My Planted Tank Experience

[pastry]

Right on, SMB2. Well said.

[Kirbs]

Great thread!

I have always had a 90 Gallon Planted Discus Community Tank. But I was never successful at growing my Discus to their full potential. It was always a lot of work and time consuming. During the Summer, demands on my time resulted in neglect............less time for water changes and pruning of plants. Since finding this forum, I have realized what I did wrong and am ready to approach it quite differently. I have 4 tanks to set up in my basement to use as quarantines and grow outs. My goal is to have my 90 set up with Manzanita Branches, Sand Substrate with sparse plantings and HEALTHY ADULT DISCUS!

I am taking my time and want to do it right this time. I have learned a lot through this forum and will continue reading and learning before jumping in again. Although it is hard restraining myself!

[barkmanusd]

Wow! I'm shocked by the lopsided response to planted discus tanks! I've had aquariums for over 20 years and exclusive discus tanks for approx. 18. All have been planted (I like the idea of replicating a natural environment although I know we can't truly do that).
I do understand many are trying to breed or maximize the size of the fish. I don't doubt that would work. i think that's absolutely fine. To me it's like the person who eats plain oatmeal, unseasoned chicken breasts and vegetables without salt or butter. ...do they look great? Probably but I'm not convinced there quality of life couldn't be improved. Seems there's lots of room for middle ground.
I've noticed a number of folks made tons of mistakes then somehow concluded the problem was the planted tank....? ***? If you add 22 fish at once - yes you may have a problem!! ) If you don't check nitrates 'cause the water 'looks' clean..... If you feed tons of food hourly then try and compensate by multiple water changes a day > 80% you increase probability of a mistake somewhere (PH, temperature, general stress on the fish etc.).
Another problem some are having is with the idea that discus keeping is easy....?? It's not - at least in comparison to other standard tropical fish. No one buys a prize champion poodle and then whines about brushing him. Yes, you have to vacuum the gravel! ......it kinda goes with it.
I say enjoy your fish however you like them but i hate to see new hobbyist jaded by the old foggies (of which I'm one - but maybe a little more open minded). If you like a planted tank - take the time (lack of patience is the biggest killer of discus with the new hobbyist!) to learn what you are doing. Just as you will need to learn a set of different rules if you go BB. Good Luck! A pic of one of my tanks. 75 gallons Penang eruption, Rafflesia, Albino pidgeons etc. - plants are obscured but there'a hygro, anubia, swords & purple lilly pads. Substrate is eco-complete.new scus kennt al.jpg

[Crab]

My experience so far-
I have been wanting to try Discus for years. I finally decided it was time. So,... I laid down my richest and best substrate recipe to date, added a few rocks, cycled the tank, added black Mollies and several plants. I let it run for a month or so, let the plants grow & added a pair of blue rams. They laid eggs instantly.
Everything was looking good, but I still wanted to do more research and get my ecosystem more developed before taking the Discus plunge.
Then we went to our favorite fish store for supplies yesterday and the owner offered us some beautiful 2" juveniles at a mere $15 a pop. We could not resist.
Today, I find this forum. This is the first thread I read. Have I made a terrible mistake? Probably. Am I going to pull everything out and go BB? What do you think. Um,...no.
I have been keeping fish since I was 4. That's nearly 4 decades in the hobby. (you kids would be horrified if you had to work with the equipment available to us in the 70s. lol) Add to that 13 years in landscape design, eventually specializing in ponds and water features.
So I am going to proceed as planned, growing out juvies in a planted tank, for 3 reasons:
1) I have developed a knack for creating well balanced low-maintenance ecosystems.
2) I have a hard time understanding the finer points of why it can't be done successfully, so I want to see for myself precisely what goes wrong and why.
3) I would like to help contribute to the forum by answering questions and offering what I learn.
I always have planted tanks. My last tanks were mostly angelfish. I cleaned the filters, gravel and did water changes about 3 times a year tops and never saw any health issues. I also never had algae.
I believe this is why- I use Kuhli Loaches to do much of the bottom cleaning. They stay low and hide a lot so they don't interrupt the breeding process of shy angels. (discus will appreciate that)
I also use Malaysian Trumpet snails. Did you really just gasp in horror? They are not pests. They do a lot of cleaning. They burrow all thru the substrate, keeping it healthy and preventing dangerous gas pockets. They devour decaying vegetable matter, should I miss removing any dead leaves. They're also mostly nocturnal so you won't usually see many during the day. And besides, what body of water doesn't have snails? It wouldn't be natural.
I always carpet the substrate with java moss. Mulm, excess food and debris land in it and wriggle down to the gravel where it is eaten by Loaches & snails or absorbed by the moss and other plants. I use mostly fast growing plants because they eat/ clean/ absorb such impurities at a faster rate.
Next are the floating plants. My favorites are Hornwort and Crystalwort. They grow lightning-fast, absorbing impurities like a Hoover, while providing overhead cover for fish like angels and discus who like it. It's also easy to control, unlike the invasive duckweed. Avoid. I'm also going to try Water Lettuce, Water Hyacinth, and Frogbit. Their hanging roots are very attractive and voracious cleaners.
I am going to bump up my water changes though. That was just laziness. lol I am goin to buy a pipe-tapping kit for fridges with ice makers, tap into the pipe in the bathroom across the hall, run the line under the floor to the tank with a little ball valve and set it to drip constantly. I will run an overflow line thru the floor into a drain. This should help compensate for my laziness.
But listen, everybody here is talking like young Discus eat some sort of surprising amount of food, followed naturally by the exceptional waste. Well I have a news flash for you. All infants do, from guppies to puppies to humans. Ever had a baby? Can we talk about night feedings and mountains of diapers? I am not daunted by the juvenile Discus' alleged legendary capacity to eat and poop. All baby fish are legendary in this capacity.
Speaking of babies, the Mollies are there to provide fry as live food for the Discus. Delicious, nutritious, and not very messy. The chase also keeps them happy, entertained, bold and colorful
So as you can see, virtually everything in my tank that isn't a Discus was chosen for it's ability to feed or clean up after them in some way, each one leaning on the other in symbiotic harmony.
My filter is a wet/dry rated for over 100G. I use a low micron filter sock to catch minuscule impurities. The tank is 50G with 5 discus.
I'm not saying this will work and all my juvies will grow up big and round and be the captain of the football team in a planted tank. I'm not as cocky as I am simply curious. I just want to put all my years of horticultural and aquaria skills together and try my best before giving up. (suggestions welcome)
I just abhor BB tanks. They look like fish penitentiaries. Makes me want to slip them a Hershey bar and a pack of Camels.
I have my doubts about all this working out just as much as you do, but admit it- You want to know if I can pull it off too, don't you.
I'll let you know how it went.

