How much spider wood is too much?

[ricardinho]

Hi everyone,

Im new here, and Just got my first Discus yesterday! ;)
However, Iv always kept various fish from Oscars, flowerhorns etc.

My tank's have always been pretty empty in terms of decoration, however I was given some spiderwood (Very scarce here in South Africa).

At the moment I have 1 discus, with about 50 tiny little fish (similiar to neons) in a 180L (48Gallon) tank.
The tank is quite full in terms of the wood...is the space too little for my discus?

Look forward to feedback!
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/1486/71e0.jpg
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/6074/7r5f.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2393/sq29.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2298/ggno.jpg


Cheers
Ricardo

[William Palumbo]

Cool looking tank. Plenty of wood, not too much in there...you just need more DISCUS!...Discus by nature love wood...Bill

[ricardinho]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the reply and comment! Im getting 2 more at the end of the month :)

Just wondering whether they need free swimming space without it being interrupted by branches of the wood?

[William Palumbo]

From the pic there looks to be enough free swimming space. My wild Heckel tank is more wood than water...LOL...but they love it...Bill

[PRG]

Your tank looks awesome! I have Mopani driftwood in mine. No discus yet. :( I'm waiting for the tank to be "just right" No rush, but I think I will get some spider wood. Looks like something discus would like.

[TNT77]

Absolutely love that piece on the left of the tank. I love alot of wood in a tank. Only thing I watch for is if you can still get in and clean the tank. A powerhead can be used to blow out detritus from around the wood without disturbing anything too much. I still move my wood around to clean underneath once a week.

[William Palumbo]

My "decor" changes with every every wc, as the wood gets moved/floats around. Never the same scene twice!...Bill

[ricardinho]

Thanks for the replies guys! Ya, I got myself a submersible filter that'll blow all the detritus etc. Will post more pics soon!
Thanks, Ricardo (Cape Town, South Africa).

[camuth8]

You should have at least 5 discus in that tank. Discus are schooling fish and just 3 of them won't work out very well. If you get a few more, the tank will look better:D and your discus won't be as stressed with the pecking order.

[ricardinho]

I will be getting 2 by the end of the month, and then 2 more next month :)

Im not entirely sure on pricing in the States..but in South Africa, they usually go for $50-$60 for a palm sized discus.

Now that i think of it..whats the average age of such a sized fish?