Keeping Tanganyikan Shell Dwellers and Discus?

Question

I would really like to have a 55 gallon aquarium with Tanganyikan Shell Dwelling Cichlids occupying the sand, and a pair of Discus swimming in the middle. Water quality is not the problem, I can keep a clean tank, but is there a stable temperature they would both tolerate? Is there a water hardness they would both tolerate? I only want help from somebody who really knows what they are talking about. There should not be any aggression problems between the two because of the Shell Dwelllers' small size and their bottom dwelling habbits. Any knowledgable help would be great!

Answer 1

Tanganyikan shell dwellers prefer a ph of 8.5+, water as hard as possible and a temperature around 74 degrees. Discus prefer ph in the 6s or less, soft water and a temperature of 82-84 degrees.

I've kept Discus and Shell Dwellers in slightly hard water with a ph about 7.2 and they will live in this water. I've kept Discus in water at 76 degrees though I've never had shell dweller above this temperature. In theory you could put these fish together though from a practical standpoint you are taking 2 completely different fish from completely different water conditions and habitats and trying to have them survive in an aquarium together. The best you can hope for is survive. These fish will not thrive in this tank and I doubt they will survive very long either. That's not the goal of taking care of living animals.

Put the Discus in the 55 with some driftwood and get a 10 gallon or 20 long for the shell dwellers and you'll have 2 nice tanks that look nice and your fish can thrive there. I have a 10 gallon with Neolamprologus Brevis Kigoma blue lines that have been in there and breeding well for over 5 years. They're great in a 10-20 gallon. You have lots of shells with hard water and a 10 gallon is cheap to buy. Put a hang on the back filter and they'll do great.

Answer 2

You know about 10-15 years ago people would have looked at yo like yo uwere crazy?! I wouldn't have any high hopes of breeding these in the same tank but it is possible.

Because discus have been in the hobby for so long and hybridized so much you can(very slowly) aclimate a discus to a higher pH. I don't know if I would say the same for the shell dwellers as many of these are still not too far from their wild state. I personally have never tried lowering their pH.

I have had discus live good stable lives at 75F. And the is the breeding temp for most shell dwellers anyway.

Shell dwellers don't really have any aggression besides with another shell dweller tryingto steal their shell(which is fun to watch anyway) The only thing that I would worry about is making sure that they each get enough food, especially the discus.

If you did try this I would start off with a young discus, as they would be far more adaptable than an older one. I would not get any of the lighter or white bodied hybrids so that you can see the body changes more clearly and effectivly know its mood and health through it's striping lightening and darkening. When yo uget it home I would put it in a bucket below the tank. Take airline tubing and pull it inot a loose knot. Start a siphon into the bucket from the tank. The knot slows down the water coming into the bucket so that you can slowly raise the pH in the bucket. another way to do this is to start with the discus in the tank and every time you do a water change raise the pH a little bit at a time until you get to your desired pH and hardness.

I really recommend having a hospital tank ready to go just in case anything goes wrong with either fish or if they start show any distress. I'd love to hear how it turns out! Good luck

Answer 3

You might have a chance if discus weren't so sensitive, but they are difficult to keep anyway. It's hard to imagine shellies doing well in the water that discus require.

That said, I just picked up some A. borellii today. Apistogramma are group of south american dwarf cichlids that should do quite nicely with your discus. A few coconut caves or some other hiding areas will keep them happy. A. cacatuoides (cockatoo cichlids) are a very popular species of apisto as well - they have bred some great colors in the hobby. You could probably keep a couple different harems of different species in a 55 g.

Answer 4

Keeping Tanganyikan shell dwelling cichlids and Discus together is not possible. Discus require very soft water and high temp of 80 to 86 degrees F. The shell dwellers need very hard water and temp of 72 to 76 degrees F. There dietary needs are also some what different as well. Discus are very shy fish. I would suggest that you not keep them together.

Answer 5

Shell Dwelling Cichlids

Answer 6

wont work , totally different water compositions required for each species