Are Neon Tetra Discus Friendly?

[Mr.Kuo]

Or in another way, Are Discus Neon Tetra Friendly?
I have often wanted to get discus in my tank.
But I have a 120L tank and just not sure if it is suitable for a discus.
I have 15+ neon tetras currently living there.
And I am wondering if I can or should add discus in the tank.
And I am more a person that change water every fortnight.
I am willing to change to every week.
But that is the most i am willing to do.
Please let me know if discus could be my choice.
Better ask first , then sorry.

[jluna]

hello -

i'm just a beginner to this - i have 7 discus in a 360 litre tank. but i've kept more than my fair share of neons - actually, a hell of a lot more cardinals - and would say they are suitable tankmates. but i don't think you will be very successful with discus if you're not willing to go the whole way re: water changes etc... they like it real clean, and they are quite dirty little eaters, so they make a mess.

i think you should read a lot more about them before launching in...

justin

[flukes]

I know of people keeping discus and changing water once a week but i wouldn't recommend it and i wouldn't suggest it for someone starting out, the thing is if your not prepared for effort discus aint the fish for you, because if you dont change the water then they wont be healthy and then your going to spend more time worrying and nursing them as you would doing your water changes in the first place.

Currently now i do water changes twice a week, or once every 3 days but i also have corys that eat most of the waste they drop. Also most people would say even every 3 days is not enough and soon when i hook up a 200ltr drumm i will be doing them every 2nd day. Its just a long process atm using 25ltr buckets and draining into a bucket then emptying. But with the new setup i ll have a drain going straight to the garden and a submergeable pump to pump the water by hose into the tank.

Scott

[kevkoi]

Neons I find end up as Discus food once the discus get large. They seem to leave cardinals alone though for some reason (Maybe they taste bad?).

My suggestion would be to keep cardinals as opposed to neons simply because they are a bigger fish and they last longer too!

kev

[flukes]

also if you want a tetra rummy nose are good for discus as they are good idicators for water quality. If the red on there nose fades then you water quality is slipping. But again if it fits it will be discus food.

[kevkoi]

Hmmmm... I wonder where u got that idea from?

[flukes]

well you didn't meantion it....so i thought i would!!
Also if your after a cory i think the panda cory is the best as it is the most sensitive, if you can keep a panda cory you can keep discus.

[luvfishies]

Another thing to add to the already great replies. Discus like it warm, Neons don't.

[Proteus]

Cardinals yes... in regards to water changes, in that size tank, you would need to do 2-3 water changes a week, if need be only 20% should be ok... but the more the better, and the healthier your Discus will be...

BTW, welcome to DF.com

[Mr.Kuo]

Thanks for all the advice.
I am going to rethink my idea then.
Changing water every 2-3 days is really a bit too much for me now.
I have a cute golden retriever and long work hours.
I am quiet sure i will collapse and the discus would still be unhappy..lol
Guess I might just come to this forum much for often to look at the beautiful discuses that u people keep. I envy thee.
I am going to get some of those running nose tetras that you guys talked about.
Even though i might not get discus, it's still necessary to know if my water is in top shape..then if i can get it right..Discus, here I come.. 8)