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Ok.. here is my stocklist for 90g planted aquarium..

2 Pictus catfish
8 Zebra danio
2 BN Pleco
6 Julii Cory
2 Turq Discus
8 Cardinal Tetra
2 German Blue Ram
1 Rainbow Cichlid

Im sure the discus and the Rainbow Cichlid may raise an eyebrow. As far as the Rainbow according to what ive read this should be a fairly peacefull fish and not damage the plants(if anyone has heard different plz let me know).. as far as the discus.. i know they need excelent water conditions but i think im up to the challage.

The tank will be kept at 79-80F . a nuetral to slightly acidic PH (6.8-7.0) Gh of 3 or so. Lots of plants driftwood and rockcaves. Ill be doing Co2 injection with about 2wpg lighting (2 65w compacts and a 45 tube floresent). substrate is 100% florite. Right now has a Magnum 350 filter but will be adding another small canaster filter this weekend.

Im currently cycling tank with 6 danio's and 2 pictus catfish.

If anyone has any suggestions or if im just way off base let me know.. My first consern is that noone gets picked on, or is stressed. second is that no-one eats my plants.

Again i appreacate all Feedback(if u see a problem let me know, still new )

Thnks,
-CJ

Only problem I can think of is the Zebra Danios might not be the best choice with Discus. They are very very zippy which may disturb/stress the Discus slightly. But I'm no Discus expert so somebody might have a better opinion of whether this combo will work or not.

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it all sounds good i would get a fluval 404 filter they are really good filters ive been using for years.

Yea i thought that Danios might be a lil too active.. i was hopin that having 90g might make them a bit less of a problem for the discus.. I guess ill just have to keep an eye on them when i put them in there, wont be for a while.


Anyway thnks for the feedback you guys!!

-CJ

Actually,I dont see why the discus wouldnt work, I dont know about Rainbow Cichlids. Its the Danios with Pictus that concerns me. I bet you anything that once those pictus hit around 4 inches, they will chow down on your danios. I have seen 4 inch pictus in the fish store actively hunting down and killing black neons, and they have a significantly larger size in girth than a zebra danio.


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zebras are extremely active fish and won't be enjoyed by your slowing swimming fish
and the rainbow cichlid may also raise some concern
and you seem to have too many bottom dwellers
i always thought 4 or more discus would be good in a 90G.

Well, I may have to bring them back then.. we have had the info i read about them said that they are peacefull get about 5 inches and would possible eat a neon tetra but nothing bigger. based on that info i thought the danios would be just fine. but ive been hearing that pictus might be a problem for me with both the danios and the card tetras. i mean i guess i could start another smaller tank but im dumping alot of cash in this one and wont have the money for anything big enuff for the pictus cats. and id really like to see a smaller schooling fish in their as i hear that would make the discus a bit more active. I love the cats though.. they have a neat way of moving about and are alot of fun to watch. i wish i could get some catfish repelant to spray on the danios and tetras 8-) but again my main consern is happy fish. If anyone has had success keeping pictus cats with zebra danios let me know cause id really like to keep them

Thnks for the Info
-CJ

and you seem to have too many bottom dwellers

I would say not, I think his bottom feeder list is sparse myself. I have way more bottom feeders in my 90 than that.
I have 2 upside down cats, 3 weather loaches, 1 queen botia, 1 polka dot botia, 1 gold nugget pleco, 3 cory aggassizi, 3 bronze cory, 2 albino cory, flying fox, 2 bolivian rams (which are pretty much bottom dwellers), and 4 African Dwarf Frogs. I was actually still thinking I could add a few more bottom dwellers.
I have heard many things about pictus catfish, a lot of people say the little spotted kind reach 10 inches, while many other people disagree and say 4-5. I have heard people say the lined pictus stay smaller, but I have seen ones around 6 inches+. You have to keep in mind that catfish are predatory/scavenger fish. Many catfish would gladly chow down on some fresh food.
Perhaps you could try a larger schooling fish? Say Pristella Tetras, penguin tetras, buenos aires tetras, serpae tetras, congo tetras, blind cave tetras, rainbowfish, etc etc, there are many types of larger schooling fish that would likely be fine with discus.


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discus like to be kept in large groups unless they are breeding, i suggest atleast 2 more discus.


chris

Wow.. this is tough.. there are so many differnt schools of thought. I hear 4 discus wouldnt get along because two would pair up and the other two would get stressed. and that you should start with 4-6 wait for a pair then sell the rest... and also i hear alot of what Chris just said.

With the pictus cat.. which is my biggest consern. it seam to be people again are completely split if they will munch on my danios.. as far as things are right now. my danios are down their with them when i drop their pellets.. and they try to take them from them.. no fear of them what so ever.. i know that they arent bigg enouf yet.. (bout 3-3.5inch) but as things are they dont seam to be in imediate danger. of course this may change in a couple of months..

What to do about the problem?
I was thinking that if i add a slower fish of the same size.. say card tetra's, they should thereticly be the first target fish. if they get eaten. then i know they are capable of eating my danios.. now this may sound unethical or cruel.. but i dont think its anyless then feeding an oscar a guppy. the zebra danios where my first fish (as it is for alot) and we have grown super attached to them. originaly i was buying a bigger tank for them.. they where in a 10g and we wanted to give them a bit more swimming room.. the 90g just happened to be a great deal compared to the 55g we where looking at. so even though its kinda a backwards way to stock a 90g we are starting with danios and working around them. end cost will be bout 1500 for 8 1.29 fish.. :%)

do you guys think adding the cards next is a good idea to see if they will be cat food?

The discus are going to be in there. Again im new but learning, and would like a challanging tank. i love testing water levels and doing the Water changes, trimming the plants and all the other choirs involved so the discus dont scare me. but i would like all the fish to be happy. if i need 4 discus then somehting else will prolly have to go right?

sorry so long of a post, was kinda thinkin out load.. thnks for all the help.. i shouldve checked here first before i got the pictus cats.. the info i found said they should be fine, but they are so borderline i wish i wouldve asked here first..

Thnks again FP!!!!
-CJ

discus prefer to be kept in groups of 5 or more until they pair up, then it is ok to keep them to themselvs. Plus, even if you buy 5 or 6 it is not defenite that a pair will form. though i am sure many people have kept only two before, i would not recommend it.

On another note, if you plan to keep discus, the other fish and plants should be planned around the discus and not the other way around. they don't like fast moving fish, or any that will out compete them for food. Be sure to quartine any and all fish going into the tank because the discus are more e to diease than other fish.

chris