Bill's Wild Greens!

[Tshethar]

Well it's been 2+ years since I've had discus... hard to believe... but fortunately that all changed today!

I'm excited to have a new group and to have a chance to work with wilds for the first time. Since I started with discus in 2016 and started avidly reading the forum, a number of folks (and especially Pat) have consistently shared photos and stories of wild fish that I've always appreciated. There are a number of domestic strains that I like and would be happy to have, but I have been biding my time to have a go with wild fish.

So, I have prepped a 125 and a group of 9 4" Tefe greens showed up a couple of hours ago...

I'm not a photographer so this thread will only have occasional iphone snapshots to give people an idea of what's going on.

For now, a couple of shots of the empty tank...

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And a quick look at the acclimating fish. They are "lights out" today but have already been out and I think they rightly suspect that I am the guy who is going to be showing up with the food...

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[dpt8]

Did you buy these from Gabe?

[brewmaster15]

Welcome Back Bill!

I happy to see you back with us! Enjoy the fishes and seriously dont worry about the photos quality..its the fish that matter.

Al

[fljones3]

Looking forward to your journey, Bill.
We take all kinds of pictures — poor and good.

[Tshethar]

Did you buy these from Gabe?

I did. I wasn't 100% sure how that would turn out as I have had some mixed experiences with other vendors in the past.

But I've been on the hunt for a while, my budget is limited, and I didn't see much out there that was enticing or was coming from people who specialized in discus or Amazonian fish. I also didn't want to do things in a piecemeal way with only 2-3 fish at a time. Just seemed as though social dynamics and QT would be harder that way.

I wasn't able to get in touch with Gabe via email but he did spend some time with me on the phone. Overall I'm optimistic about what I got and the turnaround time was really fast from when I ordered. I had watched some of his more recent videos on Youtube and it seems he has a better supplier he's working with in the Santarem region, though it sounded like he was also in the process of trying to work out a deal with another individual... at any rate, not settling for the leftovers that had been previously available...

Looking at 4" fish compared with the adults I rehomed a couple of years ago, I sort of feel like this will be a grow-out situation but I'm happy with that. Will be fun to work with these as a group and see what some of them can turn into, assuming I can keep them happy.

[Tshethar]

Welcome Back Bill!

I happy to see you back with us! Enjoy the fishes and seriously dont worry about the photos quality..its the fish that matter.

Al

Thanks, Al. Really fun to be back. Missed having these guys in the house.

Looking forward to your journey, Bill.
We take all kinds of pictures — poor and good.

Thanks, Frank. I will stick to the poor ones! We have Al, Pat, and others for the good ones. But I'm too excited about having fish again not to post, so no worries. Personally I always like seeing people's fish no matter what.

[Second Hand Pat]

Congrats Bill and happy to see you back in the game. Wild greens are one of my favorite wilds and I have found they just get more beautiful over time. Since these are 4 inch fish I would guess they are about a year old. Wild greens for me seen to mature late in their second year. Of course that is based on a guess on age lol. What's your water like Bill?
Pat

[dpt8]

Can wait to see them in your tank. Sounds great. Good luck

[Tshethar]

Congrats Bill and happy to see you back in the game. Wild greens are one of my favorite wilds and I have found they just get more beautiful over time. Since these are 4 inch fish I would guess they are about a year old. Wild greens for me seen to mature late in their second year. Of course that is based on a guess on age lol. What's your water like Bill?
Pat

Hi Pat and thanks! I'm curious to know what if anything you have going yourself these days... And your question prompted me to dust off my test kits to find out more about my water. (I also recently bought one of the inexpensive pH/TDS/EC meters.)

The water itself here is generally good for them. Currently the tank parameters are:

pH: 7.1
TDS: 57
EC (conductivity): 114

My API test kits all expired in 2020 (!) and I seem to remember having trouble either reading or having confidence in the GH/KH results, which was true today as well. Never had a pH crash, though.

Also happy to report that after a couple of nights in the tank and some light feedings, the biofilter seems to be doing its job (NH3: 0, N02: 0, NO3: ~5). I did not sterilize the tank after moving rasboras, a pleco, and a lot of aquasoil substrate out, but it has been without fish and substrate for about a month and I have been dosing with ammonia. Thoroughly cleaned the filters and did a 100% water change with pre-filtered water the night before the discus arrived. So far everyone is looking good.

[Tshethar]

Can wait to see them in your tank. Sounds great. Good luck

Here's one random snapshot from the first day... they are still getting used to the lighting and therefore spending a lot of their time huddling but overall they are getting more comfortable and looking good. Adjusting to the new foods as well.

I defer to people with better eyes than me but I'm happy with their shape. I see a couple of them that probably had some ammonia burn or fin rot in their history (maybe when initially exported) so maybe at some point after they're well settled I might trim a couple of fins. But I haven't noticed anything else. Good times!

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[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Bill, your water parameters sound good. Be aware I have always experienced a mini-cycle the first week and manage that will a daily water change (around 50% in a 75). Also suggest aging your water if possible. The fish are looking good for only having them a day or so. You may find this useful http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...ters-for-Wilds.
Pat

[AquaticNerd]

Here's one random snapshot from the first day... they are still getting used to the lighting and therefore spending a lot of their time huddling but overall they are getting more comfortable and looking good. Adjusting to the new foods as well.

I defer to people with better eyes than me but I'm happy with their shape. I see a couple of them that probably had some ammonia burn or fin rot in their history (maybe when initially exported) so maybe at some point after they're well settled I might trim a couple of fins. But I haven't noticed anything else. Good times!

2023-10-08 08.46.37.jpg

The group looks pretty from all the way over here. Like you've pointed out, a few do look like they've experienced some ammonia burns or rot from looking at the condition of some of their fins. I think you're on the right track though, and with a good WC routine and some time I think you'll see them heal.

[Charlyc11]

Here's one random snapshot from the first day... they are still getting used to the lighting and therefore spending a lot of their time huddling but overall they are getting more comfortable and looking good. Adjusting to the new foods as well.

I defer to people with better eyes than me but I'm happy with their shape. I see a couple of them that probably had some ammonia burn or fin rot in their history (maybe when initially exported) so maybe at some point after they're well settled I might trim a couple of fins. But I haven't noticed anything else. Good times!

2023-10-08 08.46.37.jpg

Nice lookin group and the pic looks great. Are you using tiles on the bottom and wall paper background? I like it..

[Tshethar]

Nice lookin group and the pic looks great. Are you using tiles on the bottom and wall paper background? I like it..

Yes to both (or almost re. the wallpaper)--never tried either before but thought I would experiment. I had some leftover tile in the shed that we had used for the bathroom and it looks kind of like gray fabric. I saw a video in which someone was using tile in a discus tank and I also liked the look. I need to siphon in the seams a little as I didn't silicone them together but the person in the video reportedly didn't have issues with mulm building up underneath.

And I had seen somewhere (I think on SD) about using frosted window treatment for a background. I've always spray painted but was looking at alternatives (like a Universal Rocks background) and decided this might be a middle way, or at least something different. I was also able to install it with the tank already in place... This is it:

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[Charlyc11]

You did a nice job