inverts with discus??

[pseudoblond]

I've been told don't do it, but only by people who don't keep discus. In a planted 55g, are there any crabs, shrimps, or crawfish etc that can be kept suceesfully with discus or should I just avoid them altogether? I wouldn't of course want any that would harm my fish, but those amano shrimps are cool and would be a good algae eater...

[magicmagni]

Maybe the more experienced discus keepers will chime in, but I would be concerned about the safely of the fish with some of those inverts like crabs and crayfish for example because they have claws. Maybe they will cut up the discus fins when they sleep? I think the Amano shrimp and shrimps like that would be fine, though. Amano seems to be putting them in his discus tanks without any problems. I think the key would be to get enough hiding places for the shrimp (some dense plant growth in places) and to grow them out to full size before introducing them to the tank. When/ if you do introduce them do so at night when the lights are off so they aren't noticed and mistaken as food.

Jeff

[gators111]

I put in a couple of ghost shrimp to see if my discus would make a snack of them. Unfortunately, the shrimp fended off their attackers and found shelter. Only to die within 24 hrs from the acidity and softness of the water, IMO. However, in my other tank, my apisto loves to hunt them down, ph is 7.2 and 8gh.

[RyanH]

If you ever need to medicate your Discus for parasites or pretty much anything, you will need to remove the inverts before doing so. Many meds are deadly to invertebrates.

[pseudoblond]

Seems like inverts either get eaten by discus or are too aggressive to risk putting them together...so no inverts for me. Darn, wouldn't a couple of those 4" blue crayfish look SWEET with a tank of bright discus???!? OH, well, must get new tank for bright blue crayfish instead, lol...

[Anonapersona]

I found my Amanos seem to not like the discus tank. I found one across the room and put him back. He, or the other, escaped again but I never found him. The remaining one seemed to be terrified of the discus, always at the top of the tank, hiding behind equipment. Or maybe it was the high pH, near 8. I finally took pity on him and returned him to the Co2 injected tanks. I never found any of the earlier 3 small Amanos I put in there, no sign they were eaten, they just dissappeared one by one.

[nacra99]

I used to keep some river crawfish and a blue prawn with my angelfish, and they gave the fish a good haircut, trying to grab their fins whenever they swam by or tried to "sit" on the tank floor. I would imagine that it would be the same for discus. (if they don't get eaten first!) So I would have to say no... perhaps someone else might have different experiences.

Marc