Poor Man's Discus Biotope

[mattjm1121]

Hey all,

Just thought I'd share a few pics of my tank. I don't seem to have too many friends who are interested in my work so hopefully some of you will :o lol

This tank has been running for over a year now with a few changes here and there. The discus were supplied by John K (snookn21).

It's not the biggest tank (54G RR corner) but its satisfying my discus itch for the time being.

Pool filter sand, manzanita branches, water hyacinth, magnolia leaves, and wild rocks lol

Tankmates: 7 bleeding hearts, 5 or 6 silver tips, 4 skunk cories, 1 bristlnose pleco

Enjoy!

[tolga]

Hi that is a nice set up. Do you add fertiliser for the hyacinths?
Thanks

[Larry Grenier]

Are those wilds? Where did you get your fish? Just a little constructive criticism: You fish look a little skinny (underfed). Do they have good appetites?

[Rudustin]

I like the tank very much and certainly for someone like me,who has eight tanks and they are all bare bottom, I admire a tank that looks like the amazonian river. I have all domestics including a new shipment just today of my first five Heckel crosses. This is my first venture into wild looking discus because I have every color variation that one can think of in most of my other tanks. I think some of your fish do look a bit thin but I am so not so well versed in wilds and how they should look. I have some fish that eat like pigs three times a day and would eat more if I let them and others that eat very little. I must say my fish look fuller than most of yours however, picture four from left to right shows a very round and full discus. Congrats on making the tank look so Amazonian and best of luck with your wilds. Rufus

[mattjm1121]

Hi that is a nice set up. Do you add fertiliser for the hyacinths?
Thanks
Nope no fertilizer just good lighting. 2 65 watt 6500k CF and 150 watt halide (for a few hours a day).

[mattjm1121]

Are those wilds? Where did you get your fish? Just a little constructive criticism: You fish look a little skinny (underfed). Do they have good appetites?

Yes the are wilds from John K (snookn21). They've always seemed a bit thinner then I'd like and I've fed them 2-3 times per day (10 minute sessions) but they seem to not wanna fatten up. I feed also feed a seafood mix and a beefheart mix but not too often because they don't seem too crazy about it. I recently started a live black worm culture wih hopes of having the discus gain some weight off of them.

[Rudustin]

How old are your discus?

[mattjm1121]

I like the tank very much and certainly for someone like me,who has eight tanks and they are all bare bottom, I admire a tank that looks like the amazonian river. I have all domestics including a new shipment just today of my first five Heckel crosses. This is my first venture into wild looking discus because I have every color variation that one can think of in most of my other tanks. I think some of your fish do look a bit thin but I am so not so well versed in wilds and how they should look. I have some fish that eat like pigs three times a day and would eat more if I let them and others that eat very little. I must say my fish look fuller than most of yours however, picture four from left to right shows a very round and full discus. Congrats on making the tank look so Amazonian and best of luck with your wilds. Rufus

Thanks for the thoughtful reply! Yes that fourth pic shows the biggest and therefore more dominant discus. However he/she is not the most aggressive feeder believe it or not. Others seem to eat more but that one has put on the most weight. Go figure. Maybe it's genetics. Any fattening suggestions? Lol Anyway, I also love the amazonian look and how simple it is to recreate. I agree/pretreat my water in a barrel with peat moss to get a bit more of a tea tinge to it.

[Einarsson]

Looks good! Poor isn't bad. ;)

[Rudustin]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply! Yes that fourth pic shows the biggest and therefore more dominant discus. However he/she is not the most aggressive feeder believe it or not. Others seem to eat more but that one has put on the most weight. Go figure. Maybe it's genetics. Any fattening suggestions? Lol Anyway, I also love the amazonian look and how simple it is to recreate. I agree/pretreat my water in a barrel with peat moss to get a bit more of a tea tinge to it.Hi, It's so strange that I have some discus that are not the most aggressive neither the best eaters and yet the are fuller and rounder. I think it has a lot to do with genetic as well. If it were me I would stay away from live Black worms because I have had terrible experiences with disease from live black worms and also live tubifex worms. The person to talk to about the feeding of wilds is Pat on this forum. She is a wonder with wild discus. I have seen her tanks and she is an administrator here on SD. She has cultured something called red wrigglers. Her fish love them. I have no idea what they are but she can perhaps tell you how to culture them. I feed my fish mainly Freeze Dried Black Worms purchased through AquaticSuppliers which is of course directly related to Al the owner of this forum. Depending on how much you buy it can be expensive. In my case it is but my fish love these worms and they have numerous other great ingredients that help with digestion and growth and color of discus. You can find the website through this forum. I also feed my fish Aqua Bites pellets and Cobalt Flakes and cooked peas. I have Han's meat mix but don't feed that too much to my discus and occasionally I feed frozen blood worms as a treat. Hope this helps. And Poor is not bad! Rufus

