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Thread: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

  1. #31
    MVP Oct.2015 discuspaul's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jenene View Post
    Yes! I’d love the recipe. I’m sure it’s very versatile and perfect for winter. Thank you!
    OK - I'll post it to the forum "RECIPES" section soon.

  2. #32
    Registered Member Cosgrovb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Welcome back. I very much like your new fish and your artistic background. I will follow this thread. Hope they turn out great!

  3. #33
    Registered Member Jenene's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cosgrovb View Post
    Welcome back. I very much like your new fish and your artistic background. I will follow this thread. Hope they turn out great!
    Thank you! So far so good- a little more than a week in. They all seem to be eating. I’m feeding for times a day and doing about 65% water changes daily since the beef heart is so messy. They still aren’t used to even dim lighting for long periods- in fact, inflating a garbage bag to put in the kitchen container set them off into the glass this evening. I’m working my way up slowly.
    The background is staying dark for now. I think it’s adding an additional panic factor. I actually don’t mind it that way. I like the less obtrusive.

    Thanks for following. I hope to show some nice growth and a beautiful group of big beefy, healthy fish in the coming months. A common goal here, although each story can be quite different. We all have different struggles with many variables. I hope I can find some time to get back into everyone else’s news here. I used to be very involved. Life just kind of takes over sometimes.
    "You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields

  4. #34
    Registered Member Jenene's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    I can’t believe how fast time has flown. I started an update a few weeks ago and had trouble uploading pics from my phone and just never got back to it. I just reread the auto saved one and it’s all old news now so I trashed that one. I’ll try again. In the discarded update a bully had emerged, they were still very shy and not eating pellets. That’s all changed. The fighting has calmed, they are eating like sharks and their coloring has become more vibrant than I could have imagined as they’ve settled in. I’ve noticed that they morph from a bright orange to a deep blood red depending on their mood like chameleons. When they are calm the deep red sets in and their turquoise markings seem to actually glow like they are lit from inside. I’m really happy with this strain and I’m curious about their background. My guess would be perhaps something like a Red Cover, another of my favorites, especially the blue faced variety. These actually do get a blue blush in their cheeks when they are at their deepest red. I’ve been meaning to ask Kenny or Forrest. It would be fun to know.
    Other than their settling in there’s nothing much to tell. I’m feeding 4-5 times a day, and doing 50% water changes daily since I’m feeding so heavily.
    Oh yes- I HAVE done something I said I would never do when I first started with discus. I added a new canister filter to supplement the surface area for beneficial bacteria and it also allows me to get the sponge filters out of the display. I know everyone has their own reasons for their filter choices. I’ve come full circle. I had a canister on my community tank years ago and became very lazy about maintaining it- out of sight out of mind. The fish became nitrate addicts and couldn’t handle the shock of clean water. I’m no longer lazy (as you know “discus” and “lazy” can’t exist in the same sentence without the word “disaster” following immediately after) so that is no longer a factor. My first discus tank had a sump. It was an out of the box sump (not custom) and really designed more for a reef tank than discus. It was impossible to clean and a huge, cavernous hiding spot for detritus. Pulling it apart and bucket vacuuming more often than I thought acceptable or fair was an annoying, all afternoon project.
    After I set up the reef tank, that needed the sump and the discus tank just had sponge filters. I loved the easy maintenance of them other than the food ending up underneath them while the discus were still grazing even if the power was off. I also found water clarity suffered a bit as well and I was never happy with the esthetics of them. So... full circle- I started looking into a new canister, not to replace water changes but since I’m feeding a lot during grow out I thought I’d try it again and something else as well. I had a surplus of nitrate absorbing pads I bought for the reef and never ended up needing. They were just taking up space in my fish supply closet (yes, I have an entire closet) and reminding me I had wasted money on them. I custom cut one to make four pieces. I’m just interested to see what it does to the nitrate level. I used to use similar phosphate pads in the reef and they did a nice job as long as you pay attention and keep up with testing so you know when they are depleted. If it can knock it down a little I’ll keep putting them in there. They put a nice polish on the water too. I’ll be testing before water changes just to see if.. how much and for how long they have (if any) any benefit.
    So that’s about it for now. I’m enjoying them being more acclimated so they are now those bright beautiful balloons we all love, rising and falling so calmly that you can’t help but just stop what you are doing...in your tracks and just enjoy them.
    I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season in a creative, safe way. Happy new year!
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    Last edited by Jenene; 12-26-2020 at 10:13 PM.
    "You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields

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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Floating balloons, vibrant changing colors...mind sharing what meds might inspire all of this in you? And those are nice Kenny fish.

  6. #36
    Registered Member Jenene's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Quote Originally Posted by peewee1 View Post
    Floating balloons, vibrant changing colors...mind sharing what meds might inspire all of this in you? And those are nice Kenny fish.
    Okay Peewee, this is for you: They are really pretty and I like to watch them swim.
    "You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields

  7. #37
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jenene View Post
    Okay Peewee, this is for you: They are really pretty and I like to watch them swim.
    YES! I am intrigued by the fish second from the bottom. It has an almost unbroken blue ring beginning at the front of the dorsal fin that continues around the fish and ending at the ventral fin.

