Desire change in the hobby? [Archive]

Discus-n00b

07-30-2014, 12:59 PM

I want to preface this post by saying I love discus, always have, and I love my current fish. Its just I can't help but to look at my 100gal wild tank and feel down about it. There are no problems with it, I'm not fighting any issues with it, but quite frankly I'm finding it kind of boring lately. I only have 2 tanks running at the moment, and thats all I want. My 15gal SW nano and the 100gal discus tank. Maybe Spencer Jack was right, when it comes down to it discus are boring. I love them but they are boring. I don't have any fish sparing with each other, no pairs controlling the sides of the tank with spawns that you would get with other american cichlids, no crazy colors and exciting atmosphere that you'd find in an african setup. The discus just hover there, staring back at me waiting for food and the process repeats. Theres no life, no survival, no instinct. And I know the wild season is approaching, but I really don't (I do but don't want to afford to) want to spend the money for a group of quality wilds to boost my "herd"/"school" this year, which could run close to at least $800, after putting money into the SW tank, car, other things in life. So that leaves me sitting with 3 wild discus in a 100gal tank, not quite the tank of my dreams. I'm not looking for an easy way out, not looking for a tank I can set it and forget it, not do constant WCs on, etc. I just feel the urge for something new.

I can't help but to look at an African setup, or a different type of central/south american setup with awe and a lust really. Is this the hobby telling me I need a change? If it is change to what? Anyone else been through this? I'm sure we all have. How do you decide? I always end up back and discus regardless, I'm just fighting to see the fun with them atm.

At any rate, I'm still pondering this. Won't be some overnight decision quite yet. Just had to post my thoughts, maybe get some of your thoughts and experiences with this as well. :confused:

DiscusLoverJeff

07-30-2014, 01:11 PM

Matt, I believe many of us feel the same way at times, I know I do. That is why I change out discus over the months just for variety.

Have you thought of adding some wild angels to the mix?

John_Nicholson

07-30-2014, 01:28 PM

This to shall pass......

Maybe its time to do a little breeding? Raise up some of your own fry. It is work but it is rewarding work if done correctly.

-john

Kal-El

07-30-2014, 01:32 PM

This to shall pass......

Maybe its time to do a little breeding? Raise up some of your own fry. It is work but it is rewarding work if done correctly.

-john
Yep that's what kept me in the hobby. At one point I though about quieting and do something else.

fishyj

07-30-2014, 01:55 PM

Matt, I have been there also. I ended up selling my 125 and my discus and started a bc29 marine tank. I have had other fish in a 55 I had, but tore that down too. I will never get rid of my nano tank. When I would go to my lfs, I would always end up looking at their discus. Well I am back, have a 55 that I will be using but its in the planning stages. This time I want to grow them big and try breeding as my ultimate goal.

musicmarn1

07-30-2014, 01:59 PM

could you put some domestics in with those wilds and try a bred cross? i must say my wilds tank isnt as exciting for me because its plain and they dont breed fo rme yet so none of that action going on, i want to do a fancy biotiope when i can afford it thats what i was dreaming of i know youve done that before though too :)

Discus-n00b

07-30-2014, 02:29 PM

I had wild angels before, much of the same as discus IMO. The problem with breeding is it takes more space, more space that atm I do not have to spare lol. Pair tank, growout tanks, space to grow BBS, etc. I guess its an option but not the leading one atm. I guess I just need to sit down, rummage through the boards, see if anything catches my eye. What started all of this was looking at pictures from the ACA show seeing some of the great cichlids out there and also seeing some Ivanacara adoketa. Just threw questions in my mind. What I REALLY need is Larry's fishroom LOL.

Matt, I have been there also. I ended up selling my 125 and my discus and started a bc29 marine tank. I have had other fish in a 55 I had, but tore that down too. I will never get rid of my nano tank. When I would go to my lfs, I would always end up looking at their discus. Well I am back, have a 55 that I will be using but its in the planning stages. This time I want to grow them big and try breeding as my ultimate goal.

Jim, my nano is my baby right now. I would be CRUSHED if something happened to it....less so if something happened to my discus tank. I love my nano to death and its really capturing my interest. TBH, that might be part of the reason I started questioning my 100gal. Look at my nano and smile, turn around 180 degrees and look at my 100gal and just kind of shrug my shoulders.

