discus tankmates

[martin boi]

what r the best tankmates for discus i have a 4 foot tank with 1 brilliant red discus, 6 harliquin tetras, 2 wild honey gouramies, female krib, 2 bristlenose, i was thinking of getting 2 angles, 2 rams, 1 male krib and 6 congo tetras and maybe a few cardinals. my male discus never lets other discus survive in my tank iv added 5 but he killed them 1 by 1 what do u think will work hes fine with other fish that look nothing like him self.

[Ghost_knife]

I would really get some more discus. they do alot better in a school more then 5. I have 3 and they are very very shy because they are not comfortable..

[martin boi]

i added 5 at the same time so there was 6 in total and he killed them all. 1 by 1 they where all the same size as himself

[kcooley]

how big of a tank is this?

i would say do not get a male krib, they are really aggressive when they are spawning. they WILL attack discus. rams, tetras, south american plecos. siamensis are good, otos are good,

you either got an aggressive discus or youve got a bunch of weak ones. i had a discus that would attack the others,finaly they turned on him all at once.

[liv2padl]

discus do best as a group of 6-8 in a tall species tank. water temperature of 80-85° and NO other tankmates.

[neonmadness]

discus do best as a group of 6-8 in a tall species tank. water temperature of 80-85° and NO other tankmates.


Discus do fine with tankmates, though good tankmates can differ due to size of tank and their personality.

[reptileguy2727]

kribs are african, so they should be removed, gouramis are from asia so they should also go. no angels or congo tetras. you should add to the school of harlequin rasboras (they arent tetras) as they do best in schools of 10-12. cardinals would be great but you would need a school of at least 6, not just a few. the temp shold be at 86 for discus. you may want to consider a school of cories, they do great with discus. go with a smaller species, not one of the ones that get to be 3" or more. how many gallons is your tank?

[steffish]

We have 2-4" discus(Hopefully a PAIR?) with cory cats(adolphi), blue & gold rams, a 4" geophagus juripari(probably swap him for a red hump him as he gets bigger)and a small school of rummynose tetras. The rummynose are a great dither for discus. And their colors are a good indicator of tank conditions. If they start losing their red noses the water quality is deteriorating, check it! They'll go bad much quicker than the discus so you have a good heads up to keep the big guys happy.

[Star_Rider]

how big is this 'loner'..if you add other discus they should be the same size. if you have a large discus and you add small discus..you could have problems. discus will establish a pecking order. an lone large discus could pose a big threat to smaller discus.

you say 4' tank.what is the water volume..I have 3 4' tanks.1-55, 1-75, 1-110.

discus generally do best in schools/shoals of 5 (but this is a general rule).

you can raise angels with discus..but manydon't suggest it..make sure tha angels and the other fish have been placed in quarantine..

[VTwinFanatic]

I'd suggest discus only bare bottom tank...but thats just my preference with my discus. But if you do want some tank mates, i'd suggest some small schooling tetras, apistos, and some dwarf plecos (be careful with them though....sometimes they will suck the sides of your discus...not a good thing). About your dominant discus...when you get new discus, take him out rearrange the tank, add the new discus in there for a bit then add him lastly....may give the others a better chance...or if you have a place to house him for a few days it would be even better....let the others establish themselves then he will have to assert himself in the pecking order.

[neonmadness]

[QUOTE=reptileguy2727]gouramis are from asia so they should also go. no angels or congo tetras. you should add to the school of harlequin rasboras (they arent tetras) as they do best in schools of 10-12. cardinals would be great but you would need a school of at least 6, not just a few. the temp shold be at 86 for discus

1: it really doesnt matter where the fish are from as long as theyr compatible
2: despite what many people say, i know from experience angels are fine with discus, tho small angels are very fragile, so i dont know if theyll make it with you r particular discus who seems very aggressive, if you want some youll have to get them at a decent size.
3: discus do not need a temp of 86, tho they prefer no lower than 80. i kept my tank at 82 and they were fine.

[reptileguy2727]

Ideal conditions is what should be strived for, not just 'good enough', or 'it worked for me'. 86 is ideal. they will live at lower temps, but 86 is ideal. And again, the angels may have worked for you, but in general because it is common enough that they don't work well with discus, they should not be included in lists of compatible fish. Sometimes it works, but all too often it does not and the discus end up on the losing end. Angels can get pretty aggressive as they get bigger and from my experience they grow faster than the dicsus, so they will end up bigger and bullying them. Please do not take what worked for you, which were exceptions to the general guides and trends, and apply that to all and allow others to set themselves up for problems.

And as you move to different regions fo the world, hardness, pH, and other water chemistry parameters change. Which makes fish from different areas incompatible for the most part. So not only do they need to get along as far as behavior and size, but they also need the same water type. Putting fish from different regions together that have different needs for water parameters prevents you from being able to properly care for both, and to help them thrive shoudl eb the goal.

