How to combine the fish?

[nucleus]

I have very little experience with Aquariums. I bought a 120 Liters aquarium, filled it with water, and arranged the following water chemistry.

KH=8
GH=6
PH=6.5

I want to have the following fish.

Neon tetra
Angelfish
Discus

I’ve heard that Neon tetra and Angelfish will not coexist, because Angelfish will keep attacking the Neon tetra.

Is this true? Any suggestions on fish combinations?

Thanks

 

[kenny69]

I have very little experience with Aquariums. I bought a 120 Liters aquarium, filled it with water, and arranged the following water chemistry.

KH=8
GH=6
PH=6.5

I want to have the following fish.

Neon tetra
Angelfish
Discus

I’ve heard that Neon tetra and Angelfish will not coexist, because Angelfish will keep attacking the Neon tetra.

Is this true? Any suggestions on fish combinations?

Thanks

Yeah angels won't attack tetras they will eat them lol. I also don't think that discus will be okay with angels either all though someone else may say otherwise. If this is your first tank can I suggest that discus are not for you. They are hard to keep even for an experienced person. I have had fish for ages and am on my third aquarium and I still don't feel comfortable enough to keep discus so I went to African cichlids instead. Do you know how to cycle your tank???

 

[James_in_MN]

Yes, angelfish will make snacks out of the neon tetras. I think they may be their natural predator.

I also believe that the tank you have is too small for discus fish, but I'll let someone who has discus comment on that.

 

[nucleus]

Ok, so angels are out. But I would really like to have Discus.

@James_in_MN
I think the size of my aquarium is good for 4 of them. And I was thinking of getting them when they are really small. Plus the tetras and a Ancistrus fish for cleaning, and I'm done.

@kenny69 W
When you say cycle my tank you mean water changes? Well, I was going to ask about that also. The local pet shop told me that the chemistry of my water is ok for discus, but what's going to happen when I start changing water? Wont everything get screwed up?

 

[OhNeil1969]

+1 to James.

Your tank, at just over 30 gallons (US) is way too small for discus. Discus can become quite large and require a lot of hiding spaces. Also, you don't want to keep just 1 discus. It's recommended that you keep several with the minimum varying depending on who you talk to.

+1 to Kenny.
Yes your angels will eat your neon tetras. I did have 1 LFS employee say that if the tetra can't fit in the angels mouth it would be OK. I'm not sure I'm buying that, but it made me wonder if JUMBO neon tetras might be an alternative. I have 4 angels right now and they get along well with the harlequin rasbora I have in the tank so I'm not sure it's a size issue (the rasboras I have are about the same size as an neon tetra). It may be as Kenny said and angels are natural predators to neons.

The other real good point Kenny brings up, in fact probably the best one, is that discus are hard fish to keep. I have 2 tanks up and running right now and would love to start keeping discus. I figure I have about a year of practice and research to do before I would even contemplate buying any discus. So don't rush into buying any discus at this time as tempting as it may be (they really are some beautiful fish ).

One other thing no one mentioned is that angels require a lot of space also. It's recommended that each angel have at least 10 gallons (US) of water. I only have 4 in my 60 gallon tank and I don't plan on adding any more. Also, you really want an even amount of angels as they may pair off and attack/stress an outsider (the odd man out).

 

[NODAK1979]

I have very little experience with Aquariums. I bought a 120 Liters aquarium, filled it with water, and arranged the following water chemistry.

KH=8
GH=6
PH=6.5

I want to have the following fish.

Neon tetra
Angelfish
Discus

I’ve heard that Neon tetra and Angelfish will not coexist, because Angelfish will keep attacking the Neon tetra.

Is this true? Any suggestions on fish combinations?

Thanks

As somebody else already stated, that tank isn't big enough for discus. You want a school of 6 at least when it comes to them, and the minimum tank for those is 55 or so gallons. Yours is about half that, so I'd definitely say hold off on the discus until you can get a bigger tank.

I don't know quite as much about angels, but I do know that they get pretty tall and a 30 gallon is likely to be somewhat stifling for them.

 

[kenny69]

Ok, so angels are out. But I would really like to have Discus.

@James_in_MN
I think the size of my aquarium is good for 4 of them. And I was thinking of getting them when they are really small. Plus the tetras and a Ancistrus fish for cleaning, and I'm done.

@kenny69 W
When you say cycle my tank you mean water changes? Well, I was going to ask about that also. The local pet shop told me that the chemistry of my water is ok for discus, but what's going to happen when I start changing water? Wont everything get screwed up?

No I don't mean changing the water all though that is important lol. Search this forum for information on how the nitrogen cycle works and how to cycle your tank (critical) DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR LFS! They are not telling you the truth and would love to sell you hundreds of dollars worth of beautiful discus , after all that's what they do. Discus require the most perfect water parameters known in the aquarium game and, I hate to be blunt, but if you don't know what or how to cycle your tank then discus are not for you. Read up big time and please take the advice of the guys in AA. You tank isn't big enough for discus my friend. You know that discus are often referred to as the kings of the aquarium, and for good reason. Good luck, I hope that you make the right choices regarding your tank

 

[kenny69]

I have very little experience with Aquariums. I bought a 120 Liters aquarium, filled it with water, and arranged the following water chemistry.

KH=8
GH=6
PH=6.5

I want to have the following fish.

Neon tetra
Angelfish
Discus

I’ve heard that Neon tetra and Angelfish will not coexist, because Angelfish will keep attacking the Neon tetra.

Is this true? Any suggestions on fish combinations?

Thanks

One more thing I was going to mention, the water Chem you mentioned here are well and good but what about your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels ? They are the most important when cycling your tank, read read read. You need to get a master test kit so you can monitor your water parameters. It is all very simple when you do just a little reading. Read about fishless cycling, it's all the rage and is much more humane to fish in the long run as fish suffer and die often during the cycling. If you just search this forum you will find all the answers.

 

[NODAK1979]

No I don't mean changing the water all though that is important lol. Search this forum for information on how the nitrogen cycle works and how to cycle your tank (critical) DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR LFS! They are not telling you the truth and would love to sell you hundreds of dollars worth of beautiful discus , after all that's what they do. Discus require the most perfect water parameters known in the aquarium game and, I hate to be blunt, but if you don't know what or how to cycle your tank then discus are not for you. Read up big time and please take the advice of the guys in AA. You tank isn't big enough for discus my friend. You know that discus are often referred to as the kings of the aquarium, and for good reason. Good luck, I hope that you make the right choices regarding your tank

Amen to that. You aren't doing yourself any favors or the fish any favors by putting them in a situation where they are going to be stressed out and unhappy. Discus are well known to just stop eating and starve themselves if they're unhappy. Those fish are way too expensive to be putting in an unsatisfactory environment just because they're pretty.