75 Gallon First Timer

[Rapture]

First time trying both a large tank and Discus keeping.

Plans for tank (I may need some help with the best order to do these things)

Hydor Pro 450 canister filter
300 watt Jager submersible heater
Python water change system
Tap water

Driftwood with low light plants attached
Acquire/grow out 5-6 3" Discus (likely Stendker Red turk, Brilliant turk, Alenquer, Santarem, Tefe)
Bare bottom at least during grow out

Potential tank mates can be seen here: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?122738-Long-list-of-potential-tank-mates
I'm assuming that growing out the discus is first in line before adding any tank mates.

Grow out foods
san francisco bay beefheart
ken’s beefheart flake
ken’s blackworm flake
cobalt flake
immune booster flake
spirulina flake
aquatic suppliers blackworms with spinach

[rickztahone]

I'd suggest making your own BH. I have actually grown a group of discus on SF BH but it was expensive!

I spent $50 to make a batch of BH and will last me more than 6 months easily.

[Rapture]

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have to get it from a specialty butcher or do you know if a local grocery store have it?

[rickztahone]

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have to get it from a specialty butcher or do you know if a local grocery store have it?

If you have a Latin super market close to you, or an Asian one, they typically sell them. In Latino supermarkets they will put it in packets and on the isle. Sometimes you have to ask the "carniceria" to be ordered.

[Rapture]

There are tons of Latino markets around me, so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks!

[rickztahone]

There are tons of Latino markets around me, so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks!

no problem. John has a great recipe for BH here:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?110292-How-I-make-beef-heart&highlight=

[Rapture]

Thanks, I have looked at all the recipes on this site (lol), just didn't really know if I needed to go that route for one grow out round of 5 or 6 fish. :)

I decided to order a hamburg mattenfilter and pump from Angels Plus, instead of getting a canister filter. Also picked up Praziquantel and Levimasol.

[Rapture]

Placed the following order at Kens Fish.

Tetra Safe Start 250 ml.
Ken's Premium Beefheart Flake 1/2 lb.
Ken's Premium Blackworm Flake 1/2 lb.
Ken's Premium Immune Booster Flake 1/2 lb.
Ken's Premium Spirulina Flake 1/2 lb.
ATI Liquid Crystal Horizontal Thermometer
Python No Spill Clean & Fill 50'
Python Hook For No Spill Clean & Fill
Python Porter
Python 24" Gravel Tube
Blue Ribbon Background 19" Black/Blue

[rickztahone]

That is a whole lot of stuff, good luck!

[Rapture]

A whole lot of stuff as in too much stuff? :P Thanks!

[rickztahone]

A whole lot of stuff as in too much stuff? :P Thanks!

nope, didn't say that :). I love coming home to a shipping box on my doorstep as well.

[Rapture]

Yeah, that's true. :) A couple things were out of stock at the time, so there will be a round 2 at some point, as well.

[Rapture]

Stuff from Ken's arrived yesterday - wow those are large bags of fish flakes for someone used to feeding a betta, haha. :) HMF, pump and meds from Angels Plus were due to arrive today, but now it looks like it should be here tomorrow.

I keep planning on buying driftwood because I'd really like to have something in the tank with the fish, but will driftwood alone make it that much more difficult to clean the water if I need to grow out 5-6 fish?

Tried to measure my gh but the API drops I had weren't working, probably because I had them for so long. I bought some strips and it came out to right about 120 ppm / 6.74 dh from the tap. The pH can get quite high - in my betta tank it is about 8.4, and about 8.0 straight from the tap.

I have a wild vs domestic dilemma as I get closer to putting water in the tank.

[rickztahone]

Stuff from Ken's arrived yesterday - wow those are large bags of fish flakes for someone used to feeding a betta, haha. :) HMF, pump and meds from Angels Plus were due to arrive today, but now it looks like it should be here tomorrow.

I keep planning on buying driftwood because I'd really like to have something in the tank with the fish, but will driftwood alone make it that much more difficult to clean the water if I need to grow out 5-6 fish?

