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Thread: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

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    Registered Member 0Dgreen's Avatar
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    Default 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    In this thread I will document my return to the discus hobby after 5 years, perhaps this can act as somewhat of a guide and help some new potential discus hobbyists prepare for successful discus keeping. I do want to make myself clear, I do not claim that my methods are the best by any means (nor am I an expert), there are many ways to do things, however, I had general success keeping healthy thriving discus. The success I did have, I have to give all of credit to Josie and Miranda @ Chicago Discus, I used to spend a good amount of time at their hatchery years back, to lend a hand and absorb as much info and guidance as I could.

    Arguably the most important step, before anything, is choosing a good HEALTHY stock from a reliable source with a good reputation (I haven't done business with ALL of the Simply sponsors, but the ones I did were great). I would like to add, I started this plan out in March, and my discus are not set to arrive until next week. I wanted to make sure I had all of the necessary items in place before jumping in head first........my point being, don't rush into things!

    So, I had my eye on a few specific discus strains that I always wanted to keep, I have always favored turquoise strains over everything else myself. After narrowing it down, I had 4 options: Piwowarski Red Turqs (seem to be nearly impossible to get at the moment), Forrest Giant Blues, Chicago Blues, and Stendker Brilliant Turqs.
    I reached out to who I could regarding the 4 options and sources that I was seeking, I had a chance to get some Forrest Giant Blue's from Kenny's April Shipment....however, the fish room wasn't quite ready, so I held off. Then the May shipment stocklist came out...no Giant Blues, I thought I had missed out...
    But after waiting another month, I reached out to Kenny, he informed me that he had some Giant Blues in this months order, So I got them all! I felt bad for not giving my better-half her pick on the fish, so I coughed up some extra cash and let her pick a few as well.

    This is a pic of my incoming stocklist from Kenny's order board
    Mike

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    Registered Member 0Dgreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    Next, I had to tackle the essentials that keep the tank healthy and running...as well as a water change and feeding schedule. I plan on doing 100% water changes daily, and twice a day if/when I ever get a day off from work. Feeding will be 3-4 times a day, and water changes following a beefheart feeding.

    As for food, I had to acquire either some pre-made beefheart mix from a vendor, or make my own. I decided to make my own, so I had to get a decent food processor, and I also ordered some mini-icecube trays from amazon to freeze them in smaller portions that you would see out of the name-brand frozen foods you get at the pet store.
    I also ordered some FDBW from Al, and I have some Forrest Aquabites on order as well.

    Equipment List:
    130 Gallon (Planet Aquarium) - I haven't decided if i'm going to paint it or go with a vinyl wrap backround yet
    2x Finnext Titanium 300watt
    2x 65 Gallon water storage tanks each with Finnex Titanium 300watt
    Corallife SL-65 Airpump (for entire fishroom)
    ATI #5 Sponge Filter rated for 125gallons
    Aquaclear 110 (packed with seachem matrix and a prefilter sponge)
    2x Airstones
    The tank will be kept barebottom - 0 substrate and 0 plants

    I like to keep things simple and basic, I've had sumps before, and I am fond of them, especially being able to hide everything inside them...however, I am more concerned with how the fish look rather than tank appeal.

    Mike

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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    I'm really looking forward to seeing how things evolve in your tank!
    Having the story start from the beginning is very valuable

    Concerning your order... Was your choice of sizes related to the availabilities or did you choose them on purpose?

    Side question: what is the recipe that you are using for your home-made food?

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    Registered Member 0Dgreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by thomaswal View Post
    I'm really looking forward to seeing how things evolve in your tank!
    Having the story start from the beginning is very valuable

    Concerning your order... Was your choice of sizes related to the availabilities or did you choose them on purpose?

    Side question: what is the recipe that you are using for your home-made food?
    I wanted to go with something in the middle, the smaller the fish the more work imo...and I still wanted to get the reward of seeing them grow, so full sized adults weren't an option for me.