DiscusLoverJeff

07-30-2014, 02:42 PM

I love my reef tank too. Never get bored looking at it. Almost 5 years now.

Keith Perkins

07-30-2014, 03:09 PM

Jeff's reef tank is gorgeous...from what I remember. :D

pcsb23

07-30-2014, 03:40 PM

I had a spell when I felt it was time to try something different. I did a reef tank, live rock, corals (mainly soft), fish and shrimp/crabs etc. Great fun setting it up, but after that ... well it was just boring. Everyone who came round all went wild about it with lots of ooh's and aahs ... but utterly unrewarding. Maintenance was a breeze, a smallish water change every three weeks and an occasional wipe around the glass. I thought it would be a real challenge but it wasn't, it was most disappointing from that aspect. After 18 months I tore it down, sold all the livestock and rock and added another discus tank ...

Did the Africans when I was younger, colourful fish and they can be feisty but no real challenge imo/e ...

If you want a real challenge why not get some altums (real ones from the wild) and see what you can do with those! Or get some Heckels and see if you can breed them ...

brewmaster15

07-30-2014, 04:00 PM

Matt,
We've all been thru it at one point or or another, or will some day. When I was there I went crazy, started playing with angels, blue rams, bolivian rams, shrimps,port cichlids,uaru,red head tapajos, thread fin Geos ...I went completely hog wild...had fish breeding all over the place....that too lost its charm. I found myself back with discus.

You've got a 100 gal tank sitting there with 3 nice wilds and are bored looking at it...time to maybe spice it up. I know you mentioned that you didn't have the resources to go an purchase some high end wilds for it... but I guess my question is, why does it have to be high end wilds? I have kept many wild discus over the years., and sold quite a few. A wild discus is a wild discus is a wild discus. Yes theres expensive names, and those reds with lots of red look great, the spotted with lots of spots look great....and the Striated with lots of striations look great.... But I will tell you what.. A common Heckel is an awesome fish, and common wild Blue can be a massive critter, and a wild green even without spots is still a majestic fish worth having, especially after its settled into to some good care. A trend we have these days is the wilds need to be fancy and expensive, but they don't. They just need to be healthy and round to really enjoy them. Some of my favorite wilds were my cheapest wilds. Of course theres nothing wrong paying a premium for a fish that is unique and in demand if you can afford it or justify it....but Theres alot more even a common wild can offer.

I don't mean to imply anything about wild discus keepers these days, as I feel the same about the Domestics. A red turq is still one of my favorites..:)

So my suggestion is dig deeper into the wild side.... Get a group of 6-7 wilds going in that tank and you'll probably see some more action. That has been my experience.

Sadly I no longer have either the wild greens or Heckels in the videos on this page...

http://www.ctdiscus.com/wild_discus_collection.php

But Those fish are just your common wilds...maybe $50 a piece as adults...the heckels were juvies when gotten..3 " @ something like $35 . Granted it was a few years ago....but I have seen some really nice wild discus without a designer tag for a fair price.

hth,
al

dkeef

07-30-2014, 04:27 PM

i have every freshwater fish i wanna keep at this moment.
that has helped me be less bored of discus. still love their colors and majestic appearance.

if ur bored of activity in the tank then my recommendation is community tank of other freshwater.
one of my tank is angel fish with rainbows, roselines, loaches, then still looking for other interesting ones like rams, black ghost, marble hatchets, cories.
i like that tank a lot due to variety and angel breeding is much more aggressive and easier than discus.

dkeef

07-30-2014, 04:31 PM

I love my reef tank too. Never get bored looking at it. Almost 5 years now.

i totally left reef which i had for 15 yrs plus. had all bells and whistles. not sure why i dont miss em.
maybe the algae problems i always had?

Discus-n00b

07-30-2014, 04:42 PM

Al, I'd just want quality fish not necessarily "high end". Still probably going to border $100 each. Its the nature of the beast these days especially due to the limited sources we have here in the states. I guess I have to wait and see what the season brings as to whats available and for what price before making any real decision. I'd really like to breed something, its been years since I had a real spawn....the Festivums were probably the last I raised.

I'm the complete opposite Paul lol. I check my tank anxiously every day to see how much the coral has grown, love seeing new growth and new branches on the coral and everything going on in the tank. I think thats why I'm looking at the FW side of things like I am because I am so happy with the way SW is going for me. Its exciting, new stuff every day, life, colors, everything.

