Biotope, sort of....

[pcsb23]

A few months ago for various reasons I removed my wilds from the display tank in my lounge. I finally got around to reworking the tank and moving the wilds back in there.

Whilst its not an absolute true biotope, all of the plants are found in the Amazon region, well except that one is a cultivar, but... oh and the BN's are domestic bred. The discus and the cory's are wild caught...

The tank is a 380litre (100 US gallons) tank, substrate is Seachem Red Flourite, the tank has 120W T8 lighting over it. It is filtered by 2 eheim filters, one is a classic 2217 the other an eheim pro. Ph runs around 6.2 and it has a conductivity between 80 and 100 microsiemens.

The tank is set up to be low tech and is deliberately sparsley planted. The swords will fill out with time and the Lilaeopsis macloviana should also fill in nicely. The objective was to create a tank that the discus will feel comfortable in. The plants are E.Ozelot, E. Red Diamond, Lilaeopsis macloviana and Vesicularia dubyana "Christmas" or Christmas tree moss. All plants were chosen as they originate from South America, can tolerate high temps, soft acidic water and don't need mega watts of light.

Hope you enjoy the pics

[pcsb23]

Some more....

[pcsb23]

Last ones for now....

[Dolphin Dip]

awsome fish and tank!
i even love the driftwood. it's weird how broad leaves like that make a tank seem so much smaller. once my discus grow up a bit i want to do something just like that!

[fishmama]

Nice tank and super fish. I especially like the driftwood setup.

[plecocicho]

I doubt, thah java fern could be found in the Amazon.
Yout tank looks great with that badass root. Where did youget it and what type of wood is it? Beutifull brown dicsus. How much did they cost and what strain are they?
lp

[architect1]

Amazing tank Paul, love your wilds, I have always loved your fish. Nice work, and good luck on the tank.

[B-O-F]

Very nice. Have you, or anyone else, noticed any difference in the behavior and demeanor of the fish when they are in a more natural biotope ?

[pcsb23]

Thanks all for the comments, the discus are in fact a blue discus, canuma blues to be precise, the wood is several pieces carefully stacked, I have not been able to find a one-piece that is suitable, I'd prefer to have a bigger piece but with slimmer branches/roots..

Very nice. Have you, or anyone else, noticed any difference in the behavior and demeanor of the fish when they are in a more natural biotope ?

It's a good question, with wilds I have noticed they settle quicker in a tank with some wood in it, but it is only a matter of a few days, domestics tend to settle faster in BB tanks ime.

[Elite Aquaria]

Paul,

The tank looks great but the canuma blues look even better. Are these the ones you got this past summer.

Dan

[brewmaster15]

I like it Paul...I like it alot....The number of discus is perfect for it as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the tank matures and can't wait for the spawns.

-al

[pcsb23]

Paul,

The tank looks great but the canuma blues look even better. Are these the ones you got this past summer.

Dan

Yes Dan they are. Thanks

I like it Paul...I like it alot....The number of discus is perfect for it as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the tank matures and can't wait for the spawns.

-al

Thanks Al, they are getting to that age too! fingers crossed.

[Condor]

Paul, beautiful tank and fish. Thats some pretty cool driftwood, I like the mossy look.

Adrian

[Green Country Discus]

Paul, that is a very pleasing tank. I really like the set-up and all inhabitants. Do you have much of an algae problem? I have been toying with trying something similar. Again, very nice and thanks for sharing .

[Diamond Discus]

Paul, I've had trouble with my grapevine growing round 1/4 inch long tufts of black cottony stuff, only in 2 places, it may be a fungus. Every time I clean it off, it comes back exactly the same. Have you seen any of this on yours. I like the wood, it looks safe with no points to give injury to the fish. The fish look very realxed. Nice job.