Planning on getting discus... but debating...

[LittleOne]

First off I don't know where to really post this since it mainly contains tankmates, but I've never raised discus so yeah. And it's going to be a long post. You have been warn!

I'm really planning on raising Discus, but I really want to put them with a silver arowana. I read it can be done, but so many are against it. Now before anyone say anything about them, let me list a few concerns that I have read. They are not as aggressive as a lot of people are saying. They, along with the blacks, are the least aggressive out of the bunch. Someone even called them wimpy (Read it off some post trying to find info on Discus and Silver arowanas. Don't ask where since I don't remember because I was researching for hours till 5am). I am not new to the silver arowanas, I've raised a few before. I know they grow huge, well more like extremely long, and I am prepared. Now them being predators, they won't eat anything that is bigger then their mouth and believe me I have tested it.

Now with the discus, I am new. I've done some research on them. So far from what I read, discus require a lot of food, constant water changes, good filter system and adequate space to keep it short. And it's also best to always get a healthy one.

Now from what I know and have recently learned, they both seem compatible. So in all I guess the point of this post is I want some advice on discus and why the reasons I post below will not work out between the fishes.

Their water parameters. Both from south america's rivers, so they need pretty warm waters. My water temp is always at 29C, I don't worry about heaters because it's already hot were I am from, but if I do have to get some I will. The pH has to be from 6-7 and my pH is around 6.8 so I figure that is good. Nirate and Nirite levels are zero in my tank and it's already been cycled.

The size. Silvers will not bother anything that doesn't fit in their mouth. So discus are safe. I am not planning to put a baby discus with a 1ft long aro. I am planning more of adult discus first in the main tank and then later introduce around 7"-8"in aros in the tank, so there is no way the aro will bother the discus, in fact I'm a little more worried about the aro being bullied but overall I see no problem with that.

When it comes to territory, I don't see much problem either. Arowanas always stay on the top. If not then either something is wrong with him or there is a small fish in the tank big enough to fit his mouth. Discus from what I have read and seen in videos, are usually middle and bottom. I have also read that the discus does go on top, but the majority tend to be middle. So I'm not too scared.

When it comes to feeding I'm a little more worried, but I plan to keep feed the aro floating pellets and the discus the Good Heart from Discus Hans USA, though I don't know how they work out because I've never used it. So I still need to figure out how it's going to work, since adt discus need to be feed at least 3 times a day while the young aros need only 2 soo any suggestions..?

Most important for the discus, the water changes! Well arowanas also produce a lot of waste and also need clean water. You constantly need to do water changes for them. So they both will produce a lot of waste! But I'm used to doing water changes. I read that you can use tap water for discus, but I'm not to comfortable with tap water. I use rain water and filtered water. No problem with that.

I've read that the discus will be stress by the constant movement of the arowanas, but in this case why would a lot of people consider tetras as tankmates? From what I know about tetras, aren't they always moving also. I could be wrong since I don't know anything about tetras and I'm not planning to get any.

So after my long post, can anyone give me advice on this? I posted a lot because I didn't want someone to just put no, because of something that may not be true. I do not mind negative feedback because that it is technically what I want, so I can see if I can work it out or see if it really is problem or not. Please do not flame me. I joined here to look up info on discus and this is my first post and it's pretty much the reason why I joined also.

[joshuajames]

NO

[LittleOne]

NO

And why not? Just getting a no is not really helpful.

[Tito]

I think you're right No is not the answer you want.

Hoepfully you will get someone who has the time and will take the time to give you just as lenghtly a response as your original post. Good luck.

[Eddie]

First off, not one fish is exactly the same as one you used to own. Every fish is different and nobody can actually predict the outcome of one group of fish from another. So anyone can say "YES" and anyone can say "NO", but nobody really knows. You'll get more recommendations on not keeping the 2 together and thats all there is to it. Try it and if it doesn't work, we told you so. LOL

[LizStreithorst]

I say NOT NO, Little One. If the tank is long enough and deep enough you sould be able to keep the two thgether. Just be sure that the tank is very deep and very long. Discus like to swim in the middle. Arrowna need swimming room too and fro along the top so their tank needs to be quite long.

Now I don't know, but I would guess, that you should feed the Arrowana with feeder fish and let the Discus eat beef heart or somethig else that sinks to the bottom. A bare bottom tank would be best for both.

My dream has always been to keep Discus and Rays together. It would require a HUGE tank which I do not have. If you have a huge tank, go for it and post pics PLEASE.

[LittleOne]

It's not that I'm not willing to try. I've raised a few silver aros already and as of now I am still raising them. I've never had a problem with them attacking fish. In fact the ones I have right now don't even like live fish. I had put in a few guppies for them awhile back to see if they would eat them, and they did not even eat them. They never went down I left them in there for a month and none where eaten. And they weren't sick, they just prefer the pellets.

I have read that it is possible but so many are against it, yet I still can't see why. The more people that reply with just a plain no without reason just encourages me to do it since all I see is no with no reason to why it is such a bad idea.:confused::confused::confused:

Can't be the aggressive problem because I plan on putting discus first before the arowana, therefore they would be more used to the tank and the arowana being the newcomer would be the one that is picked on.

I kind of almost already have my mind set on doing this, I already researched up many discus breeders, and I already decided which ones to get. It's just since I'm new to discus I wanted a discus expert's view and reason on this to see if I can avoid the problems.

Forgive me if I sound ignorant.

[LittleOne]

I say NOT NO, Little One. If the tank is long enough and deep enough you sould be able to keep the two thgether. Just be sure that the tank is very deep and very long. Discus like to swim in the middle. Arrowna need swimming room too and fro along the top so their tank needs to be quite long.

