New to discus

[saltydog]

Sorry for the double thread. but i posted this in the community section and realized i think i posted in the wrong section as it does not get included on new post. So hope this is right. Moderators please move if needed. i am use to our small local forum..sorry for any confusion i did not see a seperate welcome section...anyway here is my introduction:


Hi all. I am not sure if this is the right place to introduce myself but here it goes..... i am a moderator and a member of a local North Carolina forum and they lead me here and said you guys rock when it came to discus advice etc....
Anyway, My name is Cammie and I have been keeping saltwater tanks for about 12 years. I have always loved discus and have decided the time is now to give it a try. i am converting my 180 gallon reef to a planted discus tank. i am sure I will have lots of questions as I go along so please be patient with me. I am not only new to discus but also new to FW...well kind of. i have had small FW tanks years ago, but nothing to brag about really. Anyway I began tearing down and parting out my reef this past weekend and it has been quite emotional actually but I am sure my up coming adventure will be rewarding. i am still keeping one of my salt tanks as I cannot totally get out but here is a pic of my 180 before I tore it down this past week

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm140/camsan92/DSC00412.jpg

Soon to be discus planted tank...wish me luck along the way. i will post my build here on this forum and advice and guidance is always appreciated. Thanks ahead of time :D

[Double Up]

Best of luck!! My first go around with a planted discus tank was a disaster!!

[zamboniMan]

Best of luck!! My first go around with a planted discus tank was a disaster!!

Most people's are.

[Finatic]

Welcome and good luck. I think you will enjoy FW and Discus. I had a few SW tanks several years ago, and really like discus, although they are no less, and in fact maybe even more work. It does however seem to be strangely more rewarding though.

I know the lure of a planted discus tank is what almost drags alot of us here, but if I had to go back, I would do more of a biotope tank. Lots of driftwood, rocks and a few if any plants. I also would grow out my juvies in a BB tank, then add them as adults to my show tank. That or start out with full grown adults instead.

Just my 2 cents...

Good luck, and get ready to be hooked!

[Tropheus]

Hey Cammie,

I am an ex reefer as well. i had a 100 gallon SPS before landing back into discus and it is amazing how a bare bottom discus tank with 4 inch Discus of different variety can blow away a loaded reef tank. There is just something about the simple sophisticated nature of a healthy discus that is magical and breath taking. Be prepared to change water though. That is the one thing you get lazy with reef tanks. It's more about monitoring with a reef as opposed to the crystal clear water and H2O changes that are required daily or every other day with these guys. I am not expert but I completely understand the transition you are making. You will not regret it.:D

[saltydog]

Thanks all. I am looking forward to the challenge. It seems that perhaps there is not a liking of planted tanks here. I am definitely going to add driftwood as some main attractions with the plants but if I were to go with less plants and more of a biotope look and mire lightly planted what would be the suggested substrate?? I am not opposed to that. I was going to go with eco complete but if i go with lightly planted is that necessary?

[Finatic]

Sand is your substrate of choice. Keep it not too deep. It is great as nothing settles into the sand, so cleaning is easy since waste settles on top and is easy to spot. And it is not that people dont like plants. Many do both a discus and planted tank well, but usually one requires more attention than the other, and if I had to pick, I would pick the discus as plants require much attention also.

A true Biotope just looks cool. I wish I would have seen more than all of the cool planted tanks that drew me in. The rocks and driftwood look better IMHO.

[zamboniMan]

Thanks all. I am looking forward to the challenge. It seems that perhaps there is not a liking of planted tanks here. I am definitely going to add driftwood as some main attractions with the plants but if I were to go with less plants and more of a biotope look and mire lightly planted what would be the suggested substrate?? I am not opposed to that. I was going to go with eco complete but if i go with lightly planted is that necessary?

Nah people like them here just have a more understanding view of what it takes to pull it off. Most of us love nothing more than to have a beautifully planted discus tank. Planted tanks are difficult to begin with, add discus and its a whole new beast.

[Scribbles]

Welcome to SD! Planted tanks are gorgeous however the needs of discus make it a bit more challenging than other fish. Adult discus are better suited to a planted tank as the heavy feeding that juvies require can make maintaining water quality difficult. Discus will also try to blend in with their surroundings and a tank with a dark substrate or background can make the discus darker or can cause some strains to pepper. Check out the planted tank section, there is plenty of good info there and on the rest of the forum.

Chris

[saltydog]

Just wanted to update my tank. It has been about 5 months since the setup.

here ya go

Looking through the left end of the tank
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm140/camsan92/DSC00918.jpg
Right end
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm140/camsan92/DSC00919.jpg
FTS
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm140/camsan92/DSC00917.jpg

Another FTS
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm140/camsan92/DSC00916.jpg

I have noticed that the right side has much more growth under 14K 250 MH than the right which is under 10k 250 MH. I would have thought it would have been opposite.

