my 90 gal any suggestions?

[happygirl65]

Hello all,

Here is a picture taken this morning of my 90 gal planted tank. It has been planted for about a week and I am still waiting for a lot of the stems and vals to fill in etc, I may have to remove some of the swords as things grow in, but otherwise how do you think this tank would do as a discus tank?

I will be moving most if not all of the angels as they are pairing and are already tearing up some of my stems in their efforts to "defend" their territories... one in particular is starting to be a bully and one is clearly the vicitm so I am getting another tank ready today incase I need to move some right away.

I am wondering if this is just good practice with the angels as to what will also happen with a group of discus when they mature and pair off. I have raised these 6 angels together since they were nickel sized and everything was lovely until a couple of months ago. The move from the 55 to the 90 gal tank only stopped the bickering for about 1 day. :) I thought it would cool them off for a little longer but the ones I thought were a pair still seem to be hanging out together and defending their spot so I guess they must be.

Are adult discus less aggressive than angels? Or all they all pretty aggressive when it comes to pairing up? Will a nice planted tank survive it? lol

[GrillMaster]

Looks great! That would be an awsome Discus tank.

As far as aggression and angels or discus taking out stem plants, that shouldn't pose a problem once the plants start rooting. I am assuming that the fish are uprooting the stem plants.

The angels are just reestablishing their territory in the new tank.

I have both angels and discus at the moment. They spar all the time but the discus spar more than the angels do. Definitely one of the hobby perks! I love the tail slaps...:D

There are members here who have had Discus spawn in their planted tanks on anubia leaves and driftwood with no plant issues. I believe Scolly has had 3 pairs spawn in his tank at one time. Once the plants are established you wont have issues with them and the fishes aggressiveness.

tc
Mark

[Eyecandy]

Hi.. The tank is "lookin good". It should make discus real happy.
I have adult angels in one tank and semiadult/ adult discus in the big tank and definitely see that my angels are far more aggressive than the discus. In my 120 I have 8 semi adult discus made up in part,of 2 pairs each spawning at opposite ends of the 4 foot tank at the same time and aside from a bit of charging to secure "their spot" (the filter inlet tubes on either side" they all get along just fine. With angels I have seen major aggression breakout... not so with the discus.. Once the discus fry even got to the free swimming stage..
Both my tanks are planted with swords, anubas, xmas moss, crypts etc and neither the discus or angels both them.. so once established I think your plants would be safe.. If you are planning on putting the angels and discus together in the same tank you might have to really watch at feeding to insure the discus get enough as well as the level of aggression at angel pairing. Don't know if the 90 will be enough "turf" for pairing of both species at the same time...depends how many you have and their temperments.. HTH Sue:angel:

[happygirl65]

Thanks for the responses. :)
Mark,
I think they are trying their hand at their OWN aquascape. The tail slaps are actually kind of fun to watch, It's when they charge each other that I get concerned. So far I don't think they are actually injuring each other, more like harrassment.

It is funny that the three little discus I have in another tank get more aggressive toward each other at feeding time but with the angels it seems like the only time they put their bickering aside to get some food. I do spend a good 10 min feeding them to make sure everybody gets some.

As far as the plant damage goes, some of the leaves of the ludwigia and rotala are actually ripped off. So far it's not too bad, and I haven't caught them in the act in this tank...but these same "angel" fish completely took out all of the hygro and bacopa(and there was a lot) in my 55 gal over a few months. It seemed they were actually eating it! I had to give up on stems in there because stems were all that was left....no leaves.

They don't seem to like to eat these stem plants like they did the others...but the vals are now being broken off near the tops....lots of floating debris...maybe they need more green in their diet?

They do attack the algae wafers like nobody's business. The poor BN's don't have a chance once the angels finish off the sinking bits, pellets and flakes they are after the algae wafers. It's like they think they are starving all of the time. I have started feeding them twice a day now so I am hoping that will help ease the plant damage or at least tell me if they are doing it because I am not feeding them enough.

Sue,
I think you are right, this is not even enough turf for the angels. It's funny that the pair actually seem less aggressive now than the other 4. :)

I think I am going to call the LFS and see what they say about maybe bringing the others back for credit. Which will give me lots more room for discus anyway. :) I am going to use my retired 55 gal for a growout tank. Then I think when the discus reach 4+ inches I will rehome them in the 90 planted and see what happens.

What a fun and exciting hobby! :)

[judy]

You might try putting a romaine lettuce leaf in there, with its bottom weighted down so it sits on the tank bottom, or using one of those plant clips you can buy that stick on the side of the tank. When I kept angels, they always went for the romaine and I think it helped keep them off the other plants...

[happygirl65]

do you blanch the lettuce or just leave it raw? That sounds like a good idea. :)

[judy]

just leave it raw. Spinach or chard is good, too. They love the greens...
I used to fish it out after a day because it goes soft and that's the start of decay, which you don't need...

[GrillMaster]

do you blanch the lettuce or just leave it raw? That sounds like a good idea. :)

Just leave it raw. :)

[AADiscus]

I think your tank looks good and I like your plant selection. I can't help you with the angels in there though. Planted tanks is new to me but I am learning. ;)

[Dissident]

If the plants you got were emmersed growth they leaves will die and full off, also if there is not enough light getting tot hel ower leaves the same will happen. Once the stem plants hit the top of the water, trim them about 1/2 way, discard the bottom half and replant.

I have kept angels in a planted and never had the problem of the eating my plants, but thats not to say that is not what is happening.

It should fill out to be a nice discus tank, will just take a month or two of good care (like any newly planted tank) to really start filling out.

[happygirl65]

Thanks! I hadn't actually thought about the die back factor. That could well be.

It does seem to be settling down day by day. I have not actually seen them ripping at these plants like I did before, but I am trying the lettuce and they do seem to like some green in their diet.