capekate

Hi all,
Because of problems with aggression in my tanks, I have had to move a Discus to a 29g tank. He is there by himself. I would like to add a few dither fish for him, but having a problem trying to find a fish that can tolerate the higher temps demanded by the Discus. The tank temp is about 84-85*.
Any suggestions on a fish that I can try so that the Discus is not all alone in that tank?

thanks,
~ kate

Allie

http://www.aquariumhobbyist.com/discus/water/index.html

http://www.worlddiscus.com/symphysod...tankmates.html
Here's a couple of links I found.

capekate

thanks Allie
I checked out the links. For me, tetras are out. I do like the black neons, Ive had them before. Didnt know they can tolerate the higher temps. thats good.
Also noted in the link was that the cory cats are found along side Discus in nature, so why not in the tank? I love cory cats too. Maybe three corys may do the trick? Im going to go and check out their species info now and see if they can tolerate the higher temps as well.
thanks again, ~ kate

capekate

hmmm..... our Fishlore fish profile has the cory cats at 72-78*. So it looks like 84-85* is going to be too warm for them. Back to the drawing board.
I would use the cardinals, but cant find them around here right now. The rainbows need it slightly cooler as well.

~ kate
other thought is that I can move the 3 cardinals from the 55 tank. But they are so sensitive to changes and have been doing great for the 8 months Ive had them, so I may be asking for trouble by moving them.

FL CommunityFans

Not so fast mrs kate! I use another site with fish specific info, and being the cory fanatic I am, rummaged through a bunch of them. I know I saw a fair number of corys that can thrive in that temp range. Give me an hour or so, and I'll list em for ya

Rbacchiega

Kate, in my discus tank as well as my mothers, I have arched corys, sterbai corys, schwartzi corys and some plain jane old bronze corys....all of which are thriving and spawning on a regular basis.

Can I ask why tetras are out? I love the look of my Blue Diamond Discus swimming with some black phantom tetras. As I'm sure you know, anything that is a slow swimming fish would do well. Tetras in the wild are used as a sort of warning for the discus, if they notice that the school of tetras is losely formed (not swimming in a tight group), they know that there is no sense of danger and will go about eating off the bottom etc, as soon as the fish go into defensive schooling, they will dart to the nearest root system to avoid predation.

FL CommunityFans

Ugh, all their temps were a max of 83*, the ones that I were thinking of. Man that's annoying, I coulda sworn they were higher. The bronze cory, however does well in the 84* mark, as long as the water doesn't vary too much.


Bronze Cory

Maximum size (min-max)
6.0 - 8.0 cm ( 2.4 - 3.1 in)

pH of water

5.8 - 7.7

Water hardness (dGH)

dGH 4.0 - 12.0 N

Recommended temperature

22.0 - 29.0 C ( 71.6 - 84.2 F)

FL CommunityFans

You could also put in some Honey Gouramis. They are extremely peaceful with everyone, and 3-5 of them tend to roam all over the tank, being buddy buddy with everyone.

I have 2 Honey Sunsets and they spend feeding time with the guppies, they play with the corys, then when it's sleeping time, they go to different corners of the tank and sleep at the top.

capekate

thanks for checking that out for me FCF! I will check out the bronze..
wonder if I can find them around here. hmmmmm

capekate

I love gouramis too, but the Discus is now in the 29g and I think that I need to go with something a bit smaller

FL CommunityFans

These guys only get to be about 2.5" no bigger than the bronze corys I don't thing. You should be able to get 3 easy in with the discus. I'll do a double check on them.

That's the normal Honey - the sunsets are just a different color/name variation but have the exact same traits. I recommended the sunsets because they are a bit redder/peachy looking and definitely throw a flare to the tank. Highly noticeable.

capekate

My PH level is very low... and so many tetras are fin nippers. I did have some black neons tho at one time and really liked them. the black phantoms.. arent they the black skirt tetra? I find them very aggressive and had them at one point as well.

capekate

just looked at the honey gouramis in my book. They seem to be peaceful fish around 2.5 inches, tolerates temps 72-82*.. may be a good choice to try!

capekate

My friend Val, just mentioned the sunset (honey) gourami. sounds really pretty! Maybe I can look for one at my LFS. One should be ok?

FL CommunityFans

I don't see why only 1 would be a problem. They aren't dependent on having other family members. The only time the two are actually together, is when they are playing with the corys, otherwise they are both just floating around the tank looking graceful.

One of them is a 'loon' I think though. She'll come to the front of the tank and swim back and forth in a 5-6" span and each time she turns, she'll turn and look at you - she acts like she's putting on a show.

edit: from reading a few sites, they DO recommend keeping them in pairs, but I honestly don't believe it. I have 2 and they are never near each other, not enough to say they need a partner anyways.

capekate

thanks for all your help guys and gals...
I think that the vote is in for the honey or sunset gourami. And only one so that I dont get two males who want to fight with each other.
thanks again~

~ kate

FL CommunityFans

Enjoy!

capekate

Good news! I just called Petsmart... uggh i know... and asked if they had any honey or sunsets. They DO!! just got them in yesterday. Soooo hopefully I can talk my hubby into driving down there tomorrow with me so that we can pick one up!
yeaaa...

~ kate

capekate

Just got back from Petsmart. I have two sunset Gouramis and hopefully they will do ok. I am acclimating them very slowly right now. It seems that once again the heat in the tanks were not working properly at PS. The water temps were at 71* there, so Im going to have to really acclimate slowly to get these guys used to the 80-82* that they are going in. I also picked up two bunches of the frill plant for them while I was there.
... wish me luck! and thanks for all the advice on which fish to try with my lone Discus.
~ kate

Rbacchiega

Black Phantoms are a far cry from blackskirts LOL. And I've never had a problem with them nipping fins. Also, they (tetras) thirve in a lower pH, just like the discus (they come from the same river systems alot of times)

My Discus tanks are maintained at a steady 6.4 and the only trouble I've had is finding plants at LFS that will thrive in that low of a pH without the innitial die-off.

Black Skirt:
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fres...WFCh_C2975.jpg

Black Phantom:
http://thecochranes.com/images/Phantom.jpg

Its a poor pic of the phantom, but you can see the differences

FL CommunityFans

Gl with them Kate. They LOVE plants. They hide/sleep in them all the time, and when they're just meandering around, they'll weave in and out of them like a leisurely stroll. You'll like them a lot I think, with the Discus.

Allie

Wow the black phantom look like diamond tetra with black skirt markings. Cool.

Barbrella

Don't know if you're into plecos, but here's a whole list of smaller species who like high temps.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...=id&results=50

capekate

LOL..
black skirts.... black phantoms.. black widows... and black tetra.. lol you can see my coonfussssion? haha...
thanks for the photos. I see the difference now.
You are right, they all come from the same basin in SA. For some reason I have had bad luck with tetras in my tanks, I just dont know why. And I hated the black skirt tetras and all their fighting. So have given up on tetras.
~ kate
ps. my frill plant (myriophyllum scabratum) and it goes by another common name I cant remember at the moment, does great in my PH.

capekate

Thanks Barbrella, I have never tried plecos before. I think Id rather (if i was going to), try them in the 55g tank instead.

~ kate

capekate

Hi FCF,
the sunsets are doing great so far. At first shy as expected. My Discus stayed hidden up by the heater in the corner so they didnt see him. When he finally decided to take a stroll across the tank, the gouramis swim right to the bottom together and were staring up at him, like what is that?
hahah... The discus just ignored them and they will understand soon that he is no threat to them.
They are very pretty lil guys.

~ kate