[1077]

Has been some time since I last frequented this Forum and plan's for Discus in planted tank brought me back.
Having raised a group of Discus on a couple occasion's since then, my path is clear.
I shall raise the juveniles in BB 55 gal, and then place the adult's in 2 year old,heavily planted 80 gal tank.
For me ,it is about ones expectation's ,and I have tried both way's on a couple of occasion's and took note of the growth that was achieved with both method's.
Have no doubt that the adult fish will fair well in my planted tank, but to achieve the growth,development I desire,,It will be easier to raise them in smaller BB where they don't have to compete, or forage for foods among the jungle of plant's in my low tech 80 gal.
My planted tank's run well with little intervention from me other than weekly or Bi-weekly water change.
Plant's have adapted to low CO2 level's via fish waste,fish food's, and any sudden change or fluctuatio'n in CO2 levels like those asscociated with numerous weekly water changes would
in all likelihood trigger algae bloom judging from past expieriences.
Nearly all juvenile fishes in my expierience (40yrs) will grow faster ,larger,with frequent small feeding's and subsequent frequent water changes to remove Organic's but to also provide mineral's for structural development assuming fishes are not genetically inferior from the outset. (cull's,stunted already).
I am some way's away from purchasing the fish, for I must find homes for the fishes currently occupying the 55 gal ,and round up a quality autofeeder(suggestion's welcome),and a couple new 300 watt heater's.
Already have the sponge filter's,canister,hose with pump to quickly drain water.storage tub for makeup water,and more variety of food's than i have for human's.
Will post more as I get closer to time to contact Kenny.
Regard's,Lee

[SMB2]

I agree with the improved aesthetics of a planted tank over a BB, but there are behavioral issues to consider as well. After 6 months, (2+ with discus) I have actually removed half of my plants, much to the delight of the discus. They seem to enjoy working the substrate to see what can be "blown" up to snack on. This is a natural behavior and with lots of plants they will not go to the bottom. While I think plants help stabilize the water I am leaning towards re-scaping my 90 gal with most of the plants attached to my wood stumps leaving the bottom for the fish.

[1077]

Is said that plant's are as much as ten times quicker at assimilating,or eliminating ammonia,nitrites,nitrates than biological media no matter how much media is available so there is more benefit in my view than pure aesthetic's.
Perhap's should also note that fast growing plant's and lot's of em,,would be of more benefit than a few slow growing plant's such as aunbia,javafern,sword's,crypt's.
Even in bare bottom tank's ,I should think fast growing floating plant's would only help with water quality while also providing the fish some comfort from the often mega watt's of light that some folk's choose to utilize over high energy planted tank's.
I have load's of watersprite,pennywort,floating in my planted tank's and shall try to employ them when I finally aquire the juvie's.
I can see no downside to this approach from water quality standpoint, to comfort for the fishes in what will be sparse,near sterile,enviornment otherwise.
Once the fish achieve the growth I desire,,I too shall prolly thin out some of the plant mass in display tank, for although the small tetra's currently residing there have no trouble navigating ,,I think I shall see more of the discus,with fewer plant's.

