Discus Tank Mates

[Oscar Betta]

I know that Discus aren't suppose to be in community tanks, but I know they can have some fish with them too. I've read that you can keep corys and cardinal tetras with them, but was wondering what other fish you could?

 

[the biffster]

I know that Discus aren't suppose to be in community tanks, but I know they can have some fish with them too. I've read that you can keep corys and cardinal tetras with them, but was wondering what other fish you could?

discus come from the same
stretch of water as angel fish
yes you could keep Cory's with them
also neon's and cardinals

 

[Oscar Betta]

So are you saying I could put angel fish with them? ^

 

[AstonN24vantage]

ive heard of it before, and i do keep angels, but i have never kept discus.

 

[walkers101]

you can do but they can transmit disease to discus also corys are never happy at 30C

 

[the biffster]

in the wild discus and
angel fish live together

 

[walkers101]

i appreciate you like stating the obvious biffster

anyway

as i was saying i have heard of them carrying something called discus disease thats incureable just thought i would put it out there as i have been told about it by quite a few people

 

[the biffster]

i appreciate you like stating the obvious biffster

anyway

as i was saying i have heard of them carrying something called discus disease thats incureable just thought i would put it out there as i have been told about it by quite a few people

that's only because discus have been bred
is sterile conditions for so long if angels
had been kept the same as discus they to would
have the same weaknesses as discus have

 

[shroob]

Theres different schools of thought regarding angels and discus in the same tank. If you are considering it then I would read up on it and make your own decision.

P. altum are never found with discus, and P. leopoldi only with Heckels, so something to consider if your thinking of a 'true biotope'.

 

[mattlee]

angels carry diseases that can be transmitted to discus. sometimes its fine but its a risk. even adding discus from different sources can be a risk as there is something called discus plague where either a new introduced fish can go black and die or the older discus can do the same and the new one is fine. for this reason its best to buy all of your discus from the same place at the same time to prevent this. the only down side is that this can be quite an expensive trip! im not saying it will happen but it might, again its a risk.
fish that are compatable with discus are fish that can handle 30 degrees C water. rummynose tetra and cardinal tetra are fine but most other tetras like temps of about 26 degrees so wont live as well or for so long. i wouldnt put corys in at this temp although people do and find sterbai can survive better than the other cory species. neons and smaller tetras may well become lunch and wont handle the high temps once the discus are bigger. there are lots of plecos that prefer high temps and also german blue rams are a good companion. i have also kept bushfish in with discus that lived very happily and healthy and grew very fast on the meaty diet....

there is a lot to consider when opting for discus like tank mates, feeding, tank layout, water change regime etc etc. they are not the real sensitive fish as the myth states but do need big regular water changes and feeding small amounts and often. they eat small amounts but it goes through them fast so may need feeding at least 2x per day and even more if small specimins are bought. this as you can imagine will foul the water fast from uneaten food and poo hence the large regular water changes. this is also why people keep bare bottom tanks for discus with no substrate so they can get all of the uneaten food and poo out asap to keep the water spot on.
mine lived well in tap water so dont think you have to go buying RO units etc unless you buy wild discus.

 

[Squidward]

mine lived well in tap water so dont think you have to go buying RO units etc unless you buy wild discus.

What were your water stats?

 

[mattlee]

mine lived well in tap water so dont think you have to go buying RO units etc unless you buy wild discus.

What were your water stats?

my water is medium/hard with a pH of 7.6-7.8. i tried to keep the nitrates below 40 with regular big water changes but my tap water has 10ppm nitrates. asian bred discus seem to do better in tap water as they are grown up in medium/hard water for better growth as fry/juvis and plenty of feedings. german bred discus i think might be harder to acclimatise as im sure they mainly use soft water (not sure on that but think i read it somewhere). all mine were asian imports and did very well, i have since sold them all and they are still kept in tap water and doing well. just take plenty of time to acclimatise them and it should be fine. i added small amounts of water over an hour and a half to raise the water to mine very slowly and all was well. wild discus might struggle with tap water but tend to be quite expensive to buy anyway so i wouldnt advise them for your first discus.
if you go for them i would buy fish of 5+ inches as they seem to adapt better

 

[the biffster]

hi matt how are you doing post
us somr photos of your discus
i love them me like

 

[mattlee]

hi matt how are you doing post
us somr photos of your discus
i love them me like

any excuse.....

 

[the biffster]

ooh bonny looking fish matt