Discus?

[grumpy]

I want to add a pair of Discus to my peaceful community. I have two angels, four dwarf gourami, and an assortment of small barbs and tetras in a 90. The tank is in a quiet area, has a few plants, and should be a comfortable place for them from what I have read. But I'm not sure about the tankmates. Does anyone have any experience putting Discus with a community?

[wandj]

Don't add Discus with Angels. Angels will outcompete them for food and often carry parasites that could kill them.

Actually, most fish would out-compete the Discus for food.

Don't keep them with fast swimming fish...it makes them nervous.

Watch out for certain plecos, their activities at night my bother them.

Don't put them with aggressive fin-nippers.

AND, fish you CAN add are: German Blue Rams (most Rams), Cardinal Tetras, and other small, peaceful fish.

You might just need to nix the Angels in your set-up.

[Vallisneria]

Don't add Discus with Angels. Angels will outcompete them for food and often carry parasites that could kill them.

Actually, most fish would out-compete the Discus for food.

Don't keep them with fast swimming fish...it makes them nervous.

Watch out for certain plecos, their activities at night my bother them.

Don't put them with aggressive fin-nippers.

AND, fish you CAN add are: German Blue Rams (most Rams), Cardinal Tetras, and other small, peaceful fish.

You might just need to nix the Angels in your set-up.

Man, discus sound like wimps :P

[wandj]

ANd don't they look like they are such slow swimming fish?

NOT!

One time I was about to put my "aqua garderner" tongs in the water. This is quite a long one that you pull the end and it squeezes the tong. It's a grey color. I picked it up at BA. I think it is over 2 feet.

Anyway, I have a couple of wild Tefe' in the tank and as soon as I put the "head" in the water, one of them exploded with energy and zipped back and forth in the tank so fast I couldn't even see! I heard some crashing around as it knocked itself into the sides of the tank and decor. Scratched itself up a little. Point is, I never thought Discus could move so fast (when they want to) as I could touch mine with my hand and they don't mind. The only reason as to why it acted like this is because it's wild.....knows what a snake is......afraid of snakes......thought my tongs were one.

That was the ONLY time it ever did that so I don't use that tool on that tank anymore.

And another thing, Discus are not supposed to like a lot of current.

They sound "wimpy"? Most mags/books and even Jack Wattley don't think Discus can live in very high pH, but mine are all doing very well in my water of pH 8.5-8.7, even the wild ones.

So are my German Blue Rams and Cardinals.

[grumpy]

Thanks everyone for your input. I really appreciate it. As for the angels, I did read somewhere about the parasite thing. That's my biggest worry at this point I guess, because I really enjoy the angels. However I've also heard of a few instances of them being in the same tank along with other peaceful smaller fish and everything going well. What to do.....I'll wait a bit because I want to read and hear more before I decide. I really want to have a pair of these beautiful fish.

Thanks,

Jim.

[Kevin]

With prorper quarantine, the Angel disease thing is a load of bunk. Any south american cichlid can have issue with potozoas (hex). If your fish and tank are healthy, after proper quarentine this should not be a problem. I would be more worried about my cories being sick and not noticing, then having a healthy angel around.

The main issue with angels is agression. Jeuvenile discus need to eat alot to grow to their full size. This means plenty of feedings and little competition for the food. Angels are very agressive eaters copared to discus. Small discus in a community tank have a very small chance of ever becoming big discus.

Kevin