African Peacock with Discus?

[DiscusFreakaZoid]

I was wondering if i could put a African Peacock albino cichlid in with my discus. also if anyone may answer this as well~ My red dragon pigeon blood spawned with my blue snakeskin and i was wondering which trait would come out. Im assuming one trait dominates the other and they do not blend.

thanks wonderful People :D

[Discus-n00b]

No way. They each perfer totally different kinds of water. The peacock can get much to aggressive and active for the Discus as well, African cichlids are constantly swimming. I would advise against it.

Not totally sure but i believe the Pigeon gene will be the dominant gene there.

[DiscusFreakaZoid]

I tried it and seems to be ok so far. i have a pic of him up . all seem happy and hungry:angel:

[rickztahone]

why ask if they are compatible if you had already put them together? let us know how things progress a few weeks from now

[DiscusFreakaZoid]

I just wanted others opinions and see if anyone else has tried it. Its been week n half so far and everyone seems to be doing fine. only agression i have is btwn the discus. two rival males that have spawned with the same female. I also had tang cichlid alto calvus 6inches that has been in with them for almost a year. By the way nice discus in your avatar. what type is that and is it urs.

[Disgirl]

Years ago at one of the local fish club meetings we had a talk about this. It was said to "not mix fish from different continents" and I never have since then. Anyone else ever hear this? Africans require hard alkaline water. Discus, just the opposite.
Barb

[scottthomas]

IMO most Africans need hard water with high pH to thrive. However, I have seen many times (especially in LFS) africans survive in regular "tropical fish water". Perhaps your peacock will live with discus but I would worry about aggression when the peacock gets adult size. They are one of the slightly less aggressive Africans but they can get very territorial. Maybe the less than ideal water for the African will make it not feel up to harassing the discus but I would not take the chance if I had nice discus.

Scott

[poconogal]

The last time I heard of someone mixing any Africans with Discus, the Discus had to be rescued. They were stressed, cowering in a corner, and looked like they had been beat up by a gang. This did not happen right away, but over the course of time.

I know the person who rescued the Discus. Had to treat them for various ailments and it was a long, hard road to recovery.

Discus and African Cichlids don't belong together.

[Discus-n00b]

Not to mention the food difference. Africans in general don't eat the high protien diets we feed to discus.

[DiscusFreakaZoid]

I just took him out the experiment was a bust. After a 2weeks i noticed he is a fin nipper. i was right all along jk :) thanks guys for your 2cents. My alto calvus however gets along with them great. Ill just stich with rams, glo fish, and plecos for now

[poconogal]

Glad to hear it, your Discus are thanking you right now, can you hear them? ;)

[YSS]

I just took him out the experiment was a bust. After a 2weeks i noticed he is a fin nipper. i was right all along jk :) thanks guys for your 2cents. My alto calvus however gets along with them great. Ill just stich with rams, glo fish, and plecos for now

Tiger barbs are fin nippers. African cichlids? They eat fin nippers for lunch. :D

[KDodds]

I think there may be some confusion here over "African Cichlids", in general, rift lake Cichlids, in general, and the differences between "peacocks" and mbuna or other non-mbuna "haps" from these lakes. True, peacocks require much different water, hard, alkaline. Being from Malawi (as opposed to Tanganyika), as high as a pH of 8.6 will suit them, but they're equally comfortable down to around 7.4. A lot of you are already keeping discus in that range, so no real biggie there. Peacocks are also generally FAR more placid than mbuna and can actually mix well with other fish. In fact, placing peacocks in a mbuna tank can often be a big mistake. They're also not as "aggressive" as some of the larger Haplochromines, although this is probably more accurately described as predatory rather than aggressive. While mbuna diet, true, should be comprised mostly of vegetable matter, the same is not true for peacocks, a discus diet is actually pretty much what you're looking for. Lastly, when we're talking about domestic fish, the odds change, sometimes to the point where all bets are off. They're accumstomed to different parameters and diets than wild caught fish, and so "meeting in the middle" is sometimes not only possible, but quite easy. I perfectly understand (and agree with) purist thought on biotope or geographical considerations, for the most part. But, the hobby is comprised of a lot of people who do a lot of different things and, hey, to each his own, right? In this case, where, if you can meet parameters halfway and be fine, it will, behaviorally, be kind of like mixing a Geophagine with discus. While some may not recommend it, it's definitely on the "doable" list. My greatest concern would be pH and KH and making sure that the individuals of BOTH species are at a comfortable level.

