72g Stocking w/Discus

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number1sixerfan

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Sep 11, 2006
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Need some stocking suggestions. I am moving to a new apartment and I have a 72g. Right now I have 3 discus(had four), 17 cardinal tetra, and 1 blue ram. They have been living peacefully together for around 6 months. Two of the discus are relatively large and the third is still around only 3".

At first I thought about a shrimp tank with smaller community fish, but the more I think about it the more I think that a tank so big needs a centerpiece fish. However, I need a change of scenery. So I'm thinking of trading in the tetras and blue rams. How does this sound:

6-8 Discus
20 guppies(or some other top dwelling small fish. I figure the discus won't touch them since they won't touch the cardinals. Could always be wrong.)
8 Panda Cories
4 Ottos

It will also be a heavily planted tank with two canister filters. What I can't decide on is what top dwelling fish I would like to have. Guppies are beautiful, but I feel like they may not fit in with the amazonian theme I am going for with the plants and discus.

What would you all stock with 6-8 Discus?
 
6 discus would be the max I would go with general rule is 15g per fish

I would do 20 black neons ( its had to get a school that big as they are hard to transport) I have 12 right now and will add more when petco puts them on sale again

you will need a different Corrie as the panda will not last at the higher temps you need for the discus try Schwartz's or albino's

I would also increase the Otto count to 12 or so
 
I agree that the max for the discus is six. That is a nice size school for that size tank. Is this a bowfront tank? If it is and it is planted with the discus it will be stunning! A nice school of cardinals will be beautiful with the discus and can easily handle the higher temps. that the discus require.Black neons as suggested will also handle these temps easily and tend to be a bit more hardy then the cardinals. Other tetras to consider if you do not want the cardinals or the black neons would be rosy tetras or lemon tetras which also look amazing with discus. As far as the cories go, if you want panda cories I think they will be fine with the discus. I have kept a decent size school of pandas successfully with the discus and they were fine. They are just too cute! Others to consider would be peppered cories or albinos.

Good luck with the 72 gallon tank. I am sure that when everything is up and running it will look amazing!

Marinemom
 
I generally keep my tank temp around 75 degrees give or take a few degrees and the discus thrive. I also do water changes twice a week. I prefer to keep around seven or eight because the discus will be much happier and possibly less agressive. We'll see what happens though.

As for the smaller fish do guppies seem too out of place? I'm starting to think I need to drop them as a possibility. Black neons may be an option. I've always wanted congo tetras as well, but they are mostly mid dwellers. What about serpea tetras? Do you guys think they would nip at the discus if kept in an appropriate school?

As for the bottom dwellers I really want a good clean up crew so to speak. I don't mind doing water changes very frequently due to the discus, but it would be nice not to have to vacuum every other day. The discus need feeding at least 3 times a day, so the excess just hits the floor in my current tank and I have no scavengers.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
Really 75 degrees is just too cool for the discus. The discus require temps in the 82-86 degree range in order for them to be happy and not appear lethargic. Serpae tetras are known fin nippers and will most likely harass the discus to no end. Keeping them in a decent size school will help but really I would consider another kind of tetra to keep with them.

Marinemom
 
Marinemom said:
Really 75 degrees is just too cool for the discus. The discus require temps in the 82-86 degree range in order for them to be happy and not appear lethargic. Serpae tetras are known fin nippers and will most likely harass the discus to no end. Keeping them in a decent size school will help but really I would consider another kind of tetra to keep with them.

Marinemom
Click to expand...

Well, I had them at around 87 degrees for a while and they seem just as happy around the high 70's so kept it there for the health of the other tankmates(had a few rainbows in there for a while). I'll try the 80's again and see if it makes a difference. I feed them brine shrimp, beefheart, and cichlid gold pellets.

I was thinking the same with the serpae tetras. It's a shame because I've always liked their looks, but I'd hate for them to touch the discus.
 
I've decided to keep the cards. Additionally, I will be adding a small school of congo tetra. Now, what ratio of corys and ottos should I have. I need the otto's to help with the algae since I'll be planting the tank. It's probably best to have around 8-10 each correct? That may be pushing the stocking limit. Maybe I should choose one or the other.
 
My ottos leave me with plenty of mess to vacuum off the sand. Granted it's not food now, the ottos saw to that, there's still stuff that needs to be removed left behind :P

#1 thing to remember about all scavengers is; scavengers poo too!
 
Spewn said:
My ottos leave me with plenty of mess to vacuum off the sand. Granted it's not food now, the ottos saw to that, there's still stuff that needs to be removed left behind :P

#1 thing to remember about all scavengers is; scavengers poo too!
Click to expand...

Yea, good point. I'll still vacuum, it's just with discus I need to do it everyday lol. It doesn't help that I have white sand. I will be switching to eco complete when I move, so I shouldn't have to do but once a week. With the sand, I can have 0 nitrates and it can still *look* dirty.
 
I think just by virtue of being sand that isn't brown, it looks dirtier faster. I have black estes marine sand(Same as black colorquartz afaik), and I can't believe how much crap(literally!) is on the bottom every morning. With gravel, stuff falls in-between and you get it when you vacuum but with sand everything rests on the top.
 
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