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hi i have a 55g tank with 12 neons,3 zebra danios, and 5 corys. would a discus be compatible with the tank i have so far? is it ok to keep only 1 discus? what kind of discus would be most atractive for this tank? thanks!

Discus will only do well when you have them in groups of at least 5. If kept in lesser numbers they will hide all the time, not eat and probably end up dead.

Discus also need warmer water than the danios can handle, and will eventually end up eating all your neon tetras.

Adult discus need in the region of 10 gallons per fish and as such will overstock your tank with the other fish in there.

If you remove the danios and neon tetras, have a decent filtration system and raise the temperature, you could accomodate the discus.

Cheers.

Dave has some very good responses. The summary for keeping discus is:
o Great water quality. It can be acidic or alkaline but it needs to have a low nitrate reading. Most discus keepers do large water changes to keep nitrates as low as possible.
o Warm water. Keep the temperature from 82F to 86F. The fish can easily tolerate protracted temps into the 90s. The higher temperatures should be a consideration for companion fish. Both the danios and the neons would be poor choices because of the temps. Cardinal tetras are a better choice and they are more difficult for discus to swallow than neons.
o Great diet. Discus are carnivores. They should have a varied diet based on frozen foods, quality flake and select live foods. Smaller fish need to feed more frequently with fry being fed up to five times per day.
o Safety in numbers. Discus are a shoaling fish and a group of fish makes them less shy. One fish is bad, two fish are worse and three fish are horrible. One fish will probably be terminally shy. With two fish, one fish will become dominant and kill the second fish. With three fish, the dominant fish and the second fish will harass the third fish to death. The dominant fish will then turn on the second fish. Five fish is the minimum, with more being better.

The good news is that a juvenile discus does not need 10 gallons of water. Talk to your local fish club and find a breeder in your area. See if you can buy 5 or 7 juvenile discus to grow out in your 55. I would refrain from keeping tankmates because you want these fish to thrive through great water quality and frequent feedings. When the fish grow to 4 or 5 inches, consider adding a school of cardinals or rummynose tetras as dither fish.



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