[DiscusFreakaZoid]

wow Kdodds u know your fishies:D. if i had a bigger tank i think the peacock would of worked out unfortunately my tank is bare so it became more territorial. once i win this powerball 240mill i will upgrade to a 1000gallon waterfall aquarium:angel: and take some pics of course

[jaykne]

I was breeding Africans for many years, I would never mix them with discus but can say peacocks are not very aggresive unless they have females, and as for water they will do good and soft or hard water. But I can see them start nipping fins of discus, and eating all the food before discus could get to it, like I said I have raised both and would never mix them. Larry

[poconogal]

Even if the Peacocks are not as aggressive as other Africans, or not very aggressive overall, they are still more aggressive (even if only fin nipping) to other fish than a Discus, so I would not mix them with Discus. While Discus show aggression to other Discus, for the most part when it comes to other species, they are usually very non-aggressive wusses and are very easily bullied. I had a single dwarf gourami bullying a tankful of large adults, had them cowering in the corner for a day until the gourami got the express ride to an LFS.

[Eddie]

Even if the Peacocks are not as aggressive as other Africans, or not very aggressive overall, they are still more aggressive (even if only fin nipping) to other fish than a Discus, so I would not mix them with Discus. While Discus show aggression to other Discus, for the most part when it comes to other species, they are usually very non-aggressive wusses and are very easily bullied. I had a single dwarf gourami bullying a tankful of large adults, had them cowering in the corner for a day until the gourami got the express ride to an LFS.

LOL, that was funny to read Connie, good laugh. The express ride huh....thats funny.

Eddie

[poconogal]

I had to remove that little gourami from my community tank because it was picking on my angelfish. He was in the Discus tank for one day and that's all it took to start in with my Discus. He had a blast too, he'd charge at them, they'd scatter like billiard balls, then he'd go to the other end of the tank and do it all over again, and again, he was having fun scattering them, I swear! Soon as the LFS opened, swish with the net and outta my house!

[Eddie]

I had to remove that little gourami from my community tank because it was picking on my angelfish. He was in the Discus tank for one day and that's all it took to start in with my Discus. He had a blast too, he'd charge at them, they'd scatter like billiard balls, then he'd go to the other end of the tank and do it all over again, and again, he was having fun scattering them, I swear! Soon as the LFS opened, swish with the net and outta my house!

LMAO, scattered like billiard balls! Your killing me Connie. I can see the little mighty mouse scattering the discus everywhere, playing with them! LOL

Eddie

[poconogal]

It was hysterical to watch actually, that tiny fish, especially compared to adult Discus, zooming into the group of Discus and watching them all scatter like mad, except of course because it was Discus that were being terrorized, so that part was not too funny! :mad:

[Disgirl]

That IS funny Connie, I think that little squirt is lucky he didn't get flushed! :D
Barb

[Eddie]

That IS funny Connie, I think that little squirt is lucky he didn't get flushed! :D
Barb

Thats what I was thinking too, it would been tough, not to dangling him over the big white phone. :D

Eddie

[Scribbles]

You guys crack me up.

Chris

[Roxanne]

I wouldn't...I have owned nearly every kind of African there is, and I would never put them wih the discus...tail nipping is putting it nicely...they eat each other alive and are all way too aggressive...Let me find a pic I have of a huge gourami that has been "snacked on" by every other African in it's tank... it doesn't have a tail anymore...

Rox