Is This Even Possible?

[Fraoch]

Ive read loads on discus and community tanks and loads of breeders say a huge no no to discus in with any other fish but loads of people that keep discus in communities say its fine so long as the other fish are suited to the discus' needs. I havnt even bought the tank yet so this is just an idea, i just want to know if theres a chance that this might work.
i thinking of a 340 litre/almost 90 gallons with;
pair of angels
pair of blue rams
12 cardinals
8 harlequins
6 black neon tetras
6 adolfo corys
7 hatchets
maybe a BN plec?
either a mated pair of discus or a group of 5?
the reason i have 3 shoals of small fish rather than 1 or 2 big ones is that if you look in my signature i really need to move the fish around and sort out bigger shoals. As far as ive read online, alot of people have had success with these fish in their discus tank, so i would quite like to give it a go. I was thinking 50% water changes or more once or twice a week, if it would need more please let me know. also if this set ups possible, what kind of plants suit discus conditions?

forgot to say, the discus will not be wild caught cause ive heard they are more delicate and i would like the slightly hardier(but obviously still delicate) tank bred ones
and thank you so much for any help, i wont mind if you say it wont work at all, please give me some alternatives

 

[Fraoch]

bump?

 

[fishguy2727]

What temp are you going to keep them at? I have had people keep discus in anything from 82F to 88F. The exact temp will greatly effect which fish will work. Use fishbase.org to see accurate temp ranges for these fish, the site is maintained and used by scientists (not hobbyists).

 

[Fraoch]

What temp are you going to keep them at? I have had people keep discus in anything from 82F to 88F. The exact temp will greatly effect which fish will work. Use fishbase.org to see accurate temp ranges for these fish, the site is maintained and used by scientists (not hobbyists).

okay thank you i was thinking 82-84F?

 

[fishguy2727]

That should work well.

IME the hardiest discus are the ones in the LFS from a wholesaler. NOT the wild caught OR the breeder's. The ones that were raised on a farm, shipped to a wholesaler, shipped to the LFS, and still look good and will eat will do the best. Get them from a breeder who does massive water changes a few times a week and they will need the same from you. Get them from the LFS and they will breed with 50% weekly water changes.

 

[Fraoch]

That should work well.

IME the hardiest discus are the ones in the LFS from a wholesaler. NOT the wild caught OR the breeder's. The ones that were raised on a farm, shipped to a wholesaler, shipped to the LFS, and still look good and will eat will do the best. Get them from a breeder who does massive water changes a few times a week and they will need the same from you. Get them from the LFS and they will breed with 50% weekly water changes.

ok thank you, ill keep that in mind when i eventually get round to getting the fish
do you think i should go with 5 or a mated pair of discus? or maybe 2 mated pairs? oh i dont know

 

[fishguy2727]

If you are getting them from the LFS they probably won't have mated pairs. They will probably only have juveniles in the 2-3" range. Get five or six. IF two pair off you can get them their own tank or relocate the others.

 

[Fraoch]

If you are getting them from the LFS they probably won't have mated pairs. They will probably only have juveniles in the 2-3" range. Get five or six. IF two pair off you can get them their own tank or relocate the others.

okay thanks for all the help

 

[mark2109111]

angel fish with discus is a touchy matter lol

 

[laura120381]

hi there,

a good rule of thumb when keeping discus, imo, is the more peaceful the community the better!! discus do NOT like roudy tank mates!! i would say that angels are a definite no no! the rams could also be problematic as they can get a bit aggressive at breeding time. I think your discus with a large group of cardinals and some peaceful laid back bottom feeders would be a good combination. I used to have 6 discus, 13 cardinals and 10 sterbai corys and they all got on brilliantly. I also had a queen arabesque which was gorgeous (though i didn't see him much!!) to be honest, I don't reckon you need too much variety in a discus tank as they really are a feature fish. my advice would be to create a very calm community, with a largish shoal of tetras and corys and let the discus be the focus. Hope that helps.

L

 

[Squidward]

That should work well.

IME the hardiest discus are the ones in the LFS from a wholesaler. NOT the wild caught OR the breeder's. The ones that were raised on a farm, shipped to a wholesaler, shipped to the LFS, and still look good and will eat will do the best. Get them from a breeder who does massive water changes a few times a week and they will need the same from you. Get them from the LFS and they will breed with 50% weekly water changes.

I think this is the first time I have ever heard someone say this!

A year or so ago, I was going to set up a Discus tank - saw some really nice ones at my lfs and was very tempted. I asked about them on a specialist Discus forum, and nearly got lynched. Shock and Horror! How could I even contemplate buying these "rubbish" fish from a lfs? Not the done thing. They will be substandard.....And that was just some of the comments I got.

But as you say, in a way it does make sense. A lot of fish shops don't treat their Discus like breeders do, and they will prob be tougher for it.

 

[fishguy2727]

It is just like pure bred dogs. We make up arbitrary standards about what they are 'supposed' to look like. The problem is that if you select for ANYTHING other than health and hardiness, you WILL lose health and hardiness. Breeding based on shape, coloration, etc. instead of health and hardiness alone creates fish that are not as hardy. This is not in the best interest of the fish at all.

I have seen people able to breed beautiful LFS discus and then move up to more 'proper' stock just to watch them fail to thrive and even die within weeks.

 

[Squidward]

It is just like pure bred dogs. We make up arbitrary standards about what they are 'supposed' to look like. The problem is that if you select for ANYTHING other than health and hardiness, you WILL lose health and hardiness. Breeding based on shape, coloration, etc. instead of health and hardiness alone creates fish that are not as hardy. This is not in the best interest of the fish at all.

I have seen people able to breed beautiful LFS discus and then move up to more 'proper' stock just to watch them fail to thrive and even die within weeks.

Absolutely.

If you buy from a private breeder, you might be getting offspring from "Best in Show Pigeon Blood Class", but then you pay for it.
My Angels are from the lfs, and far from being show worthy. But I still think they are fantastic fish. So why should Discus be any different?

 

[hanny93]

to be honest, i think people forget what lfs actually stands for.
they are there to sell fish, and at the end of the day, if they have cr*p stock that doesnt succeed, they wont sell, and they'll go out of business.

i think people are starting to rely too much on breeders etc and not going to their reputable lfs, obviously if yours is rubbish and you have no option but to go to a breeder, then go for it, but as people have said, you'll pay for it and you might not even get specimens that survive without constant waterchanges and fluffy blankets!

 

[tenohfive]

to be honest, i think people forget what lfs actually stands for.
they are there to sell fish, and at the end of the day, if they have cr*p stock that doesnt succeed, they wont sell

On the contrary. If the fish keep dying, people keep coming back to buy more. But that's another argument.

I've never kept the two together, but aren't cardinals and neon's considered a light snack to adult angels?