Discus Tank Mates
Discus Tank Mates make up an essential part of your discus fish aquarium. Discus fish are naturally not meant to exist alone. Discus fish are the type of fish that are slow moving schooling fish. This therefore means that you should always look for mates for your discus fish in your aquarium. When looking for discus fish tank mates you want to make sure that you select fish that are essentially like the discus fish in terms of behavior, that is, slow moving and ensure they will not compete with the discus for food.
Types of Discus Tank Mates:
i) Tetras
The most common discus tank mates you see in a discus aquarium are tetras. There are several types of tetras which include; neon tetras, cardinal tetras, blood eye tetras, and penguin tetras. Tetras happen to be slow moving schooling fish as well so that makes them tank mates for discus fish.
ii) Cory cats
Another set of common discus fish tank mates are cory cats. There are many different colors of cory cats to choose from, hence most people find them interesting to keep. Cory cats prefer to stay at the bottom of the tank looking for uneaten food. Apart from that, cory cats and discus fish get along very well which makes them a great addition to any discus aquarium.
iii) Angelfish
Other discus fish keepers are also known to keep angelfish with their discus fish. This should however be done with extreme caution. This is due to the fact that both discus fish and angel fish are very territorial especially during spawning. During the spawning process, angelfish and discus fish become very aggressive in an effort to protect their spawning site. They can get so overprotective to high levels such that they will start fighting with and chasing after other fish in the tank. This means therefore that you must keep a close eye when keeping angelfish and discus together. As long as neither of the fish are spawning however, they can get along pretty well in the same aquarium.
iv) Plecos
Plecos are also a common fish found in discus aquariums. They go around eating algae and uneaten food and debris from the aquarium. They do a great job in helping you to keep your discus fish tank clean. However this does not mean that they are not a substitute for water changes. You also need to keep a close eye on plecos when they grow larger as they suck up to glass and objects in the aquarium. At times they may even have the tendency to suck up to the side of your discus fish due to the shape of the discus fish body. This means therefore that you need to keep a close eye on plecos as they mature.
v) Stingrays
Other very experienced discus fish keepers keep stingrays in their discus fish aquariums. Stingrays stay at the bottom of the aquarium and do not interfere with the discus fish. However, the diet of a stingray is completely different from the diet of a discus fish. Therefore if you have sting rays in your tank you must cater to both the eating habits of the sting ray and the discus fish. Many people do not like keeping sting rays in their discus aquariums due to the fact that sting rays grow quickly and require fairly large aquariums.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you should choose carefully the type of discus fish tank mates that best serves your aquarium needs without you going out of your norms in maintaining them. This will depend on your preferences most of the times.
