Discus Tank Mates

[h317]

In my 90G planted tank, I have:

2 adult size discus
30+ Cardinal Tetras
9 Halequin Rasboras
4 Albino Bristlenoses (juveniles)
5 Ottos
4 Mollies
6 Khuli Loaches
2 SAEs
10-15 Amano Shrimps

Temp at 28C. No incompatibility among them. The discus are sometimes inquisitive at the shrimps, but not to the point of hunting them.

According to the breeder, the discus have never been kept with small fish like Rasboras or Tetras before. They don't seem to be hunting them as well.

It's a bit crowded, isn't it? Got to get another tank soon.

Lawrence

[BLUEKNIGHT]

I have in my planted tank:
5 discus.
8 rams
4 apistogramma paiunsis.
6 apistogramma borelli.
2 apistogramma cacutoides.
panda corys.
aneus corys.
Siameses algae eaters.
apistogramma trifaciata.
I have also kept the following but dont have them right now
apistogramma agasizz
Angels only if they have been qurantined and treated personally i would not like to keep them with discus.
bristlenose plecos.
Also as for the corys some of them will die in temperatures that are in the 80s so there is only a limited amount you can keep with the discus.

[peety]

In my planted tank:
9 Discus
25 Neons
10 Harlequins
10 Glow Plugs
5 Albino Danios
10 Zebra Danios
1 Leopard Danio (was a gift and nicest danio of all)(all danios school together)
3 Clown Loaches
5 Peppered Corys (was 2 then some little ones majically appeared ;D)
2 Bristlenose
3 Male Fancy Guppy
5 Female Fancy Guppy
about 40-60 baby Guppy fry (various sizes) (maybe I can use them in a beefheart mix :-X)

Deceased: 1 Siamese Algae Eater :'(

All these live together very happily (i need to get another SAE, i killed him during a tank cleanout :-[)

I have had a couple of neons expire... and the hatchets all leapt from my tank with great abandon. I ditched my common pleco because they chased the discus once they grew big enough ( and they get plenty big)

Make sure you get Siamese Algae Eater NOT Chinese. They look the same as far as I know, and I had to trust my LFS. The Chinese sucks the Discus.

I had Angels as well but they got nippy and the discus were always herded around my tank.

All in all a very happy family and my discus recently did their first spawn in the middle of it all (no fry, but didn't expect there to be, I've have got some breeding tanks on order though).

I have a large community tank of about 140 g heavily planted.

peety

[Ralph]

Rummy nose tetras make a great companion fish for discus. They are strong schoolers staying in the lower third of the tank. They are larger than cardinal tetras reaching about two inches or so. They eat flakes that fall past the discus but will eat live blackworms if they can get one (I have some fat rummies with my discus). In an unstressed situation, they color out (not like in the LFS) and their entire head turns a metallic red and the tail is a vivid black and white striped. There are supposedly two kinds of False Rummynose Tetras. I've read about them and looked at pictures and diagrams but I still don't know which ones I have. Their care is the same though so it probably doesn't matter much. They can handle 90 degree f. plus temps in case you have to turn up the heat to treat your discus. They keep their distance from the discus and spend their day swimming among the plants and the discus just ignore them. They are even peaceful among themselves. Highly recommended.

[FenderPbass]

In my 55 gallon, I have two small-sized discus with four medium size angelfish. When i first put my discus in the angelfish tried to gang up on one of them but i think they were more interested in what the fish was because the next day later the two discus were hanging out together with one of the smallest angelfish. Everyone seems to be getting along just find... or at least no problems yet...

[Ralph]

Welcome to the board.
I've heard bad things about the pairing of angels and discus, keep us updated on how it goes. My guess is that it has a lot to do with the individual fish and the environment they are in.

[Denny]

i have a male betta and 2 female bettas in a 20g with 2 -2.5" heckle/alancer babies and they make great tankmates. i use bettas for q.t situations too as they are sensitive to diseases and will indicate their existance early on.

denny

[cramramdon]

I've kept bristlenose plecos in with my discus with no problem and am currently keeping clown plecos in with them, though they don't do as great a job on the algae. Also is a school of 11 cardinal tetras which is a site to see and compliments the discus wonderfully. I also have several Yamato numa ebi (cardina japonica shrimp) which don't seem to bother the discus at all and do a great job of cleaning the algea from the plants.

