Discus or cichlids ?

[Rosskeegan24]

Hello, i have a 4 foot long 44 gallon (170 liters) tank and i am wondering what to do with it.
Option 1: stock with 4-5 5cm juvenile discus and grow them out untill pairing , keep the pair and sell the rest or....
Option 2: stock with one agressive cichlid, no tankmates im thinking green terror or flowerhorn, any other agressive suggestions welcome , i like big glass biters.
I can do 50% water changes every day
Open to ideas and suggestions, thanks.

[jmf3460]

I suggest doing some research on a SA biotope tank, my personal favorite. Get some (6) mid sized SA cichlids such as biodotoma cupido or cleithracara maronii as a centerpiece fish, then get some top swimmers like hatchetfish, a large group of dithers and a couple interesting ancistrus species. Decorate it with cool pieces of manzanita wood, leaf litter and stained water.

[Rosskeegan24]

Im not really into smaller cichlid varieties , i think i would rather go with one big agressive one if i was going to get one, thanks for the suggestion though, sounds like a great tank idea.

[jmf3460]

Im not really into smaller cichlid varieties , i think i would rather go with one big agressive one if i was going to get one, thanks for the suggestion though, sounds like a great tank idea.

although i have no experience with African cichlids, but i do know cichlids and 44gallons is not big enough for most of the big cichlids that i have kept.

[Willie]

...I can do 50% water changes every day...

Yes, you can. But will you? If water change is a weekly or monthly activity for you in the past, I would suggest you look at other cichlids.

Willie

[Ryan925]

Yes, you can. But will you? If water change is a weekly or monthly activity for you in the past, I would suggest you look at other cichlids.

Willie

Why would passed wc schedule have anything to do with future? I'm sure most people, before getting into discus, were keeping some sort of other fish that didn't require daily changes. Is that to say all of them should have been turned away from discus?

I think he was looking for legit recommendations rather than someone shooting down his dedication to husbandry before even starting...

With that said Ross I'd say to wait until you have more space to go for discus. I've found that taking your time and planning the correct way from the start is much better then starting off wrong and having to make corrections along the way. Those 4 or 5 discus may be a little cramped by the time they get to pairing size and may make it difficult to provide them with proper water quality to get optimum growth. You'd had to put in all that work and have a less than par pair to work with

[Jenene]

Why would passed wc schedule have anything to do with future? I'm sure most people, before getting into discus, were keeping some sort of other fish that didn't require daily changes. Is that to say all of them should have been turned away from discus?

I think he was looking for legit recommendations rather than someone shooting down his dedication to husbandry before even starting...

With that said Ross I'd say to wait until you have more space to go for discus. I've found that taking your time and planning the correct way from the start is much better then starting off wrong and having to make corrections along the way. Those 4 or 5 discus may be a little cramped by the time they get to pairing size and may make it difficult to provide them with proper water quality to get optimum growth. You'd had to put in all that work and have a less than par pair to work with

I agree with Ryan on all counts and just one more suggestion on the discus that I have experienced is in a small group you will most likely have serious aggression issues. I had to add more to distribute the aggression but I had the space and water volume to do it. I would hate to have you find this out later with no room to add more.

Best of luck I know you will find the perfect fit for this tank. It will be worth the research once it comes to fruition. Let us know what you decide on. :D

[Rosskeegan24]

Thanks for the reply willie, im currently finishing an auto water change system for the tank which will be up and running hopefully in the next week or so, so water changes are not an issue , just trying to get the best value out of the tank . Which would you go for ? Thanks

[Rosskeegan24]

Why would passed wc schedule have anything to do with future? I'm sure most people, before getting into discus, were keeping some sort of other fish that didn't require daily changes. Is that to say all of them should have been turned away from discus?

I think he was looking for legit recommendations rather than someone shooting down his dedication to husbandry before even starting...

With that said Ross I'd say to wait until you have more space to go for discus. I've found that taking your time and planning the correct way from the start is much better then starting off wrong and having to make corrections along the way. Those 4 or 5 discus may be a little cramped by the time they get to pairing size and may make it difficult to provide them with proper water quality to get optimum growth. You'd had to put in all that work and have a less than par pair to work with

Thanks ryan, i currently have 3 tanks on which i do 30-50% changes on daily and one big one on the weekend, i think the issue would be the size of the tank, rather than the wc schedule

[Ryan925]

Thanks ryan, i currently have 3 tanks on which i do 30-50% changes on daily and one big one on the weekend, i think the issue would be the size of the tank, rather than the wc schedule

No worries Ross. Didn't doubt you for a second. Just a shame when people want to pass judgement on you without knowing you.

[clark12]

1 single aggressive cichlid is a dovii. i think its the wolf cichlid, could be wrong. I've seen it on youtube and they are out of control! you can't have tank mates or too much decore i would imagine. this thing made a mess at feeding time. water went everywhere. watch you're fingers too, are you sure this is what you want? lol

[Ryan925]

Had a red devil once. That fish was mean. He tore up all the other fish in the tank and really dug the thing up.

[Neptune]

have you ever looked at some of the geophagus cichlids? Not overly aggressive but neat colorful fish.

[Ryan925]

have you ever looked at some of the geophagus cichlids? Not overly aggressive but neat colorful fish.

Good call. I really wanted some for my planted but didn't want them digging up my plants

[JBurgo]

Green Texas

[Willie]

Some of you obviously think my comment is too harsh. But re-reading the text, I think my recommendation is still reasonable. Raising discus requires a lot of patience and a ton of work. It's also seldom successful with a single tank. It really is not a set it up, forget it and just enjoy the fish deal. I think a non-discus cichlid tank is still Ross' best bet.

Willie