My First Discus Tank (ahhH!)

[danwpc]

OK,

I can't contain my excitement anymore: I've got to share my most recent experience! Yesterday I lined up in the morning to get my hands on some of the discus at a LFS.

I am now the proud owner of 5 juvi/sub-adult discus!

I bought two blue turquoise, 1 brilliant green (wow!), 1 pigeon blood, and 1 red turq.

I brought them home, let them acclimatize in their bags for a little bit. Spent about 30mins adding a bit of water until I thought they were ready to go. I netted them in tank and so far they have been doing AMAZING. Seriously I never would have thought they would be doing as well as they are now! (Cross my fingers that it stays this way!)

They are all showing such amazing behavior. I even hosted a party last night with 50+ people,loud music etc. in the same room, with them and they weren't skitish at all!

They are already running to the front of the tank every time I walk close by thinking I'm going to give them a snack, and when I do they all eat like ravenous PIGS! I've even done a water change and I had to basically push them out of the way so I could move around! They are all a bunch of show-offs!

Wow, anyways I couldn't be more excited! They are such amazing fish I just hooooppppeeee that they grow up without too many issues (yah right)!

Wish me luck guys! Enjoy the pics!


The Tank:
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0257.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0265.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0267.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0260.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0268.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0272.jpg

Red Turq (He's the boss around these parts =P)

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0261.jpg

Brilliant Green (Second in command =P)

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0201.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0204.jpg

The whole crew!

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0264.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/DSCN0266.jpg

Here's link to a video of the tank!

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/th_DSCN0273.jpg (http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s13/danwpc/New%20Additions/?action=view&current=DSCN0273.flv)

[fishmama]

Ahhhh....the first...ya' never forget it...how exciting! That's a beautiful planted tank you have too! Congrats on the new additions!

[ficher]

looks great fish and tank.
What kind of pump (filter system) do you have?

[phidelt85]

Congratulations to the wonderful world of Discus! :D The look good and that tank is awesome! What size tank is that? I really like that driftwood piece as well..

[pinkertd]

Congratulations! Beautiful planted tank and fish!

[digthemlows]

beautiful tank! Congrats!

[judy]

gorgeous. both the planted tank and the fish. absolutely gorgeous! wow- *really* nice job on the aquascaping.

[danwpc]

Hi all, thanks for the kind words =)

Ficher: I'm using a Cascade 1000 (approx. 290 GPH I think?)

Phidel: Its a 55gal =P

[joking103]

Wow! I have never seen anything so beautiful in a aquarium! It's amazing!

[brewmaster15]

Hi Dan,

Your tank is very beautiful...Congratulations on the new Discus...and their being your first does make them special..:)

Can I ask what your tank maintenance and feeding regime will be?


Something That I feel I should point out on these discus is in a few pics they tails look ragged? Keep an eye on that.....If these discus went from the LFS to your tank...you may need to really watch them closely.

Best of luck!
al

[katt-ja]

i love the one red discus. great contrast!

plus your tank looks incredible!

[marzlam791]

awesome tank.. do an of those have the big eye problem?? or are they just simply too young to tell

[danwpc]

Hi All,

Thanks again for the support =P

Brew: My feeding routine right now is blood worms and brine shrimp, relatively small feedings about 4x a day. They are feeding aggressively and from what I can tell their stomachs are looking somewhat "full" afterwards. I'll likely try and get them on some kind of flake, or the tetra colour bits, or whatever their called. As for my maintenance, I was planning on doing a 45-50% on Tuesdays (just finished one right now) and a 30-40% on Sat or Sun (whichever I have time for). I too noticed the ragged fins. Is this simply just a sign of physical damage to the fins (ie. from shipping and handling) or is this a warning sign of anything else (ie. viral, parasitic, bacterial?)

Any comments or suggestions to help me keep these guys happy and healthy is more than welcome. I am obviously a newb when it comes to most things (however, I will admit to having done a decent amount of homework before making the choice)

Glad you guys are enjoying =) =)

[GrillMaster]

Hi Dan...Welcome to "SD."

You definately know what your doing with the plants and scape!! Very nice indeed... :thumbsup:

The Discus are a lil stunted, but I am sure that you will keep em happy!

Check out this forum.

http://forum.bidka.org/index.php

Several members here are on this forum including myself.

I am sure you can find some local breeders over there. They are mostly guys an gals from your neck of the woods. Paul aka (Pcsb23) is an admin here an runs the forum over there across the pond. Great people on that forum! Almost as nice as the people here...:D

tc
Mark

[Diamond Discus]

Wonderful tank and fish. How do your plants handle the higher temps for Discus?

[kitfoxdrvr]

Beautiful tank, Dan! That is a nice job aquascaping probably the hardest tank size and shape to work with (55 gallon). Did you adjust your EI dosing at all? I would be interested in knowing how you modified it for the discus and for the multiple water change schedule.

On the fins, I have had that before on recently shipped fish. If your lfs got them in recently, it could be ammonia burns from shipping. If that is the case, just keep the water quality high and they will recover. One thing to look for if it is ammonia burns, you could have gill damage, which could lead to parasites. Watch for clamping of one gill cover as a possible sign. If you see that, you may want to visit the Disease, Sickness and Medication section and read up. I have had positive results with Prazi Pro with these symptoms, but I am by no means an expert.

Great work, Dan!

Steve

[danwpc]

Steve: Thanks for the heads up on the "ammonia burn" I'll definitely keep an eye on the gills! This is great info.

As for the EI dossing, I'm sticking to my regular fert schedule, however I'm dropping my Nitrate dossing by half. I think the increased waste will more than make up that difference as my bioload has significantly increased with these additions.

Bastalker: I did notice that the growth was stunted. Particularly in my red turq. However, I'm satisfied with other features such as bright eyes, body shape and colouring/pattern. =) Plus I'm such a newb that I wouldnt know the difference =P haha, nor does my gf.
Bas, thanks for the link, however, I noticed that this is for London in the UK. I'm in LONDON ONTARIO. WAYYYY less cool, than Europe. =P

[danwpc]

Wonderful tank and fish. How do your plants handle the higher temps for Discus?

Diamond: I've yet to have a good grasp on how the plants are responding. Give me two more weeks and I can get back to you on that.

[GrillMaster]

Hey Dan...Trust me not to notice the flag...:o

How often do you have to trim that star grass? Mine would almost fill half the tank in a couple of weeks! Fastest growing stuff I ever seen! They are definately great nitrate sponges! Hydracoytle and hygro polysperma was close second.

That is probably a good plan to reduce the KN03 an KH2P04 a tad. The plants will let you know if you need more anyway.

Do you dose iron at all?

tc
Mark