Tried to measure my gh but the API drops I had weren't working, probably because I had them for so long. I bought some strips and it came out to right about 120 ppm / 6.74 dh from the tap. The pH can get quite high - in my betta tank it is about 8.4, and about 8.0 straight from the tap.

I have a wild vs domestic dilemma as I get closer to putting water in the tank.

I love the look of driftwood, I really do. Here's the problem with it, when you have it in the tank floor, especially in a BB tank, all the detritus all stays underneath the DW, ALWAYS. Which means, every single water change you have to remove the driftwood or move it within the tank to keep it clean. It can be a great way to hide the waste and can raise your nitrates due to this fact.

[Rapture]

Yeah, I was thinking about trying a piece or two that could be arranged in a way that only a couple "legs" of it come in contact with the bottom of the tank so that it can be easily vacuumed under. I may wait until the growing stage is over though, especially since I still don't have the wood. Every day that I plan to take a trip to ADG, something comes up and I don't make the little trek.

The good news is, my Angels Plus order came in with the Hamburg Mattenfilter, so I got everything put together and filled the tank with water. I got an extra piece of foam to block the filter side when viewing the tank from the front. The foam is black and I put a black background on the tank, so it looks nice enough even with the filter foam. I only wish the pump was silent. It's not loud at all, but I can hear it, so I hope it doesn't bug my roommate too much. I'm also planning on adding some water polishing pads somehow; I may just wrap some around the pump.

I dumped in a bottle of Tetra Safe Start for funsies because I haven't used it before. I guess now I'm not sure how to go about testing to see if the water is actually fish ready.

Today I learned that a LFS opened kind of recently across town that specializes in Discus, so I plan on taking a trip there at some point. Apparently the store owner either breeds or used to breed Discus.

I also put in another order with Ken's fish for the heater that was out of stock last week and some other things.

[Rapture]

Yesterday, I went to the discus store and had a really great experience. The store owner both breeds and sells Stendkers. There were many sizes and colors of discus in the store, including breeding pairs. There was a runt here or there in some of the groups of small discus, which he immediately pointed out to me while I looked through his stock, and he informed me that he doesn't like to sell them. He also sells wilds but was already out of stock when I went. He talked to me a lot about his protocols including quarantine, water, medications, temperature, food, equipment, etc. The only "bad news" he gave me about my plans was regarding my black background - he said that it can/will make the fish stay at the back of the tank. He has many more discus tanks at his home and started out as a hobbyist breeder. Very nice guy to talk to and I will likely be getting fish from him as soon as I am ready and he has the colors and sizes that I am looking for.

I also went to a big, fancy LFS with likely the widest selection of livestock in the city, and their discus looked absolutely horrible. I've seen their discus before but didn't pay close attention to them at the time. They were small, poorly shaped, skinny, poorly colored, and some of them had visible infections. They've also have a smallish, very densely planted display tank with very stunted discus in it for a long time, but yesterday I saw a body of a discus in the back corner that looked like it had been there for a while.

[Akili]

Black background is not suitable for Pigeon Blood Discus Pigeon Blood pepper more with black and very darker colours.

[Rapture]

I have heard that, but I wasn't worried about it because I am not planning on keeping any Pigeon Bloods or reds. Now I'm wondering about the hiding aspect, not peppering.

[Rapture]

After messing around with the Python water changer a few times, I decided that using a water pump may be a better choice for me as far as removing large amounts of water in a timely manner. I will still use the Python gravel vac to remove waste.

I ordered a couple more things - an automatic feeder, as well as a wood canopy, because at least one of the cats has been messing with the light fixture, and I know that at least one of the cats will try to get into the automatic feeder if she knows there's food in it. I didn't really want to buy it, but I think it will save me a headache in the long run. Feeder should arrive Sunday, the heater on Monday, and the canopy sometime next week.

