Fish To Keep With Discus

[kev_kb]

The main reason why folks dont keep plecs with discus is because of water quality - plecs poo for England

I have been warned by several sites/suppliers that plecos (commons mostly I think) and ottos can be a problem with Discus. You have to remember that Discus feed their fry using their slime coats.

I would also not suggest Flyings foxes for a discus tank, they get big, are too fast and don't really handle the heat that well.

 

[kev_kb]

i have 4 discus with 2 angels 4 keyholes 12 tetras and some plecs/catfish.

they all get along great angels and discus together are really good they are quiet funny as my male angel kinda wants to mate with one of my female discus haha!!!

Also smaller cichlids are good with discus like i have gone for keyholes. other fish like rams and kribs are good.

hope this helps.

Don't mean to single you out or anything, but generally mixing Discus and Angels is a recipe for disaster, especially in such a sized tank. Do a search on here for more info, but there's two schools of though. 1. Angels can pass diseases to Discus and 2. Angels eat faster and generally bother the discus.

From my experience number 2 can be a problem! Especially as the Angels get bigger.

You also need to review your tank stocking. Corys should be kept in groups, and maybe the syno too? If you plan to raise all the fish to adulthood in that tank it will be over stocked.

Finally I would not suggest Kribs as they can be very very aggressive when breeding.

 

[LisaLQ]

It's odd that folks are willing to take advice from those who've kept discus/goldfish (wtf are they doing putting a plec in with a goldfish in the first place?!) but not from those who've kept plecs. I've had plecs, big and small, and not one has ever latched on to a fish, let alone killed one (god that was a good laugh - thanks for that!).

No wonder there's so many commons in fish shops with folks believing that kind of tripe. I dont discount there may have been the odd problem with a discus, but killing goldfish? I wouldn't take advice from anyone who keeps coldwater and tropical in together, as their problems probably lie with the fact they keep incompatable fish together, and their conditions must therefore be poor.

I doubt a plec could kill a goldfish somehow - and even if ONE did, it's certainly not the norm. Sorry, still laughing at that one...

 

[bugsy66]

Oh I can vouch for those reg plecs and otto's. This is how I lost my first Discus is with otto's latching onto the Discus and I just removed a small regular Pleco due to the same thing, it would not leave my current Discus alone so off it went.

I do have a bristlenose, from what I have read and have been told they are the only type of pleco that is safe with Discus, so this is what I have now.

Another added bonus is they only get to 5" total so one can keep them for a long time. They are cute in my opinion as babies, mine is 2" right now and so cute with those bristles.

Just a thought for you, watch them carefully if you keep the regular ones.....

 

[KathyM]

There are accounts of plecs sucking the slime coat of flat sided fish such as angels, discus, etc. However in the main these are plecs that are either not fed sufficiently or have formed the habit of doing so because they were previously not fed sufficiently. I find it very difficult to believe that a plec would kill a goldfish, the most likely occurrence is that goldfish being kept in completely unsuitable high temperatures and high waste environments have died from the conditions and the plec has done his job and cleaned them up, been caught doing so and got the blame.

Edited to add: I have kept ancistrus species, a Royal, a gibby and a Rusty plec in with flat sided fish and none have ever paid any interest to them.

 

[annka5]

I too have heard that plecs and discus are a bad combination - the issue is that discus are flat and secrete mucus which the plecs can find tasty! It doesn't always happen, but it can. If you look at the UK Discus Association forum, or www.simplydiscus.com then you'll probably find instances of this.
I've no idea why some plecs and not others, though - possibly more to do with the (relatively) limited number of experiences you hear rather together with it not happening in every instance of plecs and discus being kept together, rather than something in the diet /behaviour of different species of plec.
I'd also just like to add to everyone else's comments that IMO neons are not ideal with discus as they just don't tolerate the higher temps that well - you'd be better off with cardinal tetra instead, which look similar but do better at discus temps and grow a bit bigger.