Opinions Please

[guggas]

Would putting a proven pair in my 120g with no intention to raise fry be a bad way to get into discus? What are some pros/cons to starting with a pair vs a larger group? Either way I will probably want a large school of tetras and some GBR in there too eventually. I'm thinking getting a pair is cheaper than a big group and it allows me to get some experience with discus with less investment. Thanks for your thoughts.

[warblad79]

It doesn't make sense.

[MD.David]

I don't know if this is cheaper, proven pairs are $500-$1200 depending on the kind, you could get a group of 7 older juvies for $55 each.
I suppose you could do a pair and a few tank mates.
Would be interesting to see the parents guard their spawn!
:)


Would putting a proven pair in my 120g with no intention to raise fry be a bad way to get into discus? What are some pros/cons to starting with a pair vs a larger group? Either way I will probably want a large school of tetras and some GBR in there too eventually. I'm thinking getting a pair is cheaper than a big group and it allows me to get some experience with discus with less investment. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Kyla]

i have a bunch of discus in my 180g and along the way i picked up a pair i really liked. if i had gotten that pair right off the bat i would have just given them the 180g to themselves with a bunch of cardinals and corydoras.

[chaoslite]

Discus are best in a group of six or seven. A pair is ok, but I would go with a group. Pairs sometimes start hating each other. At least some of mine have.

Mishka

[Neptune]

I think a group in a 120g would be much more interesting to watch. And they would be more comfortable.

[Kyla]

yah, the pair would def have to be well suited and gentle with eachother. some discus r jerks even when they r breeding, but the two strong pairs i had just seemed so happy together with space to themselves. i think it would have been neat to leave them together to see how long their partnership lasted. i suppose that over time even discus madly in love can break up. you'd have to monitor them, as with any fish and esp cichlids. do discus in the wild only pair during breeding season? do groups of discus in general stick together and hook back up with familiar partners? forget penguins, i want to see a March of the Discus documentary. maybe being in pairs for extended periods goes contrary to their natural behavior and they'd be unhappy in the long run, but id still like to try it someday

[Kyla]

and i want morgan freeman to narrate it

[Pokediscus]

and i want morgan freeman to narrate it

+1

[jim LI]

James Earl Jones to narrate.

[Mattgoanna]

A pair in your 120 is a great way to go if you are happy with them and comfortable with the price. I keep all my discus in pairs in planted tanks with catfish and tetras. My experience is that buying adults is much better than juveniles from both a price perspective and getting the fish you actually like. I have owned hundreds of discus over the years.