[mattjm1121]

Hi, It's so strange that I have some discus that are not the most aggressive neither the best eaters and yet the are fuller and rounder. I think it has a lot to do with genetic as well. If it were me I would stay away from live Black worms because I have had terrible experiences with disease from live black worms and also live tubifex worms. The person to talk to about the feeding of wilds is Pat on this forum. She is a wonder with wild discus. I have seen her tanks and she is an administrator here on SD. She has cultured something called red wrigglers. Her fish love them. I have no idea what they are but she can perhaps tell you how to culture them. I feed my fish mainly Freeze Dried Black Worms purchased through AquaticSuppliers which is of course directly related to Al the owner of this forum. Depending on how much you buy it can be expensive. In my case it is but my fish love these worms and they have numerous other great ingredients that help with digestion and growth and color of discus. You can find the website through this forum. I also feed my fish Aqua Bites pellets and Cobalt Flakes and cooked peas. I have Han's meat mix but don't feed that too much to my discus and occasionally I feed frozen blood worms as a treat. Hope this helps. And Poor is not bad! Rufus

Thanks for the input. I'll be trying black worms in my non discus tank for a while before I try it on the discus. They were purchased directly from California blackworm so hopefully they're reliable. I also tried a red wiggler culture but it got overrun with all sorts of bugs and mites :thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown:

[mattjm1121]

Best of luck to you with your new wilds! I'll look forward to some pics!

[Rudustin]

Thanks for the input. I'll be trying black worms in my non discus tank for a while before I try it on the discus. They were purchased directly from California blackworm so hopefully they're reliable. I also tried a red wiggler culture but it got overrun with all sorts of bugs and mites :thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown: Well good luck with the black worms. I know that red wigglers are young earthworms. I'm not sure I could do that either although here in florida it would be possible I guess. Best regards. Rufus

[plecocicho]

Yeah they do look thin (except the round one, is that Cameta). Try feeding them tropical wild gran nad spirulina forte, fd blackwrms, whiteworms. If they eat like pigs but dont get meat on their bones i would suspect some possible parasites, like nematodes. How are they feaces? Nice tank by the way.

[bluelagoon]

That big brown one with the halo,looks like one awesome discus.I would love to have wilds that look like him.

[mattjm1121]

Yeah they do look thin (except the round one, is that Cameta). Try feeding them tropical wild gran nad spirulina forte, fd blackwrms, whiteworms. If they eat like pigs but dont get meat on their bones i would suspect some possible parasites, like nematodes. How are they feaces? Nice tank by the way.

Yea that is a cameta thanks for the advice. They aren't the most voracious eaters. Seem to be picky with most foods except with worms of any kind. Feces is always dark and solid. Not at all stringy or discolored. I'll look into the white worms. Thanks again!

[mattjm1121]

That big brown one with the halo,looks like one awesome discus.I would love to have wilds that look like him.

Yea thanks that one is definitely the looker of the bunch!

[duscusnovice]

looks pretty rich to me... congrats!

[mattjm1121]

looks pretty rich to me... congrats!

Haha thanks!

[Piraya]

Nice discus, im sure they have a lot of colour to show!!!

[Dahlyvh]

Great pictures!

[mattjm1121]

hey guys just thought i'd update. i decided to replace the 3 smaller discus (blue manacapuru) with 3 cametas from john k (snookn21). the blues have gone into a bare bottom 29 gallon where i can feed the heck outta them to try and fatten em up.

here's a video of the updated stock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YKggn1A2Zs

share some thoughts!

[ericNH]

For some reason your discus look huge in that video. Beautiful tank!

edit: and that song in the background is awesome

[mattjm1121]

For some reason your discus look huge in that video. Beautiful tank!

edit: and that song in the background is awesome

Thanks! They are pretty big at about 5.5-6 inches nose to tail. John sent me some bruisers! Lol

[jmf3460]

beautiful discus, I am thinking of getting some wilds from Snookin21 as well. What ph water do you keep yours in they seem to be doing just fine I am wondering if my regular tap will suit these fish...

[mattjm1121]

beautiful discus, I am thinking of getting some wilds from Snookin21 as well. What ph water do you keep yours in they seem to be doing just fine I am wondering if my regular tap will suit these fish...

Thanks! My ph generally stays between 6.2-6.5. I age my water with a bit of peat moss to stain the water slightly and keep the ph in that range. I believe john keeps his wilds at a higher ph than mine but Im not certain. I would email him and ask him for his water conditions. My water out of the tap is also pretty soft so I don't really do anything to it except age it for a day or two before using it to stabilize the ph. What I've learned above all else is to keep your water very clean with consistent parameters and you should have no problem keeping discus happy.