South American bio-type... any suggestions?

Omega

Omega

Clowning Around
Dec 29, 2005
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Surrey, BC, Canada
I already have a 90 gallon Malawi cichlid tank (no hybrids!) going strong in my living room but I want something else for my bedroom. Probably another 90 gallon.

I'm thinking a planted South American bio-type as it's something I haven't specifically tried yet (aside from piranhas with sword plants).

I already know I want rams, cardinal tetras, and a bristlenose pleco.

Discus maybe? I'm an advanced fish-keeper and although I've never had them before this would not be out of my capability, however tank-mates for discus do concern me.

Will discus or angel fish eat adult cardinal tetras?

My tap water is already quite acidic and soft and water changes with this set-up would be a breeze. That's a plus.

Species recommendations, please... :)
 
Angel fish may eat them but Discus shouldn't. There is actually a great article in this months Aquarium Fish International magazine on setting up a south american amazonian bio type for smaller fish. It was quite interesting and worth a read if you plan to do this sort of set-up. It recommends doing lots a shoals of tetra's and maybe a few apisto cichlid's to. Also they talk about putting in a couple of large shoals of cories in the tank too.
 
fish_freak said:
Angel fish may eat them but Discus shouldn't. There is actually a great article in this months Aquarium Fish International magazine on setting up a south american amazonian bio type for smaller fish. It was quite interesting and worth a read if you plan to do this sort of set-up. It recommends doing lots a shoals of tetra's and maybe a few apisto cichlid's to. Also they talk about putting in a couple of large shoals of cories in the tank too.
Click to expand...
Nice!

Thanks.
 
Discus do best in species only tanks, but if you really want other fish with them just make sure they are peaceful types ...fish that are hyper-active and zooming all over the place seem to stress them out also.
 
You would be Ok with Discus in that tank. They arent as hard as a lot of people put on. If they are captive bred they are a lot more adaptable to different water IME
 
90 gallon, you could go with angels with discus..they will do okay . I have them and the discus will easily compete for food.
as rallymans said the domestic discus are hardier than many think.

the young discus will require more care. they should be fed several times per day for optimal growth 3-4 but 4-5 is better. this means you will need to be up on the water changes.
if you get discus..get them from a breeder. the quality of discus from a breeder (reputable) is far superior to what you will find in a LFS.
I'm speaking from experience here..the discus I have seen in lfs are deplorable compared to what I have found at the breeders.

with a 90 tho you might seriously consider discus a school of 8 would look nice. is the tank going to be planted?
if you consider angels a pair is all I would recommend..to decrease the likelihood of a pair forming..lots of structure would be a plus too.

dithers ..go with cardinals..I have kept cardinals with angels with success..but you need to get small angels and large cardinals..the angels in a 90 would grow pretty fast as well as the discus..typically in a planted tank you may see the discus grow to over 6" both discus and angels do well with rams and bn's.
they will also do fine with cory's.
 
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