[Rapture]

I finally got my Discus! I wanted to buy smaller ones, but I realized that wasn't going to work out any time soon unless I had them shipped to me. So I got 6 from the Discus store - 2 Brilliant Turquoise, 2 Snake Skin Blue, and 2 Kobalt. I want one more, but maybe I should stick with 6. They just don't fill up the tank at the size that they are currently, which is about 3 - 3.5 inches. They are doing awesome so far. They ate yesterday a while after I put them in the tank, more last night, and again more this morning. They come to the front of the tank to see me. They are a little more nervous today compared to last night, I think because the house is lit up so much more during the daytime, so there's a lot more for them to see outside of the tank. They still come to the front if i show them the fish food container, though. :) At the store, they ate a home made beef heart mix and Tetra color bits. At my house they so far have eaten Tetra color bits, freeze dried blackworms, and some of Ken's immune booster flake. The largest is one of the turks, and last night he was guarding the FDBW. When I put the flakes in the tank, all of the fish sampled them, but only a couple decided that they were edible after a few tries. The big turk did not consider the flakes edible, so he let the other fish eat them without any complaint.

Some pics (sorry for the poor quality)

On the way home
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/12750195_1740776662801942_210246311_n.jpg

Floating for an hour
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/1390328_1558604387788543_705673510_n.jpg

Kobalt
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/12328483_1267595779950426_732644817_n.jpg

Greeting me at the front of tank last night
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/12677594_1733845263518482_1654939504_n.jpg

Tank pic requested by the owner of the store
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/12748325_956181174437788_323057194_n.jpg

[Rapture]

Here's a pic of them from yesterday that I posted on the facebook group. One of them is a bit skinny, the guy peeking at top right. He eats, so I hope he will lose the bony, dark-eyed look.

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12717367_10153921295224603_4512785530053566667_n.j pg?oh=cb7965e7bf6b1602d0665a6e73d45d8c&oe=57661AC2

[Rapture]

A pic from yesterday. The dark Cobalt returned to normal light coloration after the daily water change.

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/12749855_1537056209926546_1273603974_n.jpg

I think their favorite food is FDBW, so I just placed an order from Al. I went with loose since there is some food aggression at times, and it's easier for the little guy to eat when it's free floating through the tank vs competing for a cube stuck on the glass.

I also posted a thread regarding the larger Turk's fins, and some white spots seen on a couple of the other fish's fins, if anyone is interested in giving advice: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?123202-A-couple-questions-about-new-discus&highlight=

[Rapture]

Yesterday I did some cat proofing on the tank stand and canopy by closing up the backs of both. This morning I woke up to an open cabinet door into the stand with ravaged fish food again. So, today I installed some baby proof cabinet latches as well. I also set up the automatic feeder, which resulted in a bunch of tetra color bits in the tank, so it got a early water change as well as another one in the evening. Some Cobalt flakes came in the mail tonight, and one of the snakeskins in particular really loves it. The rest are interested enough and eat some here and there. I may swap out the color bits with the Cobalt flakes and various other flakes in the auto feeder. I'll have to watch and see which the fish like to eat more.

I also decided to go ahead and trim the larger Turk's fins. They were damaged from some unknown previous incident, but did not look actively infected at all. It took a minute or so to catch him, and a few seconds to trim. He started eating flakes again as soon as he was placed back into the tank. I'll have to wait and see if I trimmed short enough for the damaged areas to grow back evenly.

I really love these fish and it's really interesting to see how much they love the large daily water changes. They look their best, eat their best, and are most inquisitive right afterward, so it's always worth the hour it takes me to do it.

A random pic from 2/19
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/12751084_449926181876032_433336230_n.jpg

[Rapture]

The Turk's fins are already noticeably growing back little spikes, all evenly spaced so far, I hope that means I trimmed enough. The fish are great. I studied more pics of babies for a while after my fish were rather harshly criticized on my other thread, and realized that even my better looking ones aren't quite where they could be for their age. They do seem very healthy though, and I am thankful for that and will try to keep them that way. Next time I will likely get smaller ones directly from Hans or another breeder instead of trusting a middle man to take care of them for X amount of time before they are sold again. I definitely don't regret buying them, though, and look forward to seeing them progress.

