55 gallon?

[BigMatt14]

Simple question, with perhaps a not so simple answer. Are discus a possibility in a 55 gallon with 16 cardinal tetras and 3 otocinclus?

Thanks

[Darrell Ward]

I would move the other fish, then add 6 discus.

[fishcrazed]

if the discus are properly qt and above 4 inch then you can have the 16 cardinals in but i would remove the oto

[gabloo]

I have 6 discus in 55g tank with 21 cardinal , 6 corys and 1 pleco but i do waterchange everyday tho. Some people say oto loves to attach discus but some said they are fine with discus. So, its up to u to decide.

[BigMatt14]

Alright then, if it's not a good idea then I guess I won't do it. I have nowhere else to put the otos. Too bad. Thanks guys.

[lipadj46]

I have 3 ottos and 7 juvie L213 plecos in a 55 growout with 7 3.5" discus and things have been fine. The discus are going into a 75 with 3 of the L213s this weekend hopefully though as things have gotten crowded. I have not seen my ottos suck slimecoat but I know some do.

[BigMatt14]

I have 3 ottos and 7 juvie L213 plecos in a 55 growout with 7 3.5" discus and things have been fine. The discus are going into a 75 with 3 of the L213s this weekend hopefully though as things have gotten crowded. I have not seen my ottos suck slimecoat but I know some do.

I'd love to try it, but my only concern is that once I have the fish, I have them for good. The LFS I deal with doesn't accept returns or donations of any livestock, so if they didn't work out, I'd be stuck with them.

[strawberryblonde]

Can you find someone local who might want the Oto's? The other option is to do what I did, I put my non-compatible fish into other small tanks and then added something for "bling". In one tank I have a pair of silvertip tetra's living happily with 2 platies in a 3 gallon tank. I also had a lacy highfin catfish that wasn't a good fit for the discus, but who doesn't mind living in one end of my sump. He's AWESOME for cleaning up any bits of food that make it through the overflow and into the sump.

I also have a 5 gallon tank with 2 slime sucking pleco's and a beta fish. The beta is for the bling and the pleco's just keep the tank nice and clean. The tanks were super cheap at walmart and I tossed the filter on the 5 gallon and added a small hydro sponge filter instead. Air and filtration for cheap!

With lots of small low light plants (dwarf sag, dwarf swords and anubias fern) in both tanks I only need to change water on them every 2-4 weeks and it only takes a couple of minutes to do it.