I don't know. Like I said, i'm confused and lost at the direction I want to head in lol I just feel this 100gal rimless tank is going to waste currently.

DiscusBR

07-30-2014, 04:53 PM

Matt, you traitor! (just kidding).

I posed a similar question 2 years ago and got interesting answers. I hope they will help you find excitment with discus in general and wilds in particular:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?98721-Why-do-you-like-the-booring-discus&highlight=booring

trungnguyen

07-30-2014, 04:54 PM

I had the same feeling like yours before when I just had a discus tank only. I got bored of that, so I just sold some discus that I didn't like anymore and bought new ones. Setting up more tanks such as planted crystal cherry shrimp tank, saltwater tank (lol), and now raising discus frys....to me personally, discus is not boring. We just need to spice things up sometime. When I'm bored with discus, I spend more time with shrimp tank or saltwater tank, but at the end I still come back with discus...

DiscusBR

07-30-2014, 04:58 PM

By the way, here is what Matt posted in that thread:

"They are unique. Why would I want to keep another large SA or CA cichlid that just resembles a Tilapia? So they might move some sand around and fight a bit more but the discus just feel like gems in the tank. Their body shape is really attractive to me, they are like nothing else. Their breeding habits are very unique as well, I mean they carry their own fry. Add in the bright colors, wild OR domestic and you just have a great fish."

Having some change of thoughts, uh? lol. That is just normal.

John_Nicholson

07-30-2014, 05:22 PM

We all have these moments.....my middle daughter was in from college and we went to visit some friends that own a LFS. They had seom really nice swordtails and my daughter has always had a soft spot for them so we ended up with a male and 2 females. One of the females was heavy bred so I found an old net breed cage and put her in it. The next day about 20 or so babies. When I get home I don't check the discus pair with fry, I don't check the discus pair with wigglers, and I don't check the discus pair with eggs.....I check on my baby swordtails.......LOL. Wholesale they are probably worth 10 cents each but I am having a ball with them and that is priceless.

-john

brewmaster15

07-30-2014, 05:28 PM

but I am having a ball with them and that is priceless. yes it is.:)

Matt,
Have you played with Rams at all? They take up little space, are fun to breed and animate as all heck...They would be a good add on to the tank.... The German Blues are nice, but I really had a blast breeding and raising the Bolivian Rams. Port cichlids are also fun....

-al

brewmaster15

07-30-2014, 05:31 PM

Hey Matt,
Maybe you do need a change.... maybe try this...

http://www.ehow.com/how_8136027_keep-pet-chickens-home.html

:evilgrin::evilgrin::evilgrin::evilgrin::evilgrin: :evilgrin::evilgrin::evilgrin:

who'd have thought it!
-al

Larry Bugg

07-30-2014, 05:40 PM

I don't know why these people are trying to talk you out of making a change. I say go for it. Get rid of those old boring wilds and try something new and exciting. To show you how much I am behind you on this I will be happy to work out something to take those three off your hands so you can quickly make the change. You are only about a 4 hour drive from me and I would be happy to make that drive to help you out.

Discus-n00b

07-30-2014, 05:50 PM

They are unique Mauro, they just don't do to much lol. I still like them I'm just questioning whether something else would provide a more enjoyable experience.

Al, I had rams years ago and surprisingly I couldn't keep them alive to save my life. Not sure why. Perhaps thats the direction I should be looking in though, something to keep WITH the discus that aren't discus. Dwarfs for the bottom of the tank or something. Something I can have with my discus and breed on the side. I will have to explore this further. And no chickens in the house LOL jeez what a mess that would be. I fear with chickens in the house they will become fried out of frustration faster than they can lay eggs.

Larry I'd probably get a speeding ticket as soon as I enter GA, LOL. I will keep them for now and explore this option of some other fish for the discus tank. But know that if I do end up parting ways with them, that you top my list to take them.

brewmaster15

07-30-2014, 05:56 PM

ExReefer

07-30-2014, 05:59 PM

You should seriously try keeping a large colony of wild caught Tropheus in your 100G. You will love them. Tropheus mouth breed and the fry can live within the colony. There is a leader in every colony and lots of action overall. I made the switch from discus to Tropheus and I am hooked. You won't find Tropheus boring or too easy. Keeping Tropheus free from stress and bloat is a real challenge, but can be very rewarding. A healthy group of Tropheus is a sight to see. The toughest part for me was not too overfeed the Tropheus after coming from discus. You can easily overfeed them and that leads to bloat. If wild caught is too expensive, find someone local selling F1's and grow them out.

