Discus with angelfish

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cuvac said:
I decided to also take this question to some people in my surroundings and two fish stores in my area.

They told me that adding discus was fine with my current stock, and they said adding them wouldn't overstock my tank either.

Foreseeing an average of 6 gallons per 'bigger' fish is okay (2 discus and 3 angels in 29 gallon), I was told. The smaller species, like my tetras and guppies, shouldn't matter in deciding my stock of discus and angels.

Besides I was also told that my tank isn't cluttered with plants, which allows me to go below the average of 10 gallons per fish rule.



So that's why I went ahead and added two discus in my tank.
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Discus get 6-8" in diameter. They're not small fish really. They also Require, not just want, pristine water conditions, otherwise their colors will fade, and will become oval shaped and deformed easily. They're not easy fish to keep, especially not in a 29 with angels and other fish. I honestly wouldn't put discus in a tank smaller than a 75 personally. Not sure why you'd ask on here and ignore all the advice anyway....


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Why wouldn't an lfs want to sell you $200 worth of fish. All we can do is give you our opinions, some based off years of practical knowledge and application and some based off nothing more than what we read. Is up to you to take all this information and make a responsible decision. Good luck!

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cuvac said:
I decided to also take this question to some people in my surroundings and two fish stores in my area.

They told me that adding discus was fine with my current stock, and they said adding them wouldn't overstock my tank either.

Foreseeing an average of 6 gallons per 'bigger' fish is okay (2 discus and 3 angels in 29 gallon), I was told. The smaller species, like my tetras and guppies, shouldn't matter in deciding my stock of discus and angels.

Besides I was also told that my tank isn't cluttered with plants, which allows me to go below the average of 10 gallons per fish rule.



So that's why I went ahead and added two discus in my tank.
Click to expand...


I'll just reiterate to refer to post #3. I would also suggest a more comprehensive search on keeping Discus as it's my opinion that your local folks and two LFS's really don't have quality experience by their claims. I will go further and state that the purpose of your LFS is to make money. Also, the claim of not being "cluttered with plants" is probably the biggest farce and would actually pose opposite results since the more plants you have, the better ability to keep parameters more in check. And the lack of them also doesn't allow the chance to give others their own space and break lines of sight when the aggression starts. Because it surely will.

I don't have a crystal ball but I'm pretty sure some other threads may wind up as a result of your decision.


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BigRedsReefs10 said:
Lfs will tell you what ever you want to hear 99% of the time to make a sale. I'd trust the advice you've been given here by knowledgable fish keepers


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Click to expand...


That was going to be my advice. Lfs are there to make money. Im not saying that lfs employees are liars, just sales people


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This is something that I've wanted to try in the past, but did not because I was advised against it. The pH max for a discus is generally around 6.5, whereas Angels minimum is 6.5 up to about 7.5. Also, was informed that sometimes Angels like to eat the slime coat that is on Discus fish.

Now, whether these two conditions are real concern, I can't say for sure. Just giving you some information. Now, what I DO know, is that Discus do not do well in high stress environments. With that said, if you're going to do what has been suggested, which is get Angels and Discus in groups of 5, you will very likely get at LEAST on breeding pair out of the angels, possibly Discus as well. Angels are extremely territorial from the time that they've picked a leaf or slate to lay eggs on until a few weeks after the fry have hatched. This could result easily in the loss of one or more Discus, even in a larger tank. I say if you're willing to try this out, I would start out with maybe 3 of each, and only small guys, to help them acclimate to each other as they grow. Best of luck.
 
mushrat79 said:
This is something that I've wanted to try in the past, but did not because I was advised against it. The pH max for a discus is generally around 6.5, whereas Angels minimum is 6.5 up to about 7.5. Also, was informed that sometimes Angels like to eat the slime coat that is on Discus fish.



Now, whether these two conditions are real concern, I can't say for sure. Just giving you some information. Now, what I DO know, is that Discus do not do well in high stress environments. With that said, if you're going to do what has been suggested, which is get Angels and Discus in groups of 5, you will very likely get at LEAST on breeding pair out of the angels, possibly Discus as well. Angels are extremely territorial from the time that they've picked a leaf or slate to lay eggs on until a few weeks after the fry have hatched. This could result easily in the loss of one or more Discus, even in a larger tank. I say if you're willing to try this out, I would start out with maybe 3 of each, and only small guys, to help them acclimate to each other as they grow. Best of luck.
Click to expand...


I haven't really heard of angels picking off slime coat, but I have heard of hickies on discus from plecos, especially common plecos


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mushrat79 said:
This is something that I've wanted to try in the past, but did not because I was advised against it. The pH max for a discus is generally around 6.5, whereas Angels minimum is 6.5 up to about 7.5. Also, was informed that sometimes Angels like to eat the slime coat that is on Discus fish.
Click to expand...


Really curious as to where you've gotten this false information.


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I do understand that a fair amount of people here say that my tank is badly overstocked, so it obviously makes me reconsider some stuff.

Although, I'd like to let you guys know that my discus are both 3 inches, my angels and loaches are all 2 inches, and my pleco is barely 1,5 inches. That might make you guys feel a little better about the quality of life of my fish. As of now, I don't think my tank is as overstocked as it may seem to some.

Because I saw that adding a common pleco to my tank added 80% to my stock(!!), I don't think my 1,5 inch pleco needs 80% of my tank. Adding an angelfish then adds 50% to my stock. So having a 1,5 inch common pleco and a 2 inch angelfish in my tank, would overstock it. Just making some sidenotes to this stock calculator here.

I do realise that they may grow too big for the tank though and that seems to be your main concern. But I've had one angelfish in a 10 gallon tank for over half a year, and he only grew about a quarter of an inch. So I don't think I'll see a huge angelfish in my tank anytime soon.

I'm just trying to add up all the advice I've been given here, so you're free to continue the conversation.
 
Look up growth inhibiting hormones. Even though they are small you are doing permanent damage to their health.

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fish grow and won't stay the size they are when they are babies for long. this is all unethical fish keeping.


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If one fish only grew a 1/4" in half a year, you're doing something wrong. Especially an Angel. So as I said before, you should do some more comprehensive research. While I'm here, I'll also advise that without hat research I keep mentioning, you'll probably wind up stunting those 3" Discus and they will live quite a short life. I agree 100% with mikem and Matty.


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Think I saw that dude at CVS last week..

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Wow, This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to lose it. Your angel is only a half inch bigger because of growth inhibiting hormones that are more highly concentrated in such small tank. The fish is stunted and will suffer the effects for its entire life. I started with nickel size 3 juvie angels in my 55 and they are easily half dollar size or larger in 5 months. Your discus will be horribly stunted by the poor water quality of your tank do to the overstocking. That common pleco alone will create more poop than you can imagine. Why not take the advice of experts in the field like treemanone2003? :nono: This is the definition of an unethical fish keeper. No one here is a proponent of the inch per gallon rule besides you, that video just contradicted your own posts.
 
Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD.

Stunting bad
Overstocking bad
Poor stocking choices for a 29g tank bad.

I know you just want to enjoy your fish.

This is a great Discus resource.
http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/index.shtml

The Planted Tank forums and here on AA have lots of Discus info.

Read up !!!

I would only stock a single Angel in a 29g.


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