# Discus tankmates...Which one work the best?



## rahim101 (Mar 30, 2003)

AS above.
I have 60 gallon long and tall tank that will be housing about 8 discus.

I want to seed the tank with some cheaper fish that remain and be the tankmates for the discus.

What works best?


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

I've never kept Discus but I have heard that the following fish do okay in the warmer temps and thrive with the pristine water quality the Discus prefer;

German Rams
Cardinal Tetra
Rummynose Tetra
Ottocinclus
Sterbai Corydoras

None of the fish I listed are particularly hardy so I don't know that they would do well in a 'cycling' tank. Perhaps you should get the tank set-up and planted (if you're doing that) and then do a fishless cycle.


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## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

A 60 gallon tall tank is to small for 8 adult discus. Discus grow to abouth 6 inch TL and have a poor metabolism. The size of the fish and their poor metabolism makes them to foil the water rather quickly. A 60 gallon bare tank with only some driftwood and a thin layer of sand can hold maximum 5 adult discus (depending on the dimensions). I hope you are aware you need to do at least 2 times a week 50% water change and preferable more. What are the exact dimensions of your tank? Are you going to start with adults or with youngsters and if so, at what size? Are you new to the hobby or do you have significant experience?

Nice list Illy but I would skip the oto's. Often they feed of the slime coat of the discus during the night. That makes them poor tank mates. Be careful with rummy nose (H. bleheri) becouse they are delicate fish and even more delicate as discus. I can add small species of BN pleco, peckoltia and apistogramma to the list.


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## DiscusQueen (Jul 16, 2007)

Hi there... have you kept discus before?? A lot depends on the actual dimensions of your tank..
As Ruurd says 8 adult discus might be too much for the tank... a lot depends on the footprint rather than the gallons.. Also it depends on if you are raising juvies and going barebottom (IMO the best way to raise youngsters) or planning to start with adults and a planted tank or perhaps maybe a more biotopic scape.... You should plan on about 10 gallons per adult discus..
I also have had to remove ottos more than once as they fed on the discus slime and once they get a taste for it.. well that's it..
I assume by "seed" the tank you mean cycling the tank.. There are others ways to do it besides using fish.. check the search here and on simplydiscus forum re cycling. I also suggest you do some more research on both forums as there are many threads on tankmates etc.. Discus are a very wonderful fish but as Ruurd points out they do require more of a commitment to their care than a lot of other tropicals.
IME Discus do best in an established tank or one that is started with a filter that has been running on an established tank for several months... the same can be said for rummynoses, blue rams cardinals and ottos.. 
If you are starting from scratch on this tank but have previous experience keeping fish I suggest you might want to cycle the tank fishless and then perhaps start with the least fragile fish you want for the tank.... If you are fairly new to discus the best tankmates for discus are a bn and more discus. They are a social fish and should be kept in groups of at least 5 preferably at least six.. If you can provide more input on your tank and plans we will all be better able to help and happy to do so... HTH Sue


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## benl.1036 (Apr 17, 2009)

Id try some neons or cardinal tetras. Neon tetras do good with them. Also, ottos do good as well.


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## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

benl. only few people keep oto's successfully with discus. Often the oto's feed from the slime coat and are a risky choice. I would not want to take that risk. If you look up info on neons you will discover they are from much cooler waters and won't do well on the high temps discus need. Thats why cardinals are a good choice becouse they do live in the high temps and will handle it well long term. Also the size of a neon is quit small and can be snacked by the discus.


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## illusions2281 (Jan 25, 2009)

I have an 85 gallon hex aquairum. I hear they are great for discus. However, i dont know much about them. Orgianlly i had planned on mixing them with my regular african cichlids. But i guess this is not a good idea. My tank is 29" tall and approx 31 wide. Would this be a good move to change it to a discus tank? I normally maintain a steady 85 degrees.

