Shameful but I'm considering it

[LizStreithorst]

I have a 100 with 8 breeding age Discus that should pair up but nothing keeps happening them. The idea came into my mind about making a planted tank for them. They're showing no pairing behavior, so why the heck not? It would be nice to see them among plants and driftwood, even though I know that a tank like that is not like where they live in the Amazon.

I have one big amazon sword that is a baby of the one that I still have from 2001 when I first started in Discus. It was just a tiny little thing I bought at the LPS. This baby, that has turned into a mama plant. would love to spread it's roots all over the gravel of a 100 gallon tank. I have val's that I could put in the background. I have anubias and java moss that I can glue to the driftwood. I even have old rotted goat poo that I can use under the gravel.

All I need is a big piece of driftwood (I already have smaller ones to use to compliment it) and the nice gravel that my LPS sells in heavy bags. I'll need two bags for that tank. I can't abide that pea type gravel that is most usually sold in stores.

I've been around long enough to have learned how to keep Discus healthy in a tank like that. If the Discus get around to breeding they can do it there and I can move the pair to a breeding tank at that point. Can anyone find any problem with this idea that has wormed it's way into my fish mind?

[cooper666]

I'd love to see what you come up with.

Nothing shameful about having a nice display, that's all I've ever wanted from my hobby.

[discuspaul]

Go for it, Liz - you won't regret it - I've done it many times before and I love it - I'm sure you've seen some pics of my planted tanks - nothing special - but they look pretty good, I think.

Takes a bit of extra work to keep things squeaky clean in the tank, and grow the plants healthily, but certainly doable.

[Tshethar]

I'll bet you could pull it off, Liz, but I wonder about an intermediate first option if getting some breeding going is really what you're after.

What I'm thinking there is something to create some territory, like driftwood with or without plants, or your amazon sword (maybe potted) in the middle or a little off-center, whatever you prefer. Maybe if you had cones on both sides with some blocked site lines dividing the tank, a couple of discus might wander over into one side or one corner and try some egg laying.

That would be one step short of the gravel with the goat poo. But it depends on what you want to go for.

[Sturiosoma]

My question Liz, why is a planted tank considered shameful.

Jeanne

[LizStreithorst]

It was a tiny joke, Jeanne

[bluelagoon]

That pea stone gravel in LPS is expensive. Go to a hardware store, in the garden and pond section and get it for $10 a bag instead of $50- $60. Colours are natural.

[Filip]

I like the idea of an eye catching planted discus tank Liz. Just go for it if this is what you want to experiment in at this moment. You can always go back to your old routines in a matter of hours , if you get fed up with it.
I would just ditch the gravel and goat poo idea because I do believe that you can succed with plants even with fine sand and clean water column . Root tabs and liquid ferts can always help if you see the need for fertilization and are much cleaner option than pea gravel and goat poo .

[JamesW]

I would suggest getting sand over gravel. Food and poop stay on top so you don't need to disturb the substrate as much (especially if you have goat poo underneath!!) and the plants root into it easier.

[LizStreithorst]

The sand sounds like a better idea. I don't know why I never considered it. I used the goat poo under my planted rainbow tank that has been going for 12 years. I have never had to add ferts. Unless anyone can think of a reason not to, I want to put it under the sand. The poo is from when I bred dairy goats back in a former life. It's compacted from and doesn't make A mess. I figured I'd put it in the back half if the tank only and leave the front with sand only.

[jeep]

I have one big amazon sword that is a baby of the one that I still have from 2001 when I first started in Discus. It was just a tiny little thing I bought at the LPS. This baby, that has turned into a mama plant. would love to spread it's roots all over the gravel of a 100 gallon tank.

Years ago, I had a 55g with pea gravel and a UG filter. The only plant was a scrawny little Amazon Sword I picked up at a LFS. When sold the setup a couple of years later, the sword spanned over 1/2 the tank, and the roots spanned the entire tank. I now know UG filters are a thing of the past, but it was the healthiest tank I ever owned. I would love to have a planted tank with discus and have been tempted to go the UG route, but I've resisted that temptation mainly because of the prolonged power outages I experience.

If you do this Liz, I hope you create a well documented thread. I will follow with great interest!

[LizStreithorst]

I will, Brian but don't expect anything interesting. I know more about plants than used to but I don't know much. I'm good at putting the green side up is all. Don't know much about aquascaping either. I'm going to have to spend a lot of time looking at pics and thinking before I jump in with both feet.

BTW, once, a long time ago, I was eating at a Japanese hibachi restaurant and the guy next to me new more about water than anyone I had ever met. I told him so. He said that understood water but there was no money in it, which is sad. He said that the best filtration was still an underground filter even though they had fallen out of favor. He said that everything that people say about them these days is untrue.

[jeep]

I totally agree about the UG. There are several Youtube videos that explain it well. Like I said though, my main concern is the extended power outages I experience (as long as 2 weeks). With the amount of waste that collects under the filter that actually creates the healthy environment, it can become a toxic waste dump if it loses its air supply.

[bluelagoon]

I had a wild discus planted tank about 8 years ago with pea stone and worked great. And a domestis discus tank with EI dosing and worked well for adult discus. Both low tech except for ferts. I wish "photo bucket" woudn't have hi-jacked all my pics and my old computer went out before I could back up my pictures.

[Second Hand Pat]

I had a wild discus planted tank about 8 years ago with pea stone and worked great. And a domestis discus tank with EI dosing and worked well for adult discus. Both low tech except for ferts. I wish "photo bucket" woudn't have hi-jacked all my pics and my old computer went out before I could back up my pictures.

If you remember your login info to Photo Bucket you can log in and download your content Mervin.
Pat