Discus Tank

Hi,

I am new to this forum but have been using the site for years.  I have always kept fish (about 20 years) but in the last 2 years I have started taking it a lot more serious.

I have recently purchased a new tank and have it set up ready to go doing a fishless cycle.  It is a Fluval Vicenza 260.  260ltrs 121cm long.  I have never seen one like this before with the holes in the bottom for the external filter.  I thought it was a bit strange at first.  I must mention I bought it on ebay and it had a sump in it at first but i changed to a fluval 405 external filter.  It now works like a dream.

I have set it up with the view of having a amazon basin style tank.  I have quite a bit of bogwood already soaked and in place.  And some plants.  Not sure what type but they look good.
I am planning on having the following fish

20 Cardinal Tetra
20 Black neon tetra
2 Bolivian Rams
6 corydora's of some sort
2 bristlenose/sailfin Plec's

And the focus of the tank 5/6 Discus.

I was very scepital of keeping Discus as I heard they were very fussy and tough to keep.  But after speaking to my LFS and doing a lot of research I have decided to go for it.  Obviously doing the research some websites contridict each other.  Some discus specialist say that all the fish I have chosen are ideal to keep with Discus but this one on the community creator says they are all too small to keep with discus.

I guess the point of this essay is to find some other discus keepers and get their views and see what other poeple keep with discus.

Regards

The community creator tends to flag up when small fish are kept with big ones in case the big ones try to eat the small ones. But I've not come across anyone else commenting on discus eating cardinals.

Discus need higher temps than most other fish so tankmates need to be chosen with this in mind.
Ordinary rams (the ramirezi in all it's body/colour forms rather than the Bolivian altispinosus) enjoy the same higher temps and soft acid water that discus like so they might be a better choice.
Cardinals are fine at higher temps. One of the recommended species for keeping with discus.
Black neons might no do as well as they prefer temps in the mid to low 20s.
Go for sterbai cories. They are the only species that can cope with discus' temps. The vast majority of other cory species like the lower 20s.
I would avoid sailfin plecs - and I see you have some in your other tank. If you mean gibbiceps, they will need rehoming as they are one of the tankbuster species. Go with bristlenoses.


Apart from swapping rams for bolivian rams, and maybe thinking twice about black neons, that sounds fine. I've seen glowlight, rummy nose and lemon tetras suggested for discus tanks, as well as harlequins and their smaller look-alikes (Trigonostigma espei and T. hengeli). Just avoid fast swimming, over active fish.


It might be an idea to get the other fish first and the discus last. That way the discus will see the other fish as part of the scenery rather than newcomers to their environment, and it will also allow any health problems with the tank mates to become obvious before they can infect rather expensive discus. When adding fish after the discus, always quarantine the new fish for at least 2 weeks.