I use city water and i belive my Kh & Nah (whatever the other is are like 6 & 12 and a PH around 8 and just under. I'm going to be switching to a high flow wet/dry and adding another canister pump. I'll be having appox 13 tuns an hour and then another 7 to 10 turns when i hook up the wet/dry.

would discus be a good move or should i stick with the africans?


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## rahim101 (Mar 30, 2003)

Dutch Dude said:


> A 60 gallon tall tank is to small for 8 adult discus. Discus grow to abouth 6 inch TL and have a poor metabolism. The size of the fish and their poor metabolism makes them to foil the water rather quickly. A 60 gallon bare tank with only some driftwood and a thin layer of sand can hold maximum 5 adult discus (depending on the dimensions). I hope you are aware you need to do at least 2 times a week 50% water change and preferable more. What are the exact dimensions of your tank? Are you going to start with adults or with youngsters and if so, at what size? Are you new to the hobby or do you have significant experience?
> 
> Nice list Illy but I would skip the oto's. Often they feed of the slime coat of the discus during the night. That makes them poor tank mates. Be careful with rummy nose (H. bleheri) becouse they are delicate fish and even more delicate as discus. I can add small species of BN pleco, peckoltia and apistogramma to the list.


Dimensions are 48" Long, 14" Wide and 23" tall


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## apistomaster (Jun 22, 2006)

Keep no more than 6 discus in your 4 feet long tank. That is the maximum number you can hope to keep well in such a small tank. The other issue with the long, narrow aquariums like yours and the popular 55 gallon show is they have very poor surface area to volume ratios. The amount of surface area is more important than volume although volume is still a consideration.

I began keeping Discus in 1967. Began breed wild Discus in 1969 and continue to keep and breed Discus. I did just sell my 10 Heckel Discus I had for 4 years but only because I can not breed them. Few have. I have wild Nhamunda Blue Discus, including 2 pairs and I will be getting wild Red Spotted Greens this coming discus season since I know how to breed them, too.
In over 4 decades of Discus keeping and breeding I have raised a few thousand Discus so I know something about them.
I prefer the more challenging wild Discus but I work with a friend to raise Stendker Brilliant Turquoise and we plan to obtain Stendker Alenquer soon. Domestic discus bore me but I am happy to help my friend breed them then raise them up for sale in my fish room. He doesn't have the time and space rquired to produce them for sale like I do.

I recommend some Characins that are compatible with Discus but Neon Tetras aren't among them as someone pointed out already, Neons do not do well in warm water.
Black Phantoms, Black Neons, Robert's Tetras are good choices as are Silver Hatchetfish. A very interesting and Discus compatible species is the Spotted head stander, Chilodus punctatus.
They are a glittering fish that reaches about 3 inches and as such, one that shows up well in a Discus tank. Rummy Noses are another good choice. Cardinal tetra bore me but i have enjoyed the less common Green Neons which do well with discus despite their rather small size.

I have never had any problems with keeping Otocinclus with Discus and even if one did bother to check out the sides of a Discus, it can not harm the Discus. Some very good species similar to Otocinclus are Parotocinclus spilosoma and any of the Hypoptoma species do well. Both tend to grow slightly larger than common Otocincinclus and have a higher temperature tolerance.
I would avoid keeping Sturisoma with Discus as they more often than not do bother and harm the Discus by sucking on their sides. I know because I raise Sturisoma aureum in addition to Discus.
All of the Hypancistrus Plecos, the Common Bushy Nose and small Peckoltia spp are excellent discus tank mates. I raise Peckoltia sp L134 leopard frogs and Hypancistrus sp L260 Queen Arabesque so I have had many opportunities to keep these and many other species together with Discus.

I can recommend Dwarf Checker Board Cichlids, Dicrossus filamentosus. They are a beautiful species which thrives in warm water. Apistogramma agassizi is another good one.
Rams, Mikrogeophagus ramerezi are suitable Discus tank mates but be aware; Rams are a naturally short-lived fish and are often about 6 months old when offered for sale and they only live typically 2 or 2-1/2 years. Other than that, rams are fine. Avoid the Balloon and long Fin varieties; they have even shorter life spans.


