Sand Blockage?

Hi, first I would like to say that I need no convincing that a discus growout tank is best left BB. I have followed the predominant advice on this forum and 4 and 1/2 months in I am more and more convinced of the validity of this approach. Having said this particularly on the Italian discus forums I have noticed that a lot of people think a "biotope" setup with fine sand and submerged roors/branches is somehow more "natural". Obstacle to cleaning aside, I can understand the thing about branches but sand????? I am led to understand that in the whole of the amazonian wayerways sandy bottoms are extremely rare and even in these cases they are not the preferred habitat for discus. Am I wrong? If sand is not their natural habitat is it actually possible that it may even be potentially dangerous. I have seen plenty of horses with sand colics and dogs with bowell obstructions caused by the compaction of ingested sand. Is it possible that some of the cases of "my discus has developed a sudden lump on his abdomen and isn't eating" are actually caused by a similar blockage (if they are kept in a tank with a sandy bottom...obviously). Your thoughts and experiences greatly appreciated!

Hi. I believe you are wrong about sand bottoms being rare in the Amazon. All collecting vids I've seen show a white, sandy bottom. I keep, and have been keeping my wilds with sand bottoms and never no problems. On the other end I always felt that the possible ingestion of sand might help digestion...Bill

Thanks, that is very helpfull. As my juvies are growing I am trying to figure out once they are fully grown, should I add sand to the bottom or not? I am cutting my teeth with these 13 red melons but one day I'd like to have a tank for wild discus (and Atabapo Altums if possible), now Santarem Fiscis (Victor Hugo Quaresma) exports to Italy. Thanks again for taking the time

Hi Paul...I'm pretty old school and only like any tanks to have sand or decor that contain wilds. My domestics were always bare bottom/sterile tanks. All of my wild spawnings came in bio tope tanks. Yes Victor has some sweet fish! Watch his collecting vids and you'll see the Discus natural habitat is mostly all sand and wood, not a lot of light and hardly any live plants...Bill

I have read stories of goldfish and Koi choking on small grain pebbles , but I have never heard of stories about discus ingesting sand or having any problems on mistakingly eating sand.
I also agree with William that most wild caught Amazon discus videos contains scenes of murky yellow water with fine white sand on the bottom and wood roots and brances all over the place .
Just go ahead with Victors wilds and biotope looking tank if that's your favorite cup of tea , Paul . If your observation here is on spot , you'll be the first one to encounter and report problems with discus ingesting sand :)