Took the Plunge!

[Jakes]

Good evening all,

So after 20+years in the aquatics hobby I have decided to try my hand at Discus. I have always been intrigued by them but never wanted to take the risk. However I have since kept marine and reef aquariums and freshwater aquariums with species ranging from the venerable Guppy to tank busting Oscars.
My current tank was initially an aqua-scaped planted aquarium that used to look like this:
(p.s. I tried to add the images they are massive so links to the pics will have to do!)

24D71426-C7A9-48DD-A13E-E8AA89708EB9.jpg


To change things up I went for a ‘jungle look’ and as my current stock die of old age (most fish are 3+ years old… old age is getting them one by one) I aim to make it a South American Bio-tope ‘Like’ aquarium during the rainy season hence the selection of Echinodorus species of plants. My current system looks like this…

81B5E0FB-9260-49DB-9E30-01D59AC78C80.jpeg

My current setup is:
200L (52 Gallon) All glass aquarium (minus substrate and décor probs closer to 180L)
AquaManta EFX 300 canister filter with mostly bio media and filter sponges, I run carbon now and then but not to often (rated at 1100L but more like 900L actual flow) I want to get a new canister with built in heater thinking Oase BioMaster Thermo 650
I also run a Air Driven Sponge filter Primarily to keep the sponges ‘alive’ for when I need to set-up a temporary QT system as I can't have a permanent set-up and a ‘insta’ cycled basic filter is useful… also extra biological filtration never hurt anyone!
Fluval Fresh&Plant 2.0 LED lighting
JBL Substrate
Heavily planted with Echinodorus varieties (7 varieties)
I feed Primarily Stendker beef heart and Tetra discuss granules and flake mix

Parameters are:
Temp: 29C
Amonia and Nitrite 0
Nitrates … Pretty low my test kit barely discolours so hard to tell
GH 14
Kh 7
pH 7

Maintenance Schedule
Weekly 30-50% (depending on water parameters) water change with tapwater that has been filtered for a week with an activated carbon filter
Plant leaves trimmed
Additives for plants (Macro/Micro elements + Liquid Carbon) I used to use CO2 but due to deployments I had to simplify the setup so that the wife can look after the aquarium
Front glass cleaned every week

Stocking:
3 Blue Diamonds (recently added)
3 Red Turquoise (recently added)
6 Corydoras sterbai
2 Pair Bristlenose Plecs (grown from babies)
2 Otto Cats
4 Ammano Shrimps
5 Cardinal Tetras (used to have 13 before the discus arrived – old age is getting them oe by one)
6 Dwarf Neon Rainbows (same detail as the Cardinals)
1 SEA Flying Fox

The 6 discus are still trying to figure out the pecking order though the smallest Red Turquoise is definitely at the bottom, he does however eat and swim with the rest but he is very dark and generally keeps a low profile. I have experimented with adding a mirror and his colours change when he sees 'the other' Discus so I am contemplating adding a mirror on a semi-permanent basis. once these guys mature and their tank mates die off (old age gets you eventually) I don't think the tank can support more than 6 fully grown discus (1mx45cm45cm). My target stock in the tank will be 6 discus 6 Cory's max 2 pleco's and some amono shrimp. Yes I know the Amano shrimp isn't from South America but they are just so damn efficient at dealing with the odd algae outbreak and general scavenging... hence my Bio-tope 'Like' comment earlier!


Thanks for taking the time to read this essay
Jakes

[Swedgin]

Hi Jakes,

welcome to Simply. Nice looking setup you have there.

I’m not a big plant guy, but I’m not sure the Echinodorus actually require any kind of fertilizers. Omitting those would be beneficial for the development of your discus, considering the still have a lot of growing to do.

Your target stock looks reasonable, how many fish your tank can support will mostly depend on filtration and maintenance. It will come down to your preference, I’ve seen people keep 8 or more fully grown discus in this size tank, with 6 being the absolute minimum as they feel more secure in numbers and to avoid too much aggression towards one particular fish. There will always be an “ omega”, but more fish will distribute aggression a bit more equally.

There is a wealth of information to be found in each sub forum, especially in the stickies, so I recommend you browse through those and read up on what applies to your plans and setup.

So enjoy your stay here, keep us updated and best of luck with your endeavor. With the right care discus are hardy fish and not as hard to keep as it is made out to be at times

[Paul Sabucchi]

Hi and welcome to Simply Discus, always a pleasure to meet a fellow fishkeeper. As much as it is probably a lot easier to keep discus in a minimalist tank it is interesting to follow the evolution of a planted tank. I really liked your first Scape too. As Tobi was saying probably with the swords you can get away just by using root tabs, they are preferentially root feeders.
Again my warmest welcome and keep the updates coming

[dagray]

for plant fertilizer you can put some of this https://www.amazon.com/Osmocote-Outd...lantfertilizer in a capsule and push down into the substrate at the root of your swords.


Empty capsules are cheap and available at your pharmacy.

[Jakes]

for plant fertilizer you can put some of this https://www.amazon.com/Osmocote-Outd...lantfertilizer in a capsule and push down into the substrate at the root of your swords.

Cheers for the tip!

as an update here is a short video, excuse the quality... taken on my phone and havent done any 'editing' its just after feeding which is the usual time for them to have a go at the Hierarchy!

https://youtu.be/nAQ44jiWmAc

Regards
Jakes

[Paul Sabucchi]

Glad all going smoothly, also positive the SAE seems to limit harassing to the rainbowfish

[Jakes]

Glad all going smoothly, also positive the SAE seems to limit harassing to the rainbowfish

Yup, I had 3 Ottocinclus in there that took a shining to the discus... they have been removed and the SAE generally swims happily with the rainbows, only at feeding times he takes to chasing them a little but he soon settles. Luckily they (Rainbows) are fast enough to stay ahead of him.