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how many discus can you put in a 55 gallon tank with

10-rummynose tetra
1-raphel catfish
1-gold nugget pleco
1-tiger pleco

None.

Normally I would suggest 5 or 7 juvenile or 2.5 inch discus without tail length. However, the raphael cat and gold nugget plecostomus will create problems. The rapael will grow to 8.5 inches and is an extremely active carnivore. Although it may not pose an immediate threat to discus, the discus will not appreciate the food competition and will deteriorate.

The gold nugget pleco will grow to 14 inches. It will develop an addiction to the slime coat of the discus as they grow and will feed on the slime coat. It is a very bad choice of fish to include in a discus tank.

The tiger pleco, if correctly identified, is a member of the ancistrus family that includes bushy or bristle nose ancistrus. It will grow to 5.5 inches and should not be a problem.


Rummy nose tetra should be fine but they prefer more moderate temperatures than discus. Discus should be maintained in water that is 82 to 86F or 29 to 30C. The tetras are best at 72 to 79F or 22-26C.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 19-Aug-2005 08:43

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Bob, I don't know of any tiger Ancistrus plecos. The most common tiger plec is L002, a Panaque. Sometimes Peckoltia species are tagged with the "tiger" label and there is always the king tiger pleco (L066), but I've never seen a tiger Ancistrus.

I agree with the other stuff Bob said, especially about the gold nugget being an inappropriate tankmate. Size and waste production alone should rule them out.

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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."

so no gold nuget pleco a raphal catfish

I thought the gold nugget (L-18) only got to be about 6 inches...

Last edited by Tetra Fan at 19-Aug-2005 22:15

Nope, they get about double that. I can't be entirely sure because of the confusion between which gold nuggets are the same species if any (not really up to date on that), but they definitely aren't small plecos. Check out [link=this]http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/baryanci/153_17.php" style="COLOR: #808080[/link] picture from Planet Catfish.

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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."

Hmmm...but [link=L-18]http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/baryanci/154_f.php" style="COLOR: #40FF40[/link] only gets 7 inches...hmm would really have to know what L number plec you want in order to recommend having it or not...though I did not know plecos get addicted to the discus' slime coat.

Brooks,

Teaches me not to do quick research on the internet!

Supposedly, an inadequate diet will prompt some plecos to dine on discus slime. I have had a couple "common" or L-whatevers that took a quick ride to the LFS when I found them impersonating lamprey. Generally happens at night.



Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 21-Aug-2005 16:00

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Pat, the link you gave was for L081, not L018. Not only that, but they might both (as well as the other gold nugget L-number) be the same species, which means that they'd hit a foot plus. That's what I was talking about earlier.

Heh, no worries there Bob. I've had the same thing happen to me way too much.

Last edited by sirbooks at 21-Aug-2005 16:18

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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."

er...I know I meant to type L-81...sorry.

In my days of discus keeping, I never had any problems with baryancistrus. Granted, they are awfuchs film feeders, for which the discus's slime coat would make a nice substitute. However, most of the genus is relatively shy towards larger fish, including discus. Realistically, no gold nugget that I know of reaches 14". In the wild perhaps, but even then, it takes an uncommon fish to rocket past 12". When we recieve wild small spot L-85s, even as "XL" (which go for 60-80 bucks each), they are within the 6"-8" SL range; no larger. This is ALREADY incredibly large; larger than baryancistrus I've seen elsewhere. Queen nuggets, IME, grow even smaller than that - 8" TL at a maximum. Furthermore, raphaels, I have found, are amongst the LEAST active of doradids (which is saying quite a bit), and rarely, if ever move save nightfall, when the discus are well asleep. Even then, they do not move nearly fast enough to startle nesting fish.





Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 23-Aug-2005 21:29

I would have to say that I agree with
Cup. Discus are not that sensitive as to
have to avoid keeping fast moving or active
large fish with them.
I keep my Discus very happily in a
community tank with many species that are
considered Taboo to keep with Discus.
I always have found my Discus to
be quite active aggressive feeders, who
definetly get their fair share of the food.


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