Keeping manacapuru red shoulder angel fish with discus fish

[ganesan]

Is it safe to keep manacapuru red shoulder angel fish with discus fish. Can one keep about 5 manacapuru angel to about 9 discus fish ratio in a 120 gallon aquarium. I have read that manacapuru eat cardinal tetras and to prevent this keep hiding spaces. What sort of hiding places is good for cardinal tetras to hide well
..is it bushy plants in the background and jungle vallisneria planted thickly.

[brewmaster15]

Is it safe to keep manacapuru red shoulder angel fish with discus fish. Can one keep about 5 manacapuru angel to about 9 discus fish ratio in a 120 gallon aquarium. I have read that manacapuru eat cardinal tetras and to prevent this keep hiding spaces. What sort of hiding places is good for cardinal tetras to hide well
..is it bushy plants in the background and jungle vallisneria planted thickly.

Yes you "can" do this, but its not really a good idea,IME. Your Angels are going to be far more aggressive at eating than your Discus which means over time you will have trouble with your discus growth and health. Your Angels are also more aggressive to each other which tends to stress out Discus. There is also the matter of disease resistance. Angels in general seem hardier and more able to fight pathogens( my subjective opinion), which in turn makes them very good carriers of pathogens. People do keep the two together and I am sure for some it works out fine to their expectations... but.. I am also sure that keeping the two together can cause alot of stress to Discus. Thats been my experience. Angels and Discus do share alot of similarities but that doesn't mean that they should necessarily be kept together. I have kept several wild angels and altums with both Domestic and wild Discus.. It never works out in the long run. .Problem is people see a picture or short vid and think they go together well . There is a world of difference between whats okay in the short term and whats okay in the Long term.

If you have the capability to maintain a separate Tank for each I would advise it. You will better be able to enjoy each Group of Beautiful Fish .

hth,
al

[ganesan]

So true I myself have seen youtube videos of angels with discus, corydoras,geophagus and rams and thought they would be nice together. But as you said discus before even trying to eat feeds would be defeated in competition with angel fish and even geophagus are quick eaters. Need to keep them all in separate species aquarium.

[dagray]

I have both Altum Angels and discus in my tank. The key is to have plenty of obstacles in the tank (I have a Manzanita stump and Spider wood) and foam pre-filters on the filter intakes.

The discus I see frequently eating flake or FDBW from the pre-filters, and from the plants and wood. I also see them actively hunting pond snails.

So yes you can keep Angels and Discus together... But, and this is a heavy But be sure to watch behavior for bullying (i.e. have enough of each to spread any bullying as they are both cichlids), and make sure everyone is eating.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Dave, remember you have only had your juvie discus with angels a short time.

My personal advice is to NOT mix discus with any angels. Al gives great advice here.

Pat

[Willie]

So here's what actually happens when manacapurus share a tank with discus. I threw in frozen beefheart about 15 seconds into the video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km-hhO_hwv4&ab_channel=Willie

The same behavior is observed when I feed frozen mysis.

P.S. Per Pat, I do not keep domestic angelfish with discus. However, I've seen wild angels kept successfully with discus all across Asia. Don't know why, but it's just different.