# Bottom-dweller tankmates for Discus



## Perryboat (Jul 11, 2012)

Looking to get some suggestions for a suitable bottom-dwelling discus tankmate. I have six discus in a 125gal with 17 rummynose tetras. Tank is planted with amazon swords and anubias with pool filter sand substrate. I wanted to have a few fish that will roam the bottom part of the tank. I also prefer a specie that will not dig into the substrate.  Thanks in advance.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Anyone of the Corydoras species will do nicely - get a group of at least 6 or more - all of the same species or they may be mixed. They all seem to do well at the higher discus temps, with the possible exception of Pandas, which appear to be more delicate and don't seem to fare as well as other species of Cories.
They are all great discus tank-mates and they don't dig into the substrate.


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## Izzy- (Jun 11, 2014)

discuspaul said:


> Anyone of the Corydoras species will do nicely - get a group of at least 6 or more - all of the same species or they may be mixed. They all seem to do well at the higher discus temps, with the possible exception of Pandas, which appear to be more delicate and don't seem to fare as well as other species of Cories.
> They are all great discus tank-mates and they don't dig into the substrate.


I second this.


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## Perryboat (Jul 11, 2012)

Thanks! going to LFS today to pick up some Cories.


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## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

Discuss require much too warm water than what corries thrive in. Bad idea imo.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Most Cories are cooler water fish, though a few will go as high as the upper 70s. 

C. sterbai, and Brochis splendens are about the warmest water Cories or related fish. 
http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=316


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

As warm as discus like their water you could do a harem of M. ramirezi. You have a large tank so you could potentially have multiple harems. So maybe TWO-THREE males and about twice as many females. These will soft through the very top of the substrate more than down into it like cories. Also, if you bumped up your rummy nose group that would be cool. Maybe up to 30?


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

If I recall discuss like temps in the 80sF, cory DO NOT. Corys prefers mid 70sF, going above that can shorten their life spam. The exception to this is Starbi cory which can tolerate the warmer waters discuss prefer without harming them.
the downside to cory is if you have a breeding pair in the tank.. cory don't get the concept of "keep out" of the egg laying area which can mean stress on cory and discuss an they chase them out of the territory they staked fairly often.


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## Tazalanche (Apr 8, 2013)

I am also in the group above that do not recommend just "any" type of corydoras for a tank at discus temps.

When we kept discus, the "best high temp cory option" posted on discus forums were the sterbai corydoras, but we initially didn't listen & tried whatever corydoras were available at our LFS. After losing emeralds, albinos, julii to heat issues in an 84 degree juvenile discus tank, we swapped to sterbai corydoras in each of our discus tanks & stopped having cory deaths. We had a dozen sterbai corydoras, 2 longfin ancistrus & a school of lemon tetras in our 82 degree 135 gallon discus tank & they did great during the 2-3 years we kept discus. Now those sterbai are in a 55g guppy tank at 78 degrees.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Corydoras are native to generally warmer waters of south American streams and rivers (just like discus) and thrive in temps up to 82 F - a good number live in & tolerate well, temps up to 86 F .
I've successfully kept several types of Cories with discus for years (@ 82-83 F) e.g. brass cories, emerald cories, salt & pepper, sterbais, julii, and even Pandas.

I suspect some of you naysayers don't have the experience of keeping Cories at higher temps.