[Rapture]

I've been zip tying a 100 micron filter pad to my pump, and realized it's getting dirty and slowing down water flow within just a couple of days of putting on a new one, and the clogged flow had a pretty major negative impact on the fish. I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy a small powerhead as a back up for water movement, because I'd like to be able to keep polishing the water. Tonight the fish are in great spirits. They aren't hiding at all - they usually hide a bit more other than during feeding, and their colors looked quite nice when I got home rather than after the water change like usual. They also ate from my hand for the first time - some of Al's FDBW cubes with spinach. The big Turk's fins are even more noticeably growing back, up to about 3mm of new growth since trimming 2 days ago. The automatic feeder is getting better sorted out as well, I think today was the first time that the food actually got into the tank more than on top of the tank, and now it is feeding them food they eat (various Ken's flakes and Cobalt flakes) rather than just let sit at the bottom (Tetra Color Granules). I also feel like the fish are a bit bigger than when I got them 12 days ago, but I can't be sure.

[Rapture]

3 days post trim

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/12717063_1742653732614826_1652382136_n.jpg

[Rapture]

Things are still going well and I've now had the fish for 2 weeks.

The most stunted one has a small white growth on his dorsal fin. He eats well and tries to boss around the smaller cobalt.
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/t31.0-8/12771856_10153949767534603_7968368881030226139_o.j pg

Larger turk still working on growing fins back after trimming.
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/12764476_10153949764674603_7651158734591308832_o.j pg

This cobalt is probably the most round of them all, and I wonder each of the discus will look as adults if I keep up with the 80%+ daily water changes and multiple feedings.
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/t31.0-8/12794747_10153949766254603_2932999146200419297_o.j pg

One of the snake skins... both of them are almost always showing their bars.
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/t31.0-8/12764902_10153949775274603_8942301577509843921_o.j pg

Now they don't even let me break up the cubes anymore.
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlt1/t31.0-8/12764457_10153949769404603_7938589598030972307_o.j pg

[Rapture]

The little Turk's white growth resolved. All fish are well. Missed a water change last night but they seemed to be unaffected. The larger Turk's fins have almost completely grown back. I think in one more week they will be normal length. I stopped feeding the home made food for now, it seemed like it was difficult for the fish to eat it because it was made using only a meat grinder. Planning on thawing it out, adding a couple more ingredients, and using a food processor next.

[Rapture]

Driftwood finally sank!
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/12822539_185458058494787_24669415_n.jpg

Waiting for Al's FDBW
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/11355088_1684188461849357_1361320985_n.jpg

Another update on the Turk's trimmed fins
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/11349353_543217312525504_1605626921_n.jpg

[Akili]

Both the driftwood and the trimmed turk looking good.

[Rapture]

Thanks!

[Rapture]

I ended up having some issues with this group of fish when a couple of them started darting into things and whirling. A couple of fish died pretty rapidly while I tried to decide whether to medicate or not. The experience was pretty well documented on this ER thread: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?123628-Darting-fast-circles-jumping-rubbing&highlight= In the end I lost 4 fish, I believe the last one due to poor water flow during meds when my water pump wasn't functioning properly. After meds were complete (metro, prazi, levimasole), the last two fish seemed fine, other than being very skittish due to being down to only 2 fish in the tank. I bought more fish from the same discus store - this time I tried to choose only the better shaped ones. Since they looked great at the store, and I wasn't sure if my previous water parameters had anything to do with he demise of the last fish (questionable ammonia), and I wanted the last two fish to have more discus tankmates ASAP, I added them directly to the tank without quarantine. About 3 days later, I saw one of the new ones scratching, and immediately raised temp and started the same course of medications as before. I do regret that my first two fish will have to go through treatments again, so that's the first and last time I skip quarantine as I start becoming more serious about fish keeping. I think that 3 fish total have shown scratching behavior that I noticed, and after some treatment, I have only seen one scratch a day or two ago. I also recently started running a carbon filter from my tap since we have had a lot of rain and major flooding lately, which really seemed to help two fish that were stressed after water changes. Almost finished with meds, so hopefully everything is good after that. No losses thus far