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## rahim101 (Mar 30, 2003)

WOW...I know who I'm going to PM'ing with any questions down the road...LOL


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## apistomaster (Jun 22, 2006)

illusions2281 said:


> I have an 85 gallon hex aquairum. I hear they are great for discus. However, i dont know much about them. Orgianlly i had planned on mixing them with my regular african cichlids. But i guess this is not a good idea. My tank is 29" tall and approx 31 wide. Would this be a good move to change it to a discus tank? I normally maintain a steady 85 degrees.
> 
> I use city water and i belive my Kh & Nah (whatever the other is are like 6 & 12 and a PH around 8 and just under. I'm going to be switching to a high flow wet/dry and adding another canister pump. I'll be having appox 13 tuns an hour and then another 7 to 10 turns when i hook up the wet/dry.
> 
> would discus be a good move or should i stick with the africans?


I refer you to dutchdude's thread, http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=191575 for much valuable Discus information.
This Hexagonal tank is lacking sufficient surface area to keep more than 5 Discus and even that is cutting it a little close. 
Your filtration system is turning over far more water than most Discus keepers believe is correct.
I am happy to tell you they are quite wrong. I too maintain a minimum of 10 to 12 tank volume turnover rates per hour using high volume wet/dry filter in conjunction with an Eheim cansister filter. You have an ideal filtration system. Your water is fine for Discus. Wild Discus prefer softer water but the Domestic Discus strains will be fine in your tap water.
Make sure you use a substrate that will not increase the alkalinity and hardness of your water like the stuff sold for African cichlids tanks does. Pool Filter sand is cheap and chemically neutral. Discus prefer a fine sand substrate as they like to be able to sift it. Do not use pea gravel or larger material. Stick a few tall pieces of wood in the central area of the tank to give the Discus some feeling of security. Discus love having wood to explore for bits of food or to use as a spawning substrate. Pot Sword plants then conceal the pots in the sand. Be sure to include some floating plants.
Go with the Discus and you will never regret not going with Africans. Africans are like the tropical fish equivalent of Goldfish. Anyone can keep these pretty but obnoxious African rift Lake Cichlids. I recommend them to beginners who are not willing to take much time caring for their fish.


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## illusions2281 (Jan 25, 2009)

i have actually 8 bag of eco-complete sand & gravel in my tank. Are you saying i'd have to remove that?


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## apistomaster (Jun 22, 2006)

EcoComplete Substrate is fine for your Discus tank.
It is graded so it has a particle size distribution from fine to slight coarse and the particles are rounded.
Theses properties are good for plant growth and easy on fish that like to dig or sift through the substrate for food.
It is a dark substrate so certain Discus, Heckel Discus, for example, will take on a darker shade than they will over light colored substrates.
Hardly any Domestic Discus varieties are able to change their color to suit their environment with such ease.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

As long as it's the EcoComplete Plant and not the EcoComplete Cichlid ... the cichlid has buffers for water hardness in it.


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## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

Rahim,....I stick to the maximum 5 discus in that size of thank. The reason is simple,....the tank does have a small footprint. I also vote against the oto's and I read several posts abouth discus freaking out during night when an oto starts to feed from the slime coat.

Illusions,...I agrea on Larry that a lot of domesticated discus aren't able to darken their colors and thats the case with all pigeon blood based color shades. The remaining color shades can and will darken up close to dark backgrounds and dark substrate. Imo a light colored substrate is a better choice and makes the colors more vibrant. I also won't recommend high stock levels of Discus in planted tanks. The plants make it hard to keep the tank clean enough. Yes the plants will lower the nitrate level but you will remove much more nitrates during the large water changes. If you want to keep your tank planted I suggest to only add a proven pair. Discus Hans has some realy nice pairs for sale.


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