Something I have been wondering about is bichor (polypterus delhezi, polypterus palmas, polypterus ornitipinnis, polypterus senegalis)?? I have been keeping bichor with a number of different cichlids including severums, red devil, convict, Jack dempsey, Blue Acara and Oscars. They are always really mellow towards tankmates. The only quarles I have seen is with each other. I have also read that they are a wonderful fish for bigger planted tanks. I think they would be a great tankmate for discus, though I have never tried it. They would require a big tank - at least 75 gal.

cram

[Debo]

I have In my planted 125 . Discus, Cardnels, Rummy noses, Gold Tetras, Forktail Rainbows, Marble Hatchets, German Rams. Apistogram agasizz, Altums, clown loaches, Sterbi cories, Bristlenose plecos. I have a couple flying foxes if I could catch ;D would be in another tank!
Deb

[cramramdon]

South American leaf fish (monoccirhus polycanthus) might be a really great tankmate for discus. Their really mellow and would leave the discus alone without making them nervous.

[Jason60625]

I think many discus owners are far too concerned about maintaining temperatures that are supposedly "ideal" but are in fact unnecessary for the well-being of discus. I've always raised and bred discus in 82-degree water and have had more success with tankmates and plants because my tank is not at 86 or 88 degrees.

I've kept everything from guppies to clown loaches with my discus and have had success with almost everything except for the larger cichlids (severums and chocolate cichlids). The fish tha enjoy "bottom-feeding" and clean up after the discus have included Bolivian rams and panda corys.

I read one post in which someone said that his altispinosas are dying. When I've encountered problems with this species, it's been because I didn't provide enough plants and driftwood to make them feel secure. They are so shy they will literally waste away rather than fight for food with large discus and rowdy tetras.

My favorite fish to keep with discus, besides altispinosas, are Bosemani rainbows and Congo tetras. They are ravenous feeders and will prevent any food from reaching the substrate. In fact, I always have at least 6-8 rainbows or Congos in my planted tanks because they are great at providing fertilizer for the plants.

I've also had incredible luck with scissortails. They are somewaht drab, but are nearly indestructible and look okay in a large school. I've had scissortails live over 6 years and reach about 4 inches. They are less prone to "freaking out" and darting than cardinals and neons and so won't scare timid discus.

[mas]

i keep my discus in not so native conditions.. i have a planted tank, the ph is at 7 and the temp is around 28 degrees celsius, but my discus have got used to it and they happy so i dont really mind. i keep the ph at 7 because i dont want to muck with the water chemistry (its about 8 out of the tap but settles to 7 fairly quickly) and the temp a bit lower coz i want to keep plants, but anyways.. with these conditions, my 2 definite favourites to keep with discus are

emperor tetras (nematobrycon palmeri) they're quite spectacular for tetras and dont bother the discus at all during feeding. they're apparently long lived too which is a plus.. i had fish dying on me even if it is old age. with lots of space and plenty of food they grow to a good size as well (not as big as congo tetras though) yeh nice fish.

speaking of congo tetras, just want to add that they really shine if they have lots of tank space.. when i gave some more room the males grew really impressive fins and they seemed so much happier. they're always moving, and love lapping and darting around the tank after each other i wouldnt get them unless you have good space for them.

also i recently found some madagascar rainbows (bedotia geayi) which in my opinion are the most beautiful rainbows you can get.. they're less voracious than other rainbows ive kept, but the nice black/dark blue stripe down their sides with the contrasting gold highlights on it are excellent. they're nice and active and tend to school in smaller numbers which is also a plus. apparently they dont like acidic water though, perferring alkaline so if you keep your discus properly, it probably isnt a good idea to get these.

.marcus

ps. oh yeh. ive kept discus and angels and have had no problems. theres some good links out there about the pros and cons of doing so. if you want to feel better about them, get the angels as babies, then theres less chance of them having anything thats not already in your tank anyway. hungry discus dont seem to be deterred by them at all during feeding if theres a good amount of room (with considering if the angels spawn) for everyone its quite ok i would say.

pps. apistogrammas are nice as well, but ive found them to be much much much more sensitive to water conditions than discus are. discus are easy compared to them! ive lost a number of groups of them because of just a tiny bit of uneaten food that i didnt clean up quick enough. just my experience though. they really do like foreground plans like crypts tho.

[ChloroPhil]

Right now I'm keeping my discus with *drum roll please*......DISCUS!

Once grown out they're going into a tank with a nice school of Harlequin Rasboras, 3 Spike-Tailed Paradise Fish and some SAEs and Ottos.

When I get a decent sized tank (125+) I'd like to keep discus with Pencilfish, Apistos, Ottos, and Cories. I'm still debating whether or not to keep plants in this....it would be a really good biotope.

[bottle-blonde]

great white sharks.

[Ralph]

SWIM FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

You should start a new thread, "Bad discus tank mates."