# Are danios too aggressive for Discus?



## ezeke1 (May 1, 2007)

I currently have three danios (zebra striped, red glowfish, and a long fin) that eat like
pigs and beat up on each other all day. I'd like to add a school of discus to my 65gal soon
but I'm concerned that the new guys will be outcompeted for food.

Should I get rid of the danios?


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## DLOBREAKS (Nov 10, 2006)

I don't have any experience with discus (yet) but i wouldn't keep the danios with them. All the danios i've had were kinda bullies but that's just my 2 cents.  

D


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## gibmaker (Jan 3, 2007)

Yes, they are way to hyper.


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## ezeke1 (May 1, 2007)

You guys are right, the danios have got to go before I introduce Discus into my tank.

So does anyone want them? hehe.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Another reason, for not keeping them together would be the water flow and the water temp.

Danio's are river fish, are they not? And like fast moving, cooler water where Discus like HOT still water. Also, the alkaline for Danio's and acidic for Discus, of course that probably won't play a factor unless you are getting wild fish.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Number one requirement for discus is clean water. They will do well with 8.2 pH, 10KH, and 78F water. I've never had danios, but I suspect they will not bother the larger discus. If you have smaller discus, then the danios may out-compete them for food. I would give it a try. If it doesn't work out, then donate the unwanted fish to your LFS for store credit.


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## ianmoede (Jan 17, 2005)

I have some danios and i wouldnt really classify them as aggressive. Discus are significantly more aggressive than danios in my experience. People keep discus with cardinals all the time, and in my experience they are behaved very similarly.


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## Jessie (Apr 23, 2007)

I would be concerned about the hyper-activity of the danios being intimidating to shy discus.


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## ezeke1 (May 1, 2007)

furballi said:


> Number one requirement for discus is clean water. They will do well with 8.2 pH, 10KH, and 78F water. I've never had danios, but I suspect they will not bother the larger discus. If you have smaller discus, then the danios may out-compete them for food. I would give it a try. If it doesn't work out, then donate the unwanted fish to your LFS for store credit.


8.2ph seems rather high to me. My understanding is the can adapt to systems with ph ranging from 6.5-8. My current tank param is at 6.90ph on avg and my temp is sitting at 84.

I have some whitecloud tetras in the tank and most of them get outcompeted for food against the danios. Having the danios keeps the tank activity high b/c they're constantly swimming everywhere, but I read that discus are more passive eaters so my concern is that the danios will gobble up the food too quickly.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

It's hard to predict what will happen. Per my previous post, a fully grown discus can be very intimidating to other fish. Discus will eat out of your hand. My cards usually circle around the discus, feeding on scrap food particles.

The local tap water can hit 8.4. Again, not a big issue with discus. You only need to worry about pH if you want to breed discus. High water quality will eliminate 85% of the problem.


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## ezeke1 (May 1, 2007)

I just ordered 3 discus online and they'll arrive Friday. We'll know soon enough whether the
danios get evicted or not


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Give the discus at least two months to adjust to the new environment. These guys prefer moderate to dim lighting with plants for cover. They will still do well in a bare tank if you provide very clean water.

Note that discus are messy feeders (that's why you see discus pellet food). Without other small fish to clean up the scraps, the tank can quickly pollute. I would recommend that you feed the discus sparingly.


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## gibmaker (Jan 3, 2007)

goalcreas said:


> Another reason, for not keeping them together would be the water flow and the water temp.
> 
> Danio's are river fish, are they not? And like fast moving, cooler water where Discus like HOT still water. Also, the alkaline for Danio's and acidic for Discus, of course that probably won't play a factor unless you are getting wild fish.


Uhhh, discus come from the amazon river dude. they very rarely encounter 84 degree f water in the wild. the water is kept at a warmer temp to speed up the matabolism and ward off diseases in the aquarium, they are finicky fish. Oh yeah, and no danios, bad idea.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Ok, maybe I shouldn't have said LIKE HOT water, they are TYPICALLY kept in warmer water and Danio's are not.
And some will argue to keep discus in still water using spraybars or sponge filters, this is not an argument often made for Danio's
Still, the point is the same.


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## ezeke1 (May 1, 2007)

Actually I have my danios and tetras cooking in 84F water to get the plants acclimated for the discus. I'm not getting wild caught discus so they've been born and raised in 84+ degree water so at least these should be ok.


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## ezeke1 (May 1, 2007)

As promised, my danios were evicted last night to make room for my new babies (2 red melons and 1 spotted leopard). Here are some screenshots of them. Although theyre somewhat shy right now, I hope they'll get more comfortable so I can get more close up shots 

http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z232/ezeke1/?action=view&current=freshwatertank056.jpg
http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z232/ezeke1/?action=view&current=freshwatertank054.jpg
http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z232/ezeke1/?action=view&current=freshwatertank053.jpg
http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z232/ezeke1/?action=view&current=freshwatertank052.jpg
http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z232/ezeke1/?action=view&current=freshwatertank050.jpg
http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z232/ezeke1/?action=view&current=freshwatertank049.jpg


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## ezeke1 (May 1, 2007)




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## Jessie (Apr 23, 2007)

Beautiful discus! Congrats on the new beauties! Keep em clean, clean clean and they'll grow wonderfully.

That purple-ish, dark green plant in the middle. I could be mistaken, but it looks like "Purple Waffle" or "Purple crinkle" which is often sold at chain stores as a purely aquatic. It's not, they're are terrarium plants and eventually breakdown in the water. I tried one YEARS ago and had less than positive results.

Good luck!


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## ezeke1 (May 1, 2007)

Jessie said:


> Beautiful discus! Congrats on the new beauties! Keep em clean, clean clean and they'll grow wonderfully.
> 
> That purple-ish, dark green plant in the middle. I could be mistaken, but it looks like "Purple Waffle" or "Purple crinkle" which is often sold at chain stores as a purely aquatic. It's not, they're are terrarium plants and eventually breakdown in the water. I tried one YEARS ago and had less than positive results.
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks for the comments Jessie. The discus are still really shy and they hide behind the plants most of the day. I believe they're eating so that is a good thing and once they become more accustomed to the new environment I will grab more pics.

The "Purple Waffle" you describe appears to be what I have. I actually got it from Petco because it was beautiful but it wasn't labeled and the only thing it has done so far is to lose leaves lol. As soon as it deteriorates I will throw it out for sure.


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