Lights... Camera... LIGHTS!!?

[Phillydubs]

For some reason I am not a big fan of the lights... I have a nice LED set-up, yet I rarely use it... Why? Good question... I guess because I am so busy at work and I get a ton of natural sunlight through my office that I just don't think to flick it on...

That being said I did so today and it looked really nice and I was like oh yea, this is why people use the light!

So here are a few of my always crappy shots full of glare, my shadowed head and what not... I thought they cam out pretty cool, hope you enjoy...

905059050690507905089050990510905119051290513

[rickztahone]

Very nice group! Is that a 55g?

[jeepdad]

Great looking fish Phil!

[Phillydubs]

Yes Rick... Don't kill me... It's a 55 I know I know. I have stated a few times that I am over stocked due to some Reno issues in my office... I have another tank for them to go into when I can complete things. I do daily large WC and really keep on top of them...

[rickztahone]

Yes Rick... Don't kill me... It's a 55 I know I know. I have stated a few times that I am over stocked due to some Reno issues in my office... I have another tank for them to go into when I can complete things. I do daily large WC and really keep on top of them...

Well it shows. Listen, I never have a problem with people that know what they are doing overstocking a tank, because it can be done. However, when people that aren't as experienced do it, it is difficult to explain to them that the margin of error is very thin when things start going bad.

Looks great to me, and the discus look big and healthy to me. Keep up the good work.

Some advice? Next time, close the blinds behind you in the offic ;)

[DISCUS STU]

9 fully grown Discus in a 55, wow and I thought I was bad! All look healthy, as long as it works. Very nice fish.

Did you raise them all from pups?

[Rudustin]

Great photos Phil! They look great. Do you still have your tank at home? Rufus

[Phillydubs]

Yea guys, I wasn't kidding when I said over stocked... but I make it work and really keep up on my params... I seem to not be able to avoid the overstocked tank, just can't help myself...

No rufus, the 72 bow is what I want to get these guys in, I took that down and sold everything off...

Stu, I didn't I got them mostly as very young adults

[rickztahone]

Yea guys, I wasn't kidding when I said over stocked... but I make it work and really keep up on my params... I seem to not be able to avoid the overstocked tank, just can't help myself...

No rufus, the 72 bow is what I want to get these guys in, I took that down and sold everything off...

Stu, I didn't I got them mostly as very young adults

Have you considred sand over gravel?

[Phillydubs]

Rick, I have not... I never used sand, I don't know why it worries me... It is not really gravel in there, more like small to medium river rock type... And its a thin layer... Do a pretty good job of vacing it all out and clean...

[rickztahone]

Rick, I have not... I never used sand, I don't know why it worries me... It is not really gravel in there, more like small to medium river rock type... And its a thin layer... Do a pretty good job of vacing it all out and clean...

You should try sand one time and see how you like it. It is much easier to clean and if you siphon too much out, just add some back in :)

[Ali20]

Cool setup Phil! Can you share more on your fish? What's your feeding routine like?

[krislewis3]

After trying sand for the first time, I would never use gravel again! It looks amazing, and the left over food/feces/etc. will settle on top of the sand, making it easy to siphon off. Even when you think your siphoning all of the muck that settle down in the gravel....you'd be surprised at how much is left! Try it....You'll like it!! Kris

[Phillydubs]

Hey all, thanks again for the kind comments and suggestions! I lost track of this thread and missed a few questions so sorry about that!

Maybe once I upgrade I will go with sand, it would be a new experience for me and something different to try my hand with! I will let you guys know if I give it a shot...

Hamad - I run an aquaclear 110 with a large sponge filter and a clarity + 9 watt UV filter... The discus are from Chicago Discus (5 classic leopards and 2 cuperia cross) and Carolina discus (2 heckle crosses) Although they are overstocked they are a peaceful group and really all stay together and school nicely... I was having aggression issues in the beginning that seem to be non existent now which is nice... I feed Al's crack worms, I do a mix of the reg worms, the spinach and once a day a cube of the color enhance. They mostly get the spinach and I am moving towards feeding that due to the fact I can't seem to get them to eat much else... I change the water religiously Monday, Wed, Fri usually about 90% - since this is an office tank the water is changed fridays with a full filter clean and then not touched or fed until Monday when they are fed regularly and a large change before I go home. I usually squeeze out my big sponge mid week and the tank is wiped down during every change with paper towel. If I have time or know I have a late meeting there are a lot of weeks where I will do more water changes usually 50% on the tuesdays and thursdays but I dont remove the drift wood or wipe down I just take out about 1/2 the water vac all around the wood and add just to keep the water as best as possible...

