Before we start analyzing whether or not goldfish can live with a discus fish in the same tank, a string of factors must be taken into consideration.
Commonly known as the “king of the aquarium”, the discus is one of the most prized fish owing to its vibrant colors, docile nature, and disc-shaped body which relatively rare.
The goldfish, on the other hand, is the most common aquarium fish that can thrive in almost all conditions and is popular for its acclimatizing nature. However, it is very important to remember that goldfishes are compatible with only those species of fishes that can adjust in the same water temperatures (65 degrees Fahrenheit to 75 degrees Fahrenheit).
In order to help you understand better, in the following section, we will elaborate the characteristics of discus and goldfish individually.
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Discus
If you are looking forward to pairing your discus with some other fish in the tank, bear in mind that most of them wouldn’t be companionable with the former and that can make way for innumerable nuisances.
Just to be on the safer side of the spectrum, you can have the discus as the foremost fish in your tank and then bring in the others one by one. While choosing a tank mate for the discus, there are two criteria that must be fulfilled.
Firstly, the tank mate shouldn’t eat more than the discus because the latter is an incredibly slow eater; if you keep them with other speedy, bigger fishes, the discus will not be able to grab whatever you are serving it and lose out on nutrition. Secondly, the tank mate of a discus should be able to live in high temperatures as it is essentially a tropical fish.
• Size of the tank
The thumb rule of getting your hands on the right tank size for your discus is procuring the one which appears larger than the rest (75-gallon aquarium, or even bigger).
You can obviously get a smaller tank but, in that case, you will have to frequently change the water to keep your fish healthy. The problem with discus in small aquariums is that when it grows in size and reaches a diameter of 5 to 7 inches, its metabolism rate increases, and this, consequently, heats up and spoils the quality of the water faster.
As far as the tank set up is concerned, you can put the discus in planted tanks but, the plants should be able to tolerate the high temperatures. If required, add few air stones in the tank so that when the water starts heating up, the optimal amount of oxygen is available to the fishes.
• Temperature
As we have already mentioned in one of the preceding segments, the temperature of the water inside the tank is the most crucial factor that influences the answer to the question that we are primarily dealing with here.
Discus fishes cannot grow without high temperatures (a minimum of 85 degrees Fahrenheit); if the temperature is forcefully brought down, the fishes will start getting uncomfortable, become less active, grow slowly and most importantly, its metabolic rate will undergo deterioration.
Along with this, be careful about the pH level as it should strictly fall within the window of 6.8-7.6.
• Water changes
The chief objective of changing the water in your tank is getting rid of the waste build-up from time to time. Thus, the regularity of changing the water in the aquarium will depend on its size, the number of fishes you are storing inside, the amount of food that is left unattended and such others.
Goldfish
When it comes to petting a goldfish and choosing companions for them, there are three imperatives that you must remember. Generally speaking, goldfishes are very peaceful creatures but, mixing them with aggressive species like cichlids and barbs can lead to unpleasant fights.
Comet goldfishes or single-tailed goldfishes which are more common, are extremely agile and have a habit of gulping everything they find on their way including plants, substrate, food for their tank mates, and other fishes. You should keep away smaller fishes that could easily fit into a goldfish’s mouth from your list.
Other than this, avoid having fishes with sharp spines in the same aquarium as goldfishes because the bristles can get stuck in their gill plate while swallowing their chums. Additionally, goldfishes should have mates that like living in cooler temperatures like them.
• Size of the tank
If a goldfish is provided with a tank of an appropriate size, it can live for as long as 20 years. For the uninitiated, goldfishes grow up to 30 cm; thereby, to accommodate them, you will need an aquarium with a minimum capacity of 11 liters.
Nonetheless, that is the size for storing just one goldfish; if you want to pet more, you will naturally have to multiply the given dimension with the number of fishes you are aiming to own.
• Temperature
To breed goldfishes, you must ensure that the temperatures inside the tank are mimicking the conditions that occur outside throughout different seasons.
For instance, during summers, the temperature shouldn’t exceed 75 degrees Fahrenheit and during winters, it should be limited within 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
More so, the tank containing goldfishes should not be placed under direct sunlight or, high-power bulbs as they can unnecessarily raise the temperature of the water.
• Water changes
We would recommend you to change the water of your goldfish tank every week. But, if you want to make sure that your fish is growing in a clean and healthy environment, have a filter installed inside the tank.
You can also add some live or artificial plants in the aquarium which are both good to look at and the fishes can nibble on.
Can you keep a goldfish and discus it together?
There is no hard-and-fast rule that claims discus and goldfish must be kept separately; if you want, you can keep them together in the same tank. Nevertheless, bring to mind the fact that tropical fishes and cold water fishes aren’t quite compatible with one another.
Having said that, if you live in a country where temperatures that are anyway high throughout the year and hence, unheated tanks are as scorching as the rest of the room, you can keep a discus and goldfish together.
Certain high-bred forms of goldfish are meant to survive in higher temperatures therefore, hinting at the verity that they can impeccably thrive in warm tanks as well. Let’s set aside the literal survival of the fishes for some time and focus on the disadvantages of keeping a discus and goldfish in a single aquarium.
• Goldfishes have high metabolic rates and are born to function at lower
temperatures. The crux of the matter is, they are awfully messy and can become very demanding while living with tropical fishes like discus. As opposed to this, if discus is kept in cooler temperatures, they will refuse to eat and become lethargic.
• Goldfishes are swift and can swallow their own food and the share
provided to their contemporaries in no time. As we have pointed out, discuses are slow eaters and in situations like these, might not stand a chance of putting anything inside their bellies during the feeding time.
• You will be startled to know that a single goldfish can excrete
unbelievable portions of waste in a matter of a few minutes and resultantly, make it impossible for the discus to live. This, in turn, can surge the level of ammonia in the water (increase in the pH level) which is regarded as toxic for all tank fish species alike.
• Discus and goldfish have different disease tolerance,
chances are, a disease that affects your goldfish might not even bother the discus. Moreover, given goldfishes have a system that is designed to endure lower temperatures, they can be vulnerable to a lot of ailments when placed in warmer temperatures.
• Goldfishes mostly like being in the company of fishes from their community.
If kept with other goldfishes, they will stick to one another and follow each other’s trail all the time. This is fairly why, as per aquarists, far from coupling a goldfish with discus, you should not even mix distinct varieties of goldfish in a tank.
Areas of compromise
If you have no other recourse but, to keep a goldfish and discus in the same tank, some areas will have to be compromised. For the starters, you will have to regulate the temperature of the tank in a way that will not be ideal for either of the fishes.
Considering they belong to the complete opposite ends of the temperature scale, you’ll be inevitably depriving them of their most favorable environment for growth and development.
Next, installing a powerful filter that is capable of straining the water in the blink of an eye can prove troublesome for the discus as they are far more sensitive than their mates.
Lastly, you will not be able to furnish the discus with a wholesome diet because of the gorging impulses of the goldfishes which will inexorably reduce both of their lifespans.
