Will discus be ok with leaf fish?

[screename]

My favorite fish in the world are leaf fish. They are currently being housed with 30 odessa barbs and 6 geophagus suranamensis. As with most people, I get bored easily. I would like to try discus for a change. Can I mix them? The leaf fish are are about 3 " and the discus are about 3" as well. I have not seen any aggression to the smaller fish from the leaf fish as they are very well fed. Thanks for any input. I will try to post some pics tonight.

[imagirlgeek]

The only thing I'd worry about would be the temperature. Leaf fish can handle...what...up to about 82F? I guess it depends on how low you keep the temp for your Discus. Otherwise, since they aren't going to outgrow the discus, it's probably doable. And they are really shy, I can't imagine they'd bother the discus.

[screename]

Well I have run into another problem. My tank is an amazon biotope and therefore all 3 viewable sides are painted black. I have read that many discus prefer a blue background as apposed to dark colors. Can someone confirm this? Also, traci can u move this to the discus forum if there is one lol

[Darbex]

I have seen people do black backgrounds. The only thing with darker backgrounds & substrates is that discus will darken up with those surroundings. The darker it is the darker they will get. When my discus go to where my plants are the darken up because its just ADA soil in that area. However, when the are in the open where all the sand is they are a lot more colorful. I have never had leaf fish so I cannot say one way or another on their compatibility.

[Nickintex]

I think the leaf fish will be fine too. Since they eat only small live prey and remain very static, they should pose no threat to the discus via competition or behavior.

[FrontosaurusRex]

I dont see a reason why they cant co-exist. Also, I did a black background with my fist set of Discus and they looked awesome. I think the key to using a black background is using a light substrate, lighter colored rocks and a good light fixture. I used Leslie's Pool Filtered Sand and some really nice white rocks I scored from the Trinity docks with a Coralife 96watt light fixture. I tried using a black substrate and it sucked. The Discus did not want to color up with such dark surroundings. Good luck and post some pics.

[screename]

Front, I think you just helped me make up my mind! I have white substrate and red/white rocks. I was going for the blue sapphire discus but was worried about them peppering up. It is pretty well planted as well. Do you think I should remove the plants?

[wesleydnunder]

If these are your first discus and if you're getting adults, I'd say the plants would be fine. For first-time juvies I'd grow them out in a bare-bottom tank which is much easier to keep clean and easier to see if they're eating well.

Mark

[Terrybo]

I know I'm a little late on this, but only pigeon blood based discus get pepper. Turquoise discus, and most other blue discus do not have pepper. Pepper is a genetic mutation of the black stress bars - instead of being aligned in bars, the pigment is scattered throughout the fish. (Of course, all discus can go dark at times, but that is quite different than peppering up).

Regards,

Terry

I was going for the blue sapphire discus but was worried about them peppering up.