Discus Chase neon tetra

[niladri dey]

hi . i have 8x2x1.5 ft tank and 16 discus in it.. and have 2 angle and 10 Denison barb fish. i recently bought 36 small neon tetra . when i put on the tank i saw discus chase and bite them. some were die. next morning they cool down but i am surprised next morning neon number decrease and continue. 3 day gone now they are only 6 left. what is problem ? can neon not compatible with discus? and why they missing?

[Filip]

Hi Niladri .
Its quite common for discus to eat smaller tetra fish . it all depends from many factors and size of discus VS size of tetras being the most important IMO.
Next time try to buy full grown cardinals instead of fish store baby neon tetras and you may get lucky .

[niladri dey]

thank for good information . can i put lacustris rainbow and Congo tetra, boesemani in discus tank?

[Filip]

Rainbows are fast and boisterous and can shy away the discus ocassionaly .
Congos are smaller than rainbows and I think(I don't have my firs hand experience on this combination ) that they can be kept along with discus .Again , avoid buying baby congos because they are more likely to get eaten than the full growns

[niladri dey]

thanks for giving me beautiful suggestion. can you give suggestion for lower PH water. I have 180 gallon or 680 litter water. i put 200 litter drum for stock. i put sponge filter and heater under it . i change 30% water weekly. my area tap water about 10. can you tell me beside RO filter have any home made solution for decrease PH label ? that can cost effective . 117348

[Paul Sabucchi]

First of all welcome to this forum.
With a pH that high probably all the home-made made methods (such as peat) to lower it are not going to make the smallest dent in it. Collecting rainwater would be an option but I fear pollution would be a very serious issue. Whatever you do I would advise against using chemicals (such as the various pH minus kind of products), you would be fighting the very high buffers in your tapwater with continuous pH swings untill you finally exhaust the buffering capacity in the water and risk a pH crash. This is more damaging to the fish than a high but stable pH.
Were your discus bred locally, are there people near you successfully keeping discus?

[niladri dey]

thanks for reply... this ph value in my locality, discus is fine and my tank fish have no problem with that. is it mandatory for discus for lower Ph value ?

[Adam S]

Hi Niladri, do not mess with pH. If they are healthy enough to chase prey (neons), your water is fine.

[Filip]

Hi Niladri, do not mess with pH. If they are healthy enough to chase prey (neons), your water is fine.

I agree .

Plus , your water and tank looks pristine on the photo and if you maintain the perfect water quality they will thrive even in high pH .

[niladri dey]

thaks for reply. i give them 3 times food . in morning and night frozen blood worm . and afternoon discus bio gold. can it sufficient for discus or or any food can give.can i give chicken heart or liver with mix food like Pea,carrot and Shrimp. because here in Calcutta ,India beef heart not available easily . chicken and mutton are available. can i go with chicken or mutton heart?

[Filip]

thaks for reply. i give them 3 times food . in morning and night frozen blood worm . and afternoon discus bio gold. can it sufficient for discus or or any food can give.can i give chicken heart or liver with mix food like Pea,carrot and Shrimp. because here in Calcutta ,India beef heart not available easily . chicken and mutton are available. can i go with chicken or mutton heart?

Frozen bloodworms are low in protein content and may carry pathogens . They are not worthed the risk IMO . Better to feed biogold pellets 3 times a day than bloodworms .

Seafoods are nutritive and good alternative for Beefheart - Shrimps , mysis , Salmon , Cod .
Turkey heart is also used , but I'm not sure about the chicken heart .
I would just stay with Diskus Biogold 3 feeds a day until I found new meaty alternative to enrich their menu .

[snxtif]

Hi Niladri,

Usually, "Cardinal" tetra would be more compatible with discus than "Neon" imo.
They get a bit larger as adult (0.5" larger I think) as well as they tolerate higher temp (28-30C).
Neon can survive 28C+ as well but they tend to "burn out" pretty quickly.

Also, discus might be ok in alkaline hard water, if only it's crystal clear and clean
(from your picture, I think you are doing a great job.)
but, from what I heard neon and cardinal tetra usually become frail in high pH/hard water.
(Well, these guys came from water of pH 5 or sometime even lower.)
and your discus just hunted those weak ones.

[niladri dey]

can you shear new meaty alternative to enrich discus menu ?

[niladri dey]

Can anyone tell me my danisoni is any disease or pregnant ? i am confused ???117990

[Filip]

Can anyone tell me my danisoni is any disease or pregnant ? i am confused ???117990

Wow . I have never seen a denisoni as bloated as this before .
It's definitely some kind of condition or disease here IMO .

[fljones3]

hi . i have 8x2x1.5 ft tank and 16 discus in it.. and have 2 angle and 10 Denison barb fish. i recently bought 36 small neon tetra . when i put on the tank i saw discus chase and bite them. some were die. next morning they cool down but i am surprised next morning neon number decrease and continue. 3 day gone now they are only 6 left. what is problem ? can neon not compatible with discus? and why they missing?

Old saying - if they are small enough to fit in the mouth, they will eat them.

[niladri dey]

it is ok at all . i take it in small tank with water flow from top and artificial plantation and sponge and heater on 26 degree C. it look ok . what do i next?

[Filip]

it is ok at all . i take it in small tank with water flow from top and artificial plantation and sponge and heater on 26 degree C. it look ok . what do i next?

I would try the Epsom salt bath first (1 tablespoon for 10 gallons ) Maybe its just badly constipated and bloated from food .