[Hargy]

Hi all,
I'm new to this forum and keeping discus and I absolutely love these fish!! I purchased 2 juvenile discus about 3 weeks ago (1 red turquoise and 1 red dragon). They both seem to be doing great so far they're swimming together in the open and always eat like pigs at feeding time. The only catch is they're in a planted tank with a couple of electric blue rams and a pair of angels. I'm aware that keeping and raising healthy juvies in a planted tank can be a daunting task as they require super clean water to thrive, I've been doing a 30% water change daily since having them which I hope is enough? Temp is 30 PH is 7.5 nitrates nitrites and ammonia are all 0 (I use the API freshwater master test kit to get these results) and I feed them frozen beefheart frozen bloodworms occasionally and have new era discus pellets but getting them to eat the pellets is proving difficult. The tank is 4ft and is filtered by an aqua pro 1800uv canister filter with pads ceramic rings and bio balls. I'm just hoping someone more experienced can read this and tell me whether I'm doing enough for these little guys to grow into nice healthy happy discus hope I've covered all the info needed and will attach a pic. Any replies would be greatly appreciated!!
Many thanks, Nathan.

[teamhuckem]

Hello All! I'm sitting here now looking at my 6 new juvenile discus in my planted 135. Now I am terrified that I've spend $250+ on the beautiful fish of my dreams was a terrible mistake. Im running an EcoSystems freshwater refugium for filtration. Also a Fluval 406 hooked up to my 36watt UV sterilizer that handles a minimal amount of mechanical filtration. The fish are only 4 days in the tank and are swimming comfortably (water remains 0 ammonia/0 nitrite and 0 nitrate).
They are currently sharing the tank with 9 glow light tetras, 2 GBRs, 2 apistos and an ornamental pleco.
I was sold on the EcoSystem refugium for filtration as it seems to strip all detrimental qualities out of the water. That being said I am changing 10-20% water a day and vacuuming 25% of the gravel bed per day.
Should I invest immediately in a 55 and transfer the Discus out? They are schooling, but still not comfortable enough to take food when I introduce it.
Any advice from the veterans here is very welcomed! I am a very experienced fish keeper, but this is my first foray into Discus.
Thank you!
Jim

[teamhuckem]

Updating my own post here. Transferred all discus into a cycled bare bottom 29 gallon to grow them. Doing %50-%80 WC daily and feeding 4-6 times a day. Vacuum left overs before bed. Hopefully growing a couple inches doesn't take too long! Thanks for a wonderfully informative forum!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[disckaroo]

1) bare bottom tanks (easier to locate the waste)
2) no decorations in the tanks (easier to locate the waste)
3) avoiding hard to clean filters (easier to squeeze out a sponge filter than it is to open up a canister filter)
4) feeding “clean” foods (beefheart is messy, freeze dried black worms are not)
5) keeping smaller populations of discus per tank (more fish, more food, more waste, more frequent cleaning)

The end.

brilliant. short. sweet.

[disckaroo]

I just abhor BB tanks. They look like fish penitentiaries. Makes me want to slip them a Hershey bar and a pack of Camels.
I have my doubts about all this working out just as much as you do, but admit it- You want to know if I can pull it off too, don't you.
I'll let you know how it went.

lmao +1

[Jbarnes]

Thanks for info. My plan is to do Discus similar to the way I do saltwater. Nutrient export via fast growing plants with a clean up crew. Sounds like my clean up crews first members are the snails you mentioned. Jerry.

[teamhuckem]

Hi A couple of months have gone by now since I purchased my first group of discus from Discus Hans. I must say, I am glad I am now growing them out in a 55 gallon tank first. I now have 10 juvies ranging in size from 3-4.5 inches. They are healthy and happy and I am especially grateful to Hans for being so accessible over the phone.
Patience is a virtue I lack, but I've discovered some with these beautiful fish. As I wait for these fish to get a tad bigger, I am spending time dialing in the 150 gallon they will eventually call home.
This forum is the best source of information for discus I have found and am happy to benefit from the experiences of discus keepers who've done this all before.
Daily 100% water changes in the 55 has become effortless and is paying off HUGE in the growth department.
I'll keep you all posted as I go forward with my planted tank experience! :-)

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

[Jbarnes]

I'm also setting up a planted tank. Its in my office and a BB is not really appealing in my eyes for a formal living area. After reading all these pages of information my conclusion is that a planted tank is fine for adults but don't by juv's and expect them to grow in a planted tank? Did I interrupt that correctly? Jerry.