Adding discus to angel fish tank

V

vbeta

Registered Member
Nov 7, 2006
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Hi everyone,

I've been wanting to add discus to my 72 gallon tank. The problem is that I have a community tank right now with 2 adult angel fish, 4 clown loaches, 3 zebra loaches, 2 bala shark, and an albino pleco. I bought the tank used couple months ago and all the fish came with it. Would it be ok to add 3 3.5" discus to my tank? I'm afraid that the angel will be aggresive.
 
You're going to run into some problems in the future mainly dealing with overstocking:

-Bala sharks can reach 18" and need lots of swimming space
-Clown loaches, although slow growers, get well over 12" and a group will need more room

As a rule, always plan for the adult size of the fish unless you are 100% positive that
you can upgrade in the future.

Angels and discus will coexist in a tank that has enough space. With your current stocking, adding any more fish is not a good idea until you can rehome the balas and clowns.
 
Thanks for the advice. I guess I will need to give away/sell my loaches and bala shark. I rarely see the loaches other than during feeding time.
 
Most experienced discus keepers will tell you that 3 is the worst number of discus to keep per tank. They are a schooling fish and form a heirarchy. They need to be kept in groups of 5-6 at a minimum in order to thrive. Problems will arise with anything less than that, except in situations where you have a mated pair together. With three discus, two will constantly pick on one and it will eventually die. Then the alpha will pick on the remaining discus. Either get 5-6 or none at all. Also you should be looking at purchasing adult discus if you are putting them immediately with tankmates. Juvies will be stunted as the angels are more aggressive at feeding time and your discus will frequently go without food and won't grow much.
 
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