I am not happy with the Hamburg Mattenfilter - it traps a lot of waste and food and makes a big mess of the water when I take it out to rinse it, so now I am building a wet dry sump out of an ugly 29 gallon tank. I'm planning on keeping the Poret foam from the HMF and cutting it to fit in the sump, but it will also have a layer of filter pad above the foam to catch whatever's in the water before it goes into the foam. I'm currently trying to figure out the best way to make sure that water falls through the drip tray evenly. I'm going to put a bulkhead into one of the side panels of the tank for the overflow since the bottom panel is tempered. The main thing I don't like about this is I have to put it in either the left or right side of the tank, since the back is not accessible where the tank sits in the house. I also added a small eheim canister that I already had in the garage, to help with extra water flow and water polishing, which has been working great. I rinse the filter pad and dump out the water in the canister daily, and rinse the other media weekly, which is the same schedule as the HMF. Waiting for a little more funds to finish the sump, as well as a spare tank to cycle that will hold the fish while the sump is installed and tank is drilled.

[Rapture]

I drilled and plumbed the tank without doing much research and ended up with a very loud overflow. I then made a very short standpipe, since I drilled the tank so high, which helped some. Then someone on a local fish group informed me that an overflow box with 2 standpipes would be much safer (and almost silent), so I am planning on going that route very soon. I currently have the sump running along with the canister filter. I finally put a prefilter on the eheim intake. I was dumping the water out of the canister during every water change because of all the beefheart that ended up in there. The filter floss in the sump catches a lot of the junk that used to go straight into the Poret foam, so I am happy that I built the sump. I am planning on adding some Marine Pure media to it as well. I would like to add 2 more discus to the tank, but am waiting for my quarantine tank to finish cycling this time around. I am also currently feeding exclusively homemade beefheart/seafood mix and each of the fish now get full bellies after eating.

Video update:
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/13264701_1719404055016001_898764992_n.mp4

[rickztahone]

The 2 stand pipe overflow you are referring to is called a Herbie overflow. Almost dead silent as well. The only difference between that and a bean animal overflow is that the herbie runs a wet emergency while the BA does not

[Rapture]

Yeah, I am planning on getting the eshopps pf-1000 but it was out of stock when I tried to purchase it today. I was able to get a new eheim return pump, though. The pump I'm currently using has an issue with the cord and only stays on when positioned a certain way.

[farebox]

Just following your thread and may I make some suggestions to you. Since your are just starting off I would go with quality stock from a SD sponsor(Hans, Kenny's, etc.). Recommend the overflow system from Lifereef.com, cost a few dollars more than the Eshopps, but has been proven over 29 yrs without an flood. I have one on my 125G since Aug 2014. DIY sump is the way to go. I have an 20G long on my 125G, made a drip tray out of eggcrate hung from tank rim using s-hooks. Next drips down to K1 and thru two poret foam pads from Swiss Tropicals. Last area houses 2 qtrs. Marine pure, 2ltrs. seachem Matris bio media, two 300W heaters, and the return pump. I have 16 very happy healthy discus and tankmates. I have applied all the info I could find on SD to get me the level I'm at now in this hobby. Good luck and just trying to help out fellow discus keeper starting out. Check video: https://youtu.be/mJHx56sDQsU?list=UUpoGw7v_aNDj7FYpxr6OSrQ

[Rapture]

Thanks for posting. The German discus found at the store I go to are supplied by Hans. My sump is made and running already, but I am still planning to add more media to it. Some of the media will be similar to yours. I really like having the sump!

[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks for posting. The German discus found at the store I go to are supplied by Hans. My sump is made and running already, but I am still planning to add more media to it. Some of the media will be similar to yours. I really like having the sump!

Do yourself and the fish a flavor and order directly from Hans so you can avoid the LFS as a possible contamination source. :) Plus you can order exactly what you want.
Pat

[Rapture]

Thanks, I will definitely consider it the next time I get a group. I do really like the discus store owner though - he's been very helpful. Watching the fish I've already gotten from him over the next few months will likely be the deciding factor of if I get a group from him again.

[farebox]

Maybe when you friend (LFS) orders his new fish from Hans, ask him to order the fish you want and not to place in his tanks upon arrival, you can pick the up the fish from him yourself for your tank???? Just trying to help out...

