Discus Compatibility

[SensesFail]

Hi guys

Have a few questions regarding discus compatibility and discus themselves.

First of all what would you recommend as suitAble tank mates for discus? I have a 190L tank which is 100cm by 55cm high. Ideally I was looking at keeping around 4 Discus. Tank mate wise I was hoping for some catfish or loaches then some other fish to go with them. What type of catfish/loaches would be suitable?

Question 2: would you recommend putting the other fish into the tank before adding the discus or would you go for adding the discus first? (my answer would be other fish then discus am I correct in saying this?)

Question 3: is it advisable to add one discus at a time? 2 even or 4?

Thanks for any comments or suggestions

 

[stevereade]

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight, well, your just out of the size range for 4 discus really they need around 50litres each as a rule of thumb but you'll probably get away with it. If I were you I'd add them all together as they like groups, suitable tank mates are tetra really as they make discus feel safe because they shoal, the discus use them as like an early warning system as when the tetra move quick the discus use their movement to know when something dangerous is near, hence they make them feel safe. When I had mine I had lots of tetra, cory's for my clean up crew and some huge armoured boxing shrimp. Oh another thing is make sure your water is very very clean, the parameters are perfect for the discus i.e ph, kh and gh. Oh and dont buy anything catfish or loach wise that sticks itself to surfaces as you may end up with them stuck to the side of your discus which will stress them, injure them and even end up killing them, very very sensitive fish.

 

[walkers101]

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight, well, your just out of the size range for 4 discus really they need around 50litres each as a rule of thumb but you'll probably get away with it. If I were you I'd add them all together as they like groups, suitable tank mates are tetra really as they make discus feel safe because they shoal, the discus use them as like an early warning system as when the tetra move quick the discus use their movement to know when something dangerous is near, hence they make them feel safe. When I had mine I had lots of tetra, cory's for my clean up crew and some huge armoured boxing shrimp. Oh another thing is make sure your water is very very clean, the parameters are perfect for the discus i.e ph, kh and gh. Oh and dont buy anything catfish or loach wise that sticks itself to surfaces as you may end up with them stuck to the side of your discus which will stress them, injure them and even end up killing them, very very sensitive fish.

your right upto a certain point with loaches etc but i have 3 plecs 5 loaches and a syno in my tank and not one has ever gone near a discus you just have to reserch which loaches do what

 

[stevereade]

Are any of them small enough to latch onto your discus.

 

[walkers101]

2 are yes

 

[markandhisfish]

if thisis going to be your 1st time with discus , it is generally better not to have tankmates , just concentrate on the discus . as stated tho your tank is too small , you really want 55g minimum and a group of 6 discus all added together at the same time .

but if youre adamant you want tankmates , then good choices are cardinal tetras , rummynose tetras , sterbai corys , and rams work well too . this tho will push your min tank size up , say more like 75g

plecs have been known to attatch themselve to the side of the discus at night and feed off their slimecoat , keeping the plec well fed minimisies this risk , altho it can still happen so generally plecs are best avoided , just to be safe .

feeding is another very important thing with discus , they need a higher protein diet , and should be fed several times a day , most people dont feed their discus enough.

 

[Geo Dude.]

Bristle nose cats, Corydoras and most L numbers are fine with Discus. A healthy Discus wont let a Pleco suck the slime from its body.
I would stay clear from the Loaches though. I tried to keep Pakistani Loaches with my Discus and they would not leave them alone.
They just kept attacking them.

 

[SensesFail]

if thisis going to be your 1st time with discus , it is generally better not to have tankmates , just concentrate on the discus . as stated tho your tank is too small , you really want 55g minimum and a group of 6 discus all added together at the same time .

but if youre adamant you want tankmates , then good choices are cardinal tetras , rummynose tetras , sterbai corys , and rams work well too . this tho will push your min tank size up , say more like 75g

plecs have been known to attatch themselve to the side of the discus at night and feed off their slimecoat , keeping the plec well fed minimisies this risk , altho it can still happen so generally plecs are best avoided , just to be safe .

feeding is another very important thing with discus , they need a higher protein diet , and should be fed several times a day , most people dont feed their discus enough.

Food wise I have bought the following so far:

TetraPro Crisps 95g/500ml
TetraPrima 300g/1000ml

What other food do I need. I understand they like blood worm also?
If I were 2 get 4 discus and 2 pair up the other 2 would be ok? Iv rea that if you get 3 and 2 pair they then bully the third. Would this be limited having 2 loners?

 

[stevereade]

if thisis going to be your 1st time with discus , it is generally better not to have tankmates , just concentrate on the discus . as stated tho your tank is too small , you really want 55g minimum and a group of 6 discus all added together at the same time .

but if youre adamant you want tankmates , then good choices are cardinal tetras , rummynose tetras , sterbai corys , and rams work well too . this tho will push your min tank size up , say more like 75g

plecs have been known to attatch themselve to the side of the discus at night and feed off their slimecoat , keeping the plec well fed minimisies this risk , altho it can still happen so generally plecs are best avoided , just to be safe .

feeding is another very important thing with discus , they need a higher protein diet , and should be fed several times a day , most people dont feed their discus enough.

