Discus Community

[stevey87]

Hello, I have no discus and never have before.

I have 29 gal goldfish tank and 65 gal heavily planted community tank.

In the tropical community tank I have 7 angels, 3 pearl gouramis, a lot of guppies, cardinal tetras, otto cats, harlequin rasboras, 2 cory cats, 3 bolivian rams which 2 have just laid eggs and defending. The temp is at 78-80 F and last time I checked, 0 ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph is 6.0-7.0. I actually also have german blue rams, gold rams, female dwarf gourami. And Japanese Trapdoor Snails. I use two 96W compact flurescent lighting and no CO2 because algae problem is taken care of by otto cats and snails except hair algae plus with the addtion of CO2, the plants would take over all the space literally. I have Egeim Pro II 2128 which shows flow rate low, I don't know what's wrong. Maybe the spring is weird or what... it seems to filter very well tho.

Do you think it's ok THEORETICALLY to add discus in there assuming there are only angelfish as main fish? I obviously won't because it's stocked beyond enough as it is but I think currently it is ok because of a lot of plants and driftwoods. No agression other than Bolivian rams defending their hatching area. Only little during feeding and gouramis like to chase each other around. I notice Discus and Angelfish look similar in terms of body shape without the fins. I know they're both from South America and are both cichlids so I thought maybe they would get a long well together and look good together.

Heavily planted, I mean 1/3 of the tank is all plant. It will take half of tank space in about a month or so. I have aquatic plants pretty much from every family. (Sword, Aponogeton, Crypt, Anubias, Java Fern & Moss, Foxtail, Cabomba, Vals, Crinum, Ludwigia, Egaria, Hornwort) And for most of them I have more than one kind for each type. For example, swords I got rubin, amazon, different amazon?, dwarf. I got timer and I made my lighting time schedule from 9 am to 9 pm. Is that good?

[rickztahone]

you would have to get rid of some of your stock. 7 angels is a lot of competition for food for the discus. if you are serious about trying to keep discus you will have to lower your current stock and you will need to get at least 5-6 discus because lower numbers may cause problems. the plants wouldn't be a problem

[Patr1ck]

Hi Stevey87,
You seem to have alot of fish for that tank. Like Rick said, you would have to remove some of your fish. I wouldnt keep your angels in with the discus for 2 reasons, they will out compete the discus for food and also, there are threads here in this forum saying that angels can carry diseases that can infect discus. Also you will have to up the temp alittle bit to min 82 degrees. 84 preferred. Some of your plants might have trouble at the higher temps as well. You can cut down on the amount of time your lights are on too. 9 to 10 hrs is sufficient, 8 even. 12 hrs will only invite more algae. It will also run up your electric bill. Some of your smaller fish might become food for the bigger discus as well. If I was in your shoes, I would leave that tank alone and set up another one with discus as the centerpiece.:):) Maybe something of a biotope. There are some pretty cool ideas in these threads. Read, read, read. HTH and hope I didnt burst your bubble.:o

Pat

[Eddie]

I think if you have never kept discus before and are just starting out, it's a good idea to go Discus only. Thats just my opinion. This takes out alot of variables and you can concentrate on them alone.

The next thing that should be mentioned is to start off with good quality discus like from one of the sponsors on this site. It will best the best first step in the right direction.

HTH
Eddie

[KDodds]

Agree with reducing stock, especially the angelfish. You might also want to consider removing the guppies entirely. I just really wanted to chime in on the Eheim. You'll notice increasingly degraded output as the filter accumulates detritus, yes. But you know that pad that goes there right on the top? As much as you rinse it, it will eventually become compacted and/or clogged with minute particles. If you replace this pad, it is very likely that your output will return to "like new" or something at least close. Note that it's not only detritus, but the compacting of the pad through repeated squeezings that can become a problem. Whether or not the increased flow will be a problem for your plants, well, that's another story, but it will definitely improve filter performance as well as prevent the shortening of the motor's lifespan.

[zamboniMan]

I think that you'll be fine. When I first started keeping discus I had a mated pair in a tank with 2 mated pairs of angels and a breeding colony of corries, some ottos, 3 elephant nose fish, and around 50 neons. Unfortuntaly the power went out durring the ice storm here (cincinnati) and everything in the tank perished. (It got so cold the edges of the tank (at the top) were starting to freeze.

Also I have not had a problem with discus going after any other fish. They do however happily feast on the cherry shrimp colony I put in there for them.

As for the low flow rate I would change out all the media in the filter (except for the biological media (biorings, bioballs, etc...))


Good luck.

[stevey87]

I should get the top replaced. Because I don't know where the dirt comes from (fluorite? I doubt it because I rinsed it for hours for each bag or fish waste eaten up by bacteria turned to dust?). My top cotton thing or whatever is black and very compact due to rinsing. I'm never going to put discus in current tank. I just thought what would be possible. I want to keep discuss with angels. I heard those diseases angels carry are weeded out from tank raising for many years. If you get wild angelfish I guess it's a gamble then. I have marble angelfish so obviously they're tank bred.

[Eddie]

Angels carry all the same disease that discus carry so they can infect each other with all the same things. There is no deadly angel parasite that kills discus. The health of the fish and quality of water are the factors in why fish get diseased. All fish are not created equal and whether it be an angel or discus, the weaker one will become infected.

