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2 discus
10 small schooling fish
4 otos

filtered by an emperor 400

What you think?

I think it depends on what kinda of discusses and schoolers you want and up the ottos to 6

Nope, it wouldn't work. The problem is the discus. They need a lot of space each, and thirty gallons doesn't afford them that space. You could substitute a pair of angelfish instead, though.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I agree with sirbooks this time. I would never keep discus in less than a 50 gallon tank, having 1 per 20 gallons... I might go and round up to three in a 50 gallon tank, but discus are not just large and sensitive, they are cichlids, so they will want to establish territories. 30 gallons is considered the minimum for angelfish. You could easily have two angelfish along with the schooling fish and 6 ottos. Good luck!

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It's better to get a pair of Angels than Discus. The space is the main problem. With them you can add some schooling Corydoras &amp; some schooling Tetra's.




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Perhaps another possibility would be a single blue ram, or a male/female pair of blue rams? Never owned them but they look stunning when I see them in the lfs, and from what I have read they are happy alone or in pairs and peaceful towards other fish--likely more peaceful than angelfish would be, depending upon how small your small schooling fish are. (I have read multiple people report angels eating neon tetras, for example, though I have also read others say they keep angels with neons without problem, so maybe it just varies from fish to fish.)

Also it might matter what type of schooling fish you are looking at. Some can be so hyper (that is is how I would describe my zebra danios) that they would spook a fish not used to so much activity. So do your research first and keep that factor in mind--no point in having one or two beautiful "centerpiece" fish in your tank if they spend 99% of their time hiding in the plants trying to avoid hyperactive schooling fish in the tank...