AboutRon Coleman Expertise I am an expert on cichlid fishes, particularly New World cichlids. My broader expertise includes the behavior, ecology and reproduction of fishes in general. (I am NOT an expert on Goldfish. Please do not ask me questions about why your goldfish are sick -- they are almost always sick due to the way that they are sold). Also, please do not use abbreviations, such as "my GT has a swollen
eye" because I don't know what a "GT" is. The more clearly you can explain your question, the better chance I have of understanding what it is that you seek. Thanks.
Experience I teach at the California State University, Sacramento in the Department of Biological Sciences, and I run a website, called the Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>. I also write for many popular aquarist magazines, and I am editor of Cichlid News magazine. I am a scientist and I spend my time teaching fish biology, ecology, behavior and evolution and doing research on the reproductive biology of fishes, particularly cichlids. I do research in the laboratory and in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico. My main interest is understanding the evolution of parental care in fishes. I am interested in encouraging greater public awareness, understanding and participation in science.<BR><BR><B>Organizations belong to</b><BR>American Cichlid Association, Pacific Coast Cichlid Association, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, etc<BR><BR><B>Publications</b><BR>Cichlid News, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, Science, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, Copeia, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, AUK, Environmental Biology of Fishes<BR><BR><B>Education/Credentials</b><BR>PhD (Toronto, 1993) MSc (Simon Fraser, 1986) BSc (British Columbia, 1983)<BR>
Expert: Ron Coleman Date: 3/22/2008 Subject: discus fish
Question heya, i have a tank set up, i recently lost nearly all my fish to a heating disaster that left me with only 4 guppies, and a bristle nose cat fish. the guppies have moved into my brothers tank, and i did a 100% water change, and changed all the filter media (except the blue sponges housing the good bacteria)and returned the bristle nose to the tank. i have a 96 litre aquarium - 25 US gallons, mechanical, biological, and chemical filtration, heating, lighting and aeration. it is heavily planted and has two large pieces of bog wood in it. how long will the filter and everything take to stabalise and return to a normal state for me to start re-introducing new fish) ive decided to move from many small fish, to a few big fish. with the bristle nose, i wish to put in 2 discus fish, a blue one (not sure what variation) and a pigeon blood. i have been told these will be fine in my size tank, with the bristle nose, and a small group of tetras. would you agree? or advise against the tetras or bristle nose? water tests are telling me the water parameters are all fine, and the bristle nose is showing no signs of stress - eating fine, fins in tact, swimming about etc. im away next week, but when i get back, i was thinking add 8 rummy nose or cardinal tetras? and then the discus maybe 2 weeks later. any thoughts? my only experience is 2 goldfish ( black moor, oranda) a siamese fighter fish, and a community aquarium of tetras, barbs, gouramis etc. i have never kept anything larger then 3 inches, i have researched water chemistry, heating, aquarium needs etc, feeding, breeding.. i cant see anything wrong with my thoughts, other then overstocking? everyone has a different opinion on how big a tank discus need. the aquarium shops say its fine, internet sites say it is, others say its not. but yeh, any thoughts? cheers for any help!
Answer Hi Josh,
That actually sounds fine to me for TWO discus, but don't try to put more discus in there. The tetras should be okay, but you might want something a little larger than a cardinal tetra -- I suspect the discus might kill cardinals.
-- Ron
rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>
