Discus

[Jellybeanie]

Hello. I'm getting a 180 litre (roughly 50 gallon tank) and have been considering many possibilities for a community tank. I have also been considering having a species tank: Discus. I really like Discus and think that they are REALLY pretty. I like them a lot but apparently they are really hard to care for. I was wondering what the requirements are for Discus and if the tank is big enough. Thank you

 

[VOZIE]

Your tank is too small. You would be able to house a couple of small discus but they will soon outgrow the tank or die with stress. I would suggest you want about 5 discus at a minimum in a tank no smaller then about 500litres. I have a 75g tank and would not entertain discus. They are very delicate fish requiring massive tank maintenance. The more water the more stable it is. They can grow to a good size which I would suggest even in a 500l tank you will struggle. 180lL is 47 USg

 

[Jellybeanie]

Thanks. I always thought it was kind of a pipe dream having them, I just wanted to make sure it was a definite no. One of my other ideas for this tank was to put in some German Blue Rams. What would be good tank mates for them? (Not necessarily cichlids)

 

[VOZIE]

That is a great idea. You can get some very attractive dewarf chiclids with vivid colours. You can try electric blue rams, kribs, faster swimming danios. There is a wide range to choose from if you look up dwarf chiclids. They are very colourful fish with loads of personality.

Be mindful they are chiclids thus be it small. So they are hard wired to fight and scrap. I would say you could get away with 10 fish if you provide hiding spaces and visual breaks.

This is a good idea you could have an attractive tank well stocked and even try breeding.

 

[Jellybeanie]

That sounds great thanks! Just one question. Would dwarf cichlids be compatible with a pleco? He's 6 inches long at the moment. He's a rescue fish and I'd like to help him. Would he be a good fit for this tank?

 

[VOZIE]

A plec will be fine with dwarf but watch out as he grows he will be a pooh machine. He will produce a lot of waste. Having said that he would be a danger to discus as he would end up attaching himself on to the discus and causing injury.

Give me a few minutes I will send some pics as ideas of types of dwarfs.

 

[Jellybeanie]

Thanks that'd be great. I don't mind the poo problem. I can just increase vacuuming. Would Agassizi Cichlids and Kribensis be okay together? I know they both live around the bottom of the tank so would they be okay together? There will be a lot of plants in the tank and places to hide in decorations. There will also be driftwood in the tank. The pictures will be much appreciated. Thank you

 

[VOZIE]

Plec will be fine. Watch for waste products as he gets bigger.

Will dig out photos or pics for u.

 

[VOZIE]

Here is some pics if dwarfs. You can see the colours that they have. Most will live just fine. Some say the more you have the less they fight as they can't pick on one fish. Try to go in pairs if you can. Male and female would be better. Despite the love of scrapping they are very good parents would you believe.

 

[Jellybeanie]

Thanks. Very appreciated. I've been looking them up and have seen some pretty nice ones. I've always like GBRs and Kribs so I'll go with them definitely. I'll see what other's my LPS sells and I'll look online as well. Thanks for your help

 

[severum mama]

I've kept a couple tanks with discus. I'm no expert, but I have a few friends that are.

50 gallons isn't a bad size for discus. They can be touchy (especially as juveniles) and they do definitely require more frequent feeding and maintenance than a regular community tank (especially as juveniles), but they aren't impossible to keep by any means. A common pleco is not a suitable choice for a 50 gallon, if that's what you have.

Many pet store discus are sickly and already stunted, and should be avoided. For best results, you should source a breeder and go from there.

Here are some links on general discus husbandry that might help.
SimplyDiscus.com: Keeping Discus for Beginners by Ardan Huck
Beginners Information Index
How do I set up my first discus tank?

 

[Sillyfishies]

That is a great idea. You can get some very attractive dewarf chiclids with vivid colours. You can try electric blue rams, kribs, faster swimming danios. There is a wide range to choose from if you look up dwarf chiclids. They are very colourful fish with loads of personality.

Be mindful they are chiclids thus be it small. So they are hard wired to fight and scrap. I would say you could get away with 10 fish if you provide hiding spaces and visual breaks.

This is a good idea you could have an attractive tank well stocked and even try breeding.

I personally wouldn't put a pair of kribs with any other type of dwarf cichlid. They're mean. Also I'd worry about having more then 2 pairs of DIFFERENT dwarf cichlids.

The overstocking = less aggression thing pretty much only applies to Africans. And a lot of dwarf cichlid arent mean fish. Like rams. Rams NEED dither fish because they're shy and timid.