What other types of tropical fish can be successfully kept with discus?
Cardinal tetras are probably the best companion fish for your discus aquarium. First of all, a group of cardinal tetras are simply beautiful tropical fish. They are fun to watch. Cardinal tetras are also very suitable with the warm, acidic water that discus like. Finally, cardinal tetras are dither fish. Dither fish can have a strong calming effect on more timid, larger fish like discus. The small dither fish swim back and forth in the aquarium, out in the open. The discus notice that these small fish seem secure in their environment. That gives them a signal that everything is safe in their enclosed environment and allows them to come out into the open without any fear. If you ever have shy, skittish discus that always seem to hide, you might want to add a school of cardinal tetras to your aquarium.
Corydoras catfish are another good fish to add to a discus tank. Adding a few corydoras catfish to the tank will help with clean up maintenance. They will scamper around the aquarium looking for any particles of food that have not been eaten. This will help keep the aquarium water cleaner and your discus will be much happier for it. If you add coryadoras to you discus aquarium, try to keep the water temperature around 82 - 83 degrees. Corys don't like the higher temperatures. Sterbai Ancistrus are also suitable tank mates for your discus. These fish will help keep your tank clean by eating the unwanted algae that forms in your aquarium. Make sure you supplement the ancistrus's diet with some quality algae wafers on a regular basis and add a small piece of driftwood in your tank to help them digest their food.
