discus tankmates
- Thread starter martin boi
- Start date
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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)
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)
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.