Now I don't know, but I would guess, that you should feed the Arrowana with feeder fish and let the Discus eat beef heart or somethig else that sinks to the bottom. A bare bottom tank would be best for both.

My dream has always been to keep Discus and Rays together. It would require a HUGE tank which I do not have. If you have a huge tank, go for it and post pics PLEASE.

Actually right now I have a 300g but I plan to get a bigger one later. Right now the tank is a work in progress and is temporary housing my friends pacus.

Yeah I plan on feeding the the discus beef heart from the Discus Hans USA brand and I hate feeding arowanas live fish because the problems with diseases and that damn white spot or ick problem. It's so common around here and I'm just not willing to harm my arowanas.

[Eddie]

Its not that it can't be done. I've seen people keep goldfish with discus too. Something to realize is that discus can stress easily. It won't matter much if the aro is not chasing them or not, its the sheer size that "can" make them feel insecure. A group of moving tetras is alot different than a moving aro. Again, its just something you would have to try. I always advise people who are new to discus to start out with a single species tank. The less variables against the fish, the better.

[LittleOne]

Its not that it can't be done. I've seen people keep goldfish with discus too. Something to realize is that discus can stress easily. It won't matter much if the aro is not chasing them or not, its the sheer size that "can" make them feel insecure. A group of moving tetras is alot different than a moving aro. Again, its just something you would have to try. I always advise people who are new to discus to start out with a single species tank. The less variables against the fish, the better.

That makes sense. I thought it had more to do with a lot of movement for them. Because I read to not place fish that move a lot along with them, but I saw a lot of people recommending tetras and I starting thinking, wait those move a lot and a lot of people put them in loads along with the discus so I started to question the movement part.

Though with them being insecure, I thought the more discus you have the less insecure they are. Correct me if I'm wrong.

And I thought it was funny you should mention goldfish with discus, because I remembered when I was young me and my sister won goldfishes and placed them with the arowanas and they were never eaten and ended up being raised with the arowanas and lived years.

[Eddie]

Its definitely true that discus are more secure in groups. They are schooling fish and work as a group but they won't team up on an aro. :D

[LizStreithorst]

I've kept Goldfish with Discus (blushing). I wanted them to clean up the leftover food which they did. They ate everything else in sight and sh1t more than a pleco.

I can't imagine an Aro passing up a small live fish as food, but I've never kept them. I know that way back I put live berarers in the Discus tank to provide fry for the Discus to eat and if I hadn't flushed them I would have had a tank full of guppies and platties. The Discus totally ignored them.

Go for it Little One. I think that it can be done. Prove the naysayers wrong. If it doesn't work you will find out. If It does you can go :p to the purists.

[diveshooter]

And why not? Just getting a no is not really helpful.

Exactly.
You'll never know until you try. If you give them a big enough tank, and if your Aros are as timid as you say, then I think that would make for a very interesting display. Post pictures when you get it up and going, will ya?

[tcyiu]

Yeah I plan on feeding the the discus beef heart from the Discus Hans USA brand and I hate feeding arowanas live fish because the problems with diseases and that damn white spot or ick problem. It's so common around here and I'm just not willing to harm my arowanas.

That is a pearl of wisdom right there. Feeder fish are nasty nasty nasty. Don't want any of those in the tank with discus.

BTW, I have kept both black and silvers. I have had a slightly different experience. Blacks are really really docile. Silvers are more aggressive. BUT it is absolutely true that neither would fare well in a tank with ANY asian arowanas.

Here's my two cents on the subject. In my experience, discus spook easily with overhead movement. It's my guess that arowanas being a surface feeder, and one constantly moving, will stress discus, just being themselves. That is unless you have discus that are so domesticated that they do not spook easily.

This is coming from a guy whose first love will always be arowanas, but who is currently engrossed by discus.

Just a thought.

Tim

[lefty31]

New to the forum.

This sparked interest because I eventually want to build a tank (500 Gallons or around here) To do a Silver and Blue Arowana with Discus.

Here's a link to a nice setup and a thread on what fish would be good with Arowana.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330674&highlight=discus&page=4

Lefty

[DerekFF]

Im sure it would look great having the 2 types together. IME aros are extremely peaceful except at feeding time and then I usually have to put 1 gallon or so water back into the tank and mop my floor. This could be an issue with the discus as they aren't crazy like that. But for the most part aros move slow, are peaceful and just get big and lazy. Im sure it would work out ok. I personally wouldnt do it just because I dont have a tank big enough, but i say for it and then post the pics!!!

[lefty31]

Hrm I thought I'd posted this link to a thread with topic about Arowana and discus.

Seems to be popular with the big tank keepers.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330674&highlight=discus&page=4

Scroll down a bit and you'll notice the Very nice arowana/discus tank!

[joshuajames]

i would put my jack dempsey,oscars,clown knife,in with my discus before i would put my aro in with my discus. if i were to put my aro in my disdus aquarium i would have $1000 worth of fish dead in 20 mins.it can be done with a small aro but its only a matter of time before the aro matures enough and ends up with a discus stuck in its mouth.your aro is going to get big fast in a 200. good luck i hope it works out for you.make sure you get some huge discus if you are stuck on trying this.i would keep an extra tank set up just in case something should go wrong and you need to move some fish around.keep us posted on how it works out.;)

[discuspaul]

You've been getting some great advice here - particularly Eddie's first post.
The sheer size of the arows, especially swimming above the Discus most of the time, even if the discus are adult 6" +, will almost surely cause some stress. But as others have said, give it a go - you have a large enough tank, that's for sure - see what happens & let us know.
Good luck.