Blue

[slicksta]

;D

[BLUEKNIGHT]

Nice Blue Diamond. It looks like you have him in a tank with gravel and plants. That is why you dont see his nice colors. ;D

Nice Pic John.... (don't mean to speak for you but......)

John loves his gravel tanks... He will never part with them so I am sure he doesn't mind the color....

I personally love my tanks bb. Easy easy easy.... Now if I could only work up the nerve to paint them lt. blue... :P

[slicksta]

I don't know why the pic looks so dark....the pic I uploaded is much more brilliant......it has nothing to do with the gravel......
.....and if I wanted a lab experiment in my house I would go BB......lol
have you ever seen a BB Amazon river



I had this on my PC at work....but now your going to force me to take some pics tonight....

[Denny]

slick,

you ever seen a blue diamond in the amazon? lol

great photos. i like the deep red eyes.

denny

[Chris-C]

Hey Slick,
The fish look good. Its harder to keep them looking good with gravel. I personally find a gravel tank with plants more pleasing to the eye but changed to a bare bottom tank because I could not clean up all the crap. Also BB is the way to go if you are going to win a medal at the water changing olympics ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Chris

[slicksta]

....actually........I don't think the Amazon has gravel either..........I think it's all mud......anyway
.........and sure they are blue diamonds in the Amazon....green clovers and lucky stars too....lol
I know a gravel tank is harder to clean, but it is worth it....
But....IMHO....most clean to much, and I think most over feed as well. I do not keep fish to breed or to try and grow the largest one around. I think the experience has to be as good for the keeper as well as the fish. I would not keep fish if my tank looked like a lab experiment and it was 10 times the work. From what I read on this board, there are many people having a lot more trouble than I am having...and IMHO they are feeding to much....cleaning to much....They are constantly monitoring parameters and are BB as well.
I think for juvies.....you may want to go BB and a few extra WC....but my young adults are lively, have great color and are very happy. They always gather at the top for me.....and some spit water and eat out of my hands and can be petted.....
and I owe it all to gravel.....lol
I know they like the driftwood in the tank...as it gives them some security...and that is where they like to rest when the lights go out

Please all.....this is how I do it....and it is right for me....everyone has the right to do as they please and I respect that.....and I am not trying to convince you that you are doing it wrong...
I just have to LOL when a badly exposed picture is blamed on gravel and plants...

[Wolf]

Looks like you are doing great with your setup and your fish are happy. Nice tank. I use a lot of driftwood in my BB tank and would like to add some moss or Javafern to the wood so my tanks aren't quite as bare as some peoples. I do like the BB though I think it looks nice and clean with some driftwood and plants but I'm also anal about cleanliness. ;D

[JRM]

Hi,

Could you tell me what the plants are in the bottom of the pic in reply #3?

I love how they look.

Thanks

[slicksta]

thank you.......I got them at Big Al's
http://www.bigalsonline.com
and/or That Fish Place
http://www.thatpetplace.com/choicef.html

FANCY PLANTS MATS- BOXWOOD -



FANCY PLANTS- BOXWOOD VINE -


I think you get better service at That Fish Place.........good luck...

John

[OEG]

Hola Slick,
I agree with you on the overfeeding stuff, i think alot of us over do it and i think we take "the more you feed the bigger they get" stuff too serious. I have found that when i feed to much my fish get sick or sluggish, now i feed smaller amnts during the day and they all look and act great. We used to use the phrase" a hungry fish is a healthy fish" and i think it is true.
Oscar

[Raj]

nice fish

raj

[slicksta]

Oscar

I think that is the truth......
...............overfeeding is a major problem with keeping fish....not gravel..... I even stick to just dry food for health reasons as well. Worms of any kind (frozen or live) can cause more health problems than they are worth....IMHO.... you don't go out and buy small animals to feed your cat or dog that they would normally eat if they were in the wild. Why would you do it for fish....It's even more critical for fish because you are trying to maintain an environment as well....If your going to domesticate an animal....prepared foods are the way to go.....Once they get use to a diet....they tear it up as if it was live food anyway.
I am relatively new to discus, but I have been keeping Africans for 10 years. I learned early on....feed once a day, and be patient....The fish will be lively, have great color, grow to there potential size, and very rarely get sick....
As for my discus, I feed 1 to 2 times a day( usually 1) ....a variety of flake, pellet and freeze dried.....and these guys are amazing. They have grown noticeably larger in 5 months time....and as far as I can tell they don't miss bloodworms at all....If they will eat pellets out of my hand.....they must like them............
Excuse me for rambling on.....but I think many are intimidated to post opinions that are contrary to the BB - feed,feed,feed - 200% water change hourly method to keeping discus...

.....and remember....I love you all....

John

[Wolf]

You mean those arent even real plants LOL? I thought this was about planted tanks but it's all about gravel ??? ;D