what strains of discus look best in a large discus aquarium

[ganesan]

I see that domestic discus fish are classified into solid colors and fine spotted strains and then the tuquoise colors.
In one very large bare bottom discus aquarium suppose I tend to keep different strains together purely for show type and not for breeding..what combinations of discus fish colors look best and pleasing to the eyes..
Say solids of blue,yellow,white albinos,red pigeons and super reds together with spotted snake skins and ring leopards and red,blue,brown turks..
There are so many good looking colored strains..I think it all depends on the tank size and all strains can be kept together..
My query is that if i keep one large adult discus fish of each strain say one solid blue,one solid red,one pigeon red,one white albino,one solid yellow followed like wise with just one discus fish strain from different snake skins and turks without pairs and will this cause stress to discus fish... are pairs really necessary in one big aquarium is my main question here..can fish without pairs live together happily in one aquarium
Finally bull dog strain has come lately in all strains and bull dog discus with its high dorsal fins and thick bodies are really appealing...can one keep bull dog strains with non bull dog strains in the same aquarium..
There will be a pecking order in a large single adult discus fish show type aquarium..how does one keep the pecking order to minimal if not eradicate it totally...can some minimal hiding places be kept in the aquarium like large ceramic pots with tall plants sitting on a bare bottom aquarium and some pieces of drift woods extending from the surface to the bottom help discus fish from infighting...
Any answers will be appreciated..
thanks

[rickztahone]

Discus do not care which strains the other discus are. You can get any strain you want and mix them. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. If you get yellow discus, or red discus, keep in mind that many times you sacrifice the color of one for the other. If you give yellow discus the same food you would give your other discus, it may turn orange. If you give your red discus only food that will not turn your yellow orange, it may look dull as well. Also, the other exception I can think of is keeping domestics and wilds separate. They require different water parameters and for this reason, we keep them separate.

outside of those 2 things, strains are a very personal choice. Personally I love single strain tanks. My goal was to only have a single strain in my current tank, but it turned in to 3 different strains, lol.

[Kyla]

i went with a mish mash of colours and collected discus like beanie babies, had to have one of each lol

although i love the fish i have i am envious of the single-strain tanks i see. they look more sophisticated and natural.

if i could do it again i would get either a single blue strain or wild-type tank, or if i mixed strains i would get similar-coloured strains that blended well. somewhere on here i saw a nice wild mix, and ive seen mixes of cobalts and blue diamonds i liked etc.

in the end go with what u like. u may even find ur taste evolves over time.

[jmf3460]

Personally I love single strain tanks.

I could not agree with Ricardo more here, single species tanks look way more professional and natural to me. Obviously its up to you OP but I think multiple species just look un thought out. I have seen tanks with all single species and one lone fish that is strikingly different, like an odd ball, and that looks kind of neat. Like all solid blues and then one red melon or something completely different.

Of course you cannot go wrong with a tank full of wilds, that is my ultimate suggestion.

[bamzam]

I am in the same boat. I have a mix of all different strains in various colors because there were so many strains that I liked. But when I look through pics from the forum, now I really like the tanks that stuck with one color or one strain. There was a member here who had a tank with all sorts of various red strains that looked really nice.

[ganesan]

Thank you all for your replies..I am now in an agreement that same strains look better together than mixed strains...also I see tanks with same strains of discus move in a shoal from one end of the aquarium to the other end which is really pleasing to watch..I finally think that red strains like red marbloros,super red melons,red melons etc can be housed in a single tank while yellow strains like crystal yellows,golden yellows or milleniums can be housed together and blues like blue diamond,cobalt blues,blue scorpions etc can be housed in one tank while turks can be mixed in one tank...

[Rodneyj]

I agree with the single strain. I'm currently setting up a tank that will house 50 Rummy Nose Tetras, 30 Bleeding Heart Tetras and 10 Penang Eruptions. I have all the Tetras in there already and they look great when shoaling. Can't wait to get the Discus in there.

[ksuyen]

I could not agree with Ricardo more here, single species tanks look way more professional and natural to me. Obviously its up to you OP but I think multiple species just look un thought out. I have seen tanks with all single species and one lone fish that is strikingly different, like an odd ball, and that looks kind of neat. Like all solid blues and then one red melon or something completely different.

Of course you cannot go wrong with a tank full of wilds, that is my ultimate suggestion.

Jacklyn, that's what happening to my tank I have all red melon (5 semi adults) and 1 eruption (fully adult). What an odd ball, that one is.

[ksuyen]

I agree with the single strain. I'm currently setting up a tank that will house 50 Rummy Nose Tetras, 30 Bleeding Heart Tetras and 10 Penang Eruptions. I have all the Tetras in there already and they look great when shoaling. Can't wait to get the Discus in there.

Rodney, are you in Sydney? Aquaristic has very beautiful Eruption now, they are all 12-15cm, slightly expensive, but very high quality.

[Phillydubs]

12-15 inch...? Ummmm... Typo?

[ksuyen]

12-15 inch...? Ummmm... Typo?

Ops, yes, definitely typo. I would love to see 15 inch discus.

[discuspaul]

I really agree with single strain discus being the most desirable to keep - and that makes the best first impression.

Even though this little experiment for me was simply (not greatly attractive) Red Snake Skins, and only 3" juvies at that, it convinced me that single strain species was the way to go with discus - whether domestic or wild. It just grew on me, and I haven't changed my mind.
But as has been mentioned, I think some type of Reds make the most dramatic show of beautiful discus of the same color/pattern !

[ksuyen]

I really agree with single strain discus being the most desirable to keep - and that makes the best first impression.

Even though this little experiment for me was simply (not greatly attractive) Red Snake Skins, and only 3" juvies at that, it convinced me that single strain species was the way to go with discus - whether domestic or wild. It just grew on me, and I haven't changed my mind.
But as has been mentioned, I think some type of Reds make the most dramatic show of beautiful discus of the same color/pattern !

Exactly! I have the same idea for a long time before finally took a plunge to realise that dream.

12977276_10153459285717478_7023357794644514089_o.jpg

[nolefan]

I've done the single strain type before in a big tank imo kinda boring I like variety even when I had a wild community tank

[MendoMan]

Don't over look your lighting. The lighter colors and the reds (from pigeon blood) show up good in lower lighting while your darker blues and your reds ( from brown discus) need a stronger light of the correct spectrum to show their beauty.