Exotic fish with discus

[Discus101.Kingfish]

Hi guys

Do any of you have suggestions for discus tank mates.But im looking for something rare and exotic looking.

I use to keep neons with them but they al died when i put hatchet fish in my tank.Their colours started fading but not their whole body.They seem to lose control before they die.This happend in a period of 2 days.If you know what may have been the cause please reply.My discus are fine though.

PS.Im planning on getting a quarintine tank

[MLBfan]

What size tank (s)?

[ScottishFish]

Depends what kind of tank mates you mean, do you want a school, or a single fish, bottom dwellers.

I love khuli and weather loaches, they cause no harm to tank mates and are quirky and cute. Just a suggestion

[Discus101.Kingfish]

Small for discus.30Gal.Please dont tell me thats to small,i know that and have red alot about tank size.Oh and i forgot to mention they should be around the size of tetras and keep to themselves

[Cliff]

I would suggest waiting to add any more fish until you up-grade your tank. It would make it a lot easier keeping your water parameters in line for discus

[Discus101.Kingfish]

Ok il do that.But what about dither fish.CAn someone please tell me if theyre a good thing or just dont bother discus.Ive seen many articles with the words dither fish in it but none with that as the main toppic

[Aeonflame]

Dither fish are any species of active (usually schooling) fish that are used to either aid potential mates pair up by forcing them to stick together... Or encourage fish to be less shy through the knowledge that no predators are about or through competition for food.

That being said, I do not advise you to add any other fish before you upgrade to a suitable tank.

[Shastri]

What about a few varieties of rainbow fish?

[MLBfan]

Don't get any more fish until you upgrade. You know that a thirty gallon is too small for discus, so why would it be suitable for discus and another fish?

[MuckyFish]

+1 to MLB 30G is too small for three adult discus. While most sites say 10g per discus and some as low 5g I think the formula should be more like, 10g per discus, + 10-20g per six discus + whatever you need for the tank mates using species recommendations based on waste output. Then you have room for a few tank mates such as bushy nose pleco (anistrus sp). Discus should be kept in groups of six or more. I think that just means that I have recommended a hundred gallon tank as the starting point.

Rainbow fish come from a hard water environment, while I am sure you could find a common denominator for water parameters my gut feeling is that this is just not a good idea.

Rainbow fish are reasonable size, if I was doing this I would be thinking smaller fish such as small tetras. Female glow lights from a size perspective, less likely than neons to get eaten, require and tolerate higher water temperatures. Although there are other potentials.

Simply put, 30g is too small, (maybe for a breeding pair and some fry or growing out a group of fry, the more water to fish the better.

Simply put 30g is too small please don't add any more fish until you have the resources.

If budget is an issue then craigs list might help. Occaisionally 100g tanks are offered for very little or even free.

Did I say that I thought 30G is too small? My book recommends a minimum of 62.5g which I think is still too small.