  8. #38
    Registered Member + MVP danotaylor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Really nice Jenene. They look to have grown considerably as well. Very nice

  9. #39
    Registered Member Jenene's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Quote Originally Posted by danotaylor View Post
    Really nice Jenene. They look to have grown considerably as well. Very nice
    Thank you! That was one if the reasons I thought this space would help document their growth. It’s like kids under your nose everyday. It’s harder to see changes.
    Thanks for the encouraging words!
    "You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields

  10. #40
    Registered Member Jenene's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Quote Originally Posted by Iminit View Post
    Hello Jenene. Great looking discus. Good luck with them! Me I like the mixed bag. Hey there has to be one . I buy 2 of each type and have discus from a few different vendors.
    Hi Tom,
    I sincerely apologize for my late reply. Your note was at the end of a page and I must have missed it when I followed up with the others. You make a great point though. How boring would it be if we all approached the hobby the same way? That’s why this is such an interesting space. I never regretted my first tank of mixed varieties. Visitors in my home drop their jaws at the array of colors. It is a spectacular sight. It also really gave me a chance to decide on each of my favorite attributes. It can be really hard to narrow the choices down with a mix. I always joked I’d need a 1000 gallon tank to fit them all in. I’m constantly seeing new strains I love. The Cupera Cross are high on my list too. I may have destroyed the spelling there.
    Then we have the wild side. Someday maybe. For now though I’m enjoying raising these and watching others enjoy theirs.
    You mentioned mixing from different sources. Have you ever encountered disease issues? Do you QT? Do you mix Asian and German? I’ve always been curious since I’ve never been much of a risk taker. When I have more time I’ll look into your posts and see what I can find.
    I’ve missed spending time here on Simply. It’s really a great community here. Thank you for your kind note!
    "You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields

  11. #41
    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Hi Jenene, gorgeous group of fish and love the tank, both are very unique You were close on Cuipeua
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


  12. #42
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Jenene Did you get a new canister filter? What make? How big is your tank? thanks Ed

  13. #43
    Registered Member Jenene's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Quote Originally Posted by Second Hand Pat View Post
    Hi Jenene, gorgeous group of fish and love the tank, both are very unique You were close on Cuipeua
    Pat
    Thanks so much Pat, I’m enjoying both. The shadow box has grown on me after my initial disappointment of having a completely different result from what I was expecting. I’ll explain that process soon. People here could get very creative with it. I was going for a more simple look- which I think I did achieve that much anyway.
    Ha ha you are very polite I’m surprised you even recognized what variety I was trying to say! Thank you!
    "You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields

  14. #44
    Registered Member Jenene's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Quote Originally Posted by tacks View Post
    Jenene Did you get a new canister filter? What make? How big is your tank? thanks Ed
    Hi Ed,
    Yes I did. I had an old Marineland running years ago. It was expensive and well made but it was really hard to open and clean and the gaskets would wear out quickly and it would leak. It sat in the garage until it finally got thrown out. I told myself I’d never use it with a discus tank and out it went.

    My tank is a 75 gallon. I was just searching on Amazon and stumbled across a Pennplax Cascade. I was hesitant since I hadn’t had any experience with that company since I was a kid buying those clear box filters with the charcoal and floss. Whoa... dating myself again here. This particular canister had received over five thousand nearly 5 star reviews. I wasn’t going to go crazy on the most expensive one since it’s just a supplement to my water changes. I was surprised at how inexpensive it was. It looks likes it’s even dropped again plus they offer an instant coupon and I had a return credit so it ended up costing me $30 out of pocket. It is small at 17” but claims to cycle through 265 GPH and it is rated for a 100 gallon tank. It is a available in other sizes. It’s now been running about a week. I had the double type hanging narrow foam filters along with the regular larger ones running but stuck the smaller ones right in a basket to seed the media. I must say the material it’s made of seems kind of flimsy and the baskets are not huge, but it releases nicely from the very secure tank hoses and is so easy to get into. I also like the fact that you can see into it- extra insurance about being aware of what’s going on in there. It’s also whisper quiet and comes with a spray bar or the regular return spout. I have the spray bar on and use it with an Alexa enabled smart plug so I can voice command off and on for feedings. The water looks and smells really clean. I’m really happy with it so far. In case anyone is curios here’s the link:

    Penn Plax Cascade CCF3UL Canister Filter For Large Aquariums and Fish Tanks – Up To 100 Gallons, Filters 265 GPH,Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002DJ9NY...ing=UTF8&psc=1
    Last edited by Jenene; 12-27-2020 at 02:27 PM.
    "You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields

  15. #45
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    Default Re: Jenene’s new group- single strain and shadow box background.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jenene View Post
    Thanks so much Pat, I’m enjoying both. The shadow box has grown on me after my initial disappointment of having a completely different result from what I was expecting. I’ll explain that process soon. People here could get very creative with it. I was going for a more simple look- which I think I did achieve that much anyway.
    Ha ha you are very polite I’m surprised you even recognized what variety I was trying to say! Thank you!
    Will you be posting the box here, or begin a new thread?

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