Are Neon Tetra Discus Friendly?

[Mr.Kuo]

Or in another way, Are Discus Neon Tetra Friendly? :?:
I have often wanted to get discus in my tank.
But I have a 120L tank and just not sure if it is suitable for a discus.
I have 15+ neon tetras currently living there.
And I am wondering if I can or should add discus in the tank.
And I am more a person that change water every fortnight.
I am willing to change to every week.
But that is the most i am willing to do.
Please let me know if discus could be my choice.
Better ask first , then sorry.

[jluna]

hello -

i'm just a beginner to this - i have 7 discus in a 360 litre tank. but i've kept more than my fair share of neons - actually, a hell of a lot more cardinals - and would say they are suitable tankmates. but i don't think you will be very successful with discus if you're not willing to go the whole way re: water changes etc... they like it real clean, and they are quite dirty little eaters, so they make a mess.

i think you should read a lot more about them before launching in...

justin

[flukes]

I know of people keeping discus and changing water once a week but i wouldn't recommend it and i wouldn't suggest it for someone starting out, the thing is if your not prepared for effort discus aint the fish for you, because if you dont change the water then they wont be healthy and then your going to spend more time worrying and nursing them as you would doing your water changes in the first place.

Currently now i do water changes twice a week, or once every 3 days but i also have corys that eat most of the waste they drop. Also most people would say even every 3 days is not enough and soon when i hook up a 200ltr drumm i will be doing them every 2nd day. Its just a long process atm using 25ltr buckets and draining into a bucket then emptying. But with the new setup i ll have a drain going straight to the garden and a submergeable pump to pump the water by hose into the tank.

Scott

[kevkoi]

Neons I find end up as Discus food once the discus get large. They seem to leave cardinals alone though for some reason (Maybe they taste bad?).

My suggestion would be to keep cardinals as opposed to neons simply because they are a bigger fish and they last longer too!

kev

[flukes]

also if you want a tetra rummy nose are good for discus as they are good idicators for water quality. If the red on there nose fades then you water quality is slipping. But again if it fits it will be discus food.

[kevkoi]

Hmmmm... I wonder where u got that idea from? :lol: :wink:

[flukes]

well you didn't meantion it....so i thought i would!! :lol:
Also if your after a cory i think the panda cory is the best as it is the most sensitive, if you can keep a panda cory you can keep discus. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[luvfishies]

Another thing to add to the already great replies. Discus like it warm, Neons don't.

[Proteus]

Cardinals yes... in regards to water changes, in that size tank, you would need to do 2-3 water changes a week, if need be only 20% should be ok... but the more the better, and the healthier your Discus will be...

BTW, welcome to DF.com :wink:

[Mr.Kuo]

Thanks for all the advice.
I am going to rethink my idea then. :(
Changing water every 2-3 days is really a bit too much for me now.
I have a cute golden retriever and long work hours.
I am quiet sure i will collapse and the discus would still be unhappy..lol :shock:
Guess I might just come to this forum much for often to look at the beautiful discuses that u people keep. I envy thee. :twisted:
I am going to get some of those running nose tetras that you guys talked about.
Even though i might not get discus, it's still necessary to know if my water is in top shape..then if i can get it right..Discus, here I come.. 8)

[Proteus]

well Mr Kuo you are well on your way to become a SUCCESSFUL Discus keeper, just maybe not right now... too many people ignore the advice given and in the long run the fish suffer, you have made a wise choice... Thank you...

Trust me, there are a lot of options available to make Discus keeping easy... like water storage, so when it comes time to change water, just fill a bucket or 2, and it is done in 4-5 minutes...

[flukes]

rummy nose tetra....

Also with water changes you can make an automatic system, there are a few designs out there but its all about money, as you will need another tank/container to hold the new water, pumps, overflows and more heaters. It all depends on how much you want to spend on the fish but it can be done.

Scott

[Mattzilla]

i have rummy nose tetras in my tank...
and they do act as good little water qaulity indicators

matt

[Annie]

I have :emon Tetras and black neon tetra's and they have done rather well. My tank temp stays at 85 degrees...
Although as luv mentioned, Neon's do not like the higher temps. And when you have stressed neons's you will have some form of disease going on also. This in turn can infect the tank/Discus. To me neons are very risky and I would think twice about having them in with such a valuable fish.