Can I get a discus?!

[Krisstenn]

I have mostly kept tetras and livebearers (mollies, tetras, platies) in a 6 and 10 gallon tank for a few years now and have recently replaced my 10 gallon with a 29 gallon tank.

In the 29 gallon, I currently have 1 male dwarf molly, 2 female mollies, 1 male variatus (platy), 1 loach (or some kind of algae eater), and 1 african dwarf frog. pH is kept at 7

With the bigger tank, I was hoping to find slightly larger tank mates for my current fish. After doing some research, I have my heart set on a discus but after hours of internet research on compatibility I have yet to be satisfied.

Will a discus do well in my tank? I'm only looking to buy 1 as I think 4 or so would make my tank too crowded and I'm not interested in breeding.

For a larger fish, I was originally looking at an angel, but after seeing the discus, I just had to have one. Is there any way that I could have 1 of each (as in 1 discus and 1 angel)?

I've searched online but always get conflicting information. Please, any information would be much appreciated!

 

[MOsborne05]

A 29 gallon is way too small for even one discus, and discus like to be kept in groups so definitely no. Discus get way too big when they are full-grown. I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than a 55 gallon for a trio of discus.

Angels will get too big for a 29 gallon also. What about gouramis?

 

[Krisstenn]

Thanks! Yeah, I figured I wouldn't be able to do it. I'd really like a discus and angel but as long as I have fish that are larger than my mollies I think I'll be happy. Gouramis are something that I had thought about but haven't really considered b/c I was looking into a discus. Now I'll look into them.

Can anyone suggest any other fish that would be nice additions to my tank?

 

[DesignsOnYou]

Sometimes bettas (also known as Siamese fighting fish) can be kept in community tanks, but only if you have no more than 1 male. Sometimes females get along with each other, sometimes they don't. Same with the males, sometimes they get along with the other fish, sometimes they don't. So, if you're going to try it, you should have a plan B ready in case anyone nips fins or gets stressed out.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

A 29 gallon is way too small for even one discus, and discus like to be kept in groups so definitely no. Discus get way too big when they are full-grown. I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than a 55 gallon for a trio of discus.

Angels will get too big for a 29 gallon also. What about gouramis?

Errr?

1 adult per 10gal of water. 20gal minimum for a breeding pair.

However on that note, no i wouldn't recommend getting a discus. They do prefer company of other discus. Its just really not a good setup for a discus, discus like really high water temps, and this could cause problems with your other fish.

 

[Krisstenn]

Does that mean that angels are okay for my tank? I read that they shouldn't be kept in groups of 2 or 3. That it should be just 1 or 4 or more. I would only get 1.

So forget the discus and add an angel and a couple gouramis to my tank?

 

[roark fishies]

I would say maybe 1 angel and 1 gourami. Most gourami's don't get along with each other. They prefer to fly solo.
Also, an angel will get pretty big and may eventually outgrow the tank. So be prepared for that.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Eh i think it depends on the genes. I have a lone angel in a 29gal tank now, been in there for years. Fully grown adult male and he doesn't even come close to outgrowing the tank.

 

[Krisstenn]

So even if I got all female gouramis, they still wouldn't get along?

And to the other person, I'm not interested in bettas. Thanks though!

 

[Surprise_Clown_Loach]

Mine is the begger of the tank!

I've got ALOT of fish in my tank. (this is how I received it) but was told by the PO (and the water test seem to agree, so far) fish are healthy and happy.

 

[DesignsOnYou]

No problem, just the only other thing I could come up with. I've kept a single angel in a 10 gallon and then upgraded to a 55 gallon and not had any problems. I think it does probably just depend on the fish. I would think that you would be ok with 1 angel in the 29 gallon, just be prepared to do something else if he/she gets huge. I'm looking at getting a dwarf gourami for the first time, so I'm interested in this too.

 

[Krisstenn]

Thanks for all the help! Now my only question is, should I get a male or female angel? Which ones are less aggressive? And which ones will do better w/o other angels?

 

[skratikans]

Its hard to tell when they are young

 

[roark fishies]

My answer on angels outgrowing a 29 is based strictly on what I've heard others say. I've actually never owned an angel so take what I said with a grain of salt.
BTW, I've never seen a female gourami for sale. Let us know if you find some!

 

[brian1973]

if you want a female gourami you are probably going to have to order it online...if you have searched other posts here or researched gouramis you will find that males are the most coloful so they are what is sold in most LFS. You will probably have found websites say "keep gouramis in pairs" what they dont tell you is that they mean a m/f pair. I learned this the hard way and so have many others here.

 

[Fishmonger70]

I have 4 angels in my 46 gal tank. I've had one for almost 2 years and the other 3 for a little over a year. They are still nice sized and get along with each other very well.

 

[Krisstenn]

Hey everyone, just thought I'd let you guys know what I decided to do.

I ended up buying an angelfish...from the fourth pet store I went to. The first three were out of stock when I went. And I shouldn't have bought from the fourth store either b/c the fish looked like they were dying. But I went against my better judgment and he/she died 3 days later I'm taking my bad luck as a sign and staying away from angels for now.

Just before the angel died, I spotted male dwarf gouramis at the pet store I usually buy from and brought home two. This was before reading what you guys said about putting male gouramis together. So far, the two don't seem to bully each other. They get along pretty well. But if I see any rude behavior I'll have to move one into another tank.

 

[Fuzz16]

angels are inbred pretty bad anymore so their survival rate is iffy
specially if the other fish in the store looked sick too

dwarf gouramis seem to do much better than the larger ones when two males are put together. they should be fine IMHO

 

[Pure]

Don't through in the towel on angels just yet. You just need to be more selective over the fish you purchase. Like fuzz said they can be seriously inbred causing a weak fish. A general rule with any fish but even more so for angels is if it doesn't look good in the shop it will most likely parish once you get it home. Normally when they are that bad looking the stress alone from moving them to a new tank can do them in. Hell I've lost healthy angels just by moving them to another tank in my fish room.

 

[Surprise_Clown_Loach]

Pictures!!