Hello folks.
Not long joined the forum.
I have kept African cichlids for about 8 years but I have always had an interest in swapping to Discus. Ive been reading up and watching the usual videos for the last year or so to try and research discus as much as possible. A few weeks ago i got back to the house to be met with a puddle at the back door..... my tank had split.
So after a few days thinking about a new tank or quitting the hobby I have bought a new replacement tank (450L) and decided I'm going to enter the world of discus!
My plan is that i'm going to set up the tank and have a light coat of sand with a couple of pieces of driftwood with plants attached (I know the whole debate regarding BB or planted tanks) as I like the look. It will be minimal. Not thickly planted or wooded. Ill be painting the back of the tank with black paint (I understand the increased risk of peppering) and having probably 30 or 40 cardinal tetras and probably 8 discus (probably 3.5 - 4 inch). I am in absolutely no rush to stock the tank with discus but Ill put some tetras in to help with the tank cycling. Ill be using tap water as I did with cichlids although I understand discus require different parameters. Tap water PH is 6.6 so not planning on needing any buffers etc.
Basically I'm wanting peoples thoughts on my initial ideas and advice from anyone who has started discus keeping in similar methods to myself.
Many thanks to everyone for there input in this forum as its a fountain of knowledge.
Ginger