Tank Mates for Discus

[JDogg]

i am currently working on cleaning up a used 75 gallon i picked up to house 4-6 discus.

this tank will be lightly planted with low light plants.

will probabaly include a small school of cory cats and a school of cardinal or rummy nose tetra.

i would also like to include a pair or two of small, lower level fish.

i am thinking GBR or Apisto

OR

how about a few Peacock gudgeon (Tateurndina ocellicauda) would the gudgeon be ok in the soft, acidic high temps the discus like?

 

[racialfish]

What size discus are you getting? I'd highly recommend adults in a planted tank b/c if you try to grow out juvies they will almost all of the time become stunted, not saying can't be done and some people like football discus. I'd go w/ rams or no tankmates as gudeons have different requirements etc.

 

[BrianNY]

Although the gudgeons like very soft water, I'm unsure if they could handle the temperature. Also, these little guys are very timid. It's likely they will spend most of their time in hiding. IMO you're much better off with apistos.

 

[JDogg]

darn i really wanted to try the gundgeons, guess they will have to wait until i have an empty 10 gallon.

i was thinking juvie discus (added to the tank after the other fish have "seasoned" the tank for a few months to get all the kinks out) but maybe i should start thinking full grown..football shaped you say :?

 

[BrianNY]

Yep. Football shaped. When a discus becomes stunted it grows eliptically. To reach its' full growth a discus must be fed properly. It's very difficult to this in a community tank. Overfeeding causes the water quality to diminish and when that occurs discus will often stop eating. Smaller grow out tanks make it easier to do pwcs, feed enough, and keep the conditions ideal.

 

[JDogg]

Yep. Football shaped. When a discus becomes stunted it grows eliptically. To reach its' full growth a discus must be fed properly. It's very difficult to this in a community tank. Overfeeding causes the water quality to diminish and when that occurs discus will often stop eating. Smaller grow out tanks make it easier to do pwcs, feed enough, and keep the conditions ideal.

i have an empty 45, do you think that would be large enough to use as a discus gorow out tank for 4-6 discus :?

 

[BrianNY]

That's more than enough tank JDogg. I use 29gs. Where are you getting your discus from?

 

[JDogg]

That's more than enough tank JDogg. I use 29gs. Where are you getting your discus from?

i have a couple of options there, might get from LFS (they come from a local breeder) or i might try to contact a couple local breeders directly.

 

[racialfish]

A 45 will be fine, I'm currently doing the same thing you are, growing out 5 juvies for my 75 planted. make sure you do as many water changes as possible and feed 4-6 times a day, this will help them grow to size much faster. my five have grown over a centimeter in a month from 4 feedings a day and 2-3 30% water changes a week.

 

[JDogg]

any suggestions on foods?

i realy like the results i get from the new life spectrum line of foods, so i was thinking of trying their DISCUS FORMULA

 

[BrianNY]

Great question. My food of choice are live black worms. They are very high in protein and will stay alive for more than a day in a bare bottom grow out tank. The young discus can eat til their hearts content and enjoy picking the live woms off the bottom.

Discus have a very short digestive tract and need ruffage to keep it in order. For that reason I also feed shaved frozen spinach. Varying the diet with frozen blood worms and Tetramin color bits will keep the discus from honing in on one particular food.

 

[severum mama]

NLS is great, but I've had a really hard time getting discus to eat it! All my other fish go nuts for the stuff, but I feed my discus mostly a variety of frozen food, and sometimes they will eat flakes. Their favorite foods are bloodworms, brine shrimp (I only buy the kind enriched with spirulina), and mysis. I can't find live blackworms around here, and they are too nasty for me anyway! LOL.