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

I have kept my orange laser cories in my 180 @ 82+ for years now!
Goes to 84+ in summer(or today maybe as ac is not on yet!)
I think most here have offered good info ,but wouldn't argue with Paul about discus or what can be kept with them?:iamwithst
HOWEVER I do really like the GBR idea by HDB!(you got chocolate in my peanut butter!)roud:


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

Coralbandit said:


> I have kept my orange laser cories in my 180 @ 82+ for years now!
> Goes to 84+ in summer(or today maybe as ac is not on yet!)
> I think most here have offered good info ,but wouldn't argue with Paul about discus or what can be kept with them?:iamwithst
> HOWEVER I do really like the GBR idea by HDB!(you got chocolate in my peanut butter!)roud:


I know the general consensus on Corys, but I also would not contradict Discus Paul's experience. He clearly knows what he is talking about on a variety of topics especially anything even remotely Discus related. I have Pandas in my 75 gallon at 80* and other than a few that brought something home from the pet store they have been extraordinarily healthy and active. They certainly don't seem to be unhappy with the temps. 
I also like the GBR idea. I would like to raise my tank to 82* for them, but with the Angel and Congo Tetras I feel that 80* is a reasonable compromise. 
I'm sure Discus Paul can weight in on this, but what about Zebra loaches? They are smaller and Not aggressive and like water up to low 80's?? I really want some of these guys. I'm wanting to trade my Pandas in for them.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-striata

Zebra Loaches ought to work, if there is enough water movement to keep it well aerated. They are nowhere near as demanding as the hillstream type of loach, but good oxygen levels are important.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

I've not kept zebra loaches with discus, but based on their known characteristics and natural habitat params, I'd gauge that they would be reasonably compatible discus tank-mates.
If you do decide to keep them with discus, I'd suggest keeping a watch out for 2 things: 

1. They can grow to over 3" in size, and may not turn out to be a good tank-mate for some smaller Cories, should you want to keep both of those species with discus; and

2. Like some other types of sucker-mouthed species ( e.g. some Plecos, SAE's, & Otos),
as they get larger, older/fatter, and lazier, there is a potential that some could take a liking to discus' slime coats as part of their diet.
So keep an eye on them.


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## RugburnTanks (Mar 31, 2015)

Possibly a Siamese algae eater?


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

RugburnTanks said:


> Possibly a Siamese algae eater?


 Yes, that's what I meant when I mentioned "SAE's "in my comments above yours - if that's also what you were referring to.


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## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

No offence to Paul, however everywhere I read, indicates (and based on experience) that corys don't do well above 26oC. They may survive, but it isn't ideal in my opinion. Essentially, there is a general concencus throughout the practical literature that corys shouldn't be kept above 26oC for extended periods. I would balance that with Paul's experience if it were me.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Okedokey said:


> No offence to Paul, however everywhere I read, indicates (and based on experience) that corys don't do well above 26oC. They may survive, but it isn't ideal in my opinion. Essentially, there is a general concencus throughout the practical literature that corys shouldn't be kept above 26oC for extended periods. I would balance that with Paul's experience if it were me.


 No offence taken.
All I go by is around 4 years ' experience of keeping
3 different types of Cories with discus @ 82-83F, with no apparent ill effects that I could spot. After that time I gave the Cories to my daughter to keep in her discus tank, but I don't know how long she had them. 
Generally when I make statements about stuff like this, they're based on my experience with that particular situation.
I'm not saying that temps above 80 F don't have the effect of shortening Cories' lifespans - it's quite possible it does.

But this general concensus you speak of - does it have any basis in real fact and lengthy experience by qualified aquarists ?
Is there any concrete evidence that it is harmful to keep cories above 26 C for extended periods ? 
I haven't seen/read any - sounds like a lot of opinion giving to me.
That's my take. I'll continue to go with what I'm comfortable with, and not be shy about saying so.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Oh, and btw, speaking of concensuses, and at the risk of over-stating the case, if you asked the experienced discus-keeping members of the simplydiscus.com forum about whether or not Cories are fully acceptable, compatible discus tank-mates which can handle temps over 80 F for extended periods of time, I know you'd get literally dozens of confirmations that Cories have successfully been kept by them in their discus tanks for periods of years. That's a pretty strong concensus grouping in my view.


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## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

> water, temperature *20-26*C/70-79F. Wild-caught fish require temperatures at the lower end of this range; *tank-raised fish do not last long above the upper end*.