[Rapture]

Definitely another option. Not against ordering from Hans at all, I'd just also love to support a nice person who likes discus so much that he opened a store in this city just for discus. Timing my next batch during one of his shipments could be a win-win.

[Rapture]

Got 2 more discus and an L134 from the discus store. No quarantine again... I thought my quarantine tank was finished with its fishless cycle, but then I accidentally poured the Nitrite test tube back in the tank instead of in the sink??? So I changed out all the water before testing Nitrate. The other tank I have cycling was not finished. Since ammonia may have played a part in the deaths of some of my first fish, I didn't want to mess with that again. The fish have been doing very well for the past couple of weeks. They are all growing and I think the largest one is 4.5". I hope they are growing at a reasonable rate. Eyes seem a little large. I think they look nice, but not quite as good as on the Stendker website.

Video: http://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/13408280_261122857612109_1033598369_n.mp4

[farebox]

Okay, you're fish look fine to me, keep it going.

[Rapture]

Uploaded to youtube this time.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7XNADPthNg

[ktm4us6]

Good luck with everything.

[Rapture]

I believe the largest ones are coming up on 5" or more. There's also a L134 pleco in there now that pretty much just lives in the wood. I'd like to get some kind of invert to clean up around the plants at some point. Ordered some Marine Pure to add to the sump today.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syl44u1f78o

[Rapture]

All fish are well, still feeding beefheart mix twice daily, changing water every 3 days usually. Added Media Pure to the sump and using 100 micron filter pad in the drip tray to keep the sump clean. Also running an Eheim 2215, mostly for the purpose of having some Purigen going, but planning on getting a reactor for this at some point instead. More good news is I found a 90 gallon so that I can upgrade a bit while staying in the same footprint of the 75, and maybe even getting away with using the same stand... although I'd also like to build a stand without a center brace for easier access to the sump.

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/13712520_1736370703303182_771409701_n.jpg

[Dhavalsp]

they all have grown so well. I am glad that WC in 3 days and 2 times feeding has worked out well for you...

btw, loved that leopard...it is going to be magnificent after it hits 6 inch + size...

[Rapture]

Thanks a ton. In the beginning I did perform large water changes once daily when I used a large sponge filter (Hamburg Mattenfilter), but I believe that multi stage filtration and not overfeeding have allowed for less frequent water changes, which is much more compatible with my work schedule. I have combined advice from different breeders and keepers and I hope that it continues to provide the fish with what they need to keep growing. Right now it looks like the largest ones are pretty on par with the Stendker growth chart, even though there has been some trial and error on my part.

[Rapture]

Some recent cell phone/instagram pics.... some day I will get nicer pics with a real camera.

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/14099624_1637846033193366_1669697578_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/14073253_183932888694613_1455513784_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/14240539_315433858847994_1420202583_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/13687169_1094124623986891_641115355_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/14240687_173124946429892_1912299857_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/14052352_1022956877821067_774831971_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/14099730_183432055400453_643259048_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/14052678_1256041547760472_1433023096_n.jpg

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/14063685_1270142059665515_1748488885_n.jpg

[Ryan925]

Good lookin fish. I too am a 75G first timer

[Dhavalsp]

nice progress. those cobalts have great shape.

[Rapture]

The 2 Cobalts have paired up and chosen a spot on the driftwood to guard and pick at, sometimes forcefully.

The smallest blue snakeskin started declining pretty rapidly. For a long time, it was at the same social level as the leopard, until a week or a little longer ago, I noticed the leopard showing better colors, eating more, and pushing some of the bigger discus around, as well as the little blue snakeskin. At first I wasn't sure if it was still eating or not, but now it is definitely apparent that it has lost quite a bit of weight, usually isn't showing good colors, and has started to get some fin damage. I've been slacking on water changes, so I'm going to try to do them more often and hope that helps. Also considering moving the Cobalts out to change the dynamics in the tank.

[Rapture]

Female Cobalt is laying eggs. Male or other discus are eating them. :P


https://youtu.be/OwXKtYFJl-Q

[Rapture]

Here's the right coding for the video. Quick Reply brings up a different code.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwXKtYFJl-Q