Discus... with rams?

My concern would be temp you intend to keep the discus at. Although kept gbrs with Discus @ 84-86F but gbr did lot better in lower temp than 84F and same goes for most Amazonian Dwarfs I kepted with Discus.

Discus did just fine at bit lower temp as well.

Good Luck with new set up!
 
Thanks for all the info. I really like the aquaclear filters and think they work great, but I do think I'm going to upgrade to a canister filter in the future when I come across a good price on one. I have my discus at 84 right now, however they've grown fast, they're not too small anymore. I'm going to move them up to the bigger tank and slowly decrease the temp to 82. The briggs are distributed in my other fry tanks now, not with the discus, because I have assassin snails in with the discus now. After I get the discus moved and their temps down to 82, I think the snails would do well in the larger planted tank. Anyway, so that's my plan. Adding the rams was something I hadn't planned, but more of a side thought and I wondered if it would be possible. I suppose I'll wait it out and see what I think will be best down the road. I had most been concerned about if rams would pick at discus or something like that, the crowding factor wasn't something I thought would be an issue. I could always put rams in another tank when/ if I decide to get them in the future. Thanks again for the help and advice.
 
7 discus will be fine in a planted 75 tank I've kept 10 in my 72 bowfront without issue and with a small pleco or two and other small fish. I did 2 50 percent water changes weekly until they were old enough to only need one feeding a day. I have always run 2 large HOBs on that tank also without issue. I use the large marineland biowheels because the lip of the tank is too thick to accommodate the aquaclears. Over the years I've kept various small fish with the discus including rams. And would never put rams back in with them again because the rams get too aggressive towards the discus when the rams spawn. I did not like seeing the discus get pounded. On the head by the anxious ram parents. I have some black tetras in there now and they are nice companion fish, not afraid to swim around with the large discus. Smaller tetras and even the rummynose tetras hardly seem to confidently swim with the discus out if fear of their large size. If I could get my hands on some emporers I'd have them in there.
 
pinkertd said:
7 discus will be fine in a planted 75 tank I've kept 10 in my 72 bowfront without issue and with a small pleco or two and other small fish. I did 2 50 percent water changes weekly until they were old enough to only need one feeding a day. I have always run 2 large HOBs on that tank also without issue. I use the large marineland biowheels because the lip of the tank is too thick to accommodate the aquaclears. Over the years I've kept various small fish with the discus including rams. And would never put rams back in with them again because the rams get too aggressive towards the discus when the rams spawn. I did not like seeing the discus get pounded. On the head by the anxious ram parents. I have some black tetras in there now and they are nice companion fish, not afraid to swim around with the large discus. Smaller tetras and even the rummynose tetras hardly seem to confidently swim with the discus out if fear of their large size. If I could get my hands on some emporers I'd have them in there.
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Thank you - this is very helpful info! I wondered if rams would pick at discus at all. If I decide to get them at some point, I suppose it's going to be best to put them in their own tank. For the discus, I have considered rummynose and cardinal tetras, but right now I'll just worry about getting the discus into their new home. I do have 2 of the marineland biowheel 350 filters, I like them too, especially since they fit well on my tank that is too close to the wall for the aquaclears!
 
pinkertd said:
7 discus will be fine in a planted 75 tank I've kept 10 in my 72 bowfront without issue and with a small pleco or two and other small fish. I did 2 50 percent water changes weekly until they were old enough to only need one feeding a day. I have always run 2 large HOBs on that tank also without issue. I use the large marineland biowheels because the lip of the tank is too thick to accommodate the aquaclears. Over the years I've kept various small fish with the discus including rams. And would never put rams back in with them again because the rams get too aggressive towards the discus when the rams spawn. I did not like seeing the discus get pounded. On the head by the anxious ram parents. I have some black tetras in there now and they are nice companion fish, not afraid to swim around with the large discus. Smaller tetras and even the rummynose tetras hardly seem to confidently swim with the discus out if fear of their large size. If I could get my hands on some emporers I'd have them in there.
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Agreed.

I've kept rummy nose and cardinals with discus and they go well together.

Mark
 
Rams are fine with Discus as far as water and temp requirements go but agree pairs will be a problem if you only have a 75. All male rams would be ok. I also use HOBs on my planted tanks. I have found Bio-wheels tend to drive off more CO2 than the regular type so I don't use them on planted tanks any more. One of the nicest dither I've kept with Discus have been Harliquin Rasboras there movements tend to be a little smoother than some of the tetras and swim nicly among the Discus. Another tetra I've had that was a total disaster with Discus were BATs too fast and hyper.
 
pinkertd said:
7 discus will be fine in a planted 75 tank I've kept 10 in my 72 bowfront without issue and with a small pleco or two and other small fish. I did 2 50 percent water changes weekly until they were old enough to only need one feeding a day. I have always run 2 large HOBs on that tank also without issue. I use the large marineland biowheels because the lip of the tank is too thick to accommodate the aquaclears. Over the years I've kept various small fish with the discus including rams. And would never put rams back in with them again because the rams get too aggressive towards the discus when the rams spawn. I did not like seeing the discus get pounded. On the head by the anxious ram parents. I have some black tetras in there now and they are nice companion fish, not afraid to swim around with the large discus. Smaller tetras and even the rummynose tetras hardly seem to confidently swim with the discus out if fear of their large size. If I could get my hands on some emporers I'd have them in there.
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I'd like to add my complete agreement to this as well. I've been keeping 10 - 3"-4" discus in a 75 gallon planted tank for some time, along with a small school of cardinals, a few copper rasboras and cories, and some Amano shrimp. All doing very well with 2-3 50% wc's per week, and filtering with 2 AC 110's, which do a great job. You didn't mention the size of your discus, except that they had grown and were not too small. At any rate, you should be just fine.
 
Thanks for the info. Mine are also 3-4" right now, but I want to know that they won't be growing out of it anytime soon. I would like to rehome many of my malawi cichlids and move them into a 125g built into my wall, but that's a looooong time away and not yet decided for sure. I did decide against the rams, but may look at adding a school of cardinals or rummynose at some point.
 
IMO you'll still be ok when they grow out to 5" or more, and that will take some time. Even 7 adult 6" fish will be ok in that 75 gallon, so long as you maintain adequate-sized, reasonably frequent wc's with that good filtration, and as long as you don't have too many other dither fish along with them. Maybe a small school of 20 cardinals & rummies, but not 40 or 50 other fish.
Hope this helps.
 
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