Non Discus question [Archive]

paulsa67

Sun Sep 17, 2006, 09:28 AM

Im about to set up a new 4 ft community tank.Can someone advice me on what I shoud use ...Gravel or sand ???

Mostly Angel fish ,cardinals,gouramiies ,silver sharks,red tail,albino,plecs and a few others

THX

DR.V

Sun Sep 17, 2006, 10:03 AM

Are you going to have some plants ? Pool filter sand looks nice.

mcloughlin2

Sun Sep 17, 2006, 10:05 AM

First off, i believe your tank to be overcrowded ... :)

My personal preferance is sand. I prefer the look, its way cleaner & easier to clean then gravel in my opinion and its a more attractive alternative to bare bottom tank ...

How many of each fish were you hoping for? :P

DR.V

Sun Sep 17, 2006, 10:15 AM

Hehe maybe he's planning to put one of each, that wont be overcrowded :P

paulsa67

Sun Sep 17, 2006, 03:13 PM

Its a 70 gallon tank
I have about 12-15 fish in all so there is no way its overcrowded.There are in my 3 ft which they seem to be doing fine .Been in there fir months.

Also once the tank is running for a few month I was hoping I could add Discus to the tank,would this be ok or would I have to remove certain fish which I already have.

I know Angels get on ok with Discus

mcloughlin2

Sun Sep 17, 2006, 09:27 PM

Its a 70 gallon tank
I have about 12-15 fish in all so there is no way its overcrowded.

Ohh yes your right that wont be overcrowded ... I was under the impression it was a standard 4fter ... :)

Also once the tank is running for a few month I was hoping I could add Discus to the tank,would this be ok or would I have to remove certain fish which I already have.

I believe the silver sharks, red tails etc would be too active for a discus tank ... I've never tried this so i can't help you with a personal experiance but i would guess they is a high chance the discus will not enjoy having sharks as their tankmates ....

I know Angels get on ok with Discus

How do you know this :P :?: I have hardly ever heard any positive feed back on this combination ... Angelfish are quite aggressive, while discus are usually peaceful ... :wink:

paulsa67

Sun Sep 17, 2006, 09:48 PM

Ive had angels and discus in the same tank before

mcloughlin2

Sun Sep 17, 2006, 09:50 PM

Some angelfish will be fine....
Sometimes if they are grown up with the discus they are not as aggressive..
But some angels bully the discus and deprive them of there food...
Its a risk you take when you place these two fish together...
Do you have another tank where you could move either the angelfish or discus if things get too rough?

nicholas76

Mon Sep 18, 2006, 04:44 AM

paulsa67

Mon Sep 18, 2006, 03:52 PM

NOT LONG BACK FROM MY LOCAL PET SHOP AND EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS NOT WHAT THE GUY IN THE SHOP SAYS....

Says all the fish I already have will be ok with discus ...

samir

Mon Sep 18, 2006, 04:25 PM

Gday

Firstly keeping gouramies ,silver sharks,red tails in the one tank with Discus is a no no IMO

Angels will dominate Discus too so you need to watch that.

I have angels in my Discus tank but my discus are 7 inch whilst the angels are like 2 inch.

Sand is great , crap generally stays on the surface.. Its no good for plants unless its a thick layer.

Gravel you need to vacume clean and its great for plants.

show us some pics :)

I'd just go with the above advice. Discus are tough fish if you keep them stress free, the moment you put them in situations where they are competing with dominant fish or aggressive feeders things can take a very rapid down turn.

mcloughlin2

Mon Sep 18, 2006, 09:16 PM

NOT LONG BACK FROM MY LOCAL PET SHOP AND EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS NOT WHAT THE GUY IN THE SHOP SAYS....

Says all the fish I already have will be ok with discus ...

Writing in CAPS means your shouting mate ... :wink:

& of course the guy at the local pet shop is going to say the fish combination is fine. He is in it for the money. If he can convince you to buy discus then that means extra $$$ for him ...

Another thing, buy your fish from a LFS not a LPS ... Fishshops are moe experianced then most people who work at a petshop ...

HTH & please do listen to us ... There is nothing for us to gain here so we wouldnt lie to you but a petshop owner would if they could make more money of you ...

Cheers

Sam

paulsa67

Mon Sep 18, 2006, 09:35 PM

Sorry about the caps already wrote it before I realised

The pet shop owner is a good friend of mine and has over 30 year of owning and breeding fish.

So some one doesn't know there homework.

As I said previously I have owned Discus and had Angels and Gourames in with them before without any problems,also had other types og community fish.

mcloughlin2

Mon Sep 18, 2006, 10:14 PM

The pet shop owner is a good friend of mine and has over 30 year of owning and breeding fish.

So some one doesn't know there homework.

Fishshops are more experianced then most people who work at a petshop ...

:P

As I said previously I have owned Discus and had Angels and Gourames in with them before without any problems,also had other types og community fish.

Then why ask us if it would be OK if you already think you kinow what would be a good combo? :?

Anyways Goodluck. :D

paulsa67

Mon Sep 18, 2006, 10:19 PM

feedback and opinions !!!!!!

nicholas76

Mon Sep 18, 2006, 10:50 PM

Paulsa,

I know my stuff as I have had many years of growing all sorts of fish and have tried these combinations. SO I DO KNOW MY HOMEWORK. Dont Dis the replies you get please.

You will not find another member agreeing with your best buddy old pal from the LFS.

We all learn from experience so by all means take that fish species combination for a test drive and good luck.

note ~ if your discus are say 2 inch ,, same size or smaller than your other fish, I give them 6 months before stress related diseases kick in, and less if they actually survive the random frenzy attacks from the others.

you may as well throw in some knife fish too :roll: :roll:

Merrilyn

Tue Sep 19, 2006, 02:06 PM

Hi paulsa67, your friend from the fish shop is correct, in that you could keep all those fish. They will all live quite happily together and require the same water conditions.

But I do have a problem with putting discus in that tank. They may well survive, but sadly they won't thrive.

I've kept discus and angels together in the same tank, and yes, it works while the angels are small, but eventually the angels are going to want to spawn and dominate the tank. That's when your discus will begin to suffer. They gradually become more and more stressed, and eventually begin hiding all the time, and stop eating. You may not even notice anything wrong, because the process can take months, but then one day, you come home to dead discus.

It's been tried by lots of people, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

paulsa67

Tue Sep 19, 2006, 11:51 PM

Ok thanks I was just curious.
Ill stick to the community tank for now as I like the Angels,or maybe I will sell them and buy some Discus

Cheers for the info