Biotope, sort of....

[pcsb23]

A few months ago for various reasons I removed my wilds from the display tank in my lounge. I finally got around to reworking the tank and moving the wilds back in there.

Whilst its not an absolute true biotope, all of the plants are found in the Amazon region, well except that one is a cultivar, but... oh and the BN's are domestic bred. The discus and the cory's are wild caught...

The tank is a 380litre (100 US gallons) tank, substrate is Seachem Red Flourite, the tank has 120W T8 lighting over it. It is filtered by 2 eheim filters, one is a classic 2217 the other an eheim pro. Ph runs around 6.2 and it has a conductivity between 80 and 100 microsiemens.

The tank is set up to be low tech and is deliberately sparsley planted. The swords will fill out with time and the Lilaeopsis macloviana should also fill in nicely. The objective was to create a tank that the discus will feel comfortable in. The plants are E.Ozelot, E. Red Diamond, Lilaeopsis macloviana and Vesicularia dubyana "Christmas" or Christmas tree moss. All plants were chosen as they originate from South America, can tolerate high temps, soft acidic water and don't need mega watts of light.

Hope you enjoy the pics :)

[pcsb23]

Some more....:)

[pcsb23]

Last ones for now....

[Dolphin Dip]

awsome fish and tank!
i even love the driftwood. it's weird how broad leaves like that make a tank seem so much smaller. once my discus grow up a bit i want to do something just like that!

[fishmama]

Nice tank and super fish. I especially like the driftwood setup.

[plecocicho]

I doubt, thah java fern could be found in the Amazon.
Yout tank looks great with that badass root. Where did youget it and what type of wood is it? Beutifull brown dicsus. How much did they cost and what strain are they?
lp

[architect1]

Amazing tank Paul, love your wilds, I have always loved your fish. Nice work, and good luck on the tank.

[B-O-F]

Very nice. Have you, or anyone else, noticed any difference in the behavior and demeanor of the fish when they are in a more natural biotope ?

[pcsb23]

Thanks all for the comments, the discus are in fact a blue discus, canuma blues to be precise, the wood is several pieces carefully stacked, I have not been able to find a one-piece that is suitable, I'd prefer to have a bigger piece but with slimmer branches/roots..


Very nice. Have you, or anyone else, noticed any difference in the behavior and demeanor of the fish when they are in a more natural biotope ?
It's a good question, with wilds I have noticed they settle quicker in a tank with some wood in it, but it is only a matter of a few days, domestics tend to settle faster in BB tanks ime.

[Elite Aquaria]

Paul,

The tank looks great but the canuma blues look even better. Are these the ones you got this past summer.

Dan

[brewmaster15]

I like it Paul...I like it alot.:)...The number of discus is perfect for it as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the tank matures and can't wait for the spawns.;)

-al

[pcsb23]

Paul,

The tank looks great but the canuma blues look even better. Are these the ones you got this past summer.

Dan
Yes Dan they are. Thanks :)


I like it Paul...I like it alot.:)...The number of discus is perfect for it as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the tank matures and can't wait for the spawns.;)

-al
Thanks Al, they are getting to that age too! fingers crossed.

[Condor]

Paul, beautiful tank and fish. Thats some pretty cool driftwood, I like the mossy look.

Adrian

[Green Country Discus]

Paul, that is a very pleasing tank. I really like the set-up and all inhabitants. Do you have much of an algae problem? I have been toying with trying something similar. Again, very nice and thanks for sharing ;).

[Diamond Discus]

Paul, I've had trouble with my grapevine growing round 1/4 inch long tufts of black cottony stuff, only in 2 places, it may be a fungus. Every time I clean it off, it comes back exactly the same. Have you seen any of this on yours. I like the wood, it looks safe with no points to give injury to the fish. The fish look very realxed. Nice job.

[pcsb23]

Paul, beautiful tank and fish. Thats some pretty cool driftwood, I like the mossy look.

Adrian
Thanks Adrian.:)


Paul, that is a very pleasing tank. I really like the set-up and all inhabitants. Do you have much of an algae problem? I have been toying with trying something similar. Again, very nice and thanks for sharing ;).
Thanks Andrew, this is a very new setup but in previous similar setups I haven't had much of an algae prob. Fingers crossed on this one too.


Paul, I've had trouble with my grapevine growing round 1/4 inch long tufts of black cottony stuff, only in 2 places, it may be a fungus. Every time I clean it off, it comes back exactly the same. Have you seen any of this on yours. I like the wood, it looks safe with no points to give injury to the fish. The fish look very realxed. Nice job.
Thanks Sue, the stuff you have growing sounds like BBA or Black beard Algae as I like to call it ;) Targeted and careful application of 3% H2O2 will eradicate it.

[vera]

Beautiful tank,i love moss on yr driftwood:)

[pcsb23]

Thanks vera :)

[alxjss]

OMG!!! Paul, that is sooo nice. Great job! I absolutely LOVE IT;) That wood is awesome and the fish, wow, beautiful. And they r not full grown yet? WOW

[pcsb23]

OMG!!! Paul, that is sooo nice. Great job! I absolutely LOVE IT;) That wood is awesome and the fish, wow, beautiful. And they r not full grown yet? WOW
Thanks Eileen, no they are not full grown just yet, I think they have another year or so before they stop growing.

