my new 5 foot tank, Advice on discus and tankmates

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


shom6
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:21 am

my new 5 foot tank, Advice on discus and tankmates

by shom6

Got my new tank about a month or 2 ago and have slowly been adding fish and plants. At the moment it has 20 neons and 8 cory's (havent lost any yet , annoyin to try n count though) . I eventually wanna put in about 5 or so discus and more plants and neons. Was genna use cardinals but are they really that much better for the huge cost difference? . Should i add all the discus at once ? and will a couple or bristlenose catfish go alright with the discus? any advice appreciated thanks
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dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

Hi :-)
I don't know anything about Discus, but can tell you the difference between Neon's and cardinals.

Cardinals have more red in them and in the right lights will glow a purple color. They also will get a tad bigger than Neon's. I prefer them for the color.

Which ever you get, make sure they grow out a bunch before you add the discus, or buy them as big as you can. If Discus are anything like Angels, they will become a snack as soon as they hit the tank if they are small enough to eat.


jweb
 
Posts: 318
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:45 am

by jweb

The reason why people use cardinals in discus tanks is because cardinals are more sensitive to water parameters than neons. They give you a heads up before your expensive discus start dropping dead. Their colors will start to fade under anything other than optimal conditions. Eventually the cardinals will start to drop like flies before the discus, basically shouting, "DO SOMETHING NOW BEFORE YOU HAVE TO FLUSH YOUR MONEY DOWN THE TOILET."

However, recently I added some cardinals and neons to a 1.5 gallon that at the time the water parameters were completely stable after 3 months of running with other fish in it. When I cleaned the filter pad I accidentally used tap water, and it messed up the filtration. So, eventually the water parameters went to hell. Anyways, the neons died before the cardinals. So for some reason the cardinals in my case were more hardy. My cardinals were wild caught though, if that makes any difference in the matter.


cedricandcandy
 
Posts: 134
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 1:36 am

by cedricandcandy

I have a 6ft planted tank with discus and neon, cardinal and rummynose tetras and they all get along just fine. The cardinals are far more impressive then neons although they do look quite similar at first glance. Cardinals have a very graceful manner of swimming as opposed to the neons who seems to flitter and flutter around the place. When they are first bought I can understand your question as to whether cardinals are worth the extra dollars - its not really until they mature that the difference becomes noticable and cardindals are definately better. If you can afford them, get cardinals!

Bristlenose are fine with discus - I have half a dozen in my tank with the discus and there is never a problem.

Many people think they should add only one or two discus at first until they get used to caring for them. This is actually not a good thing to do, as discus will do a lot better in a group of 5 or 6. I would suggest adding all your discus at once. They do take a while to settle into a new tank and will need to establish dominance and pecking order but at least they can do it all at once and not get stressed each time again when you add another one.

It is common practice to add some antibiotics to the water when adding discus. This is because they do stress easily and as I said they do take a while to adjust to a new tank. The antibiotics will lower there stress levels and help prevent disease. When I added my discus, I put a quarter of the recommended dose of the antibiotic, as you are not treating any disease at this point, just trying to prevent it.

Hope this helps!


davos
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:59 am

by davos

i suggest u get real cichlids =] and dont use bristle noses just get 1 pleco and look 1000000x better than any bristlenose. a few bristlenoses will eat more plants then 1 pleco. but give good ol zuchini and brocoli.


shom6
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:21 am

by shom6

Thanks guys. Just ordered 30 cardinals from my LFS .. like you say worth it in the long run . hopefully if all goes well with these, ill start lookin for discus in a couple months or more. and a bristle nose or 2.. hopefully my neons will be alright, if not hope there healthy enough to be a good snack for my discus.

Any suggestions for a good foreground plant?
i tried hairgrass once before but it didnt go well. but that was on my old tank with only a oldish 1 bulb lighting, gamble from the start haha

Any thoughts on java moss? even tho no one seems to sell it in my area


shom6
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:21 am

by shom6

Thanks guys. Just ordered 30 cardinals from my LFS .. like you say worth it in the long run . hopefully if all goes well with these, ill start lookin for discus in a couple months or more. and a bristle nose or 2.. hopefully my neons will be alright, if not hope there healthy enough to be a good snack for my discus.

Any suggestions for a good foreground plant?
i tried hairgrass once before but it didnt go well. but that was on my old tank with only a oldish 1 bulb lighting, gamble from the start haha

Any thoughts on java moss? even tho no one seems to sell it in my area


davos
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:59 am

by davos

try hairgrass again, java moss will eventually grow over everything if u get it u gotta keep it under control, java ferns, willow moss and when ur anubias grow heaps more u can add them to foreground, i wouldnt stock up heaps on plats just now because when they start growin they really bunch up, when u buy plants they are just babies and only 1 stem or branch of many


shom6
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:21 am

by shom6

Hahahah dave if i wanted your advice i'd come to your house n bash it outta ya.. just kiddin u nithead. come see my tank this weekend bring a few beers. and upload a pic of yours


New plants and cardinals , starting to look nice
bad93-cropped new 10.JPG


davos
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:59 am

by davos

ill put my texas with ur discus on the weekend n see wat happens :D

my new 5 foot tank, Advice on discus and tankmates

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