Having an overstocked tank makes it very important to keep up with water changes because if not the water can foul quickly and cause issues. It is not for everyone and you have to be on your game. even going into the water change day you can see a change from tues to wednesday. I try to know mky work schedule ahead of time as much as possible and for instance if I know I cant do a big change wednesday I will do two back to back mon-tues miss wed and another thursday. I work it out to make sure they are taken care of as best as i possibly can. I slacked a few times in my early years and even as recently as last year when i was in the middle of a big move and house reno. As the saint who purchased my last batch will tell you, my fish weren't in the best condition and I know he worked hard with them and restored them to what they could be. I made a promise to myself this time that if I was going to keep discus I needed to be anal about it and really step things up, so thats what I am doing and so far it has been one of the best fish keeping experiences I've had...

Rick, I will pull those shades down and darken the room and get the lights on for some better pics!!

[Eddie]

Great looking fish!

[Phillydubs]

Thank You Eddie, I appreciate it...

[Phillydubs]

90963909649096590966909679096890969909709097190972

[Phillydubs]

A few updates pics from yesterday... Tried to darken the room a bit and get better shots...

[Driftwood Mike]

Nice group! Especially love the last two! Where on the island are you?

[Filip]

Beautiful Discus fish.

[Phillydubs]

I M in oceanside. You?

[Driftwood Mike]

Commack

[Phillydubs]

Hey everyone... After reading a few threads on here from Jacklyn and Toni and doing a big scrub down and clean I was inspired to update and take some new pics and try a few things to make my pics better... Nothing much has changed with the set up, a few fish seem to have gotten a tad bigger, yet most have rounded out nicely when I look back at previous pics... I feel that they have all added size and thickness and really rounded into shape, a few in particular...

Hope you all enjoy the pics!!

[Phillydubs]

92326923279232892329923309233192332923339233492335

[brewmaster15]

Phil they look great! Nice work!!

particularly like this one...


http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=92331&d=1449069325

al

[Phillydubs]

923369233792338923399234092341

[Phillydubs]

Al,

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the kind words, especially from you, your worms are part of the formula!

Yea, that one is my big boy and I love him, his colors and markings are great and his size is just impressive, love his big round shape... he is a big gentle giant, rush the tank with peace...

[Filip]

Philip, those aresome very nicely shaped, big and fat discus you got there . A job well done,so far.
Im amazed how did you manage to grow them this big in such a small tank and big numbers of them . And on top of that you got coarse gravel and big decoration wood .
What was your WC routine so far ?

[Phillydubs]

Filip,

Thank you very much for the compliments, I appreciate it greatly...

How? Water change, water change, water change...

I would be lying if I took all the credit... I purchased these as young adults, so I really didn't grow any of them out, most of the credit goes to the amazing sponsors here and their world renowned suppliers! The fish in this tank are mostly from Chicago Discus (7 of them, the classic leopards and the cup crosses) the other 2 heckle crosses are from Carolina discus. I tend to purchase and enjoy having and starting with larger fish. I don't have the time, space not patience at this time to grow fish out... One day I would love to have a group of young guys and really grow them big! However, as I stated above... Many of these fish have still put on size since I have had them, they have really gotten thick and fat and rounded out well... most of them had or still have some growing to do as they were large when I got them but still very young, I believe all were under a year with exception of the heckles which were a tad older but not by much...

But I am very diligent of the set-up and situation and I make sure that I really stay on top of them. With them being stocked tight and the tank size, gravel and all that into consideration I do 100% water changes every other day with aged water and usually the in between days I do about a 50 if I have the time...Every water changed the driftwood is removed, fully vac'd and the tank is wiped down. Once a week the HOB filter is cleaned and sponges squeezed, same for the large sponge filter... The gravel is more of a small stone/river rock, it is actually quite easy to siphon and get all the garbage out. It isn't coarse or tightly bound where gunk gets jammed up and hard to remove... Usually my first few buckets are full of garbage and then the last few are clear so I know it has been cleaned...

