Couple questions and some info...

[rudij]

I have started setting up one of my 125s as a semi planted freshwater tank. I decided that I finaly wanted to try discus. I have kept and bred angels, Killies, kribs and a few others...

Now my current tank has been running for about 3 months now it has a nice layer of peat and soil (about 3-5 inches thick depending on location in the tank) covered by roughly 1.5 inches of gravel. I have a few pieces of well aged bog wood with some Crypts swords and lilies in the tank. The question I pose is 2 fold.... one: Will discus do ok in a tank with black flag corys, 6 X Glass Catfish, Black Ghost knife, 1 X Dwarf Gourami (sp), 1 X Male Betta. The second part of the question is about discus them selfs..... I had 1 ~4-5 inch blue discus that I have added a second 5-6 inch blue discus and 2 smaller roughly 2-3 inch reds in with him and the other fish.

The reason I am asking this question is that the new Blue saw the other one eating and has started eating well himself and they generally move around the tank together. The Reds on the other hand will move around the tank freely except when I am feeding. They tend to hang out in corners and not go after food and this worries me a little. The 3 new fish were added this past Friday March 30th. I have a 20 tall i could setup real fast using water from the 125 if needs be to house the little guys but I dont want to stress them with moves and things unless I have to.

Thoughts comments... condemnations?!

Rudi

[FishLover]

I assume your tank is 125g, which is what I have.

I'm not sure if the black ghost knife is a good mix with your other fish.

As for the reds, since they are small, they will be picked on by the other two. If they don't eat for a long period, I would take them out in the smaller tank. They don't grow well in big tanks like that because they are bullied all the time by other tank mates. Also you need to feed them more often than the bigger discus.

In the mean time, you need to keep up the water changes if you want your 2" discus to grow. I'm talking about 40% WCs daily or every other day.

[rudij]

Yes it is a 125g. Why do you say the knife may not be a good mix with the other fish? So far he only comes out when I feed and after grabbing some food he runs off to hide again.

Thanks much for the help!!

Rudi

[FishLover]

Well, BGK gets to about 1.5' long and will hunt small fish. I think your glass catfish could be in trouble soon if they are small. Plus, I'm not sure it can handle the high temp as discus need to have.

[rudij]

Well I used water from the 125 to setup a 20 tall for the two Reds. One of them started eating lastnight before I moved him but wanted to give him the best chance I can at getting the food he needs. The other wasn't looking good at all so I gave him a Saltwater dip. Shortly after that he passed a white blob. He is swimming around well but still hasn't done more swim past the food.

[Robdog]

I reckon you'll be fine with the BGK in there. Mine is over 20cm and like yours, he only comes out for a feed then goes back to his cave.
He's a lot more active after lights out so that's when he might spook the discus or snipe the smaller fish. Should be sweet with the temp.

[rudij]

Thanks for the feedback Rob. I am trying to make sure i look at fish that can take an overlapping range of conditions. Hopefully this will allow me to create the environment that allows me to enjoy my tank and the fish to be healthy and grow... Only problem so far are the red melon discus's and one has already started eating and the other I hope will pull thru here.

Rudi