New tank set up .

[Tony C]

Hi - I used to keep tropical fish ( but never Discus ) for 20 years but that was 30 years ago and I am now retired and technology has moved on and I am starting from scratch . My dilemma is that I want to set up a discus community tank of around 175 gallons . I was planning on getting around 14 discus , a shoal of cardinal tetras and a shoal of hatchet fish , 6 cories , 1 zebra Pleco and 6 German blue rams . Do you think this mix would work ?
I also need to be away twice a year for 4 weeks (I do some charity work overseas ) and will have family looking after the tank twice a week for water changes and feeding . Do you think this is feasible with an automatic feeder ?

 

[emeraldking]

Hi Tony,
Welcome to TFF to start with...
The planned stocking seems okay. Using a automatic feeder should work but do dose it right. Sometimes it's a bit hard to get the right dose of food coming out of the automatic feeder.

 

[Essjay]

I would be concerned about the cories. Discus need higher temperatures than most fish while cories prefer it cooler. Cardinals and rams also need higher temps so they are fine. Several species of hatchetfish are also OK at discus temperatures, but check if the species you want is one of them before buying. I think zebra plecs also need a higher temp as well.
It's just cories which need lower temps.

 

[Tony C]

Hi Tony,
Welcome to TFF to start with...
The planned stocking seems okay. Using a automatic feeder should work but do dose it right. Sometimes it's a bit hard to get the right dose of food coming out of the automatic feeder.

 

[Tony C]

Hi . Thanks for the advice - are there any brands of automatic feeder you can recommend .

 

[Tony C]

I would be concerned about the cories. Discus need higher temperatures than most fish while cories prefer it cooler. Cardinals and rams also need higher temps so they are fine. Several species of hatchetfish are also OK at discus temperatures, but check if the species you want is one of them before buying. I think zebra plecs also need a higher temp as well.
It's just cories which need lower temps.

 

[emeraldking]

It's just cories which need lower temps.

That depends on the kind of cory that will be chosen.

 

[Tony C]

Hi ,

Thanks for the reply . I will do some more research on the Cories . Any thoughts on the automatic feeder being viable for 4 week spells - it’s just that I am not sure wether I can trust my family not to overfeed !

 

[Essjay]

I used those pill boxes with a section for every day when I asked family to feed my fish. That way, you know they are getting the food you want them to have. If necessary, hide the tubs of food so they can't give the fish extra.

 

[Tony C]

That depends on the kind of cory that will be chosen.

I used those pill boxes with a section for every day when I asked family to feed my fish. That way, you know they are getting the food you want them to have. If necessary, hide the tubs of food so they can't give the fish extra.

 

[Tony C]

Good idea - but they will only come a few times a week but I can use your idea for the days they come and use the automatic feeder for the rest .