[neonmadness]

discus and angels isnt just from my experience, ive heard from a lot of people it works. of course sometimes it doesnt, but theyr cichlids, and cichlids have personality. in many cases, discus are much more aggressive than angels. it really depends on your personal fish and how they were raised, and in the case of his discus, if it is as aggressive as he says it is, it will work. as for the temp at 86, i dont believe a tank raised discus needs 86 or even prefers it. and when i say my discus did just fine, i mean they are doing great. and as for keeping fish from the same area together only, thats ridiculous unless hes setting up a strict biotype. just because two species are from the same continent, country or even river doesnt mean they have the same requiremenst, so again unless hes setting up a strict biotype of fish from the same environment in the same river, it really doesnt matter. i think a gourami would be fine, since it also prefers soft water with a high temp, tho he'll have to be careful to get a species thats not aggressive.

[kjf91004]

http://discusasahobby.com/forum/index.php?topic=5701.0

That link helps explain why discus and angels are not recommended together. Lots of people have a variety of different tank mates with discus , and probably quite a few of them succeed, but there are lots of reasons why it is not recommended.

I guess there are two types of people out there, those that want a beautiful diverse tank to look at, and those that are so dedicated to a particular species of fish that they want all of the desires and needs met of the fish. I don't intend on judging one over the other, but there seems to be a clash here.

[reptileguy2727]

I never said that they HAVE to be from the same region or that as long as they are from the same region they are fine, I'm saying there is more to compatibility than size, general temperment, water chemistry, etc. Congratulations on your success with combinations that do not follow the trends. I had 3" discus with 7" bichirs and both did great, but you don't see me on here recommending that others do the same. That came about in a time of necessity when my original discus tank leaked and the best tank for the discus was the one my bichirs were in. Did they work great together, yes. Does that mean I should assume it always will because I had great success with it, absolutely not. One of the best uses of forums liek this is to learn what has failed for others, and if a certain thing fails enough to be called a trend, to allow others to learn from that so that the same does not happen when it can be avoided. Every fish is different. However it is not likely enough that discus and angels will THRIVE together to say that they in general make good cohabitants. Even captive bred discus should be kept at higher temps. It helps immunity, growth, and proper metabolism. The first thing the breeder that I got three of my discus form asked was what temp I had the tank at. At my wotk we only get in captive bred discus and they tend to settle in faster and have better overall health if we keep them at 86 or so as opposed to 82 or even 84. If you decide to not carry out these practices with your discus, that is your choice and I wish them the best of luck, but please do not tell others that these commonly practiced methods do not work, it could very well end with a failed attempt at discus keeping for new discus hobbyists.

[neonmadness]

okay, i believe keeping angels with discus isnt always a good idea, but based on what he says about the personality of his discus, it will work if he does it right. alright, maybe discus do need temps of 86, but almost every fish recommended to him and that he already has will suffer at a temp that high, so in a species tank if you want your temp at 86, go for it, but in a community tank that isnt always the best temp, and a temp of 82-84 is absolutely fine.

[JuanTamad]

Check this combination - Discus, Angel (Dumerelli/Leopoldi), and Arowana. All South Americans and wild caught :)

Also have a tank with Heckels, Altum Angels, Black Lace Angels, Clown Loaches; and a tank with Brown Discus, Altum Angels, Clown Loaches, and a school of Cardinal Tetras.

[Star_Rider]

Jaun you beat me to the punch.

while it may not be optimal for keeping discus with angels..the fact remains it is done and done successfully.
now before you start jumping all over this..it has been done by many discus breeders.
I have seen Heckels with Altums(both wild)..you want to see aggressive angels..try getting Wild angels but they can be kept with discus.
the discus will compete for food.
in my case I have discus I raise with adult angels..the discus will compete for food and let me tell you.. the angels are not the agressors in this tank..the discus are.

these discus will push the angels aside when the angels are 'spawning' and eat the eggs.

but nothing will get close to the spawning discus.

maybe it's an oddity, but it does happen and can be done successfully.

the one thing you need to be aware of..angels are reported to carry some parasites that can infect the discus(cichlids) so if you add angels..quarantine them and treat them for infections. many breeders treat for both parasites and bacteria. please quatrantine the fish for a minimum foe 3-4 weeks.

btw..I do want this angel pair to spawn(marble koi heavy on the black and a leopard angel)

[JuanTamad]

I think the quarantine part is the key for keeping a fish that will go with other fish in the same tank. I quarantine my Angels, Discus, and Arowanas, and any other fish that originate from somebody else's tank from 4 to 6 weeks.