Go For It
09-19-2005, 02:36 AM
Okay...
Last Saturday, my Dad and I went to a friends house about an hour and a half from where I live in the hopes of taking home a 60-gallon tank and stand. I can't even explain how excited I was that week... I was literally counting the days until Saturday. However, when we actually got there and saw the tank, it was in pretty bad condition, so we ended up coming home with nothing. I was pretty bummed being that I have been waiting a REALLY long time to get my tank and to begin raising my Discus, so, even though my parents are struggling with some financial problems (...my Dad and a best friend of his left their jobs and have started their own business... it is doing well, but being that it is new, they aren't getting much money back for themselves), they went out to our LFS and ordered me a brand new 60-gallon tank and stand!
I'm pretty excited... the new tank will be able to be picked up at our LFS on Friday by 5 o' clock. :D A close friend of mine gave me a pretty much brand new AquaClear 110 and a submersible heater, so I'm pretty much set. I will be either painting the outside back and bottom of the tank or will be purchasing an "Oceanvisions" background for it and will "fishless cycle" the tank before adding any fish into it. Before purchasing any Discus, I will be saving up and purchasing the needed supplies: a "Python" vaccum/siphon, salad shooter, a water storage container/spare tank with a filter for water changes, ect. As for their diet... I will be following Carol's beefhart recipe and will also give them flake food just to give them some variety. I am also prepared to do 30%-50% daily water changes (with aerated, de-chlorinated, and filtered water of course) as well as vacuuming up any feces or excess food and wiping the inside of the tank with paper towels/sponges. I can't wait to get my tank up and running! :bouncegre
Since this tank is going in the living room, my parents want it to be a presentable community "show tank". I plan on giving it an "under-the-sea theme" and will be using quarz sand for the substrate (...I REALLY like how it looks in Alex's wild Discus tank :) ). It will have a few live, low maintenance plants that could thrive with the low lighting that Discus prefer, but will mainly consist of fake plants (...not the hard plastic type, the soft type for fish with delicate fins) and "sea" decor. However, my parents are giving an exception to the "show tank": through the recommendation of a friend of my Dad's who used to be an extreme fish hobbyist, we will be looking at the Discus at a place that sells only tropical fish and only sells to people with business licenses; we will also be stopping by "Discusfarm" which is located here in Southern California. Our first visit to both locations will be just to see what they have to offer and their pricing range. The exception my parents are giving me is that if we can afford 4 or 5 ADULT (5 inches or up) Discus then we will introduce them into the planted "show tank", however, if we end up purchasing juveniles, they will allow me to raise them in a "bare bottom" tank until they are old enough to be placed in a planted "show tank". So, either way, the Discus will be placed in a planted community "show tank" it's just a matter of WHEN they will be placed in it.
I do have a few questions, though. I am currently not interested in breeding the Discus, I would just like to provide a nice home for them and enjoy them in a nice "show tank". ...will it be smarter for me to just purchase the Discus all in the same sex? If so, male or female? If I am able to purchase the 4 or 5 ADULT Discus, should I introduce them into the tank already decorated and planted and with the other "tank mates" in the tank, should I introduce them with NOTHING ("bare bottom") in the tank and wait a couple weeks then decorate it and then quarantine other fish and gradually add them, or should I introduce them into the decorated and planted tank but with no other fish and then gradually add, after quarantine, their "tank mates"? As for lighting... is their a certain brand/type of bulb you guys would recommend... does the "low lighting" discus prefer have a certain "title" that I could find it by? If I end up getting the juveniles, approximately how long will it be until they would be old/big enough to thrive in a planted "show tank"?
I think that is all I can think of for now. Sorry this got so long... I'm just really excited about this whole thing and want be sure I am prepared and educated to care for the Discus once it's time to bring them home. Thanks again. :thumbsup:
Last Saturday, my Dad and I went to a friends house about an hour and a half from where I live in the hopes of taking home a 60-gallon tank and stand. I can't even explain how excited I was that week... I was literally counting the days until Saturday. However, when we actually got there and saw the tank, it was in pretty bad condition, so we ended up coming home with nothing. I was pretty bummed being that I have been waiting a REALLY long time to get my tank and to begin raising my Discus, so, even though my parents are struggling with some financial problems (...my Dad and a best friend of his left their jobs and have started their own business... it is doing well, but being that it is new, they aren't getting much money back for themselves), they went out to our LFS and ordered me a brand new 60-gallon tank and stand!
I'm pretty excited... the new tank will be able to be picked up at our LFS on Friday by 5 o' clock. :D A close friend of mine gave me a pretty much brand new AquaClear 110 and a submersible heater, so I'm pretty much set. I will be either painting the outside back and bottom of the tank or will be purchasing an "Oceanvisions" background for it and will "fishless cycle" the tank before adding any fish into it. Before purchasing any Discus, I will be saving up and purchasing the needed supplies: a "Python" vaccum/siphon, salad shooter, a water storage container/spare tank with a filter for water changes, ect. As for their diet... I will be following Carol's beefhart recipe and will also give them flake food just to give them some variety. I am also prepared to do 30%-50% daily water changes (with aerated, de-chlorinated, and filtered water of course) as well as vacuuming up any feces or excess food and wiping the inside of the tank with paper towels/sponges. I can't wait to get my tank up and running! :bouncegre
Since this tank is going in the living room, my parents want it to be a presentable community "show tank". I plan on giving it an "under-the-sea theme" and will be using quarz sand for the substrate (...I REALLY like how it looks in Alex's wild Discus tank :) ). It will have a few live, low maintenance plants that could thrive with the low lighting that Discus prefer, but will mainly consist of fake plants (...not the hard plastic type, the soft type for fish with delicate fins) and "sea" decor. However, my parents are giving an exception to the "show tank": through the recommendation of a friend of my Dad's who used to be an extreme fish hobbyist, we will be looking at the Discus at a place that sells only tropical fish and only sells to people with business licenses; we will also be stopping by "Discusfarm" which is located here in Southern California. Our first visit to both locations will be just to see what they have to offer and their pricing range. The exception my parents are giving me is that if we can afford 4 or 5 ADULT (5 inches or up) Discus then we will introduce them into the planted "show tank", however, if we end up purchasing juveniles, they will allow me to raise them in a "bare bottom" tank until they are old enough to be placed in a planted "show tank". So, either way, the Discus will be placed in a planted community "show tank" it's just a matter of WHEN they will be placed in it.
I do have a few questions, though. I am currently not interested in breeding the Discus, I would just like to provide a nice home for them and enjoy them in a nice "show tank". ...will it be smarter for me to just purchase the Discus all in the same sex? If so, male or female? If I am able to purchase the 4 or 5 ADULT Discus, should I introduce them into the tank already decorated and planted and with the other "tank mates" in the tank, should I introduce them with NOTHING ("bare bottom") in the tank and wait a couple weeks then decorate it and then quarantine other fish and gradually add them, or should I introduce them into the decorated and planted tank but with no other fish and then gradually add, after quarantine, their "tank mates"? As for lighting... is their a certain brand/type of bulb you guys would recommend... does the "low lighting" discus prefer have a certain "title" that I could find it by? If I end up getting the juveniles, approximately how long will it be until they would be old/big enough to thrive in a planted "show tank"?
I think that is all I can think of for now. Sorry this got so long... I'm just really excited about this whole thing and want be sure I am prepared and educated to care for the Discus once it's time to bring them home. Thanks again. :thumbsup: