Choosing Discus Tank mates, Please Advise..

[farzadkavari]

Hello everyone, I am looking to add some peaceful tank-mates to my discus tank. They have been kind of shy as of lately so I hear this might help them out feel more secure.

My setup: 90 gallon, 8 Discus (2.5 inch), daily water change done and water parameter in good shape.

Here is some suggested ones. Please advise which are better and preferred.

Cardinal Tetras
Corey Cat Fish
panda corys
aeneus cory
Congo Tetras
Black Tetras
rummy nose
glo-light tetras
bushy & clown plecos
ottocinclus
hatchet
rams
SAEs
Harlequin Rasboras
Harlequins
Glow Plugs
Albino Danios
Zebra Danios
Leopard Danio
Clown Loaches
Peppered Corys
Bristlenose

[nabilbb]

SAEs are ok in some cases, I used to have 4 of them but they kept attaking the Discus and gave them away

[Elliots]

Many of your listed fish go with Discus. I would be very careful of Hatchet fish as they often jump out of the tank. Some of your choices, Congo tetra, Clown plecos, ottocinclus, all Danios and Clown loaches are discussed at various places in Simplydiscus. There is opinion both ways as to whether they go with Discus. I personally think you should decide what fish you want to look at with Discus and give them a try. You can probably make a deal with your lfs (Local fish store) to return unwanted fish. The questions raised include eating the slime coat of your Discus, swimming too actively and feeding too voraciously. Good luck and please post what you tried and how they worked.

[Elliots]

Addition to my previous post. There are many people on this site that think 8 Discus in 90 gallons is enough as the Discus will grow. You should consider the opinions of the people who post on this site as most of them are more knowledgeable on Discus than I am. I say, it is your tank, do what you want, learn from you mistakes nothing is really written in stone although there is consenus opinion on many things.

[blesser13]

Rummy noise is a good mix with discus

[discuspaul]

- SAE's & Otos have been known to ocasionally take a liking to discus' slime coats;
- Hatchets are fine, but jumpers - keep the tank covered;
- Congo Tetras, Black Tetras, the Danios, and Clown Loaches are very active, and MAY tend to startle the slow-moving discus, and cause some stress;
- Many Plecos are 'iffy' tankmates for discus, except BNP's which are of a smaller size;
- I'm not familiar with Glow Plugs and Bushy& Amps ?;

All the others are quite compatible.

[Orange Crush]

I would go with a pair of rams, a bristlenose pleco or a school of sterbai or other cories. However, not all cories can take the temps that discus are kept at. Keep in mind that your discus need 10 gal of water each so you only have 10 gal for other fish.
Also, right now your tank is too big for 2.5" discus. I recommend using a divider to keep the discus in a smaller portion of the tank while they grow out.