Eddie

[stevey87]

Is taller or longer better for discus? I know angelfish need taller tanks and most other fish do better in longer due to more air surface area. I think it's better to keep 6 or more of angelfish because there are less agressions plus I heard they're actually schooling fish. If you get one nasty one, the aggression gets distributed so. Is that same with Discus?

If I get a tank for discus, I'm thinking of doing 8-10 juvenile discuss just incase some die and end up with minimum 6 and add 6 small angelfish in there after. What do you think is minimum tank size for this?

By the way, the reason I have feeder (clean quality, not the usual parasite jungle ones) guppies in there because I want them to breed a lot of fries so angelfish have free meal when they get bigger. Plus I'm gonna get another 29 gallon for guppy breeding project so it's two in one. I might do the same thing for the discus tank.

[Eddie]

I prefer long but not too short.

Eddie

[captain morgan]

Holey Moley Stevey- are you sure you want to add discus to your fish collection? From what you posted it sounds like you like to keep a few of everything. Could you be content with a school of discus and maybe just a couple of species of small dither fish to reside with them as this would be best for the discus, discus are quite skittish and stress easier then other kinds of fish causing them to be more susceptable to illness. Not trying to be rude, just don't want you to be disappointed when you have trouble keeping them happy & healthy. I to used to have a mish mash of fish in my tank and was never satisfied, always at the lfs to see what other fish I could add- to make the tank more exciting- sound familiar? So I cleaned house, all I have now is 8 discus, a school of 21 rummynose, a school of 12 cardinals, and some corydoras- and my tank has never looked better! Get those discus and add a couple schools of your favorite tetras, sit back and enjoy! Now if I can just quite buying discus, started with 6 and now have 2 more in quarentine. Just my 2 cents worth.
Cheers

[stevey87]

Holey Moley Stevey- are you sure you want to add discus to your fish collection?

I said in my first post that I will never.

I'm thinking about getting another tank for discus but not sure what size and what brand?

[rickztahone]

Is taller or longer better for discus? I know angelfish need taller tanks and most other fish do better in longer due to more air surface area. I think it's better to keep 6 or more of angelfish because there are less agressions plus I heard they're actually schooling fish. If you get one nasty one, the aggression gets distributed so. Is that same with Discus?

If I get a tank for discus, I'm thinking of doing 8-10 juvenile discuss just incase some die and end up with minimum 6 and add 6 small angelfish in there after. What do you think is minimum tank size for this?

By the way, the reason I have feeder (clean quality, not the usual parasite jungle ones) guppies in there because I want them to breed a lot of fries so angelfish have free meal when they get bigger. Plus I'm gonna get another 29 gallon for guppy breeding project so it's two in one. I might do the same thing for the discus tank.
if you do plan to breed guppies to get fry for "snacks" you might have a problem down the line with discus eating their own fry. not sure if you meant you will just offer the fry to your angels or the discus as well. either way im fairly sure that the consequences might be the same with the angels down the line

[rickztahone]

I said in my first post that I will never.

I'm thinking about getting another tank for discus but not sure what size and what brand?

brand?...or strain?

[stevey87]

That's no good. I tried to make it life like by letting them breed and let the slower ones get eaten but IF this happens in real nature doesn't that mean angelfish and discus should be able to tell the difference between other fries and their fries? Do discus pair get aggressive like angelfish pair during spawning?

Do discus and angelfish actually live in same habitat in SA?

I meant brand of tank.

My 65 gallon is AGA and seems to be good. But this one guy told me Hagen makes better stands.

[Eddie]

stevey,

There are areas in the amazon where wild discus and angelfish live together. They are very similar in there breeding/mating rituals.

I think I even remember somebody raising a batch of angel fry on a pair of discus.

Eddie

[stevey87]

You know how they categorize angelfish and semi aggressive? I think I know why they label the fish that way. Do discus fish have the same temperment?

[Eddie]

You know how they categorize angelfish and semi aggressive? I think I know why they label the fish that way. Do discus fish have the same temperment?

I have never kept Angels so I could not tell you but I do always hear that they seem to be more aggressive eaters and that your discus may not get too much. Thats just from reading so I am sure there are many situations to be looked at. I think they pretty much have the same temperament. I know Paul keeps both in the same tank so he would be the one to ask.

Eddie

[stevey87]

Pearl Gouramis are considered the most shy out of gourami family and they are however they don't get bothered by angels during feeding time. The angels do eat very fast and they peck each other and other smaller fish but not the similar sized pearls. Maybe the discus are just slower fish?

[ShinShin]

16" high is sufficient for discus. Your set up is all wrong for discus. In reality, your 65 hold less than 65 gallons, unless it was custom made. Very few tanks on the market hold the gals. they sell at. Maybe you got lucky and have one, though. Look at the water displacement you have with the substrate, wood, plants, and anything else you have, like heaters, uptake tubes, fish, etc. . You probabally have <40 gals. You are already overstocked with the fish you have. IMO, the only fish you have currently that I would suggest to anyone that "must" have other fish in their tank are the Harlequins and Cardinals.

Mat