Discus in Community Tank?

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I have 6 discus in a 125 gallon community tank and they are thriving. I cater to my discus with water temp and so fourth, but I have everything from tiger barbs(yes I said tigers) to ember tetras,rasboras,bloodfin tetras,zebras,sparkling gouramis, butterfly loaches,clown loaches, and Cory cats. I am always observing my tank and put a lot of my time into it. I'd say as long as you have groups for species and they adjust to warmer water You would be happy with the result. I can watch my fish for hours. They have lived together harmoniously for some time now! View attachment 297605View attachment 297606
Using the term "Discus" is not really good enough anymore because domestically raised Discus are not the same fish as wild Discus are. From water quality tolerances to tankmates, all these are different for the 2 types of fish. So while you may be having success with your collection with domestic fish, others with the same group, only with wild fish, would most likely not. So in order to compare "apples to apples", one should explain which type of Discus they are talking about. (y)
 
Using the term "Discus" is not really good enough anymore because domestically raised Discus are not the same fish as wild Discus are. From water quality tolerances to tankmates, all these are different for the 2 types of fish. So while you may be having success with your collection with domestic fish, others with the same group, only with wild fish, would most likely not. So in order to compare "apples to apples", one should explain which type of Discus they are talking about. (y)



You are absolutely right! Iam sure if I had the wild strains in my tank it would have failed miserably! My discus are tank raised probably for generations and have become accustomed to different types of water perameters
 
I agree with gilpi all the water perameter stigmas aside the discus shpuld do jist fine. I have two separate community tanks both with discus. One has two disc a breeding pair of angels and tetras. The other has three tetras five rams and a African cichlid. It really all depends on tje fish and they're personality. And fish that we purchase thos day in age have been breed in so many different water conditions they can usually survive as long as they arent drastic. Alot of people in the hobby tend to spew a lot of OLD rules that truly nonlonger apply. Now that being said if you go and purchase wild caught disc or any fish for that matter then yes those rules are more apt to apply. Just know your dish and pay attention to theyre behavior and they will tell you what's what
 
My discus tank was an 80g I had 5 discus and the only fish I kept with t5hem was my pleco and an silver arrowanna
 
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My discus community tank as of today, still going strong
 
They aren’t that fussy about water - maybe if they were wild caught but buying wild fish is a horrible thing to do and most are farmed
 
They aren’t that fussy about water - maybe if they were wild caught but buying wild fish is a horrible thing to do and most are farmed
What's wrong with wild fish? They are picky about water too... well as far as growth, behavior, procreation and over all health goes anyways.
 
IMO, keeping wild caught Discus is not horrible. Other than being far less colorful
and without the extra long fins, I found that the wild discus did just as well as the Jack Wattley turquoise and the German Cobalts I used to keep.
I don't believe Discus are endangered. Although they are considered by some in the US to be one of the apex fish to keep. I imagine that the average South American consider Discus to be nothing more than a common and abundant sunfish type fish.
 
IMO, keeping wild caught Discus is not horrible. Other than being far less colorful
and without the extra long fins, I found that the wild discus did just as well as the Jack Wattley turquoise and the German Cobalts I used to keep.
I don't believe Discus are endangered. Although they are considered by some in the US to be one of the apex fish to keep. I imagine that the average South American consider Discus to be nothing more than a common and abundant sunfish type fish.
I join in with questioning the term "Horrible" when it comes to collecting wild fish. In fact, without the wild fish, genetically speaking, the farmed fish would be ruined to the point that they would no longer produce viable amounts of fry to make the venture profitable. But sustainably harvesting wild fish has more benefits than just more fish. Articles such as this one Buy a Fish, Save a Tree | DiscoverMagazine.com shed light on what is really happening. Without the income from collecting fish, the local peoples of the world would have no choice but to sell what they can in order to make enough money or enough credit to survive on. What is the easiest item to sell? TREES!!!! So there go the forests. When the forests go, then goes what depend on them to survive. That means fish, animals, plants, etc. That means new medicines and food sources are lost. And that's just for starters.
There can be no better example of how deforestation has killed a country than looking at the island of Hispaniola ( Haiti and Dominican republic.) While the deforested side suffers, the lush green side flourishes. ( I've been to both countries to see this for myself. ) There is some very good pictures and explanations of this in the "Environmental Impact" section of this article: https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/11/americas/haiti-dominican-republic-visual-explainer/index.html The article is about the aftermath of storms through the island but the picture alone of the Haiti/ DM border can not be more self explanatory.

As for wild Discus, before they were kept in Aquariums, my older books state that they were used as food fish, so they were plentiful. Today, they help sustain the indigenous people with more than just food. In certain areas they are seasonal, not endangered. iucnredlist.org lists them as " of least concern". So their collection for the reasons I've stated have had no impact on their population.

Horrible: it means different things to different people. I think it's horrible that these majestic fish have been altered to the point that the farmed fish no longer have the same body shape or finnage of their wild counterparts. Strains of tail less Discus have hit the markets. I think that is horrible.
Yes domesticated Discus may be easier to keep than wild ones. In my opinion, mastering the art of keeping wild Discus shows your aquatic excellence and prowess more so than keeping the farmed varieties. ( But I'm a purist when it comes to fish. ;) )
Hopefully you all will read the articles in this post and get a better understanding of how important it is to harvest wild fish for the hobby and for the world. (y)
 
Great reply Andy. The Discovery Magazine article was a real eye opener.
 
Great reply Andy. The Discovery Magazine article was a real eye opener.
Thank you. :)
I just know that there is so much misinformation and negative ideas out there in internet land and I know it's misinformation because I spent so long in the both the hobby and the industry, that articles like these need to be read. The facts and the truth needs to shine through the opinions and while not usually intended, misguided ideas about the tropical fish trade and hobby. Hopefully, these articles can help people get a real understanding of what is at stake. (y)
 
Discus are the most beautiful freshwater fish in close competition to German blue rams in my opinion
 
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