# i got a fluval roma 200 tank for xmas



## matt1993 (Jul 7, 2009)

hi all i got a fluval roma 200 tank for xmas and im getting a fluval 305 external filter to go with it.
now i realy want a comunity tank but i've fell in love with discus so what i want to know is can i keep 4-5 discus in this tank ifso what other fish can i keep with them bare in mind ive already got a common plec in there 

matt


----------



## hedgehog738 (Oct 6, 2009)

i think tetras will be fine.


----------



## matt1993 (Jul 7, 2009)

second thourghts i think i might leave the discus and get fresh water angelfish instead (easyer to look after):lol2:


----------



## matt1993 (Jul 7, 2009)

right now this is wat ive decided on 

common pleco x1
angelfish x6
ruby sharks x4
zebra loach x4
corydoara x5
upside-down catfish x2
black neons x6
neon tetra x6
glowlight tetras x6

does this sound ok or is it to much thanks 
matt


----------



## hedgehog738 (Oct 6, 2009)

matt1993 said:


> right now this is wat ive decided on
> 
> common pleco x1
> angelfish x6
> ...


i just got a common pleco for my new fluval roma 240 today. all the fish sound good to me  but my 2 angel fish bullied all my smaller fish (and killed 2 of them) so i separated them off but in the end they caused too many problems so i got rid of them. so be careful when getting angels


----------



## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

matt1993 said:


> right now this is wat ive decided on
> 
> common pleco x1
> angelfish x6
> ...


the common plec will get too big eventually. Best to leave him out and get ancistris instead. Still a suckermouth catfish but you could have a trio of them since they only grow to 6 inches. Big plecs produce alot of waste so when bigger (which won't be very long at all) that might cause more problems.

Ruby sharks don't usually work in a small group. Very territorial towards each other so best with just the one.

The upside downs cats will eat tetras when fully grown, so maybe leave them out as well.



With the discus. If thats what you like, then go for it. Decent tank bred fish are no harder to keep than angels anyway. It's only really wild caught discus and new generations that are hard. That's mostly because wild discus need very soft and slightly acidic water. Basically you need to remove most of the pH buffer and reduce the pH. So what you're doing is creating a body of water that is balanced right on the edge. The slightest mistake can cash a pH crash or rapid increase which will kill the fish.

Best bet is get some tank bred fish from a well established line. Most of these fish can be kept in tapwater if you get them from the right breeder. The only difference is an increase temperature. That's where you've got to be careful on the other fish. You need to look at fish from a similar area, so no asian fish (which takes out the shark, loach and upside downs), most people tend to have tetras and corys with their discus. Most common are cardinal tetra, because they are a nice looking fish that naturally live near discus anyway.

Most discus stay small enough not to be a threat to tetras but you do get some that grow a bit bigger and can take the odd tetra. Normally its not an issue but it's something to consider.


But yeah if it's discus you like don't bother with angels, they aren't a fair substitute for discus. Plus the vast majority are so inbred that they aren't all that easier than discus anyway


----------



## matt1993 (Jul 7, 2009)

would this be better then
discus x4-5
ruby sharks x1
zebra loach x4
corydoara x5
black neons x6
neon tetra x6
glowlight tetras x6


----------



## matt1993 (Jul 7, 2009)

or are Malawian Cichlids easyer to look after


----------



## hedgehog738 (Oct 6, 2009)

what im doing with my new tank is getting the three fish i really wanted and when i see others i like ill just get them instead of getting them all at once.
but thats just me, the last list you put sounds nice


----------



## matt1993 (Jul 7, 2009)

is it ok to use gravle with Malawian Cichlids?


----------



## hedgehog738 (Oct 6, 2009)

matt1993 said:


> is it ok to use gravle with Malawian Cichlids?


i have only ever seen them with sand at my LFS but not sure, i just got black sand, it looks great!


----------



## MidnightStud (Dec 5, 2009)

> discus x4-5
> ruby sharks x1
> zebra loach x4
> corydoara x5
> ...


This sounds nice - quite similar to my tank! I dont have a shark as I find them too territorial, and I do have one angel who shoals very well with my discus.

