Suitable Catfish To Put With Discus

[Bristlenose1804]

Hello
I was wondering if anyone could give me any suggestions with this.My dad keeps discus and just bought himself a gorgeous corner display tank with some gorgeous looking discus. Its his birthday at the end of the month and would love to get him a catfish for this tank.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what catfish or plec would be suitable?
I was thinking along the lines of a Gold Nugget or an Albino longfinned BristleNose catfish.(This last one im getting for myself aswell)
Its a very large tank unsure of the size but think the Bristlenose will be too small
Does anyone have any suggestion?I would like it to be a attractive fish if possible because as iv said is a display tank with some very attractive discus.
thanks for any replys in advance
Vicky

 

[smithrc]

without knowing the size of the tank its hard to reccomend...

there are a lot of striking plecs that will complement a discus tank... If you try to stick to 8-10" then i guess you'll be ok (as it's got to be a relatively large tank to keep the discus happy)

You can go wrong with one of the following...
L075 - Para Plec (8")
LDA33 - Big white spot (10")
L264 - Saltan Plec (8")
L114 - Leopard Cactus Pleco (10")

all should be ok in the warmer temps for discus (28ºC ish)

 

[Bristlenose1804]

Hi there
thanks for the reply.Iv had a look for some picture and really like the first two,but especially the big white spot.
Is there any that are slightly smaller that might be suitable may around the 6-8inch mark.I dont want to get anything that will be too big.

 

[kevin007]

a school of sterbai cories? they can take warmer temperatures, i've had discuses myself

 

[big mick]

I keep corries and bristlenose plecs with my discus and they are fine.....Im also looking after a pangasius catfish and a dolphin shark and the discus couldnt care less.

 

[smithrc]

Bristle noses get to about 6" - in your first post you said that it would be too small....

 

[big mick]

well spotted, might I ask why are bristlenose "too small"?

What sort of size do you want them to get?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Bristlenose

I would highly recommend giving him a school of C. sterbai. They are one of the few corys that can thrive in a discus tank, because of the high temperatures, and are very impressive indeed. Here's a link so you can see what I mean:

http/www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/2003_07.php

This fish was in great demand and sold for very high prices just a few years ago but is more widely imported and bred now and so it's more affordable. It can even spawn in discus tanks when mature. Even so, it is still considered a "high status" fish and is frequently sought after to fill the bottom of discus tanks.

This is the season for them and I've seen some nice big wild caught ones in my lfs recently.

 

[Bristlenose1804]

Thanks for all the replys. I though the Bristlenose would be too small coz when I searched from some details on them it said they only grew 4.5inch but if its definatly 6in then il get one of those.
When my dad first started out he had two ordinary bristlenoses and ended up with a breeding pari and hes very fond of them.
If found a site where I can get a long finned albino bristlenose, which i think he would love as a birthday prezzie. Hes also bought himself a daffodile yellow discus! Its gorgeous.Well actually he got it for me coz I fell in love with them on ebay.
His new tank it a 75gallon corner unit. It looks stunnung with his discus and hes planted it lovely
Thanks alot for the replys

 

[John_Nicholson]

I would go with bristlenose. Some plecos will develop a liking to the slime coat of the discus. When this happens they have a habit of trying to get midnight snacks out of the discus. For whatever reason the bristlenose normally won't do this.

-john

 

[Bristlenose1804]

thanks john.Il stick with the Bristlenose.By the way thats a very nice pair of discus you have there.totally gorgeous

 

[bunjiweb]

It tends to be the common plecs that like the slime coating. I have seen all sorts of fancy plecs being kept with discus. I have an LDA33 myself and it is one sexy fish. The L128 and L200 are also beautiful. But all 3 grow to about 8". If you want something smaller (4"?) Flash plecs are nice (L204) as are King tiger Plecs (L066).

Ben