Advice on Stocking - 90 Gallon Planted

[Sharkbait]

So I've been wanting to stock a 90 gallon planted tank with discus for what seems to be forever. Other obligations have come up and with the economy, money has been tight. Now I'm getting married and I have to set aside money for that. Needless to say, who knows when I'll be able to get these guys.

The tank has been quite empty for a while and I wanted to add some tankmates for the future discus, but make sure they're all compatible.

Current stock:

18 Rummynose
24 Cardinals
5 German Blue Rams
2 Adult Kribs, 2 fry
8 Ottos
2 Albino Bushynose
3 Clown Loaches
5 Guppies

I had thought about adding 3 or 4 Kuhlii loaches and 3 Yoyo loaches. Is this a bad idea? What about Redline Torpedo Barbs? Can they take the heat?

What about some more bushynose? The ones I have are female and don't have the 'bush' in their 'nose' :)

Should I just add more to the tetras? (35 Cardinals/25 Rummies)

The tank is somewhat densely planted. I will most likely do a major trim job when the discus arrive. I plan on getting about 6-8 stendker Discus (4" each)

Thoughts? I'm open to changing things around to make sure the discus are as comfy as they need to be.

[rickztahone]

i think you would be over-stocked if you go with the 8 discus. maybe 6 would be a better option. those rams can get super aggressive. what is the footprint of the tank?

[Sharkbait]

4 feet long, 1.5 feet wide, 2 feet deep

[Scribbles]

I would put the Ottos and Guppys in a different tank. Ottos sometimes attach to discus to eat their stime coat. Guppys prefer cooler temps than discus. I agree with Ricardo that 6 discus would be better than 8 with everything else in your tank.

Chris

[Sharkbait]

Sounds good...what about my thoughts on the addition of the other non-discus fish? The yoyos? the kuhliis? another bushynose? redline torpedo barbs? putting more tetras in? Is it all just too much? I will definitely stick with 6 discus. Is there anything, in your opinion, that should come out?

I just wanna make sure that the tankmates are planned properly. Thanks for your help!

[akumastew]

Sounds good...what about my thoughts on the addition of the other non-discus fish? The yoyos? the kuhliis? another bushynose? redline torpedo barbs? putting more tetras in? Is it all just too much? I will definitely stick with 6 discus. Is there anything, in your opinion, that should come out?

I just wanna make sure that the tankmates are planned properly. Thanks for your help!

Although I am a novice here, I think from threads I have read that I can advise you a little.

If you allocate 10 gallons per adult discus. That uses up 60 of your 90 gallons.

I would think that the number of fish you have would fill the remaining 30 gallons.

Of course, if you do large water changes each day, you can have more fish.

Myself, I wouldn't add any more fish than you have currently. You could wait a while after you add your Discus, and see how your filtration/water change regime is taking care of the extra bio-load before deciding if more fish is a viable option.

I would recommend doing some googling of the species you mentioned, and checking how their ideal water conditions match what you will have for your Discus.

I did keep some Kullis in my Discus tank when I lived in Scotland. I saw the Kulis about once per month.

- Stew

[Sharkbait]

Yeah....Kuhliis like to burrow, but I heard if you keep them in groups, they're out more often.

[akumastew]

Yeah....Kuhliis like to burrow, but I heard if you keep them in groups, they're out more often.

I had a group of 12. After I put them in, I never saw more than 2 at a time. When it was time for me to sell my tanks, I was taking out the gravel and found all 12. :D

[Sharkbait]

lol. damn.....alright....Say no to Kuhliis :)

[plecocicho]

Its better to have one large school of the same species than many species in small schools- I would have like 20 rummynoses (they school tight, are really nice and teh redness of their head is a good water quality indicator). I would skip clown loaches as they grow large and are schooling fish too. Instead of them and otocinclus (many have a bad experience with them) i would have few ancistrus and a school of corydoras sterbai, adolfoi or julli. Torpedo redline barbs grow large, need a lot of space and are active swimmers, not the best company for the discus, i would skip them also.

[Sharkbait]

sounds good...I'll get more of the tetras. It's tough when I know it's going to be a while before I have my 'centerpiece.' I was swinging more towards a larger school of smaller fish anyway! Thanks!



Its better to have one large school of the same species than many species in small schools- I would have like 20 rummynoses (they school tight, are really nice and teh redness of their head is a good water quality indicator). I would skip clown loaches as they grow large and are schooling fish too. Instead of them and otocinclus (many have a bad experience with them) i would have few ancistrus and a school of corydoras sterbai, adolfoi or julli. Torpedo redline barbs grow large, need a lot of space and are active swimmers, not the best company for the discus, i would skip them also.