How exciting! It seems that you've done a lot of reading. I'm looking forward to seeing you progress. Have you decided on what strains you want yet?
Hi everyone! I am Shan and I'm an amateur fish keeper. I've dabbled in community setups, planted tanks, and on the summer of 2019 I came across a buddy of mine who had a couple of gorgeous discus. At the time I didn't know what they were but I was instantly swept away. I just had to have some.
I spent the next few months (August 2019-November 2019) researching and lurking these forums to learn as much as I could before finally starting my project.
I am so excited!
I began with a plan - I wanted to experience raising discus to the best of both mine and their potential. This meant daily 90% PWC and as many feedings I could (at least 4).
With the help of a friend I made through my local aquarium fb group, we made a stand for my brand new 55. I also painted the underbottom a sand color paint and added my touches on the back panel.
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I got a 55 aging barrel as well and have been practicing water changes recently. I have 2 powerful 1/6hp and a slightly less powerful aquarium pump to drain water and help with water changes. I have been fishless cycling the tank since early December of 2019 and it seems to be fully cycled!
I recently purchased some manzanita wood and will be adding it to the tank shortly.
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I am driving up to Hans this Sunday to get 12-14 juvenile discus with nice round bodies and small eyes.
HYPE! Will post more pictures as I continue to add more to the tank!
Wish me luck!
How exciting! It seems that you've done a lot of reading. I'm looking forward to seeing you progress. Have you decided on what strains you want yet?
Mama Bear
I love the Love and Peace back ground!! great stand. I hope that your journey is a flawless one. Welcome to the forum although you've been lurking for months!
any ideas on the strain you're going to keep?
Thank you guys! Yes I have an idea roughly.
Starting with
3x Brilliant Turqs
3x German Wonder
3x Cobalts
2x White Leopard
2x Pigeon Blood (Orange)
I'm not sure if the white leopard is pigeon blood and whether or not I should even mix them in case I get the breeding itch in a year or two
The white leopard sounds like a PB to me and of course your orange pigeons are. If you think you may want to breed I would go either with all Pigeons or all non pigeons. Otherwise, just get what rings your bell.
Mama Bear
Hi Shan, the tank looks great and glad to see you have been reading up and sound prepared. Looking forward to see what you do fish wise. Once your juvies are settled and doing well what's your next step. I see another tank in your future.
Pat
Your discus are talking to you....are you listening
Thanks Pat! Hopefully they don't outgrow the 55 too soon. I'll be upgrading to a 90 then!
After talking with Hans I think I may get some pigeon blood mixed in with my nons and worry about breeding later. Maybe two years down the line. For now let's just see how I grow them out and will focus on learning.
Trip to Hans was long, but totally worth it. Had a great time with Hans. RIP Ravens.
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Got home super late (9hr trip) but the fish were great and acclimation didn't take long. They eagerly ate right away and I dimmed the lights right after to let them adjust.
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Week 2 Update.
Appetite seems to have increased. I'm feeding them as much as I can on the days I have off (5-6 feedings). But usually weekdays they get fed 3 times BH and flakes while im at work. Loving them so much. Water changes are becoming habit, enjoying all aspects of keeping these babies. =D
Last edited by Shan_Evolved; 01-20-2020 at 03:01 PM.
In the middle of week 3 and I seem to have noticed a bit of an issue, hopefully not a big one. I have acted accordingly.
While doing my daily 90% WC, I noticed some teeny tiny little worm/slug like things on my glass. They are so small and only stick to the glass. From researching what it could be, I am steering towards Planaria as they don't seem long or exhibit the same behavior as Detritus worms. Then again I have 0 experience with these.
I have always siphoned out extra food 2-3 hours after a feeding, but definitely at least 2 times a day. Especially before /during my big water change at night. I think the culprit was my cannister filter. I haven't cleaned it since I started the tank cycling process. I spent 3 weeks away from the tank out of town in which I used flake food on a timer once a day while I was gone.
Even though I use a prefilter and rinse everyday, I feel it might have gotten dirty inside the cannister so I took it apart to take a look at it.
BROWN GUNK! Just full of brown stuff everywhere, and dirty water. So I rinsed the inside of the cannister, all the ceramic media, until the water rinsing came out cleanish. I took the tubes apart and cleaned them with pipe cleaner until they looked new. (I rinsed with tap water hope it's not a big deal). Then I put it back together and added dechlorinater before reattaching to tank.
I will keep an eye on the glass and see if the problem goes away.
Is your canister your only source of filtration? Never clean with tap and always use tank water to rinse media. You might have restarted your cycle so keep an eye out for water parameters.
If you feed those juvies once a day you will stunt them. I would not worry about those little white worms.
Last edited by Mando; 01-28-2020 at 02:44 PM.
Do you turn off your canister for feeding? I turn mine off for 10-12 minutes and then turn back on. No issues with biological filtration. Keeps the canister cleaner longer (even with prefilter.
Brilliant idea. I do notice small pieces of food and poop get stuck behind the pre filter area but I usually scoop it up when I siphon.
Also Mando, I feed them minimum 3 times a day. Weekends I do 5. I also have auto feeders giving out flake food while im at work every 3 hours. When I get home I feed them Hans BH every 3 hours until large WC then bedtime.
The worms seemed to have gone away. Ill look closer once I do my WC today.
As far as restarting my cycle. Oops. But I'm not too worried about it with daily 90% WC. I'm sure it'll fix itself up. Lol Hopefully. I did rinse them with tap water but put the sponge back in chlorinated water right away (withint 10 minutes).
If you're changing water that frequently, you don't really need mechanical filtration. I'd just stick with the sponge filters and that'll be more than enough. I squeeze mine weekly, but that's probably more often than it needs. Keep up the W/C's and the Stendkers will be huge before you know it.
Good luck, Willie
At my age, everything is irritating.
Thanks for the reply Willie.
Are you sure I don't need the cannister? I mean I could totally put in another sponge but I have a knack in my head saying the cannister filter will help keep my water clean and my tank cycled in case I have to leave for a few days. I'm worried about leaving them without a big WC more than a day. My cannister filter is primarily filled with bioballs and some crushed coral. Barebottom was hard to cycle without any PH stabilizer. I had so many PH crashes