Looking to build 55 gal w gourami/discus .. questions

[janky]

Hi! first post.. brand new here.. and I have tons of questions!
I recently got a good deal on a 55 gal tank with equipment, and I have it set up now and began fishless cycling.

Ideally, I want to add some colorful discus and gouramis to the tank. I've checked the ideal conditions for both and they seem similar. It looks like I can keep the temp around 80, slightly acidic ph (6.5 ish) and they should do fine. I also see "KH" used in reference to water conditions... I assume that has to do with "hardness" or "softness" (Anyone care to clarify?)
Even there, the two breeds aren't far off (1-3 for discus, 4+ for gourami).

My ultimate question pertains to not overstocking the tank, and also to pleco/cat/loach compatibility.
There are a few plecos I'm very interested in - but their water conditions seem just a little out of reach from what I'm trying to do with the discus/gourami. Anyone have any luck pairing plecos with these fish??


Also, I figured 3-4 discus, 3-4 gourami, and 1 or 2 big plecos.
Is this fair, or will I have more/less room than anticipated?

 

[BHead707]

My brother and i got a tank off Craigslist and it had a gourami, 2 discus and a common pleco in there.

In short after we cleaned up the tank and got it suitable for them they all coexist peacefully

also with a 55 gallon if you want to do discus and gourami i would only do one gourami if you want 3-4 discus but thats just my personal preference and experience with feisty gouramis

edit: also if its a common pleco only do one, they get big and are extremely messy

 

[janky]

Oh. Do you think the gouramis will get aggressive with the discus? I'd assume they'd know better since the discus are much bigger - I dunno..

What about your water levels? How did you set the ph, temp, and hardness to find a common ground for all 3 breeds?

Any other fish you'd recommend? I like angels and cichlids but they don't seem to get along with anybody lol..


also, are plecos the kind of fish that would wreak havoc on plants? I'd like to have a semi-planted tank...

 

[BHead707]

honestly the tank and water was absolutely filthy when we got it. I was suprised that the fish had survived in the tank before.

I was home for the holidays from school and didnt have any of my testing equipment so i dont know what the ph is at, they keep the temp at about 78 F. and ive never tested for hardness in any of my tanks.

gouramis and plecos are hardy fish IME and could adapt to the levels that the discus prefer

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Oh. Do you think the gouramis will get aggressive with the discus? I'd assume they'd know better since the discus are much bigger - I dunno..

What about your water levels? How did you set the ph, temp, and hardness to find a common ground for all 3 breeds?

Any other fish you'd recommend? I like angels and cichlids but they don't seem to get along with anybody lol..


also, are plecos the kind of fish that would wreak havoc on plants? I'd like to have a semi-planted tank...

They will possibly get aggressive. Depends on personality. I personally would go for more peaceful gouramis like pearls IMO.

When keeping discus
a) Your water quality must be pristine. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, <20 nitrates consistently. Any fluctuation can shock and possibly sicken/kill your discus. pH around acidic to mildly alkaline, some breeders are now breeding their fish to be able to live in hard water.
b) Tank mates are very limited. For one, discus like 82-86 degrees F water, which is very high. Rummynose tetras, cardinal tetras, GBRs, sterbai cories, hatchetfish, any small pleco (NOT common plecos, these will get over 2 feet long) can be alright tank mates with discus. In this case I would go for 4 to 5 discus, they like being in groups.
c) I would go fully planted. Discus like a lot of cover because they are shy at times and will appreciate it.

 

[BHead707]

This is just my opinion but people seem to make keeping discus sound like a bigger chore than it really is.

that is all( this was not directed at bruinsbro either)

 

[janky]

bruins; so would you ignore the gouramis altogether in this set up? We were looking at the dwarf gouramis due to what we were told is their "peaceful" nature.

Also consensus seems to be one large pleco. I think I can live with that. Are they fairly hardy fish? They seem to have the biggest difference in water condition preference...

I just don't wanna spend $90 on some pleco and have it die a week later cause it didn't like the water

 

[bruinsbro1997]

This is just my opinion but people seem to make keeping discus sound like a bigger chore than it really is.

that is all( this was not directed at bruinsbro either)

I can understand that. I just want to make sure that they know these aren't the easiest fish to keep

bruins; so would you ignore the gouramis altogether in this set up? We were looking at the dwarf gouramis due to what we were told is their "peaceful" nature.

Also consensus seems to be one large pleco. I think I can live with that. Are they fairly hardy fish? They seem to have the biggest difference in water condition preference...

I just don't wanna spend $90 on some pleco and have it die a week later cause it didn't like the water

I've actually never tried the DG and discus setup. If you do go down that route, try to find dwarf gouramis from a local breeder or high-quality LFS. The majority of the ones you find at fish stores are sick and lethargic from inbreeding, weak strains and poor conditions. They could also spread a disease to your very expensive discus, which isn't something I think you'd like. I only recommended pearls because they are a) peaceful and very hardy and adaptable (generally) and b) I think they're pretty

Majority of plecos are hardy. Watch out for their size, however. I would not recommend sail fin or common plecos, however I do think a golden nugget or bristle nose pleco would make a good choice.

I think the best thing to do in this situation is to match your water with the water that the store/breeder has theirs in. That way acclimation and such will be an easier process.

This is JMO. You can get plenty of other opinions on here as well

 

[janky]

Sounds good. I have to find a legitimate LFS here. All of the ones I've found had just deplorable conditions.. I felt like I was going to be sick walking through them, and there were floating dead fish every other tank.
One lfs had a gigantic volitan lionfish just floatin upside down at the top... :/

If I go with the pleco, that is pretty much it for the "clean up" crew? No snails, lobster, shrimp or anything like that right?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Technically, plecos are not a clean up crew. They simply eat algae, very little of it IMO. If you want a good CUC, I would recommend some shrimp and snails. Fish cleaning algae is sort of a waste, since the problem causing the algae is only worsened by the algae eating fish, since it's not going away permanently.

I'd get some MTS, RCS, and perhaps amano shrimp and nerite snails.