Mollys and Discus

[Ceahorse]

I been looking around for a liverbearer to go with my Discus. My Discus are quite shy and the tank frenquently looks empty. They be hideing behind the wood mounted plants. .. Anyways i was thinking of mollys cause they have alot of babies which would make nice snacks for my Discus. I want the LB that are least likely to nip at my discus..

Any suggestions.

Ceaz.

[ShinShin]

For Mollies to flourish, they need hard, alkaline water with some salt which is exactly opposite of discus requirements.

Mat

[pcsb23]

Generally I try and avoid livebearers in my discus tanks. Most require very different water than discus do, with mollies preferring positively brackish water as Mat has already explained. Most live bearers also need lower temps than discus.

[Ceahorse]

Hmm. seems so.. any ideas for some tank mates. ?

[DiscusOnly]

How big is your tank? I fill my 90 gallons with about 30 rummy nose. I have about 20 black neon as well and it makes the tank comes with life with those schooling fish.

Both will do fine with the higher discus temperature. Just make sure you get at least a dozen or so..

[dpt8]

I too love rummy nose for schooling and I have those plus 9 cories for bottom schooling in my 90 gl. I believe in one post someone recommended adolphi's so that is what I have. I have two other tanks with 10 sterbais in each..

[ShinShin]

Rummynose, Cardinal, and Bleack Neon Tetras are 3 of the best choices. If you dare jump continents, Harliquen Rasboras are another. All look great in a large shoal.

Mat

[Ceahorse]

thanks guys.. my tank is kinda small .. bout 70G. it has 3 discus, mid aged (1-2") .. Im gonna go with a small group of cardinals

[bs6749]

If you are set on wanting a livebearer for your tank with discus you should look into Endlers. They are guppy-like and are from South America. They can tolerate the high temperatures that discus require, though it's recommended to keep them in harder and alkaline water. I wouldn't see a problem putting them in slightly acidic and soft water personally. I've got some pure Endlers and they are very prolific breeders.

[rowedder]

Hello,
I've got mollies in my 210 tank, they were in a 29 gallon. When I put them in the 210 gallon they got huge and are always having babies. They don't pick on the discus at all, there are 21 discus in the tank, temp is at 86, pH of 6.5. I haven't had any problems.

[philip69285]

I too have 4 balloon mollies in my tank.. after John informed me of their awsome algae eating properties. Anyways... I still have all my mollies (no babies yet only had for a week). My tank is at 82 degrees and at 7.2 PH and very soft water. So they can live and do just fine as long as they are acclimated correctly. Only thingis... its not their prefered type of aquarium so you have to think about that.

[Autumn Wind]

I also had Mollies in with my discus. They got along fine except for one bully female that continually attacked my darker discus. Once I got rid of the evil one everyone got on fine. They are great at eating the hair algae that grows on plants and wood.
Watch out for the occasional 'evil' molly and make sure they have green food available if the algae runs out and they should do fine.

[poconogal]

If you are set on wanting a livebearer for your tank with discus you should look into Endlers. They are guppy-like and are from South America. They can tolerate the high temperatures that discus require, though it's recommended to keep them in harder and alkaline water. I wouldn't see a problem putting them in slightly acidic and soft water personally. I've got some pure Endlers and they are very prolific breeders.

I just saw Endlers guppies in my LFS the other day. They are absolutely gorgeous little fish and I was wondering about keeping them with my Discus. Do they school? I have soft, dkh 4, alkaline well water (weird water) so I'm thinking that they may do well.