 Schliewen, U.K., 1992. Aquarium fish. Barron's Education Series, Incorporated. 159 p.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

discuspaul said:


> Corydoras are native to generally warmer waters of south American streams and rivers (just like discus) and thrive in temps up to 82 F - a good number live in & tolerate well, temps up to 86 F .
> I've successfully kept several types of Cories with discus for years (@ 82-83 F) e.g. brass cories, emerald cories, salt & pepper, sterbais, julii, and even Pandas.
> 
> I suspect some of you naysayers don't have the experience of keeping Cories at higher temps.


 In stream's and river's,cory's can move to deeper cooler water or simply travel upstream or down to find cooler water.(not so in the aquarium).
I have kept quite a few of the corydora species over the year's also, and with few exception's ,,they do better, longer, at cooler temps.
I once posed a observation at a forum dedicated to Discus that for all their dedication to Discus (food's,water chemistry,temps) ,,why they subjected fishes that inherently perform better at cooler temps (some species much cooler),to the warm water Discus enjoy?
These folk's strangely fell silent.
I can raise a child in a closet,an eagle in a bird cage, I can also wear shoes that are too small for my feet but what exactly does this prove.?
When you research fishes such as cory's or manage to speak to folks who breed them, most will tell you that the Sterbai is the most heat tolerant not to say they don't appreciate cooler temps as well .(just more tolerant)
Course anybody can do what they wish with their tank's,(fish collector's I call em), but just start mentioning that maybe they might perform better at this temp or that temp,and out from the wood work pop's all of those who claim otherwise.
It's all just opinion after that.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Yes, I agree - It's all just opinion - on both sides - pro & con.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

discuspaul said:


> Yes, I agree - It's all just opinion - on both sides - pro & con.


Depends on who you speak with ,or whose info you trust.
Opinion's can get confusing or did for me. So I chose to check out folks like.. 
Neil Monk's,Bob Fenner over at wet webmedia.com.folks at planetcatfish.com, and special thanks goes to gentleman who went by user name Coryologist ,who specialized in the caring and breeding of corydoradine catfish and bred, or was breeding, 74 species over ten year's and maintained 65 species in 115 tanks with approx. 54 yrs in the hobby.
The info gleaned from speaking with these folks carried more weight for me than the myriad of opinion's on forums ,mine included.
They had far more experience.


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

roadmaster said:


> Depends on who you speak with ,or whose info you trust.
> So I chose to check out folks like..
> Neil Monk's,Bob Fenner over at wet webmedia.com.folks at planetcatfish.com....


+1^^^ I've been "successfully" keeping fish for just less than 10 years(I lay no claim to expertise on the hobby) - Neil and Bob's advice have yet to lead me astray. I hold their opinions and information in highest regard. It may be blind faith on my part but I go to these two sites for everything fish related. If I'm not relating information directly from personal experience it's going to be information gleaned from these two sites(as well as the myriad of other sources I've read and picked through).


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## Snowflake311 (Apr 20, 2011)

RugburnTanks said:


> Possibly a Siamese algae eater?


Not a great match! These Fish will grow large and get a taste for meat when older. They could suck on the discus Bad Idea. I had an Oto sucking on my Discus slime coat. It can happen. 

As for Cory Cats it can be done Domestic Cory cats are not picky about water Temp. The most important thing for them is Clean Substrate. I find when Cory cats are kept at higher heat they are more prone to whisker problems. I kept Bronze Cory cats with discus in high temp for years. They were fine. Yet did not Thrive the way they did in a much cooler tank. I even got them to spawn for me when temps were 70F. THERE ARE SO MANY Different kinds of cory cats like 1,000 or more different kinds. The best for a discus tank are the Corydoras sterbai. They are not cheap but do well in warmer tanks.

I think Apistogramma would be good one male 2 females. That would be nice They stay near the bottom all the time. They like a darker tank with lots of places to hide.


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