Preffered Backgrounds for Discus

[takumi]

Hi there Everyone

Starting a new tank for my discuss 120cm X 70cm X 70cm with overflow and a 100cm X 50cm X50cm sump

I was warned about a black backround and caribsea black subrate but did not listen - was chasing the look (Matching the lounge colours). As you can deduce I have some pigeon bloods which were clear of peppering when I bought them and in the smaller quarantine tank at home .. but progressively peppered in my Display tank.

Substrate is no problem got a beautiful white silica sand but I must admit I am struggling with choosing a backround colour or even a 3D backround.

I am thinking about a very light grey almost off white colour. I was told that the fish will still pick up the black pigment and ultimately still pepper !

Any help or advice will be appreciated please ....

[camuth8]

Try a planted background. I had a pigeonblood with one and it didn't pepper at all.

Caleb

[takumi]

That is an option ...thanx Caleb. Would like a modern monimalist look ..

[Oscarsx]

That's funny you guys mentiom this, I have a no background, no substrate, tank is in my living room and gets plenty of room light...

Somehow my carnation still has peppering in the bottom of his mouth.
- Oz

[Oscarsx]

That's funny you guys mentiom this, I have a no background, no substrate, tank is in my living room and gets plenty of room light...

Somehow my carnation still has peppering in the bottom of his mouth and very minimal peppering on his sides... >;(
- Oz



- Oz

[Brent1972]

That's funny you guys mentiom this, I have a no background, no substrate, tank is in my living room and gets plenty of room light...

Somehow my carnation still has peppering in the bottom of his mouth.
- Oz
Its not just the background & substrate that cause Peppering , Stress is another one.

[Oscarsx]

Ooohh, that makes more sense.. I will look into that, ty.

- Oz

[DiscusDrew]

Plenty of things can cause peppering, you have to think of them almost like stress bars, which is where they came from. Breeding activity, health issues, tank color, you name it. Genetics also plays a part. As long as its a light blue or any other lighter color you'll be fine. Grey works but not brown in my experience. Light grey I mean. In my opinion the bottom color plays a big role, and you have that done right, so keep looking, you can find cool light backgrounds that will work for pigeons.

[takumi]

Thanx ... I was hoping grey will work.

I agree though that the genetic disposition also has a role to play.

[Eddie]

I am partial to pastels.

[takumi]

Thanx Eddie -

Got my tank and sump yesterday. So I will have to make a decision soooon ...

[Eddie]

Thanx Eddie -

Got my tank and sump yesterday. So I will have to make a decision soooon ...

And what strain/type are you looking to get? Assorted?

[takumi]

Well i have started buying fish a few months ago .. so yes currently assorted types. In hindsight probably not the best choice, would have preffered two strains.

Pigeon Pearl Checkerboard
Silver Pigeon
Cuipera X
Calico (Dominoe)
Golden Leopared
Red Royal Blue
Red Turk
Cobalt
Red Spotted Green
Leopard
Eruption


These are the names as I bought them. They are all @ various sizes.

[pawslover]

Are there strains that do not really get peppering? I haven't bought any discus yet, but the tank has eco-complete & a dark background, which I personally like in my other tanks as the fish really stand out.

[Eddie]

I find a good all around color for assorted strains is a sky blue. Thats just my preference.

[takumi]

Are there strains that do not really get peppering? I haven't bought any discus yet, but the tank has eco-complete & a dark background, which I personally like in my other tanks as the fish really stand out.

Well any with pigeonblood seems to pepper but even that is not a rule. I believe that the peppering can be lessened by good breeding aswell as crossing it with something like a golden variety ...

[Eddie]

Well any with pigeonblood seems to pepper but even that is not a rule. I believe that the peppering can be lessened by good breeding aswell as crossing it with something like a golden variety ...

Top quality pigeonblood will show virtually no peppering at all.

[takumi]

agreed eddie

[drew22to375]

I am partial to pastels.

So Eddie you don't use that krylon gumdrop anymore. I always thought it looked nice on your tanks.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[Eddie]

So Eddie you don't use that krylon gumdrop anymore. I always thought it looked nice on your tanks.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

I use krylon still, pastels. Still have that gumdrop tank....its empty. Waiting for a good cleaning!

[Herbicidal]

I have an AquaTerra 3D background. I was able to hide virtually all my "equipment" behind it for a cleaner look out front. My 155 gal. has been up and running for just over 2 years now. I still love the background! Especially after I switched over to sand and Manzanita branches. For me, a planted tank was too much work. So now I keep it simple.