[tacks]

Paul a very nice looking tank, you could not put anything in there but Wilds. They look great in there. Keep up the good work Ed

[pcsb23]

Paul a very nice looking tank, you could not put anything in there but Wilds. They look great in there. Keep up the good work Ed
Thanks Ed.

[GrillMaster]

Paul I love the scape! The plants will grow in nice for ya and really fill it in!! Perfect sword/moss tank.. You going to use c02, or flourish excel?

Love the wilds!! That will be my next endeavor here in the near future. :)

Please keep us updated with the pics! :)

tc
Mark

[pcsb23]

Paul I love the scape! The plants will grow in nice for ya and really fill it in!! Perfect sword/moss tank.. You going to use c02, or flourish excel?

Love the wilds!! That will be my next endeavor here in the near future. :)

Please keep us updated with the pics! :)

tc
Mark
Thank Mark, not planning on using CO2 on this tank, may need to supplement with excel and probably Fe at some stage, but I'll assess as it goes, it really is quite a low light tank - only 120w - and its a 100US gallons so I need to be a bit careful :)

[Kindredspirit]

I guess it is nice:D


It is really beautiful, Paul! You are very creative ~ Jack Of All Trades;)


( when you come to Cali we can get to work on mine! )

[robust discus]

absolutely stunning. Keep it up.

[GrillMaster]

Thank Mark, not planning on using CO2 on this tank, may need to supplement with excel and probably Fe at some stage, but I'll assess as it goes, it really is quite a low light tank - only 120w - and its a 100US gallons so I need to be a bit careful :)

This is true! Your just gonna let the fish do the fertilizing for ya...Maybe a splash of Fe every now an then. I'm gonna remind ya in about 6 months for an update pic. :D :D ;)

tc
Mark

[pcsb23]

I guess it is nice:D


It is really beautiful, Paul! You are very creative ~ Jack Of All Trades;)


( when you come to Cali we can get to work on mine! )
Thanks Marie, and I'll be happy to get to work on yours :)


absolutely stunning. Keep it up.
Thank you.


This is true! Your just gonna let the fish do the fertilizing for ya...Maybe a splash of Fe every now an then. I'm gonna remind ya in about 6 months for an update pic. :D :D ;)

tc
Mark
Basically, yes I am, I'll monitor NO3, PO4 and Fe to start, I think that Fe and light will be the limiting factors, but time will tell.

[Diamond Discus]

Thanks Sue, the stuff you have growing sounds like BBA or Black beard Algae as I like to call it ;) Targeted and careful application of 3% H2O2 will eradicate it.

I've tried yout remedy Paul, so far so good, it is not back. Thanks for the great tip!!

[plecocicho]

What are tank measurements (in cm)? Could you describe tank equipment more precisely and how often do you do wc?
lp

[pcsb23]

What are tank measurements (in cm)? Could you describe tank equipment more precisely and how often do you do wc?
lp
the tank measures 120cm x 50cm x 70cm high. I do w/c twice a week of around 30% each time.

[calihawker]

Hey Paul,
Do you have any problems with your discus injuring themselves on the driftwood or the rocks.
Beautiful setup by the way.

Steve

[pcsb23]

Hi Steve,

During the first few days whilst they settle they can sometimes spook and catch themselves, its very rare though. When they went back into this tank, they had been in a bb tank for a few weeks, they immediately swam in and out of the branches, it was quite cool really :). Glad you like it, it has a lot of growing in to do, but thats all part of the fun.

[pcsb23]

Well its been 11 days since I did this tank so here are some updates. The moss has suffered because the BN's browse it:mad: but the rest looks pretty good:bandana:

2 of the pics were taken with flash, the other three with just the tank lights. Enjoy :)

[alxjss]

Coming along nicely Paul. With no surprise of course. What is the plant on top of the water? I like that. I want to do this to dim some light in my tank. U NO shadows?:o

[pcsb23]

Coming along nicely Paul. With no surprise of course. What is the plant on top of the water? I like that. I want to do this to dim some light in my tank. U NO shadows?:o
The floating plant is Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium Laevigatium) - it grows really fast so I always end up removing a bowl full and dumping it in the garden!

As for the lights, the shadows are caused by the crappy light fittings having bulbs that are about a foot shorter than the width of the tank!, but it looks ok so ... :D

[Joander123]

thats something id like to eventually do, im still getting my feet wet though. Do you find yourself needing to do more WC's?

Why the special names for the blues? Is that were they came from? I have three wild blues and they look to be the same as your... are they supposed to look different?

J

[Silent Running]

That's a cool setup! It'll be interesting to watch it evolve.

Paul

[pcsb23]

thats something id like to eventually do, im still getting my feet wet though. Do you find yourself needing to do more WC's?

Why the special names for the blues? Is that were they came from? I have three wild blues and they look to be the same as your... are they supposed to look different?

J
I only do w/c twice a week on this tank at the moment, I monitor the water quality closely, but so far so good. The reason for the "Canuma" bit is that is where they originate from.


That's a cool setup! It'll be interesting to watch it evolve.

Paul
Thanks Paul, so will I!.