Discus Or African Cichlids

[frankie2]

went to bed last nightmy mind firmly made up !! was cichlids all the way (couldnt sleep was that excited )
but by the time i sat down after work today and started to read a borrowed discus book , im leaning towards discus ohhh this is not good !!

i am in a way nearrly set up for discus , substrate , bogwood few plants , and few compatible fish , cardinals , angels , corrys , and l177.(gold nugget pleco) !! but the price of discuss is pretty high ,

i think i can bored qiute easy so need a tank that is goin to kep me on my toes , constantly moving , changing (cichlids ) or the slow relaxing discuss !

have not kept neither before so both would be an excitng challenge , any input would be realy appreciated . thanks nik

 

[kiriyama]

I am biassed FOR the African Cichlids, sayin that I have seen some stunning Discus and very well set up Discus tanks, I was leaning towards Discus a while back as my LFS was etting in localstock constantly and they were really stunning colourful fish. Saying that though I think that it would be easy to get bored of the Discus quite quickly,,, just my two cents....
AFRICAN CICHLIDS

 

[frankie2]

I am biassed FOR the African Cichlids, sayin that I have seen some stunning Discus and very well set up Discus tanks, I was leaning towards Discus a while back as my LFS was etting in localstock constantly and they were really stunning colourful fish. Saying that though I think that it would be easy to get bored of the Discus quite quickly,,, just my two cents....
AFRICAN CICHLIDS

appriciated !!! they easy to look after than discuss ? gotta be honest , the aggresion and terratorail is where im being pulled in !

 

[kiriyama]

I am biassed FOR the African Cichlids, sayin that I have seen some stunning Discus and very well set up Discus tanks, I was leaning towards Discus a while back as my LFS was etting in localstock constantly and they were really stunning colourful fish. Saying that though I think that it would be easy to get bored of the Discus quite quickly,,, just my two cents....
AFRICAN CICHLIDS

appriciated !!! they easy to look after than discuss ? gotta be honest , the aggresion and terratorail is where im being pulled in !

TBH if it's Malawi etc I couldn't really advise as I know absolutely nothing about them... have a look over in the African section, there's a really good journal ny markandhisfish , also Elisew has just set up a really nice African tank, it's quite busy over in that section just now, also loads of Tanganyikan stuff at the moment to....
come on over et your toes wet

 

[Rynofasho]

If you like both, keep the Africans. Discus tanks are SOOOOOOO much more work, and some of the fish you listed aren't compatible w/ Discus because you have to keep a Discus tank so hot.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

You do realize that Discus are cichlids? They are just not African.

 

[frankie2]

You do realize that Discus are cichlids? They are just not African.

yes do undersatnd

 

[karin]

Me thinks that it would be your Ph that determines African or Discus. They are on opposite ends of the spectrum Ph wise. What is your Ph?

 

[hillmar77]

I gotta say this is a pretty difficult question... since both have their advantages and disadvantages.
African tank
-usually needs high PH ( some people even buy aragonite or crushed coral to buffer their PH to that level and its pretty expensive substrate)
-very difficult to grow any plants in a african tank since they will either eat them up or uproot them
-Aggression is way out of control sometimes... The most colorful africans are usually the most aggresive.
-Might even need to overstock the tank to spread the aggression ( I know a few people with africans that needs to overstock to spread the aggression)
-Very colorful fish's with great personalities
-Usually not shy, and very affordable
-You can make some pretty impressive rock formations and would look stunning on a african setup.

Discus tank
-Expensive fish right of the bat
-Needs massive water changes to keep Nitrate and waste down so they can grow to their full potential
-Needs high protein food that aid in their growth (frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, beef heart, etc)
-Needs alot of other Discus so they aren't stressed out and feel comfortable
-Shy fishes and easily spooked for no reason sometimes
-Very colorful fish's and lots of choices
-Very docile and graceful fish's that accept most tank mates as long as they can take the higher temperatures
-You can plant some impressive plants and make a stunning planted Discus setup


Feel free to add anything else

 

[Malawi MaD]

That is a tough question.

To me an African tank whether its Malawi, Tanganyika or Victoria are so active, colourful and very interesting to watch. There is always something going on and its very exciting to sit and watch the tank. Its all up to you i think

 

[ian]

great advice in this thread!

Just remember if you're going to plant your discus tank, you also have the plants to take care off. If your plants start to die off, if your new or inexperienced with plants, this can lead to more problems with your discus. Rotting stuff produces ammonia.

can i just show you this though...

Courtesy of Tom Barr, found here http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/155875-the-behemoth-tank/page__st__200

Tom is firstly a Botanist so knows his stuff about plants, this tanks is a couple of years old now and it still running.

 

[markandhisfish]

having kept both i would choose malawis over discus any day. discus are gracefull but extremely boring. life in a discus tank is at a very sedate pace , just nothing going on really . africans on the other hand blow even discus away when it comes to the sheer variety of intense colours. plus there is always something going on in an african tank , wherever i look in my tank something different is happening.

if i had discus would i sell them to set up an african tank? yep in a heartbeat .

were it the other way round would i sell my malawis to go back to discus ? not a chance .

its all about what you want out of the tank in terms of both effoert in maintaining , and as a display in general.

if you dont mind putting in a fair bit of extra work to have fish that altho are elegant and gracefull dont actually give much back in terms of activity/entertainment , discus would be your choice.

if you want a dazzling array of colours , lots of activity and an overall more impressive spectacle for much less maintainence , then malawais would be the way to go