[takumi]

I have an AquaTerra 3D background. I was able to hide virtually all my "equipment" behind it for a cleaner look out front. My 155 gal. has been up and running for just over 2 years now. I still love the background! Especially after I switched over to sand and Manzanita branches. For me, a planted tank was too much work. So now I keep it simple.

I love the 3D backrounds .. we have access to quite a few in South Africa although i still have a fear of it causing peppering. I come from a marine backround and i am so use to having a sump system. My current tank does not have any sump now so it does not look as clean as i like , not to mention the wife is not use to it. She actually asked me to go back to marines cause the tank looked better :o and that is nothing short of a miracle.

[takumi]

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The tank when it came

[takumi]

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This is the stand for the tank when it came from the welder. Its coated with an antirust coating and has adjustable feet.

[takumi]

75702

Mock-up on my patio.

I have cut out a board and bought closed cell high density foam for the tank to rest on. I have painted the tanks backround a light grey enamel that i mixed myself. It came out a bit lighter than I have hoped but the writting's on the wall. I also painted the stand with a coat of black enamel. I am on holiday for 5 days so the project is on hold. I am limited on space, so i am going to use a sliding door system for the cabinet. Once I have put in track, I will be able to start with plumbing

[Eddie]

Nice looking tank/stand!

[takumi]

Nice looking tank/stand!


Thanks Eddie

I just made the stand a bit to high. Because the sump was so high and I wanted space to work in. I overcompensated and now i'm gonna have to get a step ladder to syphon the Display Tank.

Only bonus is that I understand that the Discus will feel more comfortable with a higher "perch"

[takumi]

some pics of my fish ..

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[takumi]

a few more pics ...


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[Eddie]

Nice fish. That super red pigeon with the thick white pearls is nice!

[takumi]

Nice fish. That super red pigeon with the thick white pearls is nice!

He is quite eye catching , but no the cleanest specimen. By far the greediest in the tank and it shows in his size. Hopefully the new tank with light backround and substrate will make the peppering better ....

[jozwikjp]

I have a 3D background and have had a slight problem with fish squeezing behind it and then getting stuck. Mostly had it happen with 1 3" discus that results in it being stuck for possibly 4-5 days. I finally found it and it was totally lodged between a glass wall and a rubber 3d background. I had some eye damage (hopefully not bacterial infection), but the fish seems to be behaving better.

I have been pushing the sides closed with heavy driftwood seems to be working but it has been somewhat of a pain. I have the top clamped, but I had some problems with the sides mostly. If I had to do it again, I may have had custom rubberized magnetic clamps the length of my glass height made the sides to prevent hiding behind the walls. I didn't want to glue a 72"x30" rubber wall to the back of tank as if I needed to get back there for some reason it would be even more of a hassle.

[Herbicidal]

Jozwikjp - as you probably saw, I have a 3D background too and had a similar issue with the sides since I can't cut a straight line to save my life! :p Here's a link to my journal and if you look at posts 166 and 170, I've included pictures on the 'issue' and what I did to solve it. Just a thought for you.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?83201-155g-planted-Discus-aquarium-with-AquaTerra-3D-background-(picture-heavy)./page9

It's been over a year now since I did the 'overhaul' and everything I did is still working perfectly!

[willzy]

I've got no background at the moment. I did put one on at one stage and it my discus seemed to huddle on the side the background was on. When I removed them they swam around more.

[takumi]

I've got no background at the moment. I did put one on at one stage and it my discus seemed to huddle on the side the background was on. When I removed them they swam around more.

Thats an interesting observation ... thanx

[takumi]

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[takumi]

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[jozwikjp]

Jozwikjp - as you probably saw, I have a 3D background too and had a similar issue with the sides since I can't cut a straight line to save my life! :p Here's a link to my journal and if you look at posts 166 and 170, I've included pictures on the 'issue' and what I did to solve it. Just a thought for you.



It's been over a year now since I did the 'overhaul' and everything I did is still working perfectly!

Thanks, that looks great. My 3D background is pretty flat compared to the curves you have. I think I can get away with just a single line bead of great stuff..
I am going to try some back aquarium magnets to hold the sides back until I have some kinda 2nd storage tank, so I can drain for sealing.
I like how you have your heating and intake hidden behind, looks very sharp. (saw your tank back with heater and intakes, can't link to it yet though )

I think I might move mine out enough so I can hide my heater and one intake behind.