Thank you for the idea, but it wouldn't work in my tank since a black ghost knife gets over 18 inches (I only have a 55 gallon).How about a black ghost knife?
Thank you for the idea, but it wouldn't work in my tank since a black ghost knife gets over 18 inches (I only have a 55 gallon).How about a black ghost knife?
Great advice given.Discus are just too impressive to share the limelight with another big species, IMHO. If you insist, the only similar-sized fish I would put in might be Uaru. They are a perfect match for the temperament and condition requirements...and a very underrated and impressive fish, at least to my eye. I kept and bred them for many years, back when they often called them Poor Man's Discus; I've never even tried true Discus.
But again, your Discus are the showstoppers and I think you are better putting something smaller in with them. I think that many of the dwarf cichlids would be perfect; either Rams or one of the Apistogrammas. Same water, same temperatures, and able to live and probably even breed in a 55 without causing aggression issues.
Incidentally...why on earth didn't you go with Cardinals instead of Neons? Cardinals are much better suited to warm water than their smaller cousins. Neons always did their best for me at around ten F degrees cooler than your tank. I worked hard at breeding them back in the day, when that was a bit of an achievement, and even for breeding tanks 75F was as high as they needed.
We didn't have cardinals here at the local fish stores. We only have neons. They were doing fine in the tank, I got rid of them because they were going to become an expensive snack with the fish I have (my catfish had already eaten one or two of em).Discus are just too impressive to share the limelight with another big species, IMHO. If you insist, the only similar-sized fish I would put in might be Uaru. They are a perfect match for the temperament and condition requirements...and a very underrated and impressive fish, at least to my eye. I kept and bred them for many years, back when they often called them Poor Man's Discus; I've never even tried true Discus.
But again, your Discus are the showstoppers and I think you are better putting something smaller in with them. I think that many of the dwarf cichlids would be perfect; either Rams or one of the Apistogrammas. Same water, same temperatures, and able to live and probably even breed in a 55 without causing aggression issues.
Incidentally...why on earth didn't you go with Cardinals instead of Neons? Cardinals are much better suited to warm water than their smaller cousins. Neons always did their best for me at around ten F degrees cooler than your tank. I worked hard at breeding them back in the day, when that was a bit of an achievement, and even for breeding tanks 75F was as high as they needed.