Black neons are brilliant, I love these guys and think they are very underrated. The 6 in my tank are now a year old and still going strong.

If you want a plec then why not try an L.no plec? More expensive but better colours and can stay small. I have a peckolita in a different tank who is fully grown at 3inches!

Malawis are lovely too, but they are not for me personally. I have a friend who breeds discus and her husband breeds malawis!!! 

Good luck with whatever you pick and I cant wait to see the pictures of it all set up.


----------



## Animalmadness (Dec 8, 2009)

hi, i'd be careful with a ruby shark i had one and it bullied all my tetras so i had to get rid of it.


----------



## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

matt1993 said:


> would this be better then
> discus x4-5
> ruby sharks x1
> zebra loach x4
> ...



Not really. You still got a problem with the shark and loach. They are a south east asian fish and like it a little cooler than most trops at around 24 degrees. Most tanks are around 26, which doesn't sound a lot but it makes a huge difference. Discus tanks need to be around 30-32 degrees.

Black neons and glowlights don't like the temp that high really. Can be prone to disease that high. Plus glowlights lose colour very quickly once they hit about 18 months old. Rummy nose look nice in a well planted discus tank, as do cardinals, bleeding hearts, black phantoms. You need to look at amazonian fish. With a discus tank it's best to stick with a biotope in regards to fish. Plants you can mix around, but the fish need to be black water fish just so you can get the best out of the dicus.



MidnightStud said:


> This sounds nice - quite similar to my tank! I dont have a shark as I find them too territorial, and I do have one angel who shoals very well with my discus.
> 
> Black neons are brilliant, I love these guys and think they are very underrated. The 6 in my tank are now a year old and still going strong.
> 
> ...



It depends on the L number. Some will do very well in a discus tank. Others need quite hard water, some need it slightly cooler. So you need to do your research. Also because discus need quite a lot of shelter you have to choose a plec that's not too disruptive. Also because discus tanks tend to be densely planted (they look best around plants) you also have to rule out the plecs that cause a lot of damage to plants. I always had bristlenoses in my discus tank and they were wild heckel discus. But it's up to you. Tank bred discus are a lot more forgiving so you can get away with a lot more.

The other consideration is that discus, even tank bred ones, are very shy fish. So the other fish need to be quite calm as well. Nothing that's gonna be zipping around the tank all the time.



Personally I'd go with discus, much nicer once you've got it established. Malawi tanks always look pretty unimaginative to me. Generally look pretty similar. Lots of rockwork and either coral sand or gravel. The fish always looks like a jumble sale of the most colours you can cram in. I think they look much better when you use dark rocks and sand. Then have maybe 3/4 types of fish in there. I used to have 12 caeruleus yellow, 12 demasonii and 12 caeruleus white. Looked very simple but very nice.


----------



## matt1993 (Jul 7, 2009)

well ive read up some more on the discus and they dont sound that hard to look after just abit more exspencive, but you get what you pay for with looks imo so what would be better tank mates to go with the discus the thanks
matt


----------



## jamesh (Jul 3, 2009)

matt1993 said:


> well ive read up some more on the discus and they dont sound that hard to look after just abit more exspencive, but you get what you pay for with looks imo so what would be better tank mates to go with the discus the thanks
> matt


as mike151 has advised really, so cardinal tetra, rummy nose tetra, phantom tetras, corys, that sort of thing, you dont really look at them anyway, they are just back ground fish.

a few L numbers will live in the 30's, golden nuggets will.
only thing to watch for with L numbers is they can try to feed of the discus mucus so if they start doing that remove them instantly as the discus really wont tolerate it.


----------



## matt1993 (Jul 7, 2009)

ok thanks


----------



## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

basically most south american fish will (that's SOUTH american, so brazil downwards, not central american which is mexico-brazil). But then they also need to be able to tolerate a high temperature, and slightly acidic, soft water.

But yeah that covers loads of tetras, most corys and a fair few plecs.


Best bet is have a look on the net for blackwater fish. It's the sort of area that discus come from.


----------