I hope to get them in a bigger tank soon... But, this tank has been thriving thankfully and they all seem happy and settled and healthy so I might just leave well enough alone... I also suffer from OSS - Over stock syndrome ;) I have a tendency to like to max out the space, has kind of been an issue of mine since I got into the hobby years ago... We shall see what the future brings, for now I am very happy with them and their progress and I enjoy them each and every day... to me I have it down to an hour for a full maintenance sometimes a tad longer... But to give a small amount of time to sit back and enjoy them for many many hours as I work seems like a win in my book so I do what it takes to keep them strong. It is a lot easier to keep up with proper maintenance than to keep up with sick fish and hospital tanks... A lot of this I learned the hard way, but one thing this great hoby has taught me is to learn from your mistakes and let them happen once and only once...

[neontetra777]

the size of the fish make that 55 look like a 30!

[Filip]

the size of the fish make that 55 look like a 30!

They really do make the tank look even smaller :D.

[GrayLadyPat]

Beautiful!

oh, and about the sand...

My tank is kind of combination. I have gravel for the plants (probably 25% tank coverage), and it's fenced off with some of that plastic canvas from the craft store, and PFS in the rest of the tank. That way I can actually remove the gravel completely once or twice a year and clean it out or replace if need be without upsetting the whole tank. I know it's not optimal for someone who has a discus-only tank, but I have a passel of other fish in the tank with them, so the way it's set up works for me...

Cheers!

[Phillydubs]

Thanks pat... Sounds like an interesting mix... Do you have any pics of your set up on a thread here ? Id like to see...

I don't plan on planting or converting to sand anytime soon. I am pretty happy with the look I have and the way it's all going. My next tank I may give a go and possibly find some easy to care for potted plants to work on the mix... Who knows!

[navarro1950]

Thank you Phil for sharing the pictures of your wonderful discus.

[GrayLadyPat]

Thanks pat... Sounds like an interesting mix... Do you have any pics of your set up on a thread here ? Id like to see...

I don't plan on planting or converting to sand anytime soon. I am pretty happy with the look I have and the way it's all going. My next tank I may give a go and possibly find some easy to care for potted plants to work on the mix... Who knows!

I do not right now, but I'm working on it. I get itchy fingers and redesign the interior of my tank occasionally. I used to worry about the finkids being stressed, but any more, they won't leave me alone and try to pick at me all the time while I got my hands in their tank...lol

I'm about to do one of my major clean outs and replace some of the gravel substrate, and as soon as I do, I'll post a couple of pictures.

[Phillydubs]

Pat, I have the same issue lately, my guys seem to think water change time is play time and they chase the siphon around and nibble at my hands, it is fun except when I have to get home and their play slows me down, but still fun to see their personalities shine through...

Oh and god forbid my stone gets moved and it makes for a clear patch to the bottom of the tank, they all try to push their noses to it and look or see their reflection, such divas in my tank!!

[Phillydubs]

94637946389463994640946419464294643946449464594646

[Phillydubs]

94647

[Phillydubs]

9464894649

[Akili]

Very Nice. I like the last one in this set of pictures.
94647

[Phillydubs]

Some more of my crapola cell pics... I thought w/ the dreary light here today and the nice clean tank it may work in my favor... I hope once I get Al's camera as part of the project I can actually do these guys some justice...

Blows me away the difference in my leopards... When I got them from Miranda I specifically asked her to pick me all different ones and she sure did that because they are all so different an unique... Kind of strange how these all came from one breeder one stock, yet are so vastly different in shapes, sizes, colors, spotting, etc... The last pic I uploaded has 4 of the 5 right there and you can see one by one the differences, they go from tight small spots to skribbled lines, pretty cool if you ask me!

[Phillydubs]

Thank you Akili... that's my "wrinkly" cross... We had another discussion going on about him in the carolina sponsor page... He is really coming into his own and under the LED's his halo and nice creamy base color really pop... he is slowly becoming one of my fave, then again it gets hard to choose!!

[DomiDiscus]

Very beautiful fish! Now I don't feel too bad about having 8 juvies/young adults in my 55 now! It's good to see that 9 adults in a 55 can be done.

