's the smallest school I should consider for my 250 l tank. I understand they like company.

Also will they be O.K in a bear bottom tank.

 

[Krib Crazy]

Why not try a bunch of ghost shrimp

 

[Inchworm]

O.K C. Sterbai sounds good.

What's the smallest school I should consider for my 250 l tank. I understand they like company.

Also will they be O.K in a bear bottom tank.

Hi joe2

Although it's less than ideal conditions for corys, I've known of people who have successfully kept them in bare bottomed tanks.

In a tank that large, don't even think of getting less than 6 of them. A dozen, or even more, would be even better.

When they are mature, they might even spawn for you. While I know that's not your reason for getting them, they are still a very desirable and "in demand" fish, so that's something you might want to consider too. Of course their eggs, if not collected, would just become a tasty snack for your discus.

 

[jmuccillo]

I added a group of (approx. 1 in long) c.sterbai to the discus tank a few days ago but they don't appear to be settling in too well. They seem to spend most of their time swimming against the glass. I don't know if this is their normal behaviour or if they are stressed. I have kept c.juli before in another tank and although they would occasionally swim against the glass they generally spent most of their time foraging for food on the bottom.

The tank temp. is 29 C, pH 7, Ammonia and Nitrites zero. I had been adding some Melafix to the tank prior to their introduction to treat some fungus on one of the discus. I wondered whether the higher temp. or Melafix may be stressing them.

Any ideas?

 

[Krib Crazy]

Its normal mine do it to.

 

[rixy]

i had 10 sterbai when i kept discus.they were perfect.give them a few days to settle in.they'll be fine

 

[Inchworm]

Hi joe2

Your corys are still quite young and they are just playing. They will settle down and get some dignity when they get older.

Another thing you might see is them sitting on the bottom and one will shoot up to the top and get a gulp of air. Then the rest will follow suit. As long as they don't hang around at the top or continue this for long periods of time, it's fine. Corys have the ability to absorb air through their intestines when their native rivers get too muddy for them to breathe properly and as youngsters they sometimes think doing it is fun.

MelaFix is a good medicine and I use it for corys whenever a very mild antibacterial medicine is called for. You don't have to worry about that.

BTW, how many C. sterbai did you get?

 

[jmuccillo]

That's interesting. I didn't know they had that ability.

I got 6 to start with. I wanted to see how they would go with the discus first before getting more. The discus don't seem to mind them and provided they settle in O.K I plan to get a few more.

They look good and I like the way they school together. Do they continue to do this when they get older?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi joe2

While they will still continue to be fairly active as they get older, they will settle down considerably. Unlike many kinds of schooling fish, they do not just seem to stick together for protection and spread out when they feel safe. Rather, they seem to enjoy each other's company and even when they have plenty of room, you are apt to see them all sitting together in one spot. They like physical contact with each other and if you were to put a cave in there, they might all try to get in together, even if it meant literally piling in one on top of the other.