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discus with flash pleco

Posted: 27 Jul 2010, 00:32
by mangopleco
hi do flash plecos go with discus??? i was thinking of get 1 or 2 to put in my tank.

Re: discus with flash pleco

Posted: 27 Jul 2010, 09:38
by MatsP
Yes, but perhaps not the most ideal companions. Discus, at least in nature, live in warm, soft and acidic water that is still or slow-flowing. The flash pleco comes from andean white-water streams that are relatively high pH and not quite so warm, and rather fast-moving (highly oxygenated). I do believe they will go OK together if your water isn't excessively warm and not too acidic.

--
Mats

Re: discus with flash pl*co

Posted: 29 Jul 2010, 03:29
by mangopleco
ok then il go with bushynose i heard that there good with discus

Re: discus with flash pl*co

Posted: 29 Jul 2010, 09:25
by kouen
mangopleco wrote:hi do flash plecos go with discus??? i was thinking of get 1 or 2 to put in my tank.
Hi! Don't worry too mach. 204 is very good for discuss fish, they can leave in +30C and need good aeration only A lot of people Russia keep this fishes together. The best choice is 018, 177
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My friend contains 3 187a with discuss 1 year!!!! And I will try soon too ;)

Re: discus with flash pl*co

Posted: 29 Jul 2010, 11:29
by Scleropages
I've kept L-204's for several years in an aquarium with a temp of 82-84 deg F, a pH of 6.5-7.0, and lots of water movement.

Re: discus with flash pl*co

Posted: 29 Jul 2010, 11:57
by CoryWally
In my experience, L204 munch through a lot of wood creating a lot of debris and potential for clogged filters, which I have found to my cost. Assuming you provide wood (which is advised)and your filtration is top notch and regularly maintained it should be O.K.

Cheers,
Mark.

Re: discus with flash pl*co

Posted: 29 Jul 2010, 16:55
by Linus_Cello
Do a search on the forum for posts authored by "Larry" in Washington (state), US. He has L-134s (leopard frogs) with his discus, and he could give you lots of advice on both discuss and plecos. Both eat a lot of the same thing, so it works out for both discus and plecos.

Re: discus with flash pl*co

Posted: 29 Jul 2010, 23:14
by racoll
CoryWally wrote:In my experience, L204 munch through a lot of wood creating a lot of debris and potential for clogged filters, which I have found to my cost. Assuming you provide wood (which is advised)and your filtration is top notch and regularly maintained it should be O.K.
Exactly.

The huge mess the will make could seriously impact water quality and affect the discus.

If the water quality and oxygen levels are kept high, and it's not too acidic, they should be okay together.

I assume they are domestic discus?, so they should be fine with such an arrangement.

Re: discus with flash pl*co

Posted: 30 Jul 2010, 19:28
by apistomaster
I have kept Panaque L204 with both wild Green Discus and domestic Red Turquoise.
The combination was alright when the L204 were still small and young but as they grow they get large and messy which adds more work towards keeping the tank clean. How big a nuisance this is depends on how many plecos you plan to keep. I had 8 specimens but one or two would probably not add enough mess to be a problem given the frequency and quantity of water changes most Discus keepers do.
I recommend keeping some of the Hypancistrus spp or small Peckoltia spp instead of many L204's..
They do well on foods discus prefer and do not need wood in their diet. The only reservations I have about keeping them together is if you feed your Discus mainly beef heart blend foods. I have found that these Plecos all love to eat heart but they seem to have a problem digesting it and many times I have tried this I had unexplained pleco deaths. I still keep them together but not in my Discus grow out tanks where I use a lot of beef heart.
It doesn't hurt if the plecos eat a little heart once in awhile as I have been keeping L134 with my wild Alenquer Discus for 3 years but I only feed these adult Discus heart a couple times a week. They are mostly fed frozen blood worms and some Tetra Color bits.
I kept L134, L66 and L333 in with 10 adult Heckel Discus for over 4 years.
I had a gold Nugget for some time in with them but it eventually died.

The Gold Nugget Plecos are not among my first choices as Discus tank mates. They are very sensitive and delicate fish as Plecos go. Their long term survival rates are generally poor except in dedicated large tanks set up specifically for them.