I don't agree with that at all, there's no problem with a first timer to discus having tank mates and no benefits in avoiding them Like I said they love shoaling tankmates as it will help them relax. Bloodworm is good, I used to let my frozen bloodworm thaw out on top of the tank first tho and yes I fed mine twice a day which is what I'd recommend. Oh and like I said seeing as your only after 4 you'll just about get away with your tank size with some tetra too or similar size fish. You'll be fine, less you worry the better really as long as your water is right they'll be fine, mine used to see me come through the door and greet me at one end of my tank and they'd follow me round the room lol, I loved them, by far the best personality I've had from my trops experience's.

 

[SensesFail]

if thisis going to be your 1st time with discus , it is generally better not to have tankmates , just concentrate on the discus . as stated tho your tank is too small , you really want 55g minimum and a group of 6 discus all added together at the same time .

but if youre adamant you want tankmates , then good choices are cardinal tetras , rummynose tetras , sterbai corys , and rams work well too . this tho will push your min tank size up , say more like 75g

plecs have been known to attatch themselve to the side of the discus at night and feed off their slimecoat , keeping the plec well fed minimisies this risk , altho it can still happen so generally plecs are best avoided , just to be safe .

feeding is another very important thing with discus , they need a higher protein diet , and should be fed several times a day , most people dont feed their discus enough.

I don't agree with that at all, there's no problem with a first timer to discus having tank mates and no benefits in avoiding them Like I said they love shoaling tankmates as it will help them relax. Bloodworm is good, I used to let my frozen bloodworm thaw out on top of the tank first tho and yes I fed mine twice a day which is what I'd recommend. Oh and like I said seeing as your only after 4 you'll just about get away with your tank size with some tetra too or similar size fish. You'll be fine, less you worry the better really as long as your water is right they'll be fine, mine used to see me come through the door and greet me at one end of my tank and they'd follow me round the room lol, I loved them, by far the best personality I've had from my trops experience's.

Brilliant I shall have a look at some tetras as a small addition. Add them first then the discus? I understand you have to gradually add the fish?

Water changes I'm banking on 3 50litre changes a week although someone said maybe 4 would be better. 4 water changes a week leaving a day in-between changes. I banked on filling a 50l bin with water heating it with a heater then adding it. But it will take a while for the water to get to 28-30 c maybe won't even get to that temp in that space of time using the heater alone. Is it worth boiling the kettle to give it a boost start? Someone told me using the hot water tap would be fine others say it's a grey area?

 

[walkers101]

if thisis going to be your 1st time with discus , it is generally better not to have tankmates , just concentrate on the discus . as stated tho your tank is too small , you really want 55g minimum and a group of 6 discus all added together at the same time .

but if youre adamant you want tankmates , then good choices are cardinal tetras , rummynose tetras , sterbai corys , and rams work well too . this tho will push your min tank size up , say more like 75g

plecs have been known to attatch themselve to the side of the discus at night and feed off their slimecoat , keeping the plec well fed minimisies this risk , altho it can still happen so generally plecs are best avoided , just to be safe .

feeding is another very important thing with discus , they need a higher protein diet , and should be fed several times a day , most people dont feed their discus enough.

I don't agree with that at all, there's no problem with a first timer to discus having tank mates and no benefits in avoiding them Like I said they love shoaling tankmates as it will help them relax. Bloodworm is good, I used to let my frozen bloodworm thaw out on top of the tank first tho and yes I fed mine twice a day which is what I'd recommend. Oh and like I said seeing as your only after 4 you'll just about get away with your tank size with some tetra too or similar size fish. You'll be fine, less you worry the better really as long as your water is right they'll be fine, mine used to see me come through the door and greet me at one end of my tank and they'd follow me round the room lol, I loved them, by far the best personality I've had from my trops experience's.

Brilliant I shall have a look at some tetras as a small addition. Add them first then the discus? I understand you have to gradually add the fish?

Water changes I'm banking on 3 50litre changes a week although someone said maybe 4 would be better. 4 water changes a week leaving a day in-between changes. I banked on filling a 50l bin with water heating it with a heater then adding it. But it will take a while for the water to get to 28-30 c maybe won't even get to that temp in that space of time using the heater alone. Is it worth boiling the kettle to give it a boost start? Someone told me using the hot water tap would be fine others say it's a grey area?

I add water from the cold tap treated with dechlor via 2 air lines takes a while but the temp stays at 29C

 

[markandhisfish]

this is 1 of the many myths surrounding discus. it is not critical to temp match incoming water to that of your tank. a slight drop is no problem at all, in fact its perfectly natural and will often trigger spawning. extreme drops should be avoided , but when i do my wtaerchange the temp drops from 30 to around 27 which is perfectly fine.

 

[Geo Dude.]

this is 1 of the many myths surrounding discus. it is not critical to temp match incoming water to that of your tank. a slight drop is no problem at all, in fact its perfectly natural and will often trigger spawning. extreme drops should be avoided , but when i do my wtaerchange the temp drops from 30 to around 27 which is perfectly fine.

This is not a big drop as 27c is tolerable for Discus. I kept mine at a constant 28C. I would not use cold water with Discus. If you drop it down below 26C they
will start to stress although temporarily dropping the temp can induce spawning.

I would also bin the Bloodworm. They are a useless food.Very low in protein and can harbour parasites.
Its like feeding a child chocolate all the time. The Discus can become addicted to them and refuse to eat anything else.

 

[SensesFail]

For tank mates would 4 or 5 Rummynose Tetra work along with 4 Corys (Corydoras Julii or Corydoras Paleatus) ? or is the tank too small for them with having 4 discus?

 

[Carlovel1]

That should be fine but IMO 4 is too many in the tank, maybe 3 are better