Discus compatibility

[CyprusSteve]

May I please pick your brains a moment.
In your opinion, in a 250 litre tank would two Discus be compatible with the following fish ?
I am not looking to breed - just to establish a peaceful community tank with Discus as the main feature.
5 x Dwarf Gourami
I x Sucking Catfish - (pleco)
10x Neon tetra
10 x Serpae tetra
6 x male Platy
I would greatly appreciate your advice, comments, suggestions, etc .
Regards
Steve

[Bainbridge Mike]

I have had some dwarf gourami's that were aggressive and chased around angels--but have not tried to keep them with Discus. I think I would leave the gourami's out.

Mike

[Bainbridge Mike]

oh yeah,
you should skip the neons and get cardinals instead--they will do better in the water the discus will require.

Mike

[RyanH]

The biggest factor is heat tolerance. Few of the species that you listed will do well in the higher temperatures that Discus require. You want to keep them at around 84 degrees F minimum. Also, I've had common plecos attach to my Discus before and feed on their slime coats after they got a little older and more carnivorous. I will only keep bristlenose with Discus now. I also have a tank with Cardinal tetras and Discus. Cardinals can tolerate the higher temps and as long as you keep your Discus fed, you shouldn't have to worry about them eating the tetras.

The other species that you listed I do not have specific experience with but again, temperature is going to be your biggest obsticle IMO.

One other thing:

Discus often don't do very well unless they are kept in groups. I would recommend that you keep no fewer than 6 Discus together in a tank unless they are a mated pair.

hth
-Ryan