[Phillydubs]

Dominic, thank you for the kind words...

While it can be done, it is not recommended and takes quite a bit of work to maintain because there are such large fish in a small footprint...

It appears you are new here and I am not sure if you are new to the hobby? I just son't want you to get the wrong impression looking at my tank and thinking that's the norm, I am not trying to toot my own horn here, I just want to warn you and steer you in the right direction... This tank came about due to a few circumstances and I do have plans to upgrade at some point, if that ever happens, I am not sure but it would be ideal...\

If you have the space and the ability to go bigger, I would suggest doing it. My fish get 100% water changes on pretty much a daily basis and they are observed often and really kept up with.

If you have any other questions I am happy to answer them and help as best I can but my recommendation is to not follow my lead on this one... I am the Charles Barkley of Discus... I am not a role model!! hahahahah

[rickztahone]

Dominic, thank you for the kind words...

While it can be done, it is not recommended and takes quite a bit of work to maintain because there are such large fish in a small footprint...

It appears you are new here and I am not sure if you are new to the hobby? I just son't want you to get the wrong impression looking at my tank and thinking that's the norm, I am not trying to toot my own horn here, I just want to warn you and steer you in the right direction... This tank came about due to a few circumstances and I do have plans to upgrade at some point, if that ever happens, I am not sure but it would be ideal...\

If you have the space and the ability to go bigger, I would suggest doing it. My fish get 100% water changes on pretty much a daily basis and they are observed often and really kept up with.

If you have any other questions I am happy to answer them and help as best I can but my recommendation is to not follow my lead on this one... I am the Charles Barkley of Discus... I am not a role model!! hahahahah

:laugh:

Very nice pictures Phil. Remember, when you get the camera, take some blankets to work and cover all the windows, turn off all the monitors, turn off the lights, pour a cup of wine.....no, scratch that last one.

[Phillydubs]

The last one was my favorite part!!!

[tunerhead24]

They're beautiful, how long have you had them?

[mee]

Your pics are fine, but a simple way to cut out or at least cut down on the reflection is hang a black or really any color sheet behind you.. either from the ceiling using thumb tacks, or have someone hold it behind you, or you can even fashion a backwards baseball hat with a yard stick.. or even a longer dowel/stick is ideal. It will amaze you how this simple trick can take your nice pics and make them suddenly look professional.

[Phillydubs]

Mee thank you so much for the tips I will try those out. I've been meaning to cover the back for a while now I just seem to keep avoiding it for what ever reason ...

[Phillydubs]

Manny. I've had them for over a year now

[mee]

No problem. Ideally what you want is to create a sorta pyramid coming at you sideways from the tank. The base of the pyramid would be the 4 corners of the tank, and your camera is the top. Basically a big matte box. Depending on where the light is coming from this is often not necessary, but if you find after hanging the sheet behind you you are still having issues this or some version of this premise will help. Not always practical for me it is satisfying knowing you got great shots in spite of massive reflections from a giant ball of fire in the sky... or a 20 watt light on the desk behind you ;)

[djdirte]

damn. those are some really nice discus!!! :)

[Phillydubs]

Thank you JJ!! Appreciate it

[CrazyAngels]

Phil, those are some stunners you have there. thanks for sharing with us all.

[Phillydubs]

I really appreciate the kind words Jorge, thank you so much... I love these fish! They are a pain in the ***, yet fun! Lolol!

[Second Hand Pat]

Your pics are fine, but a simple way to cut out or at least cut down on the reflection is hang a black or really any color sheet behind you.. either from the ceiling using thumb tacks, or have someone hold it behind you, or you can even fashion a backwards baseball hat with a yard stick.. or even a longer dowel/stick is ideal. It will amaze you how this simple trick can take your nice pics and make them suddenly look professional.

How about taking the pictures at night with all lights off except the tank light?
Pat

[Phillydubs]

For you Pat... Anything!!!

I can definitely do that... I'll give it a go today or tomorrow, do a nice big WC and get the room all dark and hit the lights and see what my and my crappy phone pics can do ;)

After using Al's camera, it made me want to bring my own to the office. My wife has a few nice cameras and dabbles in photography, she has a nice big new cannon she got when my son was born less than two years ago... I should bring it in and see what I can do with it!

