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Hey all. I'm new to the forums and I have a couple of questions.

I used to have a 20gal aquarium with a collection of danios in it, but I had to give it up when I moved. I've moved again since and my birthday is coming up and I'm thinking of treating myself to a new aquarium. I've got my eye on a 55gal tank right now. Two fish that I'm really interested in getting are angelfish and discus. Will these fish live okay together? I noticed that the discus was not on the angelfish compatibility list, so I wasn't sure. If so, how many of each would you reccommend getting for this size of tank and are there any other smaller fish that you might reccommend adding to the tank with them? Any comments would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

Heather

To answer your question. I need to know a few things. Like how much experience you have with fish? How successful was your last attempt and what did you keep?

Discus are not good beginner fish and I would not advice a person with little experience to keep them. Not that they are extremely difficult to keep. But you have to be almost militant about things like water changes and such. Other wise Discus just won’t last.

IMO they cost way too much to try if you really are not ready for a challenge in fish keeping.

Angels are probably not the best thing to keep with Discus. There is a heated debate about if it is safe or not. It appears that there is the belief that the Angels can carry diseases/parasites that can be transferred to the Discus and kill them.

I’ve never kept both so I can’t say if it is true or not. Let’s just say I’ve been able to find (on the net) far more info saying it’s not a good idea than saying it is.

If you were to keep them together and are ready for the challenge/commitment. Try to make sure the Angels are not wild caught. Just to be on the safe side.

With proper filtration and water/tank maintenance I’d say 2 full grown Angels and 4 full grown Discuss would make a very nice display.

Other than maybe (and this would be pushing it) a pair of rams. Nothing else would I keep in there.

Welcome to FP

Shannen

I had great luck with my danios. I kept up with the tank for about 3 years before I had to give it up. I've had numerous setups before that, but I've only raised guppies and danios, so I guess I'm not that experienced with different kinds of fish. Maybe I should stick with angels and something else besides discus? Would you reccommend anything in particular? Thanks for the help!

Go for a Blue Ram and Angel setup with a BN pleco.

If you can keep the blue rams alive, then the next step would be to try Discus.

I'll try that. Thanks again for the help