Discus tank mates

Discus: peaceful and shy, 5.5 in, kept in groups of 5 or more, swims in the middle of the tank and needs about 80 gallons. The list below checks every species in our catalog against it.

Each species is checked against discus both ways: mouth size, fin nipping, temperament, territory, water overlap and keeper reports.

Good tank mates

Neon tetra
Paracheirodon innesi
Fits
The classic community fish: a tight school of electric-blue stripes that suits planted tanks of 15 gallons and up.
1.2 in · 17+ gal · 70–77°F · pH 5–7
Harlequin rasbora
Trigonostigma heteromorpha
Fits
Copper-orange schooling fish with a black wedge; hardy, calm and a good first school for a 15–20 gallon tank.
1.4 in · 17+ gal · 73–81°F · pH 6–7
Otocinclus
Otocinclus vittatus
Fits
Tiny algae grazers for mature planted tanks; keep six or more and supplement with vegetables.
1.4 in · 17+ gal · 72–79°F · pH 6–7.2
Cherry shrimp
Neocaridina davidi
Fits
Bright red dwarf shrimp that graze all day and breed in a planted tank; tiny bioload, but fry are snacks for most fish.
1.6 in · 4+ gal · 72–75°F · pH 6.5–7.8
Betta
Betta splendens
Fits
The Siamese fighting fish: one male per tank, warm still water, and no long-finned or nippy tank mates.
2.8 in · 11+ gal · 72–86°F · pH 6–7.5
Angelfish
Pterophyllum scalare
Fits
Tall, graceful cichlids for tall tanks of 30 gallons and up; adults eat neon tetras and shrimp, so stock around them.
3.5 in · 32+ gal · 77–84°F · pH 6–7
Black neon tetra
Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi
Fits
A peaceful tetra with a bright white-over-black stripe; hardier than the neon tetra and an easy fit in any calm community tank.
1.4 in · 23+ gal · 73–81°F · pH 5.5–7.5
Black widow tetra
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
Fits
A hardy, deep-bodied tetra with black 'skirt' fins; easy for beginners, but a small group nips the fins of its tank mates.
2.4 in · 22+ gal · 68–79°F · pH 6–7
Blood parrot cichlid
hybrid
Fits
A man-made hybrid cichlid with a round body and a beak-like mouth that barely closes; usually gentle and rarely able to swallow tank mates.
7.9 in · 36+ gal · 72–82°F · pH 6.5–8
Blue dolphin cichlid
Cyrtocara moorii
Fits
A sky-blue Malawi cichlid with a fatty forehead hump; calm and sociable over open sand, but no match for boisterous mbuna.
9.8 in · 80+ gal · 77–81°F · pH 8–8.5
Bristlenose pleco
Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus
Fits
The go-to glass cleaner: a compact 5-inch pleco with bushy whiskers on the males that needs a cave and vegetables, not just algae.
4.9 in · 17+ gal · 70–79°F · pH 5.5–7.5
Bronze cory
Corydoras aeneus
Fits
The most widely kept cory: a tough bronze-green or albino catfish that shoals along the bottom and handles a broad range of water.
3 in · 23+ gal · 70–81°F · pH 6–8
Cardinal tetra
Paracheirodon axelrodi
Fits
The neon's close cousin, with red running the full length of the belly; a soft, acidic-water schooling fish that likes it warmer than neons.
1.4 in · 17+ gal · 73–81°F · pH 4–6
Cherry barb
Puntius titteya
Fits
One of the most peaceful barbs: males glow cherry red and leave fins alone, making it great for planted community tanks.
2 in · 17+ gal · 73–81°F · pH 6–8
Dwarf gourami
Trichogaster lalius
Fits
A bright little gourami popular with beginners; one male per tank, no bettas, and buy carefully, as imported fish often carry an incurable iridovirus.
3 in · 18+ gal · 72–81°F · pH 6–7.5
Fairy cichlid
Neolamprologus brichardi
Fits
A graceful Tanganyika cichlid with a lyre tail; one pair grows into a family colony that guards its rocks year-round.
3.5 in · 34+ gal · 73–79°F · pH 8–9
Firemouth cichlid
Thorichthys meeki
Fits
A Central American cichlid with a fiery red throat it flares when threatened; fairly calm for a cichlid but territorial when breeding.
4.7 in · 34+ gal · 75–82°F · pH 6.5–8.5
Glowlight tetra
Hemigrammus erythrozonus
Fits
A small, translucent tetra with a glowing orange stripe along its body; peaceful, hardy and at its best in a densely planted tank.
1.6 in · 22+ gal · 75–82°F · pH 6–7.5
Honey gourami
Trichogaster chuna
Fits
A small, very gentle honey-coloured gourami for calm tanks of 15 gallons with peaceful tank mates.
2.2 in · 17+ gal · 72–81°F · pH 6–7.5
Kribensis
Pelvicachromis pulcher
Fits
A small West African cichlid whose female has a bright belly; a cave-spawning pair digs pits and guards fry along the bottom.
3.9 in · 23+ gal · 75–81°F · pH 6.5–7
Kuhli loach
Pangio semicincta
Fits
A banded, eel-like loach of about 4 inches that burrows by day and explores the bottom as a group in the evening; needs soft sand.
3.9 in · 17+ gal · 70–79°F · pH 3.5–7
Molly
Poecilia sphenops
Fits
A sturdy livebearer that needs hard water and plenty of plant food, and does well in slightly brackish conditions.
3.1 in · 26+ gal · 70–82°F · pH 7–8.5
Multies
Neolamprologus multifasciatus
Fits
The smallest Tanganyika cichlid, about 2 inches, living in empty snail shells; a colony carves the sand into tiny fiercely guarded plots.
1.8 in · 13+ gal · 77–80°F · pH 8–8.5
Peacock cichlid
Aulonocara jacobfreibergi
Fits
The peacocks of Lake Malawi: brilliant males, grey females, calmer than mbuna and gentle with plants, but they need fine sand to feed.
6.7 in · 135+ gal · 77–84°F · pH 7.5–9

And 51 more in the species catalog.

Risky

And 35 more in the species catalog.

Avoid

And 15 more in the species catalog.

Every tank is different. Set yours up once (size, water, who already lives there) and each species is checked against it.

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