I also recently jumped back into keeping Altum Angelfish. I bought 20 from John this week and so far, so good. I have these housed a 135G six footer with a dozen Geo Redhead Tapojos. I look forward to growing out the Altums in large, beautiful angels. My dream would be to get a breeding pair to form, but that is unlikely from what I understand. This could be an option for you as well as John has them priced competitively.

Having said all of that, I still miss discus, but I don't miss all the water changes. That is what turns me off the most with discus and there is simply no way around that.

Larry Bugg

07-30-2014, 06:46 PM

Disgirl

07-30-2014, 06:58 PM

Hi Matt, my two cents:
I find that a crowded discus tank, with lots of sword plants in pots, shallow layer of sand on the bottom of tank has constant activity and is never boring. My 125 gal. tank has 14 adult discus, many sword plants in pots with a few pieces of wood here and there, never a dull moment. You just need more discus! And some plants and wood. I do two 75% wc's a week and have lots of filtration. Let us know what you decide to do.

I have had several African cichlid tanks, they are interesting for sure, but I couldn't deal with their fighting for territories, females, etc. I don't like the look of beaten up fish. Another good fish, very beautiful and hardy and constantly active and breeding, and peaceful are the Australian Rainbowfish. I would love a tank of the again. And they live a long time. Colors are gorgeous too.
Barb

Discus-n00b

07-30-2014, 07:18 PM

I breed a lot of rams and I will tell you the secret. Don't buy them from a LFS. That's it. Get your stock from a local breeder. I'm a true believer that most rams from lfs's are weak and die very easily. That comes from experience an watching a lot of others suffer the same experience. I'm out of juvies right now but when my pairs spawn again I would be happy to send you some. My favorite source for my stock is Oddballfish.

Very true Larry, all of my stock came from the LFS.

You should seriously try keeping a large colony of wild caught Tropheus in your 100G. You will love them. Tropheus mouth breed and the fry can live within the colony. There is a leader in every colony and lots of action overall. I made the switch from discus to Tropheus and I am hooked. You won't find Tropheus boring or too easy. Keeping Tropheus free from stress and bloat is a real challenge, but can be very rewarding. A healthy group of Tropheus is a sight to see. The toughest part for me was not too overfeed the Tropheus after coming from discus. You can easily overfeed them and that leads to bloat. If wild caught is too expensive, find someone local selling F1's and grow them out.

I also recently jumped back into keeping Altum Angelfish. I bought 20 from John this week and so far, so good. I have these housed a 135G six footer with a dozen Geo Redhead Tapojos. I look forward to growing out the Altums in large, beautiful angels. My dream would be to get a breeding pair to form, but that is unlikely from what I understand. This could be an option for you as well as John has them priced competitively.

Having said all of that, I still miss discus, but I don't miss all the water changes. That is what turns me off the most with discus and there is simply no way around that.

Tropheus have really peaked my interest, enough for me to go investigate more anyway. Good suggestion! Really captured by some Moori Lufubu i've seen. Are you keeping Tropheus currently?

YSS

07-30-2014, 07:34 PM

Going through a similar phase myself.

ExReefer

07-30-2014, 07:35 PM

Tropheus have really peaked my interest, enough for me to go investigate more anyway. Good suggestion! Really captured by some Moori Lufubu i've seen. Are you keeping Tropheus currently?

I do. I keep a colony of Tropheus Bemba and a colony of Tropheus Red Moliro. I also keep a 40G breeder of shell dwellers and some other Tang. Lake cichlids. Never a dull moment in that tank.

Check out Tropheus Red Rainbow and Tropheus Ikola. Tropheus may not be round like a discus, but their colors can be just as intense.

One other fish I tried after discus was a colony of wild caught Frontosa (technically call Gibberosa Kapampa). Beautiful fish, but I found they boring and sold them.

Feel free to contact me via PM if want to talk live.

brewmaster15

07-30-2014, 07:39 PM

Matt,
Are there any native fish near you that would be good to try and keep? I've had several species of natives here in the tanks and they are really interesting to keep....

