OK to have more than one discus in a tank?

[rice14]

Hi all. I've been keeping fish tanks for almost 30 years now but never had a discus before. Most of my experience is with cichlids. I recently got a cobalt Blue from a local fish store. A good deal I thought at $40. anyway. I'd love to have more than one in the tank (a 46 gallon hexfront). so I guess I have 2 questions.

1) can I have more than one discus in the tank? the kid at the store said they would eventually fight. but I question his expertise and from what I have read it seems quite common to keep more than one, even several, in one tank.

2) If its ok to have more than one should I stick to more cobalts? or is it better to get different varieties?

I'm not necessarily looking to breed them (although not opposed to the idea) but was hoping to have one or 2 more in there with him.
also, the discus I have is a juvenile but most if not all of the discus the store (Davey Jones - Albany, NY) gets are wild caught adults. I've never had the courage to try ordering fish through the mail but have considered the idea for this tank. discus are such an investment that I'd like to have the nicest fish I possibly can and would be able to order other juveniles that way. So, how safe is mail order or should I just dismiss that idea right away?

thank you for any input you may have.
Kevin

[Don Trinko]

Most suggest 5 or more discus. They do have a pecking order and there will always be someone chasing someone else.. I have several tanks with 4 in and they seem to get along ok.

You can mix varieties with little or no problem. Some (brown) are slightly more agressive than others sometimes.

Read a lot on this site: Discus are not difficult to keep but do have needs that other fish do not.

1. They need clean water. Be prepaired to make water changes

2. They need a warm temperature. ( 82 min preferably 84 to 86)

3. They are sometimes not agressive eaters and if kept with other fish may not get enough to eat.

Don T.

[ed8t]

Discus are cichlids too. They are actually happiest in a group as they are schooling fish. A larger school disperses aggression, assuming the tank is large enough to hold that many fish. 3 isn't a very good number, chances are you'd have the 2 biggest ganging up on the smaller/weaker one.

Your call as to keep one strain or different kinds...it's really the look that you prefer.

If you order from our sponsers, your chance of success would be much greater...I wouldn't hesitate to order online especially for hard to get fish, but I'd order in quantities to make shipping costs worthwhile.

[Elite Aquaria]

Kevin,

How big is the fish that you currently have? If you do get some new fish please make sure that you QT them first before you put them in with your Discus...The last thing I would want is that you have a negative experience with your discus.

[rice14]

thanks for the advice everyone. The discus I have in there is a cobalt Blue, almost exactly 3 inches from nose to tail. He's in a 46 gallon bow front (too good a deal in the wantads to pass up even though I don't love the shape). It would seem a bit too small to have 5 adult discus in there wouldn't it? I have a couple of larger tanks that could be converted to a discus tank in time. although they are both well stocked with a variety of things at the moment.

also, I see alot of mention of water changes. thats fine, I'm pretty good about that already on my other tanks. But some of the stuff I've read says as much as %50 per day. that seems nuts. will I be ok with one or even 2 per week?

I do have an empty 20 gallon right now that I can use for quarantine. Seems as though everyone agrees that is important.

thanks again. I'm off to a different fish store today to see what they might have to offer. fingers crossed.

[Don Trinko]

5 discus in a 46g should be ok if there are not many other fish and if you do the proper water changes. Don T.