Uaru and angelfish in 75 gallon? Other ideas?

[altums85]

U can mix Angel's and discus. I used to keep my altums with discus. In fact I'm about to add discus with my altum Angel's soon if I dont sell the Angel's. If u like groups, I would recommend rummynose tetras for your angels. They're hands down the best schooling small tetras out there in my opinion. They make the tank really aesthetic when they swim in groups. Maybe roseline sharks with Angel's? U can also get apistogrammas.

Also discus are not as hard as people make them to be. U don't need to put them in high temps. I keep my temp at 80 for my discus and altums. The most important thing is to buy from a good source that has healthy discus. I would personally pick a focal show fish. Say a group of discus. And add a small group of tetras like rummynose. Then for the bottom get a school of corydoras. And for aesthetic I would stick to 1 species and or same kind. For example. All same strain discus. All same group of tetras like rummynose then all the same cories.

 

[neutrino]

I'm with altums85. I didn't find discus difficult. That said, I was careful what I fed them (no beef heart), strict about water quality, and had hardy strains (and occasional wilds). This was before some of the current designer strains, though I did have early pigeon bloods. Sometimes I wonder how robust some current strains are-- or maybe it's how people are feeding them-- that some people think they have to medicate and deworm constantly or think discus health is so frail and temperamental.

Mine were robust fish, excepting the occasional rough looking wild I would rescue and have to nurse to health, and I kept them with a variety of tankmates, including angels, Mesonauta, small acara types, rams, apistos, various catfish, various tetras (including chalceus), arowana and the occasional oddball.

--My experience, and I kept quite a few. As I say, though, these weren't some of the current eruption this and sunburst that designer strains.

 

[neutrino]

...I will say, of the various discus tanks I did, my favorites were one strain tanks, as mentioned above. (both with and without tankmates) Single strain groups I did included (early) pigeon bloods and a turquoise strain-- which may not sound exciting, but these turquoise were a beautiful, robust, and not far from wild strain that made a natural looking and beautiful tank.

 

[Pudmuppy]

Hello everyone, thanks for your great advice!
I actually got pretty set on getting Discus there, and was sure that was going to be the plan until I got a new API test kit and rechecked the water... turns out I have really rubbish water. My previous kit wasn't showing any issues. Not only do I have a ph drop from 8 to 6.4 overnight, I am seeing ammonia, nitrite (?) and nitrates. Some on another forum are wondering if my kit is dodgy, so I have ordered another brand to see. In the meantime, I am reconsidering my options. Fortunately, I love many different fish so although it would be very disappointing, it would not be the end of the world.

I will also add that I am going to be aging ALL my tank water from now on and probably getting an RO unit too, just not one big enough to handle the amount of water changes that Discus need...

So, if you had a shiny new 75 gallon tank which of the following would you be most excited to keep as your main display species?

Guianacara sp.
Geophagus sp. (smaller type, probably red head)
Gymnogeophagus
Festivum
Keyhole
Fancy goldfish. Yes, a total step away from the above, but I love these guys and already keep a couple and I think a group of five or six would look amazing.......

Or if anyone has any suggestions again, I am listening! I really like what people have already recommended, but some my LFS can't find. I still really like Uaru

 

[neutrino]

Red head geos are nice, especially if you haven't kept them yet, active, nice color, peaceful. Guianacara are interesting fish-- shape, behavior, etc., but not as colorful, with a few collection point exceptions that are pretty rare in the US from what I've seen. Also, not sure what's happening with your water, but ime Guianacara don't tolerate higher pH very well.

 

[Pudmuppy]

Thanks Neutrino, good information. I do like the red heads and really do like the Guianacara - color isn't as big a deal, I am more looking for interesting behavior in a group situation, and aren't going to beat each other up constantly. I am also eyeing up Gymnogeophagus balzanii as they are just so interesting looking!

My PH drops significantly to 6.4 in 12 hours, however it then sits very stable. Whatever I get, I am going to be aging the water as 8.4 to 6.4 is insane. I have added some coral to my goldfish tank as this is too low, and will probably do the same to any other tank just to bump it up a little.

I am still very torn as to what I want to keep. Gymno/geophagus are very interesting, and would look lovely in my setup with my angels etc, otherwise perhaps dwarf cichlids or rams, kribs etc. I keep coming back to Discus... maybe if I got Discus for a good half year, then added a smaller quieter species of Gymnogeophagus, that would fulfill what I am looking for. Too many fish, not enough tanks!

 

[Rocksor]

Thanks Neutrino, good information. I do like the red heads and really do like the Guianacara - color isn't as big a deal, I am more looking for interesting behavior in a group situation, and aren't going to beat each other up constantly. I am also eyeing up Gymnogeophagus balzanii as they are just so interesting looking!

My PH drops significantly to 6.4 in 12 hours, however it then sits very stable. Whatever I get, I am going to be aging the water as 8.4 to 6.4 is insane. I have added some coral to my goldfish tank as this is too low, and will probably do the same to any other tank just to bump it up a little.

I am still very torn as to what I want to keep. Gymno/geophagus are very interesting, and would look lovely in my setup with my angels etc, otherwise perhaps dwarf cichlids or rams, kribs etc. I keep coming back to Discus... maybe if I got Discus for a good half year, then added a smaller quieter species of Gymnogeophagus, that would fulfill what I am looking for. Too many fish, not enough tanks!

Gymnogeophagus like balzani require a 2-3 month period of 55f-60f temperature for winter, otherwise, they burn out and die prematurely around 3 years. So they are not really a good species to pair with angels.

 

[Pudmuppy]

Thanks Rocksor - I did read that, and if I went with the gymnogeo, I would pull them out and set them up in a temp "pond" in my garage which sits in the mid 50 to mid 60s between December to Feb/March. This pond was to be set up for wintering koi, but that isn''t happening now so it would be easy enough to switch it over to hold these guys

 

[adamsfishes]

I kept discus for a long time, just wanted to point out one thing that some people don't realize. While peaceful toward other species, their conspecific aggression can be very bad. It's best to spread it out among a lot of fish. If numbers are too small, the dominant male will beat down the weakest fish, and this process will likely continue until you're left with a pair. I think a 75 gallon is bare minimum for discus, but you could do it with big water changes. I'd go with a proven pair (better option) or 10 discus in a 75.

 

[adamsfishes]

Also wanted to say that I love discus and highly recommend them. I hope to keep them again one day, a large group of wild types in a big setup. But for now I want to try other fish.