Discus with Koi Angels

[crazydiscus]

Hey guys, I got a pair of koi angels in my 3ft tank now and I wanted to add some discus. Would anyone slap me across the head for that?
Thanks Guys hope to see ur replies soon

Cheers

[Discusgeo2]

If your going to do it make sure both the Discus and Angels are all cleaned personally by you. Sometimes when I have to move tanks or sterilize one I put my fish togethere and it may be for at least 10 days. I know my fish are not carrying anything and all my fish are at least a year old. I haven't brought anything new into my place in over 2 years. The Discus I got from Ryan back in April have still not entered my Hatchery and most likely won't until late 2006. But if you can avoid putting them togethere I would give them completly separate tanks becuase the Angels just eat way faster than the discus and you don't want to short change the Discus on food.

[KIWI13]

Well I'd slap you on the back and say BRAVO!!!!!!!

I have a pair of angels that are in the same tank with my discus. I have had them for months without any problems and now they breed in the same tank.

have fun with em

jason

Oh I just noticed George's post, he is right about the eating, all you got to do is supervise them and make sure your discus are getting their fair share. Quarantine is essential too. 4 weeks minimum and 6 weeks prefered.

[crazydiscus]

Thanks guys that was great help! Although I'm in Australia I wanted to get a pair of koi angels and there is no way I can find one so do you think I could import a pair over here? Can anyone help me out with this?

Cheers

[Willie]

crazydiscus;

I think you're crazy to keep discus and angelfish together. I know people are going to say they do it and nothing has happened -- so far. There are always people who live dangerously and believe that nothing will happen to them.

I have personally lost an entire tank of angelfish and discus, both of whom are healthy to begin with, in 48 hours. There's a reason why so many books warn against doing this. It has more to do with disease transmission between two fairly closely related species, nothing to do with competition for food.

What you do is your business, but you should consider why so many people say that its a bad idea.

Willie

[crazydiscus]

thanks willie! I might think twice now!

[mench]

I totally agree with Willie,been there done that and lost tanks of fish each time I tried it...I know some folks have had angels and discus together and said they get along fine and good for them..My personal experence has cost me lots of fish...if ya want angels,keep them in thier own tank and discus in a seperate tank...or put them together and see what happens...they are your fish

Mench

[DiscusCavallero]

I say try it and see what happens in my expierience i got some koi angels from discusgeo2, I put them in a community tank with my discus, with plants and drift wood and they all did fine together I also had some checkerboards. They all did fine together just make sure your discus are the more dominant species in the tank, by that i mean make sure your discus are bigger than the angels

[susankay1]

I recently bought some discus from a member and he threw in a couple of koi angels with the discus. I put them all in the same tank and have seen no ill effects so far. My 2c worth.

[Ryan]

I'm not sure how angels could be any more dangerous than, say, rams or bristlenose plecos. If the angels are quarantined and cleaned out, there shouldn't be anything for them to pass on to the discus, and vice versa. I would love to see some documentation on it if it were true though. This argument comes up all the time and I've never seen proof, just like the blackworm debate. It just doesn't make sense to me that you could mix some South American fish with discus, but not others.

Ryan

[JeffreyRichard]

crazydiscus;

I have personally lost an entire tank of angelfish and discus, both of whom are healthy to begin with, in 48 hours. There's a reason why so many books warn against doing this. It has more to do with disease transmission between two fairly closely related species, nothing to do with competition for food.

Willie

Willie, you continually harp on this mystery disease. Beyond your unfortunate experience with a tank of angels and discus, is there other documented/scientific proof? I don't doubt your unfortunate experience, but I question your conclusions ....

Please reference the "many books" which warn against angels with discus ... and who the authors are. I willing to bet that the authors are NOT scientists but hobbiests and breeders giving either opinion or ancidotal evidence ... there is a hugh difference.

Don't take what is written in a book as gospel ... just because it is in print doesn't mean it's correct or absolute.

[Barb Newell]

I have my orange koi angels with my adult discus in a 125 gal tank... no problems at all with disease or feeding. The angels hang out together and eat the smaller flakes, the discus don't pay attention to them.

Barb

[Willie]

Willie, you continually harp on this mystery disease. Beyond your unfortunate experience with a tank of angels and discus, is there other documented/scientific proof? I don't doubt your unfortunate experience, but I question your conclusions ....

Please reference the "many books" which warn against angels with discus ... and who the authors are. I willing to bet that the authors are NOT scientists but hobbiests and breeders giving either opinion or ancidotal evidence ... there is a hugh difference.

Don't take what is written in a book as gospel ... just because it is in print doesn't mean it's correct or absolute.

Not sure what else can be said that will convince the hard core. I speak of personal experience -- so I can established that disease transmission can occur. I cite books written by discus breeders. So I try to warn beginners that there are dangers involved.

Can you get away with doing this? Of course. You have been very successful, Jeff. On the other hand, some people can get away with no quarantine. The major difference between you and I is the degree of danger we perceive. You perceive it as low and I perceive it as high. I think we can agree to disagree.

Willie

[Dave C]

I guess that's why we see so many tanks with nothing but Discus in them... everyone has read of at least one hobbyist with a bad experience with each species of fish. So when John Doe says that his bristlenose plecos developed a "taste for Discus slime" we all strike bristlenose plecos off our list of suitable tankmates for Discus. Another person finds that clown loaches are too aggressive when it comes to feeding for Discus so they're gone too. Otos? Same taste for slime for one guy... out they go. Angels, they carried a mystery disease for another person so they're a no-go. Rams get territorial when they breed so we can't have them. Cardinals become lunch unless they're "raised with very young Discus which then don't think of them as food" so they're ok in limited circumstances. In the end our tanks are bare other then Discus and many miss out on the joy of a more balanced setting to watch their fish grow & thrive. So by all means take the experiences of each person and consider them. But in each case you have to also consider the vast number of other hobbyists that have not had similar problems and have had their Discus thrive with other species. In this case there are literally thousands of Discus/Angel tanks that are very successful. So the choice is yours.

[architect1]

Vary beautiful post dave. I to agree with dave. I have had good experiance with angels and discus. In fact it was so good I had a pair one angel and one discus. They did vary fine.

If I where you i would try it I don't know witch is better younger or older I did my fist experiance with older and workd well. But cost alot to get the discus at full age. Try a fleet of baby angels there not exspencive and try a fleet of blue dimonds there relitivly cheep and vary beautiful. I love the blue dimonds there about 50% of my discus count.

So try it aleast learn from the experiance that has been brought upon you when you do it. who knows you just might find out how or why they are not good together as so many people say. In the end your fish there billions of fish you can buy your working fully so you loose some in the end. Its a hobby theres good and bad things learn from them and you will be a pro.

my advise I may be 20 but I was told at the age of 18 not to do discus and angels but i did it. I maybe just young or nieve but heck if you loose some well there young its like paying for a month of gas its not the end of the world.

good luck and hope I did not offend anyone.