Welcome back Jenene and those discus are looking good.
I’m back! To those of you who have been around awhile you may remember me. I disappeared for awhile as I got caught up with things around here. The growing reef tank takes a lot of my free time but since I decided on an early retirement and my original group of discus had dwindled over the years, a very wise and influential person in my life encouraged me to start fresh with a new, young group. I would have rather started with very small ones and raised them completely on my own but it’s very difficult to find any young in my area let alone good quality- so I watched what my good friend Kenny was bringing in. I often tell him browsing his offerings is like being in a candy store. Not the penny candy we knew as kids but more like Godiva` rich, gorgeous colors and varieties. I noticed a new one that caught my eye and I couldn’t stop considering them and decided to just make the move. A little more encouragement and it didn't take long after that last push. Soon after, I moved my existing group to my family room and went to work planning.
A few weeks later, the was tank clean with a new background, and my original group comfortable in a smaller tank with a divider to keep the aggression down.
I’ve had the new group for a few days now and they are spectacular already. I chose the Super Red Spotted Turquoise. I went with a group of eight. Kenny did what he does best and chose very carefully. I’ll add more in the coming weeks about their progress and the shadow box that ended up not looking anything like I had planned. It’s unusual though and simple enough to not distract from the main attraction. The main idea was to keep sharp objects out of the tank and debris catchers off the bottom. It does add depth which makes it unusual. It also has led lights that you can change color and brightness but so far I've kept brightness and crazy color changes to a minimum.
So here’s my introduction. My first page in a journal post I wish I would have started from my original group years ago. I always regretted not documenting that first tank. I learned so much from everyone here and a few unfortunate mistakes I made on my own. I’m ready for this new challenge with a freezer full of my own beef heart mix, their favorite freeze dried Australian black worms and an endless buffet of pellets that range from Forrest’ Teo's from Malaysia to huge packages I had won in the raffle and froze from the last NADA meet a few years ago. I'm ready for the uptick in water changes as well.
Here are a few pics from the first few days. I hope someday to reread this journal and remind myself of a great distraction and joy I discovered to help escape from a troubled, tumultuous time in this world. It's going to be a long, dark winter here in Upstate New York. I hope you can find a bright spot here as well.
Jen1.jpg
RS1.jpg
RS2.jpg
RS3.jpg
Short Video here: Sorry about the cat
https://youtu.be/HB4-S5bbGfU
Last edited by Jenene; 11-27-2020 at 01:16 PM.
"You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields
Welcome back Jenene and those discus are looking good.
Grasshopper
Francis
Thank you! Looking forward to watching them grow. They are eating really well already.
"You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields
Welcome again. Before I read the text I know by the photo that those were Kenny fish. Kenny always has excellent fish, and you know that. You like red fish?
They are beautiful Jenene! I also have a single strain tank and enjoy it more than my mixed, "fruit salad" tanks before. I have Stendker Flachens from Hans now. Enjoy your new pets! Good to see you back here,
Barb
How exciting!
Its always very rewarding raising a group of discus, knowing that all your hard work influences how they end up. Too bad you couldn't find any younger fish, but the group you have been sent look great. The next few months will have a huge impact on how they turn out for you, and it looks like you already know what needs to be done.
l like the more natural look of single strain tanks, and your new shadow box background looks very unique...id be interested to know more about it.
Good luck with your new group, and welcome back.
We're here for a good time...not a long time
Single strain is the way to go, Jenene. Keep up your water changes and pretty soon that tank will start to look small.
Willie
At my age, everything is irritating.
Thanks Barb! It’s funny many people said they started out with a mixed group. I guess we need to get our favorite choices before we hone in.
Hans has beautiful fish as well. I was lucky enough to visit his operation in Baltimore a few years ago. It was amazing.
Thank you for the warm welcome back!
"You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields
Hi Willie, good to hear from you.
Yes you are right, the fully grown adults tend to take over the tank pretty quickly.
One thing I figured out and Kenny recently reminded me of was too make sure to make water changes as easy as possible. I just ordered a second soji screen to hide the aging barrel in the corner of the room. I have another in the living room disguising the salt water mixing barrel. My friends think I just have a thing for Asian furniture accessories. They’ve never asked about the hum of the air pump . Dragging 50 gallon barrels around even on wheels and you start finding excuses to skip changes after a long day. Hopefully I’m one step ahead of the lazy version of myself!
"You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields
Willie, I suppose there is an evolution for some of us from mixed to single strain. When I returned after years of non discus back I was interested to learn of all of the developments of hybrid discus. So I jumped in and used the kid in the candy store method of choosing one each of everything. So after I learned that Kenny had wild versions as well so I began working back to my genesis of keeping wild fish. Now I have only two left over from my original order. I have found a local source for wild discus imported direct from the Amazon so eventually, as then become available, I will buy them. Jenene journal will be interesting going forward. Tomorrow you have an interesting MAS meeting topic. I will be working.
"You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields
Good looking fish there !
Perfect timing to get through the upstate winter ..
Good luck and looking forward to progress reports ..