6. Cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi)
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Recommendation: 10/10
For: Bigger school movement is mesmerizing. Give different mood and tone to the tank. Can tolerate 86F without any problem.
Not for: Rarely happens but too small cardinal = sometime discus snack. Too small to make impact in big tank with small numbers, need quite a big school (at least 20-50 imo, depending on tank size).
7. Congo tetra (Phenacogrammus interruptus)
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Recommendation: 5-10/10 (in other words 50/50?)
For: Beautiful decent size tetra. Give different mood and tone to the tank. If you have big enough tank, I’d say give it a try.
Not for: Males can grow up to 3”+, a decent school of 6-10 need quite a lot of space. Might be a bit too busy in tank smaller than 90g. Mine really drawn aggression from cranky female discus, and later became quite fragile (not sure if it’s stress or temp or both).
Note: I’m too lazy to find other photo than Wikipedia’s (and to give credit for those photo), but this fish is a lot more beautiful than this photo show lol.
8. Common hatchetfish (Gasteropelecus sternicla)
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Recommendation: 10/10
For: Lively. Stay on top of the tank, different zone from discus. Give different mood and tone to the tank. Handle 86F without any problem.
Not for: Might be a bit too busy in small-ish tank. For some reasons, mine drawn aggression from cranky female discus.
Note: KEEP THE LID CLOSED, TIGHTLY!
9. Celestial pearl danio (Danio margaritatus) / Galaxy rasbora (Microrasbora sp.)
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Recommendation: 1/10
For: Colorful & beautiful individuals.
Not for: Stay small for their whole life. Maybe a bit too small to keep with fully grown discus. Frail and fragile at higher temp.
10. Pearl gourami (Trichopodus leerii)
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Recommendation: 8/10
For: Colorful & beautiful individuals. Hardy. Tolerate 86F well.
Not for: Personally, it looks somewhat like discus knockoff to me (no offense to anyone! I like this fish!) Maybe because of the feelers, behavior, swimming pattern? But once in a while it makes me feel “redundant” to put it in the same tank as discus.
Note: I myself would like to name this fish “poor man’s discus”.