Should I add discus?

[Dissident]

I have been debating what to put in my new 110gal show tank. It has been established now for 6months with a health population of tetras and I need to add the large 'show fish'. The guys that come to mind are always Discus/altum/Angels in that order.
I want to probe a few of your thoughts to see if I cant make my final decision or perhaps add more confusion ;)

First the tank:
110x gal Planted
pressurized CO2
PH 6.5-7
KH 9
NO3 10ppm
PO4 3-4ppm
temp 82F
lighting 175Wx2 MH, 96Wx2 PC
Fertalize (EI), CSM+B 3xweek, (fe, K, PO4, NO3, Mg, 2xweek as needed)
40% Water change every Sunday

28 RummyNose Tetra
4 Congo Tetra
15 otto
3 SAE
2 Bristlenose Pleco

If I go with Discus what should I look to change? How many? Size?
I have a done a fair amount of reading on the Discus subjects. I kind of want to verify my thoughts before I invest a few hundred dollars on fish.

thanks

[Dood Lee]

Not very many people on this forum have a setup like yours. I only know of one person, shalu, who posts here from time to time. He also has a high tech tank very similar to yours. You might want to register at the www.plantedtank.net forums. Shalu regularly posts there, and since you have very similar setups, I think he would definately be able to help you out.

[PJs]

Hi - My tetras have worked really well with my discus and scalare. (Although I'm afraid I need a new home for my scalare - the male discus will "pursue" it to death if I remove the tank separator.) Your other parameters look good, although not sure on KH. Keeping nitrates as low as possible also important mine are at 5.

I'm just not sure about Congo tetras with discus. If you don't get help on that here, try the FishGeeks website - they are very helpful and have a lot more tanks with combined species.

Just remember to quarantine, of course. You'll want to have a q-tank around anyway, for emergencies.

Gorgeous tank! Can you siphon that gravel well with those small grass-like plants?

[PJs]

Oops! Lighting. From what I understand 3 watts per gallon is for bright level plants - you seem to have much more than this - is that necessary? Could cause algae problems, and possibly quite bright for discus - although let others weigh in here, experience varies on this last.

See http://www.aquabotanic.com/begin.htm
for my source on lighting.

Good luck!

[Dissident]

I sent Shalu a PM, I have been a member on the planted tank for a few years so I shot him a few Q's. Thanks for reminding me, forgot he has discus and planted tanks.


As for lighting, it is high ~5w/gal, with the depth of this particular tank having that extra light is a must. I run the PCs for 12hrs and the MH for 8hrs, the only algae I get is spot on the glass. With the high CO2 (30ppm), regular water changes and ferts it is easy to keep algae at bay.
I have a divided 55gal QT tank that I keep extra plants in and some shrimp so treating new fish is possible.
At my LFS they keep congos with their discus in one of their show tanks so I don’t think that there should be a compatibility issue there. But if anyone has had issues with congos and discus please chime in, I know congos and neocardinia shrimp are a bad idea.

[shalu]

Dissident, I replied to your PM.

The lighting is fine, except I would cut down on the light period: 10 hours PC, 4-6 hour MH. You should see even less algae.

[Dissident]

Thanks for the tips shalu. Very helpfull.

[Dissident]

Well I have been looking around locally and online for some guys for my tank. LFS is pretty much out, runted heart-shaped, or nice 4" for over $100US.

Since I will be ordering online what should I ask/note when picking out the fish since I won't be able to see them. Should i just ask for a particular grade? Peppering? High-fin/regular? etc... Also do any places guarantee their discus to be free of parasites, granted they will go in a QT regardless.

