Discus, General Questions

[tom_os]

will they be ok with a big shoal of rummnose tetras?

will they be ok with current from a koralia 2 pump in a 4ft tank?

i believe we have soft water with a tap ph of about 7.2 is this ok?

will they be ok with co2 injection?

thats all i can think of for now

thanks

 

[rabbut]

will they be ok with a big shoal of rummnose tetras?

will they be ok with current from a koralia 2 pump in a 4ft tank?

i believe we have soft water with a tap ph of about 7.2 is this ok?

will they be ok with co2 injection?

thats all i can think of for now

thanks

Rummy Nose Tetras are amongst a select few "Dither fish" that are recomended with them, so yes, they'll be fine

I find they are not fussed about current, though others will bag to differ...

I find Asian tank bred fish aren't fussed about water chemistory, actually, they tend to strop in soft and acidic water German and wild caught stock can be very fussy though apparently.

CO2 injection should be fine, provided the levels of CO2 in the water remain constant

Any more questions, just ask

All the best
Rabbut

 

[tom_os]

cheers, i believe the fish are wild caught, not sure from where though, will find out this week.

what other good tank mates are there?

i have a 240l tank. im thinking 6 discus, 20 rummynose, a plec (dont know what, nothing to big)

room for anything else?

 

[blue acara]

Yes to all of your questions.
Corydoras and hatchet fish are decent tank mates. Go for a cory that can take the heat like sterbai or adolfi for example. They will find any food that the discus miss. Hatchet fish are good as they fill the upper levels of the tank and will eat any annoying floating bits of bloodworm/whiteworm that the discus may not eat.
You could fit a group of each, that would be fairly heavily stocked and needing lots of regular water changes/lots of filtration. Consider not adding the plec as they are big waste producers and there could be a danger of it leeching off the discus. Ive never seen this but it can happen.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

cheers, i believe the fish are wild caught, not sure from where though, will find out this week.

what other good tank mates are there?

i have a 240l tank. im thinking 6 discus, 20 rummynose, a plec (dont know what, nothing to big)

room for anything else?

I think your wild caughts should be fine. A pH of 7.2 isn't bad. Is that from the tap? The pH will be lower in the tank if you are injecting C02. Try to get adult fish, small Discus don't tend to grow very will in a planted tank.

 

[tom_os]

ok thanks.

i will go adult then and yes thats the ph out of the tap

i have 13x turnover with the filter and i always do at least 40% water changes a week

i like cories but have had loads of them in the past. im thinking some loaches maybe? obviously not clown

 

[tom_os]

how long do they live for?

 

[rabbut]

I think you'll find 40% weekly not enough. You are putting 4 heavy feeds into a Discus set-up on a daily basis. With a simliar "overstocking" on my 83g Discus tank, I find twice weekly 50% is just about right

I think you last round of questions above were answered well by Discuslova and Blueacara

You need to be careful putting loach with Discus, many will apparently spook them at night. You also need to be careful with Corry's, most species will melt in the heat, but I've has success with Adolfoi and Metae, both of which are more expensive ones (£3-99 2 for £7-50 for 1.5" specimens...)

All the best
Rabbut

 

[tom_os]

ok cheers well do more water changes then

what bottom feeders would you reccommend? apart from cories?

 

[rabbut]

I've got L66 plecos in with mine ATM, may be adding L15 soon

 

[tom_os]

ok thanks, well i really like plecos so would like to get at least one. maybe just a bristlenose

 

[tom_os]

would it be better if i got a fluval FX5 for the 240l tank?

or would this be over filtering. the reason i say is i could use the 405 i have currently on that tank on a differnt tank

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

I think you'll find 40% weekly not enough. You are putting 4 heavy feeds into a Discus set-up on a daily basis. With a simliar "overstocking" on my 83g Discus tank, I find twice weekly 50% is just about right

I think you last round of questions above were answered well by Discuslova and Blueacara

You need to be careful putting loach with Discus, many will apparently spook them at night. You also need to be careful with Corry's, most species will melt in the heat, but I've has success with Adolfoi and Metae, both of which are more expensive ones (£3-99 2 for £7-50 for 1.5" specimens...)

All the best
Rabbut

He may be able to get away with a 50% or 60% weekly, as you only really need to give 3 feedings a day for adults.

ok thanks, well i really like plecos so would like to get at least one. maybe just a bristlenose

A bristlenose could be okay, but again, you need to be careful with Plecos as they will sometimes latch onto the Discus slime coat. I mostly like to avoid all catfish in a Discus tank.

 

[rabbut]

You need a reliable filter on a Discus tank. For that reason alone, I would never fit an 05 series Fluval to any of my tank... The FX5 would be far better than the 405 though, as it's supposedly more reliable, has a larger media volume and a greater flow throughput good:

HTH
Rabbut