Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 (edited) Hello everyone! I have a 75 gallon aquarium that I am preparing to put discus into. I had a similar thread but a little has changed since then. I currently have a Fluval 407 canister filter but I am considering replacing it with a Fluval fx4. My question is, is buying a large filter worth it? With that said, how many discus could I put in a tank this size with an overkill filter? I am considering doing a few tankmates that include emperor / cardinal tetras OR ropefish. The tank I have set up is below. I plan on buying more plants ( vallisneria & crypts ) to fill up the empty space. Thanks in advance! Edited January 4, 2021 by Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 I wouldn't small tetras and rope fish together. The rope fish may eat them. I would try 6 maybe 7 discus in a 75 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Vandelay Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 Those things get really big. I'd probably do 2-5 tops. But that's just me, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiclid addict Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 I don’t have a 75 but I have 3 discus In my 55 and they have plenty of room and seem happy I could probably fit one more comfortablely but my aunt has a 75 with 7 and it seems fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 In a 75 gallon, you could do a nice group of 6 discus easily. I generally say roughly 10 gallons per discus, so 6 would be good in there. I'm not sure if ropefish would be good tank mate or not, I've never kept them or read much about them. Can they tolerate the warmer water temps? Are the a messy fish that will cause water quality issues that might affect the discus? The tetras would be excellent tank mates for discus, I have kept cardinal and rummynose before with discus and not had issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 A group of 6 discus cardinal tetra or rummynose tetra will do fine at higher temp discu like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiclid addict Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 4 hours ago, Andy's Fish Den said: In a 75 gallon, you could do a nice group of 6 discus easily. I generally say roughly 10 gallons per discus, so 6 would be good in there. I'm not sure if ropefish would be good tank mate or not, I've never kept them or read much about them. Can they tolerate the warmer water temps? Are the a messy fish that will cause water quality issues that might affect the discus? The tetras would be excellent tank mates for discus, I have kept cardinal and rummynose before with discus and not had issues. I have kept a group of rope fish with my discus at 86 degrees they aren’t to messy of eaters but they are pretty interesting to see eat to 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 @Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics in a 75 you could do up to 7 Discus. If your budget allows get them all at once. Start with 2,5 inch fish, they're reasonably priced and will grow up together in the tank which will reduce aggression (remember Discus are Cichlids). If you want a Ropefish put it in another tank they're not a match made in heaven for Discus. Good tank mates for Discus would be any of the schooling Tetras Rummy Nose, Cardinals, Silver Tip, are good examples, Pencilfish, Ottos, and of course a school of Cory's you could also do a trio of Apistos. For plants you may want to consider Java Fern, Pogostemon Octopus, Dwarf Aquarium Lily or Tiger Lotus. For you filter go with something that will process the tank at least 3X an hour. Good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiclid addict Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 22 hours ago, Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics said: Hello everyone! I have a 75 gallon aquarium that I am preparing to put discus into. I had a similar thread but a little has changed since then. I currently have a Fluval 407 canister filter but I am considering replacing it with a Fluval fx4. My question is, is buying a large filter worth it? With that said, how many discus could I put in a tank this size with an overkill filter? I am considering doing a few tankmates that include emperor / cardinal tetras OR ropefish. The tank I have set up is below. I plan on buying more plants ( vallisneria & crypts ) to fill up the empty space. Thanks in advance! I am just wondering where did you get that driftwood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 1 minute ago, Angelfishlover said: I am just wondering where did you get that driftwood I think Patrick mentioned Universal Rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 18 hours ago, Angelfishlover said: I have kept a group of rope fish with my discus at 86 degrees they aren’t to messy of eaters but they are pretty interesting to see eat to That's good to know, I've never kept the ropefish so wasn't sure what they can tolerate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiclid addict Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 5 hours ago, Andy's Fish Den said: That's good to know, I've never kept the ropefish so wasn't sure what they can tolerate. Yeah there pretty hardy to I went on vacation for about 2 weeks and Apparently the person who I had taking care of my fish thought ammonia was good and all my other fish in my 55 died but the rope fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ktilling Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Any thoughts on maybe a pair in a 32 gal flex looking for some advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 10 minutes ago, Ktilling said: Any thoughts on maybe a pair in a 32 gal flex looking for some advice Assuming you're still talking about discus? We've observed that they tend to prefer a group of 5x or more. Now . . . full confession . . . we did keep a pair of young discus in a 29 gal for a while together with other fish. But they never were really happy. Now, you can get away with keeping _young_ discus in a smaller tank in a school with the understanding that it's a _temporary_ scenario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ktilling Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Yeah sorry I was talking about discus im in the middle of setting up a 32 gal flex and trying to decide on a nice community style tank but hoping for a pair of fish as a center piece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nataku Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 A mated pair of discus could go in a 32 flex, but then you couldn't do a community with them. It'd be just the discus, because they'd attack the other fish trying to defend their eggs/young. A non mated pair would typically prefer the company of more discus, which would also necessitate a bigger tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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