[Greg Richardson]

Where are you located? See if someone near you so you can hand pick.

http://www.frappr.com/simplydiscusaddicts

[Dissident]

I finally broke down and bought 9 (2-3") Discus a few weeks ago. It's kind of sad since I think I have been a member here since 2002 and finally now get some of these guys. Guess you can say I'm well read on the hobby. I got 6 from a local breeder (Blue SS) which were very healthy and 3 (Red Turqs) from a LFS, healthy and good shape but still spent a month in QT.
All are in the 110gal now and loving it, the Congo's don't even know that they are there I think, and the discus aren't bothered by them darting around the tank.
It took me a while to get them to eat something other than blood worms, they are such a mess to clean up. But I still vacuum the hair grass every day to get up any uneaten foods. NO3 has been at a constant 5-10ppm even with the constant feedings (they don't stop eating do they?).
I will be starting up the CO2 system today and keeping a close eye on them for stress and watching the PH. My goal has been to add changes to the tank slowly, I just got the lighting back to normal yesterday. I kept the MH and CO2 off while they were getting adjusted to their new home. The plants are starting to suffer from lack of ferts/CO2/Light so it is time to give them a chance too. I plan to keep the CO2 ~20-30ppm at first(will probably take a week or more to hit those, don’t want to shock the discus with a ph drop of over 2pts in an afternoon), 40ppm scares me now that I have these nice fish.

WC/Ferts Schedule:
WC: tap (Milwaukee water rules)
Mon- 30% Dose 1/4 Macros
Tues- Micros
wed -50% (aged) Dose Macros
thurs- 30% Dose 1/4 Macros
fri- Micros
sat- 50% (aged) Dose Macros
sun- Micros


I’ll try to get some pics up once the plants bounce back a little.

[discus2010]

Wow your tank is amazing! Post some pictures with the discus PLEASE

GOOD LUCK;) :D

[White Worm]

Lets see how things turned out, wheres the pics?

[Suzanne]

Absolutely beautiful, Discus would be the icing on the cake!

[Dissident]

Ill get some pics up Thursday, tonight I have to trim and thin out some of the plants. The valls started to melt from lack of plant attention for the last few weeks. The hairgrass is already getting its color back, a nice trim will get it growing like a weed again.

I was always so concerned with discus, but these guys seem to be loveing their new home. They dont mind the CO2, 5W/gal, or the ferts. Their appitites are agressive and they won't stop eating. I'm worried they will burst ;)

I hope I have the basics down. So far they are eating:
Frozen brine shrimp <their fav
Frozen BloodWorms <they think they are yummy
Omega1 Flakes Color Enhancer <first thing in the morning when they are starving (they are starting to eat more of them the tetras go nuts for it though)

Are there any other foods I should really consider since they are on this diet? I was thinking of putting frozen beefheart into the mix but I read that it can be really messy? They won't even look at tetra bits (the small sinking ones). The breeder i got them from was feeding them Hikari Micro Pellets (and bloodworms) but they are really too large to keep them on those.

slave 2 discus :whip:

[cobaltblue]

Sounds good. I wouldnt use beef heart in a planted tank. Too difficult to get all the uneaten pieces. IME anyway.:)

[Dissident]

Sunlight will cause algae quick, it is waaaaaaaaaayyyyy more intense than a few bulbs over your tank. Even in my 110gal with 5W/gal if i leave the curtains open i will have spot algae on my glass in 48hrs.



OK.... Here are the pics, these guys are 2-3" (most are closer to the 3")
Right after feeding time so they are nice and fat :) I think each ate their weight in brine shrimp tonight. Hope they left room for bloodworms later.... that or some Epsom salt :o

Here is the baby of the bunch: [BSS]
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35/cschema/110x/IMG_3563ul.jpg
[BSS]
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35/cschema/110x/IMG_3549__ul.jpg
[BSS]
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35/cschema/110x/IMG_3544_ul.jpg
[BSS]
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35/cschema/110x/IMG_3532_ul.jpg
[RED TURQ]
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35/cschema/110x/IMG_3496_ul.jpg
[Congo Tetras (Male)]
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35/cschema/110x/IMG_3491_ul.jpg

The rummy nose and the zebra loaches wouldn't hold still long enough to get a pic :( and I got fed up chasing them.

Hope you all enjoyed ;)

-if there are any comments on the fish I guess you should PM me (with the current debate going on). I would appreciate any positive/negative feedback since these are the first discus I have had the pleasure of keeping, and they have been a pleasure they make the tank so much more peaceful, something other than tetras darting around.

[Timbo]

great photography!