How about some Darters? or pigmy sunfish? Those are 2 I would really enjoy keeping.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pygmy+sunfish&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=fYHZU8XQAcewyATQhIDoDA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1075&dpr=1
-al

Discus-n00b

07-30-2014, 08:05 PM

Al, I'm sure there are but they've never interested me other than like sport fishing bluegill, bass, etc. The small darters and such were kinda "meh". Which is funny because my brother can't get enough of them. For the past 3 years he's worked with the US Forestry service doing stream surveys all around the southeast from Virginia, to the Carolinas, and west to Arkansas and Missouri. Also helps collect for some people here in SC for the trade. Those Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish are really nice, but not something I'd do in the 100gal. I think I would find more enjoyment catching them than keeping them.

Aren't I difficult to please? LOL

rickztahone

07-30-2014, 08:17 PM

Matt, when I was heavily into planted tanks, I must admit, I was hooked. However, if you were ever to go to that dark side, make sure you are well versed on how to keep everything healthy. Once you get everything balanced though, it is very rewarding. I kept about 100 chili rasboras in a 55g and it was a sight to see. I will also mention, I thought that the planted tank could not be more expensive than a discus tank, it turned out I was wrong, and a planted tank can get super expensive very quick.

Secondly, if you Trophs have piqued your interest, I would suggest checking out the Tropheus red rainbow kasanga (https://www.google.com/search?q=tropheus+red+rainbow+kasanga&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=zYnZU_8LxeOgBJnygtgM&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=911). Dave had some and when I saw a pic of them I started drooling. Check them out, they look pretty awesome:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/6725/kasanga4.jpg

Discus-n00b

07-30-2014, 08:21 PM

Yeah those Red Rainbows are very impressive. I've never seen them that yellow before.

rickztahone

07-30-2014, 08:40 PM

Dave had about 20 wild ones I believe.

dkeef

07-30-2014, 08:58 PM

yea highly recommend tropheus. ricks pic looks more like illangi.
this one is more closer to red rainbows.

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a533/rhickman17/redrainbow2_zps4e677a10.jpg

ExReefer

07-30-2014, 09:35 PM

yea highly recommend tropheus. ricks pic looks more like illangi.
this one is more closer to red rainbows.

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a533/rhickman17/redrainbow2_zps4e677a10.jpg

Yup. That's a Red Rainbow. I am sucker for the species black though. Something so simple about the Bemba with just black and bright orange. I love it! Ikola too are awesome.

The Troph community uses various acronyms too like discus folk :p

rickztahone

07-30-2014, 09:39 PM

Those are a beauty. How large do they get, and do they require as many WC's as discus?

dkeef

07-30-2014, 09:43 PM

they can get as big as 5"+. but most are 4-5".
once a week WC is plenty IMO.
thats all i do. 50% weekly.
i keep them with petrochromis red bulus frys now.

dkeef

07-30-2014, 09:44 PM

Yup. That's a Red Rainbow. I am sucker for the species black though. Something so simple about the Bemba with just black and bright orange. I love it! Ikola too are awesome.

The Troph community uses various acronyms too like discus folk :p

hey did u sell ur MOBAS?

Discus-n00b

07-30-2014, 10:18 PM

So say I went Trophs, what size colony would I be looking at for a 100gal (48x24x20)?

ExReefer

07-30-2014, 10:39 PM

So say I went Trophs, what size colony would I be looking at for a 100gal (48x24x20)?

If you buy wild caught, you can buy them sexed. They are sold in trios meaning 1male/2 females. I would try for 21 or 24 to start. 30 would be even better, but it gets expensive. If you go with F1 juvies, you should try for 30-40 and weed out the males as they mature until you get a nice ratio. Another cool thing about trophs is that they don't have to be full grown adults to produce fry. My 2.5" sub-adult Bemba have small spawns in my tank.

YSS

07-31-2014, 09:04 AM

I've had about 20 trophs in my 90G along with a few other Africans and it worked well for me.

brewmaster15

07-31-2014, 09:13 AM

Discus-n00b

07-31-2014, 11:22 AM

If you buy wild caught, you can buy them sexed. They are sold in trios meaning 1male/2 females. I would try for 21 or 24 to start. 30 would be even better, but it gets expensive. If you go with F1 juvies, you should try for 30-40 and weed out the males as they mature until you get a nice ratio. Another cool thing about trophs is that they don't have to be full grown adults to produce fry. My 2.5" sub-adult Bemba have small spawns in my tank.

