Back to Discus after 10 years - Some help needed...

[fabsmonster]

Hi,

Just joined the forum. Nice to meet you all :)

I have just bought a new tank yesterday, after 10 years without keeping any fish.

I have now an aquarium set from Eheim, with a 240 litres tank (120cm x 40cm x 50cm),
external canister filter and 2 T5 lamps of 39W each. I am planning to keep 6 juvenile discus,
4 juvenile angel fish (smaller than the discus) and some neons.

My biggest doubt is regarding the bottom. From what I have read here it is a consensus that
the bare bottom is the way to go. However, this tank is going to be in my living room and a
bare bottom will not look very good (just my personal taste here). I was then just considering
a thin layer of sand (around 2 cm), as I am planning to have too many plants, just 2 or 3 planted
on small pots and a few plants that grow with their roots on a piece of wood).

The person from the shop told me not to use white sand, as it would reflect the light and it would
favour the growth of algae in the tank. On the other side, I read on this forum some people not
recommending the use of dark substrate or background, as it would make the fish show their
colours darkish, when trying to blend into the environment.

I was wondering what would be the best balance? Looking forward for your help.

Regarding my priorities, I want to keep my fish healthy and beautiful, while having a nice looking
tank. Also, I don't really need my juvenile discus to grow very fast, as long as they grow :)

Cheers,
Fabio

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Fabio and welcome to Simply. Since you are planning on growing out some juvies but do not want a bare bottom tank would you consider leaving the tank bare bottom until the discus are four to five inches or bigger. You can still do potted plants and plants on wood but I would suggest waiting on that also. Again until the discus are good sized. Reason for that is there are two things which help young discus to grow. One is warm, clean water and two to several feedings a day. You will find discus can eat a fair amount and poop alot as juvies. A base bottom tank is easier to keep clean and maintain good water quality. You can add the sand, plants and dither fish once the discus are good sized (always remember to QT any new fish). Anyway just a few considerations.
Pat

[Larry Bugg]

Also, I don't really need my juvenile discus to grow very fast, as long as they grow :)

Cheers,
Fabio

Hey Fabio, wlecome to Simply!!

So here is the deal from my perspective. You say they don't have to grow fast as long as they grow. Fish, just like animals, have a finite growth period. Once they reach this time, they stop growing. With discus, it seems that their growing age is generally up until about 1 1/2 to 2 years of age, however most of the growth occurs in the first 6 to 9 months and then after that slows down considerably. If you don't provide them with what they need to maintain good growth in the first 6 to 9 months then they will never reach their potential. What they need to maintain their potential during this critical period of time is Clean Water. You will find this to be the most stressed point made by the experts here.

As Pat has already pointed out the best way to provide your juvie discus with clean water is through daily water changes. She also pointed out that this is much easier maintained in a bare bottom tank. While it is possible to achieve this in a tank with a substrate and plants and such in the tank it usually just doesn't happen and the discus end up not reaching their potential and are stunted. I fully understand that some people don't find a bare bottom tank as pleasing to look at but it is the BEST method you can use to grow out your fish.

Bottom line for me...............if one chooses to spend the money, time and effort to grow out discus, then you should be willing to keep a bare bottom tank for the first 6 months or so until, as Pat suggest, the discus reach the 4" to 5" range. After that, plant the tank and add the decorations you want. If you want what is best for your discus then this is the answer.

[discuspaul]

Welcome to the forum, Fabio.
You've received some great advice above and you should seriously consider it.

But if you should decide to get more mature fish, something over 4", up to 5", then you can opt for a thin layer of sand substrate, along with a few potted plants.
As for white or dark sand, there seems to be some validity to dark sand causing some discus coloration to darken somewhat in harmony with their surroundings. More important than that though, is that it can activate or enhance peppering in pigeon-blood based fish, and you may not find that attractive if you get some of that strain.

I prefer white pool filter sand because I feel it makes the fish and plant colors stand out better, but some feel it produces undesirable glare, and may tend to lighten up the colors of some discus, giving them a more 'washed out' look.
It's a matter of personal preference, so pick your poison - lol.

[fabsmonster]

Thank you Pat, Larry and Paul,

When there are so many experienced people giving you the same advice, the best thing you can do is to follow it :)

I will just put one of those backgrounds that look like stone and go inside the tank, leave the bottom plain and off I
go.

This coming weekend I will start preparing the tank, and will also start a small 50 litres tank that I will use to treat
four small angelfish for tapeworm as a quarantine, according to what I read on the website of a breeder called stendker.

I will keep you guys posted of my progress. I will do it all without rush to make sure I do the right things.

Many thanks,
Fabio

[musicmarn1]

Welcome Fabio! Looking forward to seeing your progress with your new little guys :)

[MKD]

Welcome to SD - great advices above from awesome people. Traditional tank has bottom and it's hard to accept barebottom at begining but once you do you'll be glad. Some want to show tank and some want to show fish. Regarding to T5s, they may be too bright depend on how high from the top. You can put them high or set them on in short period of time thru the day to fit your schedule(i set min on 6am-8:30, 12pm-2pm, 6:30-10pm) or use a piece of acrylic or similar to block light.

hth,

tony

[doublediscusjack]

I agree fully with the majority giving their thoughts here. My view is that a prospective discus enthusiast can either choose tank setup to please himself, and his other human friends (which is what too many people choose), OR he can choose tank setup most suitable for, you know, THE DISCUS occupying the tank. Sand, rocks, "decorations,' wood roots/branches, etc., etc. take up space that would otherwise be occupied by, you know, WATER needed by the discus----less junk = more water volume. All the junk also makes it a bit more difficult to maintain too. There are other numerous reasons to NOT fill your tanks with all the "pretty" junk too, but most people who put their priorities ahead of the fish, will not listen to reason; they have to learn the hard way. I myself took that route a good many years ago, but I learned by my mistakes, and am still learning. Save yourself some long term pain, by listening to those who are wiser than you, if you are inexperienced, in anything.

[Tankster]

Fabio, an alternative is to paint the underside of the tank bottom with a textured paint. It looks surprisingly good and is better than nothing.


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[Cabe]

If you ever keep discus in a bare bottom tank, you will see right away that they poop like crazy. :-)