Discus-and other fish

[sja]

Hey all,
I set up my ar-850 (40gallon) tank last week and have just stocked it with fish.
8 neons, 8 platies, 4 silver sharks, 3 small angels and 3 corydoras catfish. I was wondering if discus would be able to live with these fish. Ive heard that they will eat the neons as they get bigger. If i got them they would probably only be 4-7 cm big.
sja.

 

[elgecko]

Your tank is full and you have no room for discus. The silver sharks get very big.
You might run into trouble as your tank does not sound like it would have cycled yet. You might have to a lot of water changes so your fish do not get ill from the ammonia and nitrate spike that has not happened yet.
Discus do best with 4-6 in a tank. Water temps need to be 83-86 degrees.

 

[sja]

i realise the sharks get big, but im not worried as i can get rid of them. My question was can they go with those fish? will they eat the neons. i may get them in the future. And i probably didnt explain how long the tank has been going for properly either. It will be fine.

 

[dirtydogg]

Short answer is no. Discus require a high temperature, that not many other fish can handle. Also they are a generally timid fish that needs to be kept in schools of 3 or more. and require perfect water conditions to thrive.

Edit* for my confusion.

 

[elgecko]

i realise the sharks get big, but im not worried as i can get rid of them. My question was can they go with those fish? will they eat the neons. i may get them in the future. And i probably didnt explain how long the tank has been going for properly either. It will be fine.

There are only 2 fish listed that I would consider keeping with discus. The corydoras catfish, which not all corys can tolerate the higher heat needed by discus and the Neons. I had my discus 4 1/2" - 5" with Neons for 8 months with no problems. Cardinals might be a better choice then Neons.
dirtydogg stated a high pH. Discus do better in a lower pH, but can be perfectly fine in higher pH's as long as it is stable. Mine are in a pH of 7.4

As for your tank you stated you set it up last week. I would take that to mean 7 days. The tank will not have cycled yet in that short of a time. When I set up new tanks I seed my filters with an established tank filter media and still wait 4 weeks before adding fish.
http/faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

 

[PaintballFan07]

Sja, discus can be kept with angels but it is not advised because angels can carry a desease that doesnt harm it but will harm the discus.

 

[OohFeeshy]

What exactly do you mean by you can get rid of them? And what shape is your tank? Angels usually need a tall (ie. hexagonal) tank. You have put far too many fish in- you are only meant to put 3-4 in every three or so weeks.

 

[jflowers]

Discus require a higher temp than most fish 80+, lower PH around 6.5 and a bigger tank as they need to be with others unless its a breeding pair. The size of the fish at purchase is not what you need to consider, its the size it will grow to.

The fish you have at the moment will be fine together, except the sharks, they need to go asap.

Common fish kept with Discus are cardinal tetras, so the neons would not get eaten, others common tank mates I am not sure about.

And i probably didnt explain how long the tank has been going for properly either. It will be fine.

Can you explain it then? How long has it been set up and how did you cycle it?

Jon

 

[PaintballFan07]

Discus require a higher temp than most fish 80+, lower PH around 6.5 and a bigger tank as they need to be with others unless its a breeding pair. The size of the fish at purchase is not what you need to consider, its the size it will grow to.

The fish you have at the moment will be fine together, except the sharks, they need to go asap.

Common fish kept with Discus are cardinal tetras, so the neons would not get eaten, others common tank mates I am not sure about.

And i probably didnt explain how long the tank has been going for properly either. It will be fine.

Can you explain it then? How long has it been set up and how did you cycle it?

Jon

lower PH around 6.5

Discus do not REQUIRE a ph around 6.5. Like sumone here said b4 its better to have a stable ph of 7.5 then have the ph go up n down trying to keep it at 6.5. Mine are kept at 7.2 n the are growing like weeds still the ph doesnt affect anything until breeding season comes around. Then it is better to have a lower ph by means of r/o water but there are several people breeding successfully in the ph of 7's.

 

[jflowers]

I agree 100% about the stable PH, I was just trying to give the IDEAL for Discus. Do you think he should get them? I hope not.

Jon

 

[PaintballFan07]

Hey all,
I set up my ar-850 (40gallon) tank last week and have just stocked it with fish.
8 neons, 8 platies, 4 silver sharks, 3 small angels and 3 corydoras catfish. I was wondering if discus would be able to live with these fish. Ive heard that they will eat the neons as they get bigger. If i got them they would probably only be 4-7 cm big.
sja.

All fish in ur tank are compatible with discus except the sharks. However ur neons will become lunch one day it is better to have cardinals like Jflowers said. If u want to risk it u may keep the angels with them as well, angels can live with the higher temps. You can keep the discus in a temp of 84-90. I am not sure about ur platies though. You could probably take them to ur lfs n get store credit put into your discus. Adult discus grow up to 8", so u can put 4 in ur tank. If u plan on breeding buy 4 of the same strain because there is no sure fire way to tell male from female so u are really gambling to get males n females out of the 4 u bought.

 

[sja]

Well people,
ive had water in it for about 2 weeks, (with the filter going) but only decorations fr about a week. i have never personaly found it neccessary to "cycle' a tank for longer that a week. And who am i supposed to beleive all of u are saying different things - low ph, high ph , the will be ok with everything -they cant do with anything. Maybe some peoples experiences are different to others. My mate has discus in with neons- sharks-platies at neutral ph with no problems. By get rid of i mean take them back to the petshop (were i work) and swap them.
Each to their own.

 

[sja]

ohh, and my tank is 40cm wide, 50 cm high and 85 cm long.
sja

 

[sylvia]

Discus need a low pH - as in acid and soft. Sometimes people make mistakes with this and think that a high acidity means a high pH so whoever said that probably just made a mistake at the time. Maybe you should do some more research on discus. I mean outside this board. You'll find they are easily stressed by active or even slightly aggressive fish. I consider bala sharks active and generaly unsuitable for your tank and large ones are harder to re-home so do them a favour and 'get rid of them' now. The others are ok temperament-wise but it is true that neons can (sometimes) become snacks. Another problem is that discus require a higher temperature - something your cories would not appreciate. If you want a simple answer to your original question - no, you can't have discus. The more complex answer would be 'not yet' - you need to sort out your stocking and realise that a discus tank is just that - a discus tank - you centre your stocking around the discus and not the other way round.

As for 'cycling' your tank for no more than a week - have you tested your water? What are your parameters? Did you use filter media or gravel from an established tank or something? That could explain your seemingly instant cycle.

edit: it's also true that a steady pH is better than a low unstable one but discus do naturaly come from soft, acid waters and are considered to need a low pH. However, I don't consider this something that would make it impossible to keep discus in a higher pH. It's just that most fish are raised in this 'ideal' pH so are used to it.

 

[sja]

i have never done a 'cycle' or used filter media from another tank before
i just go by the ph .
ive never had any bad luck with this.