Canary in a Coal Mine (Goldfish)

[RobC]

Has anyone put goldfish with there Discus? I read an article that Goldfish will catch/get sick before a Discus will and thus indicating that there is something wrong with the environment.

I have a fancy goldfish in one of my grow outs, and it does a great job cleaning the bottom of the tank (bare bottom) I don't need to siphon the bottom when doing water changes.

[LizStreithorst]

I tried it years ago when I had a planted tank. My hopes were that the goldfish would clean up the food that the Discus left. But they were so greedy that I ended up feeding the Discus even more so they would have a chance at the food before the goldfish scarfed it. The heavy feeding coupled with the high temps of the Discus tank made the goldfish grow huge fast.

And no, goldfish are not the canary in the coal man. You can't kill them if you try. If you are looking for a canary in a coal mine get a school of German Blue Rams.

[Neptune]

Goldfish are tanks!!!
I have an outdoor pool in Mn. They are outside from April to November and don't miss a beat!
Then I throw them in a rubbermaid tub with no filtration to overwinter.
I have not lost one in three years...

Don't think my discus could take that... so no, not a good indicator fish!

[HarryDk]

lol, It is my dream to have discus that as forgiving as gold fish. Or at least to throw a few panadol in and fix every problem :D. But hey, we are keeping a bunch of princesses ^___^