Anyway I am getting mad growth on the vals of course and moderate growth on the others. I need to cut back the val some for the other plants to grow and fill in.

[Spardas]

Very nice and very clean looking.

I guess you don't mind the peppering if you went with black substrate.

How well are your discus eating? How long have you had them in the tank? They look like juveniles, how big are they and where did you get them from? How often do you feed them?

[saltydog]

Thanks! I have had most all of them except for 4 for about 4 months. the other 4 I got about 2 months ago. They eat like PIGS...little puppy dogs whenever I am near the tank!! I feed them twice a day and they eat bloodworms. i am also feeding new life spectrum flake food though but they look at it like ...what the heck is that, i also try beefheart and other mixtures but it is a no go. i will keep trying a mixture though. I have three feeding cones set up and they go to them like sharks and then i also free feed in the column and most will snatch it form my hand before it even hits the water good. the congos and other fish eat the flake though. Yes they are all juvis and have done some major growing and coloring in the last couple of months. I do have two of the biggest ones that have paired up and have laid eggs about 15 times. They became wigglers once and i am thinking of moving them to a separate tank. Still learning LOTS but it has been fun along the way!!!! I have absolutely no regrets breaking down my reef and changing over that is for sure.

i got most of my fish from a local breeder and a few of the others I found at a LFS close by. As for peppering no i don't mind and I have not seen it progress much since I got them...still learning about that too ;). I prefer the dark substrate and it is the eco complete for my plants.

[saltydog]

I want to add about the peppering. Only the few lighter colored ones show signs of it. Is that really a bad thing? Just curious.
Thanks

[MatthewLP]

So if black substrate is a bad thing and you want gravel. what *is* a good choice?

[Spardas]

I would increase the feeding regiment if possible. Juveniles really do require more protein in their diet with more frequency during the day. Bloodworm alone will not be enough, you'll need more variety in the food. Try ordering some of Mal's freeze dried black worms from Al. Once they're accustomed to one type of food, it'll take a bit longer to wean them onto other food but be patient. A healthy discus will eat what you give it in due time.

Do you make your own BH mixtures or do you buy them? For stubborn fishes, I starve them for a day or 2 and feed them in the morning only the food I want them to eat. If they're still not taking it, I'll feed them their favorite food along with the new food at the same time mixed together so they will eat both. I have never failed to wean all of my discus to eat what I want it to eat. They're all on flakes, pellets, BH mix, SF mix, bloodworm, FDBW, etc. The key is not to give in to them but make them eat what you want them to eat.

What temperature do you keep your fish at? Increasing the temperature slowly will increase their metabolism and just may entice them to eat as well.

It's hard for me to see if those fishes are stunted or not but how large are they now? Four months is a substantial amount of time for juveniles to grow, so I'm just wondering how big they were when you got them and how big they are now. As far as peppering goes, there's no real issue. All discus with pigeon blood will exhibit peppering. The black background and substrate will make it much more pronounce because the fish will try to match its environment.

How big are the pairs now? If you're looking to raise wrigglers, look in the breeding section. There's a lot of great information there.

As far as acquiring discus fish, I'd recommend trying the sponsors on this site. The quality is excellent.

[saltydog]

Thanks I will try the food mixture. The fish I have had I would say have maybe almost doubled in size. Now I am awful with measurements. I am one of those people that say something is 6 inches when it is really 12. I will post some closer shots tomorrow. I have. Many:). They eat like horses and are pretty chunky. But i am a big over feeder when i do feed. The ones i got 4 months ago were about 6 months when I got them if that, those are the bigger ones. The other ones ( smaller ones) I got about two months ago were about 2 months old or so i was told,( 50 cents piece size anyway) with almost no color. Now the ages is what i was told so i am not 100% sure on that but i can say lots of color changing and growth since i got them, that is one thing i do know.
Thanks for the tips. I will see what i can do about the feeding. I can get some more things tomorrow

Oh and i keep my temp at about 84

[saltydog]

As far as ordering the freeze dried black worms from Al is he a member?
Thanks. I started thinking about the ages agin...really I don't really remember the ages. I am thinking for my older ones the guy told me 4 -6 months old and then the smaller ones 2 but again. Don't hold me to it

[birdog]

I believe Al started this site, and as far as Mal's worms, it seems it's a concensus, everybody's fish loves them.

[saltydog]

Thanks I just ordered some from Al. Looking forward to getting them :)