    I used Josie and Miranda's (Chicago Discus) recipe to make my own mix. I used to purchase it direct from them years ago and had great results, as do they.
    https://chicagodiscus.com/care-and-f...33477783203125
    Mike

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    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    Hi Mike, sounds like a good plan and I like the selection of fish. Since the tank will be uncycled are you just doing daily WCs to keep things in check? Kenny might be able to send a cycled sponge to assist with the cycle.
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


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    Registered Member 0Dgreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Second Hand Pat View Post
    Hi Mike, sounds like a good plan and I like the selection of fish. Since the tank will be uncycled are you just doing daily WCs to keep things in check? Kenny might be able to send a cycled sponge to assist with the cycle.
    Pat
    Thanks Pat, I plan on doing 100% WC daily, and twice a day on weekends if I have time.I do have other healthy cycled tanks running at the moment that I could use media from, I'm just weary of cross-contaminating, do you think I should consider using it? I haven't thought of the possibility of Kenny shipping me a sponge, I like that idea...I might just shoot him an e-mail and inquire.
    Mike

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    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    I think shooting Kenny an email on that sponge is a great idea and less likely to be a source of cross-contamination.
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


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    Registered Member 0Dgreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Second Hand Pat View Post
    I think shooting Kenny an email on that sponge is a great idea and less likely to be a source of cross-contamination.
    Pat
    He already got back to me, he's sending me a seeded sponge filter....Thanks for your input Pat, not the first time you've helped me out. Goes to show, no matter how prepared you think you are, something always slips through the cracks.
    Mike

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    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by 0Dgreen View Post
    He already got back to me, he's sending me a seeded sponge filter....Thanks for your input Pat, not the first time you've helped me out. Goes to show, no matter how prepared you think you are, something always slips through the cracks.
    Sweet Mike and happy to help.
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


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    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    Very interesting Pat. I'm looking forward to seeing more.
    Mama Bear

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    Registered Member 0Dgreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    So last night we started painting the tank, I tried a different kind of paint that I've used in the past. As far as color goes, I went with black, which was different for me (I've always went white due to keeping Pigeon Bloods)...but since all of my fish are blue based, I thought the black might look better..we shall see.

    The plan is to add water and hook up all of the essentials this afternoon.

    Fish are set to be shipped out tomorrow and should be at my doorstep by 10:30am on Tuesday...I can't wait!
    Mike

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    Registered Member Pices's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    That’s exciting news! My fish are from Kenny too. I was really glad I got the seeded sponge as someone here suggested to me too. One less thing to worry about.
    Great idea to do a thread for people thinking about getting into discus. I saw some lil baby discus at my fish dealer the other day and felt sorry for them because if you’re lucky enough to find SD first you’d already know rule #1.
    I’m really excited for you. Hope you do an unboxing video! hint hint
    Patty
    If the discus are happy, I’m happy

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    Registered Member 0Dgreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    Yesterday was a mad dash in the fish room, I worked on re-arranging and getting things ready for about 10 hours.

    Anyways, the discus tank is setup and ready. I painted the bottom, top, and sides with some black acrylic water based paint with foam rollers (It took about 6 coats) and I'm pretty happy with it.
    Mike

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    Registered Member 0Dgreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    Also, as I was getting ready for bed last night, I got a text from Kenny saying he wanted to talk. So I gave him a call, he told me that one of the fish I ordered had a bit of a defect that he didn't notice before and he wasn't very comfortable sending it out (This man truly wants people to receive fish of the best quality he can). He sent me pictures and while it is noticeable, I told him it wouldn't bother me and I'd rather have the fish stay with the group it had been with rather than leave it behind. He insisted on not charging me for the fish, but I refused, he then told me he would throw in an extra fish free of charge for the trouble (which I will leave as a surprise). The shipping labels have been made, and the fish will start their journey today, I should have some pics of bags floating sometime tomorrow.
    Kudos to Kenny for going over and above!
    Mike

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    Default Re: 0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

    wow!
    You're lucky to be able to deal with someone like him!
    The same probably goes for the other sponsors


    When you receive them, could you let us know what was the defect? I'm just curious to know what he considers to be enough not to charge you for the fish.

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