2 Month Update: Grow out of my Discus Hans Stednkers

[Tankster]

I am 2 months in and still loving the experience. There have been ups and downs in this short time but I am learning and growing from the experience. Thanks to people like John, Rick, Al, Pat, of course Hans, and everyone else who has offered guidance and constructive criticism, I have not killed my beautiful fish yet... not all of them anyway- more on that later.
I started with a variety of 10, 2.5" fish picked up in person at Hans' fish house in Baltimore. I'm lucky in that I live just over an hour away from Hans. Now, two months in, my largest is just shy of 4.5" last time I measured.
I've been doing daily 100% water changes and feeding 3 times a day. I have to thank John for his advice on my feeding schedule. I was overdoing it bigtime (5-6 times a day) and having water quality issues. Working a 9-5 and power feeding is a recipe for disaster. I cut back to BH In the morning with an FDBW cube just before leaving for work. My son feeds an FDBW at 3pm and then BH around 7. I usually give them 1/2 FDBW cube around 10 just before the water change.
I am now in the process of moving to a diet of Brine Shrimp Direct BH flake, BSD marine pellets and Formula One pellets, along with Al's Bio FDBW. (thanks to Rick for sharing his feeding routine)

I will also be transitioning them to a 65g tomorrow and then to a 75g in a couple of weeks. I have to swap out one tank at a time. Today after I drained the 55g doing my water change, I swapped out the 55g for my 65g (Yun aka YSS, thanks for the lead on the tank over at CCA). Tomorrow when I transfer the fish over to the 65, I'll swap out the 40 for the 55, which will become my interim aging tank. I'll pick up a new 75 in the next 2 weeks and the then move them to the 75.
At some point in the next 2-3 months I'll get another 15 from Hans and start another grow out. They will all, eventually end up in my 240 display.
Now to my losses. I lost my red scrib to what, I don't know, and probably never will. I fed the group on a Saturday morning at about 10:00 am. Everyone looked healthy and happy. I came back in from doing yard work at about 2:30pm and the scrib was dead on the HOB intake pre-filter. No obvious injury and was still showing color and pattern. The next happened 2 weeks later where I lost my snakeskin. This one was the smallest in the tank and the object of a few of the larger fishes aggression. I of course panicked at first thinking I had more going on that I actually did. I calmed down, observed the other fish and saw nothing (in my very limited experience) that looked like a systemic problem so chose to do nothing and keep a close eye on the others. As you will see in the pics taken tonight, they look just fine.

Now, if you actually read that entire wall of text, it's time to reward you with pics!

The new 65 gallon


New diet they are being transitioned to.










https://vimeo.com/111077349


So, how am I doing?

p.s. I really need to work on my photographic skills! They do not do the fish justice. Color just washes out in my pics.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DonMD]

They look real good, Greg. Good job so far!

[Second Hand Pat]

Greg, you are doing very well with these guys. Overfeeding is one of the harder lessons to learn IMO. On the two you lost, is it possible they became stuck to the filter inlet and weren't able to free themselves?...just a thought.

[John_Nicholson]

Looks like you are doing a great job. Glad some of us old timers have been able to offer some reasonable advice that seems to be working.

-john

[Tankster]

They look real good, Greg. Good job so far!

Thanks Don! Looks like the DEET bath I gave them worked (before anyone screams at me, this is an inside joke)

Greg, you are doing very well with these guys. Overfeeding is one of the harder lessons to learn IMO. On the two you lost, is it possible they became stuck to the filter inlet and weren't able to free themselves?...just a thought.

Thanks Pat. I don't think it was stuck to the intake. I have a sponge on the HOB's intake tube.

Looks like you are doing a great job. Glad some of us old timers have been able to offer some reasonable advice that seems to be working.

-john

Thanks John - Young grashoppah is listening!

I can honestly say, when it comes to pets, this is one of the most rewarding experiences ever. I never considered buying adults as I wanted to learn things from the ground up. To me, all the water changes, tank cleanings, and general care and feeding is not work... it's like meditation. Very relaxing.

[dghby]

nice Greg they look great. I got my last group from Hans about 2 months ago as well. good luck with them and keep us updated.

[OC Discus]

Great job. We've all seen your patience and preparation. Seems like you started about a year ago. You're doing it right growing from one tank to the next, minimizing your labor and growing them fast.

Please list the strains you have and the ones you plan to get.

ps. Sorry about the ones that didn't make it.

[Tankster]

Great job. We've all seen your patience and preparation. Seems like you started about a year ago. You're doing it right growing from one tank to the next, minimizing your labor and growing them fast.

Please list the strains you have and the ones you plan to get.

ps. Sorry about the ones that didn't make it.

Thanks OC. I am doing it right because of Simply Discus and its very active members. Growing from one tank to the next was my latest mentoring moment from Rick (Nc0gnit0). We were talking about diet and he mentioned he felt it was time for them to move to a bigger tank... Of course, I being one who knows, when to listen to one who knows, had them moved to a bigger tank in about 5 days


Strains I have:
1 • Brilliant 2.5"
1 • Cobalt 2.5"
1 • Marlboro Red 2.5"
1 • Pigeon Blood Red 2.5" (loss)
1 • Red Scribbled 2.5" (loss)
1 • Red Turquoise 2.5"
1 • Snake Skin Blue 2.5"
1 • Snake Skin X Flachen 2.5"
1 • Snake Skin Red 2.5"
1 • Dark Angel 2.5"

Ones I want to get? I think I have all of them Other than maybe a Tefe and a Santarem, I am just going to wait until I see how these come up and will add to the mix. I am sticking with Stednker, and Discus Hans. At some point down the road, when I am a bit more edumacated, I want some solids. I love the solid yellows and deeper blues/turquoise blues. These can't be sourced from Hans. Mixing fish from different sources is a big deal and I am not even close to ready for the process that should be followed to do it properly so it will have to wait a year or two.

[Tankster]

nice Greg they look great. I got my last group from Hans about 2 months ago as well. good luck with them and keep us updated.

Hey Tom,

I have been following your threads too - you are doing a great job on yours!
What is your favorite fish so far? I am flipping back and forth between my Snakeskin Blue and my Marlboro Red. I have to say, the jury is leaning towards the Snakeskin blue. The color/ almost leopard like pattern and iridescent quality of the fish is pretty amazing. The Marlboro Red is in the running because I feel is has the best shape and size of the bunch. If I do things right, this one has the potential to be a 7+ inch fish. It is still early so that paradigm might shift down the road... which is half the fun IMO.

[Tankster]

Still working on my photography skills but here are some much better photo's of my group.
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]