Cichlid Fish Forum banner

Discus tankmates

9K views 52 replies 10 participants last post by  jd lover 
#1 ·
I have a electric blue discus now in a 40 gallon show (only about 2inchs)with 4 rainbowsbosmani I believe its spelled,4 rosaline sharks,7cardinal tetras,a bristolnosed pleco,5corys,and very soon 7more rubyeyed tetras. My question is should I lose the tetras for bolivian rams,because I heard discus are slow eaters who take in their food all day. Is it true they will not be able to compete for food with more voracious eaters leaving them weak and more likely to be stressed losing color and sulking.
 
#4 ·
I know a bigger tank is needed I didn't just go out and buy a fish and throw it in a tank I researchedo and have a 125 gallon coming6ftlong,but I was also told by friends and read in some articles 1alone or more than 5 was a good rule of thumb,but what to do with my tankmates and maybe some different suggestions for some better tankmates
 
#6 ·
Never do one alone, they are much happier in groups. One alone will be very skittish, won't eat well and will likely die. Tankmates would have to be pretty mellow, cardinals, rummy nose tetras, cories. No Jack dempsies for sure! Get at least 5, more if you can, please don't just get one!
 
#7 ·
shef said:
Never do one alone, they are much happier in groups. One alone will be very skittish, won't eat well and will likely die. Tankmates would have to be pretty mellow, cardinals, rummy nose tetras, cories. No Jack dempsies for sure! Get at least 5, more if you can, please don't just get one!
noone mentioned a jack dempsy?
 
#8 ·
oh geez, sorry, apparently I'm half asleep, I saw electric blue and somehow though dempsey, not discus. I haven't heard or electric blue discus. My apologies
 
#12 ·
Thank you for some more info,do you thimk.the rainbows are suitable tankmates?Any help is appreciated.My 6ft 100gallon tank is cycling now,in a little less than A month the discus will be getting 5 more to help him settle down,this one was a rescue
 
#16 ·
my lfs manager had given me a good deal on the discus it had been there for weeks with no takers,he told me the discus was kept with a juvie red devil,two flowerhorns,and some cons. When it was brought in it was near death he nursed it back to heath,but he didnt want someone to buy it and do the same thing to it, I was trading in my rams and angels so with a cycled tank with plenty of cover and some drift wood(i know the discus love those.tannins)to give him his own tank so with the trades I stared off with the rainbows and rosaline sharks(i didnt research them after I did I posted my qeustion) a week later I added the discus and then cardinal tetras and lastly rummynosed tetras. Sorry for the length of my post just giving some back story.
 
#18 ·
its up to you to put whatever discus you want. its your tank. young discus shouldnt have any tank mates no matter what the tankmate is. if it was at a lfs for long enough to be "nursed" back to "health" its been there long enough to have problems.
 
#20 ·
are you ready to have them in a bare bottom, do 50%+ water changes every day and feed them beefheart 3-5 times a day (which gets very expensive). after i read that about discus i knew that id never own any. beautiful cichlid but way too much work for me. discus are delicate fish and juvenile discus are even worse.
 
#23 ·
jd lover said:
Ill see you in the health and disease section soon ;)
ok... so that crosses a line or two...

sigh.

personally I've never had an issue with a solo Discus... I would have stayed at that if I were in the shoes of the OP, but now that you've got a group of young Discus coming it's time to setup a proper Discus grow out tank. I may not agree with JDLover's opinions and delivery, but it is the 'technically' correct advice. Best to at least consider it.
 
#24 ·
yea kinda blunt and may have been mean but he has been ignoring all the advice and i disagree with lone discus for the sole reason that they are schooling fish and a solo is never a good idea. doesnt mean it can be done but at a young age its diffinitely better to keep a group as they learn to compete for food and its important that they eat all they can in the first few months.
 
#25 ·
gutted said:
are you ready to have them in a bare bottom, do 50%+ water changes every day and feed them beefheart 3-5 times a day (which gets very expensive). after i read that about discus i knew that id never own any. beautiful cichlid but way too much work for me. discus are delicate fish and juvenile discus are even worse.
I respectfully disagree. While it obviously makes cleaning easier I don't think bare bottom is necessarily needed, you don't normally need to do 50% water changes every day, and many discus keepers would advise against feeding that much beefheart, it being a totally unnatural food for discus. Yes they can be delicate, but really that needs to be kept in perspective, a key determinant being whether the discus are wild or tank bred. Nor do I see why they need to be parboiled. I currently have a single discus in a SA community tank and it is fine. I've have had other single specimens. Yes I'm sure I miss out on the interactions that come from having a group, but so be it. The discus is perfectly healthy and I don't have to worry about the group bullying.
Personally I think some of the advice given about discus is OTT. To the OP, I say if you have the knowledge to maintain a healthy aquarium for SA fish, and your water parameters are all fine, I don't see why you should change much from what you are already doing to accommodate discus.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top