Rainbows as tankmates????

[fishcurious]

Hello:

I have 5 discus, 15 rummynose tetras, 5 otto cast, 2 bristle nose plecos, 10 coys cats, three red serpae tetras, 2 bleeding heart tetras, 3 black skirt tetras in a 46 gallon bowfront that is 3 feet wide.

I was thinking of removing all the tetras but the rummynose and getting some rainbowfish. Does anyone have experience with them in a discus tank and with rummynose tetras? Before I change I want to get a feel for success or failure.

thanks

[Big Daddy1]

Rainbow fish are zippy eaters. I wouldn't keep them with discus unless you had a large tank.

As it is, I assume you plan on moving the discus into a larger tank because you're really overstocked.

I hope that helps with your consideration.

[fishcurious]

I do hand feed the discus twice a day so they never go without. They get a mix of blood worms, misis shrimp, beef heart, flakes, and cichlid pellets.

I am planning on keeping the discus, rummy nose, otto cats and corys in the tank. I am working on the rest of the inhabitants. all of the above are very small. I know I overstock but I do regular maintenance and have never had an imbalance in the tank. Knock wood......

Other than the Rainbowfish being zippy eaters would you mix them with discus?

thanks,

[albatrozz]

i use to have rainbows with discus, they are very fast and very greedy when it comes to food but they aren't too fond of hand-feeding so as long as you hand feed your discus then it should be O.K. Some people think that rainbows nip discus' fins but IMO they are peaceful.

[fishcurious]

thanks once I remove some of my other inhabitants I may try a few rainbow. What water column do they prefer; top,middle or bottom.

[ILLUSN]

RAINBOWS ARE A BAD IDEA FOR A DISCUS TANK!
they swim too fast
they eat too fast
they need a mostly vegitarian diet
they express their colors best at lower temps (i run my rainbow tank at 24-26 to get their coloring right)

[TW]

I had 4 boesemani rainbows in the tank, before I bought my first discus. I loved the boesemani, but I soon realised they had to go. They were too boisterous to have in the same tank as discus.

[fishcurious]

thanks everyone. I have decided to not mix rainbow with my discus because of your input. I pulled out an old 30 gallon tank I will set up for some rainbows. My husband has taken a liking to them and since he indulges my three tanks it's the least I can do.

Cheers.