Discus Advice

Discussion in 'General Discus discussions' started by MarcF, Aug 30, 2013.

  1. MarcF

    MarcF

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    Hi Guys,

    I am hoping some of you Discus experts can give me some advice. I currently have a 120x45x45 250L community tank.
    Currently in the tank are the following:

    8x Albino Cory's
    3x Yoyo Loaches
    3x BN Pleco's
    1x Snowball pleco
    1x Peckoltia pleco
    2x Khuli Loaches
    4 x Pearl Gouramis
    10x Neon Tetras
    10x Guppies
    2x female betta

    What I want to do is add discus to this tank. I know some of the current occupants will need to move out.
    What I want to know is what can I keep and what will need to be removed, also how many Discus can fit in the tank comfortably?

    Thanks in advance!
     
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  3. Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    @MarcF,

    I would say everything has to go, except the Plecs.
    And I wouldn't keep more than one or two of those with Discus
    Plecs produce a lot of waste and affect water quality.
    Cardinals, Lemon Tetras or Bleeding Hearts are nice to keep with Discus

    Re how many Discus in your tank.
    You will see varying opinions on this.
    The generally accepted thinking is 40L per fish. So you would get 6 in your tank, which is the smallest group size they should be in anyway.
    But I have seen suggestions of up to 100L per fish, which would mean that you could possibly only keep a breeding pair.
    If you keep up with the water changes, and keep the water quality good, you should be ok with 6.
     
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2013
  4. pHish_man

    pHish_man Discus

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    @MarcF

    Im just down the road from you. Why dont you pop in and see my discus setup and i can offer you some pointers.

    Oh, and our mountains out here are covered in snow, so it will be a scenic drive too.

    Kind regards

    Andrew
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  5. Ramrezi

    Ramrezi

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    Hi MarcF
    I have previously had a few pearl gourami's with my discus in the same size tank as yours. That species of gourami seemed a little active for the discus.
    I have since replaced them with 4 snakeskin gourami's and had much better results as these seem to be more placid.

    I have also the following in my tank:
    4 corys
    20 neons
    10 rummy noses
    2 kuhli loaches
    1 plec


    I have heard of people frowning on having neons with discus (cardinals seem preferred), but I haven't had any problems. The other species in your tank I can't comment on - I guess larger discuss would be less fussed about tank mates than smaller ones.

    There are no problems in my tank and the discus regularly lay and hatch eggs. The fry unfortunately then get chomped but I don't have much space/time for a breeding tank.
    I use a large canister filter and 66%RO/33%normal water for the weekly 30% water change.
     
  6. OP
    MarcF

    MarcF

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    @pHish_man would love to pop in one day, maybe in the near future :)

    @Reedfish I dont mind letting letting go of the lesser fish but the yoyo loaches and and pearl gouramis are pride and joy lol was reading up that they will do fine as the pearls are more peaceful than most. You think it would be fine to leave them in?

    @Ramrezi my pearl gourmis are all chilled hide most of time unless it feeding tim, not very active at all. How many Discus to you keep in that tank setup?

    And dont worry I am very good and prompt with my water changes on a weekly basis. Oh and the filtration is a Dophin Canister C1600 2540 l/h and internal Dophin F2000 650l/h
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  7. Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    @MarcF,

    A friend of mine who is an experienced Discus keeper has some Moonlight Gouramis with his Discus.
    So I guess it could work. Gouramis are relatively placid, but may not comfortable at the higher temps.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
  8. OP
    MarcF

    MarcF

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    yes the higher temps is my main worry.... will also speak to owner of LFS and see what he recommends as well.
     
  9. Jenn

    Jenn Retired Moderator

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    The reason for this is that Neons prefer cooler temps than Discus, while Cardinals prefer similar temps. Neons will have shorter life spans at higher temps.
     
  10. Biggles

    Biggles

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    Albino Corys will be fine at Discus temps, they come from the same rivers. That is if they are Sterba based Albinos, as most are. I have 12 odd corys and they go well with Discus as they vacuum up excess food and do not compete with the Discus. They are also comfortable at low Ph and temps.

    Neons are not recomended due to water temp issues, I have a bunch of Cardinals and they are good for Discus as "dither fish" and calm the discus.

    I have a Pleco in there. Useless thing, who's sole function in life is to hide away until I want to move stuff in the tank then it just gets in the way. When ever I haven't seen it for more than a week I secretly hope it has escaped. I have read that Plecos like eating the slime of discus and can damage discus.

    No experience with the other fish but do not recall any of them from recommended Discus Tankmates.

    Loaches are often described as too aggressive for Discus. But have similar water parameters.
    Guppies are 25C water fish and slightly alkaline so no good with discus.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2013
  11. PsyXe

    PsyXe

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    BNs, Peckoltias, and I think a Snowball is a Peckoltia too or similar, don't tend to get the taste for slime coat and are recommmended discus tankmates. Individual tastes may differ though, so just keep an eye out!
     
  12. OP
    MarcF

    MarcF

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    Thanks for the feed back every one. I defiantly plan on taking out the guppies and replacing the neons for cardinals. Will keep the gouramis and yoyo's for now see how they react and behave with the dicus and water temp. If there are any problems will have just remove then as well. Going to give this more thought and speak to LSF again before I bring the discus is.
     

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