From what I gather by the time you buy twice as many juvis to get the mix you want you could of bought an already sexed out wild or adult colony thats ready to breed. I guess raising them and sexing them is part of the experience if you want to go that route though. To be honest, if I did this I'd be happy with either direction it just depends on who has enough stock to supply enough at one time. How are trophs at introducing new fish into the herd? Like if I could only find half the colony size to start, can I add the other have down the road provided the sexing is worked out? Also, whats the growth rate on these fish? Just wondering if they are a typical Tang in that it takes forever for them to mature and grow.

I like the Bemba as well, the orange and black. It would probably be my second choice as far as type goes after Moori.

I'm actually seriously considering this. Tropheus always intrigued me but I never had the tank to support a colony of them.

YSS

07-31-2014, 12:51 PM

There are a lot of tank bred trophs on the market. Somone in my local club typically sells 1" juvy anywhere from $8 to $12 each. I bought lots of tangs from this person in the past. Trophs grow pretty fast.

Altum Nut

07-31-2014, 08:24 PM

If I ever want change I may never get sick of this display tank. Just wondering if they breed true.
Sorry Matt this is all I have to offer.

...Ralph

Discus-n00b

07-31-2014, 08:29 PM

I wish I had room for a tank like that Ralph. I'd never get tired of that!

zimmjeff

07-31-2014, 10:25 PM

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rickztahone

07-31-2014, 10:50 PM

I wish I had room for a tank like that Ralph. I'd never get tired of that!

You would after seeing the bill for the oxygen tanks they require ;)

Discus-n00b

08-01-2014, 11:08 AM

I think its becoming more real. I've signed up over on trophs.com lol.

YSS

08-04-2014, 01:09 PM

I think its becoming more real. I've signed up over on trophs.com lol.

Creator of trophs.com is the local breeder that I bought from that mentioned in my previous post.

Discus-n00b

08-04-2014, 05:34 PM

Awesome. Heard good stuff about him too, its where I've been looking to acquire my stock. I'm about 90% sure as of today that I'll be going to Tropheus for a while. Who knows maybe i'll be back in discus sooner rather than later, maybe in addition to....but for now I think change is good.

scottthomas

08-04-2014, 06:04 PM

I just went through the same thing. I really like discus. In fact they are the only hybrid fish species I will ever keep. I had 20+ tanks with over 100 adult discus at one point. I did breed them. I just don't want to bother selling them and very few people wanted to just trade for different strains. They were only interested in selling or buying. They just got boring to me. I only have a few left now, gave them away or traded mostly. I am into tropheus again. They are a little more challenging, a little cheaper and fun to breed. I have a local pet store that is always willing to take fry. Right now they are more active and interesting than discus. I will probably change my mind again in a few years.

YSS

08-04-2014, 08:13 PM

It's her. Her name is Sarah. Very cool person. She is a Tang specialist. She has ton of other cool Tang stock. Tell her that you know me. :)

scottthomas

08-04-2014, 09:01 PM

How are trophs at introducing new fish into the herd?

This can be problamatic sometimes. I have had mixed success adding trophs to an existing colony. They are sometimes attacked and killed. A big problem with trophs is that you can have a great colony for years and a dominant males dies creating battles that ruin the colony. I used to take females out when holding but even they are sometimes not re-accepted into the colony. Better to strip them and return to tank or let them release fry into the tank. I would argue that trophs are more challenging to keep than discus. Not as many water changes but still need clean water at more specific parameters than discus and add the aggression factor into the mix.

Discus-n00b

08-04-2014, 09:18 PM

It's her. Her name is Sarah. Very cool person. She is a Tang specialist. She has ton of other cool Tang stock. Tell her that you know me. :)

Oh ok, I thought you meant Greg from LAA. I'll have to look her up.

This can be problamatic sometimes. I have had mixed success adding trophs to an existing colony. They are sometimes attacked and killed. A big problem with trophs is that you can have a great colony for years and a dominant males dies creating battles that ruin the colony. I used to take females out when holding but even they are sometimes not re-accepted into the colony. Better to strip them and return to tank or let them release fry into the tank. I would argue that trophs are more challenging to keep than discus. Not as many water changes but still need clean water at more specific parameters than discus and add the aggression factor into the mix.

Thanks Scott. I was probably thinking more the lines of introducing juvis to juvis. Like a group of 15 from one seller and a group of 15 a bit down the road from another seller. Before they've really fully matured.