[Second Hand Pat]

Definitely play with it Phil. A trick you can try with your phone with the flash enabled is to place the phone directly to the glass and try to frame your shot. Doing this prevents the flash from bouncing back into the lens but makes framing interesting. Also shoot at an angle again to avoid flash bounce.
Pat

[Phillydubs]

Thanks Pat, I will try all of this when I get a chance to play around here after hrs when the sun sets... I will share my findings. Appreciate the tips!

[Akili]

Definitely play with it Phil. A trick you can try with your phone with the flash enabled is to place the phone directly to the glass and try to frame your shot. Doing this prevents the flash from bouncing back into the lens but makes framing interesting. Also shoot at an angle again to avoid flash bounce.
PatPat thanks for the Tip :thumbsup:Phil very soon you going to be an expert in photography :sun: along with Discus :fish:

[Phillydubs]

I have a feeling I will never be an expert at either but it sure is fun trying and learning!!

Hence why I am on this place more than I should be... All the fun learning experiences and advice!

[Akili]

I have a feeling I will never be an expert at either but it sure is fun trying and learning!!

Hence why I am on this place more than I should be... All the fun learning experiences and advice!Somebody once told me experts are newbies too only they have been at it just a bit longer than a Newbie!!

[Cosmo]

Looking good Phil :)

[Bc chick]

94645
What kind is this?

[Phillydubs]

Classic Leopard... he/she has an amazing sheen to her. I refer to her as my statue of liberty because of the color

[Bc chick]

Classic Leopard... he/she has an amazing sheen to her. I refer to her as my statue of liberty because of the color

really loves the colors anything with blues. Im thinking of stocking reds and blues. Is there a thread that breaks them down in color catagories?

[Beestie]

Phil,

Whats the dimensions of the tank? If I work it out with google a 55g is 200 liters and those fish doesn't make it look like a 200 liter tank more like 150L haha.
If its a 200L the depth is about 38cm? that makes some of the fish pushing 20cm. Very, VERY!!! nice.

[Phillydubs]

BC- Chick, there is an area on the forum that breaks down strains and shows diff pictures and variations of each. You have to be careful with strain names... why? because that is all they really are, names. Different importers and breeders like to toss some crazy fancy name on a fish to sell it or make it more attractive. End of the day, it is a name and what one may call a spotted purple terminator is really just a leopard or a snakeskin, catch my drift? Always ask to see pics, video, or whatever you need to before you buy anything. I am not ashamed to say I do make a pain in the *** of myself as a customer but thats only because I want and demand the best. You have to care for and look at these fish all day, you need to be happy and get what you want. not to mention these guys arent cheap!

Wesley, thats some nice math and figuring from some pictures... ;)

Yes, this is a standard 55 and I got some big boys in there...They are a real nice group

[DiscusRob]

Beautiful Discus Phil, sorry I didn't find it till just today.

[Phillydubs]

Thanks a lot rob.

[DiscusRob]

You're welcome, keep the pics coming:):)

[scrappinjaime]

Your tank looks great! I too recommend sand, I used to have gravel, tried sand and now will never go back. How long have you had your cardinal tetras, I'm getting ready to stock my tank and would love to add these if the discus won't eat them. I plan on buy my Discus from Kenny and 4 - 5" size. Thank you

[Phillydubs]

Thanks Jaime. It's not gravel and not fine at all. It's actually piece of river rock, my substrate. It's quite easy to clean and really leaves no mess I enjoy it. I have sand with my wilds now for a few months and jn find it more of a chore but then again I have a bad set up with not much suction so maybe I'm just doing something wrong?

I've had the cards and rummies for a solid year and a few months id say. I started with much larger groups expecting the fade off. They come and go honestly and I've stopped trying to figure it out. Maybe the higher temps the frequent changes maybe they get picked off in not sure. I've had a steady group mixed of 25 or so now that have been the strong survivors. But stil randomly I'll find a floater or one in the driftwood. No signs of damage of sickness so who knows. Mine are wild from John snookn here so j guess no one truly knows the age but they are a nice big size. I enjoy them and like to see some smaller schooling fosh with my discus when I can. Not sure if I will replace them once they all die off