0D's Discus Startup - Contest Thread

[0Dgreen]

In this thread I will document my return to the discus hobby after 5 years, perhaps this can act as somewhat of a guide and help some new potential discus hobbyists prepare for successful discus keeping. I do want to make myself clear, I do not claim that my methods are the best by any means (nor am I an expert), there are many ways to do things, however, I had general success keeping healthy thriving discus. The success I did have, I have to give all of credit to Josie and Miranda @ Chicago Discus, I used to spend a good amount of time at their hatchery years back, to lend a hand and absorb as much info and guidance as I could.

Arguably the most important step, before anything, is choosing a good HEALTHY stock from a reliable source with a good reputation (I haven't done business with ALL of the Simply sponsors, but the ones I did were great). I would like to add, I started this plan out in March, and my discus are not set to arrive until next week. I wanted to make sure I had all of the necessary items in place before jumping in head first........my point being, don't rush into things!

So, I had my eye on a few specific discus strains that I always wanted to keep, I have always favored turquoise strains over everything else myself. After narrowing it down, I had 4 options: Piwowarski Red Turqs (seem to be nearly impossible to get at the moment), Forrest Giant Blues, Chicago Blues, and Stendker Brilliant Turqs.
I reached out to who I could regarding the 4 options and sources that I was seeking, I had a chance to get some Forrest Giant Blue's from Kenny's April Shipment....however, the fish room wasn't quite ready, so I held off. Then the May shipment stocklist came out...no Giant Blues, I thought I had missed out...
But after waiting another month, I reached out to Kenny, he informed me that he had some Giant Blues in this months order, So I got them all! I felt bad for not giving my better-half her pick on the fish, so I coughed up some extra cash and let her pick a few as well.

This is a pic of my incoming stocklist from Kenny's order board
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115954&d=1528807134

[0Dgreen]

Next, I had to tackle the essentials that keep the tank healthy and running...as well as a water change and feeding schedule. I plan on doing 100% water changes daily, and twice a day if/when I ever get a day off from work. Feeding will be 3-4 times a day, and water changes following a beefheart feeding.

As for food, I had to acquire either some pre-made beefheart mix from a vendor, or make my own. I decided to make my own, so I had to get a decent food processor, and I also ordered some mini-icecube trays from amazon to freeze them in smaller portions that you would see out of the name-brand frozen foods you get at the pet store.
I also ordered some FDBW from Al, and I have some Forrest Aquabites on order as well.

Equipment List:
130 Gallon (Planet Aquarium) - I haven't decided if i'm going to paint it or go with a vinyl wrap backround yet
2x Finnext Titanium 300watt
2x 65 Gallon water storage tanks each with Finnex Titanium 300watt
Corallife SL-65 Airpump (for entire fishroom)
ATI #5 Sponge Filter rated for 125gallons
Aquaclear 110 (packed with seachem matrix and a prefilter sponge)
2x Airstones
The tank will be kept barebottom - 0 substrate and 0 plants

I like to keep things simple and basic, I've had sumps before, and I am fond of them, especially being able to hide everything inside them...however, I am more concerned with how the fish look rather than tank appeal.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115915&d=1528755904

[thomaswal]

I'm really looking forward to seeing how things evolve in your tank!
Having the story start from the beginning is very valuable ;)

Concerning your order... Was your choice of sizes related to the availabilities or did you choose them on purpose?

Side question: what is the recipe that you are using for your home-made food?

[0Dgreen]

I'm really looking forward to seeing how things evolve in your tank!
Having the story start from the beginning is very valuable ;)

Concerning your order... Was your choice of sizes related to the availabilities or did you choose them on purpose?

Side question: what is the recipe that you are using for your home-made food?

I wanted to go with something in the middle, the smaller the fish the more work imo...and I still wanted to get the reward of seeing them grow, so full sized adults weren't an option for me.

I used Josie and Miranda's (Chicago Discus) recipe to make my own mix. I used to purchase it direct from them years ago and had great results, as do they.
https://chicagodiscus.com/care-and-feeding/?doing_wp_cron=1528821788.3941071033477783203125

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Mike, sounds like a good plan and I like the selection of fish. Since the tank will be uncycled are you just doing daily WCs to keep things in check? Kenny might be able to send a cycled sponge to assist with the cycle. :)
Pat

[0Dgreen]

Hi Mike, sounds like a good plan and I like the selection of fish. Since the tank will be uncycled are you just doing daily WCs to keep things in check? Kenny might be able to send a cycled sponge to assist with the cycle. :)
Pat

Thanks Pat, I plan on doing 100% WC daily, and twice a day on weekends if I have time.I do have other healthy cycled tanks running at the moment that I could use media from, I'm just weary of cross-contaminating, do you think I should consider using it? I haven't thought of the possibility of Kenny shipping me a sponge, I like that idea...I might just shoot him an e-mail and inquire.

[Second Hand Pat]

I think shooting Kenny an email on that sponge is a great idea and less likely to be a source of cross-contamination.
Pat

[0Dgreen]

I think shooting Kenny an email on that sponge is a great idea and less likely to be a source of cross-contamination.
Pat

He already got back to me, he's sending me a seeded sponge filter....Thanks for your input Pat, not the first time you've helped me out. Goes to show, no matter how prepared you think you are, something always slips through the cracks.

[Second Hand Pat]

He already got back to me, he's sending me a seeded sponge filter....Thanks for your input Pat, not the first time you've helped me out. Goes to show, no matter how prepared you think you are, something always slips through the cracks.

Sweet Mike and happy to help. :)
Pat

[LizStreithorst]

Very interesting Pat. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

[0Dgreen]

So last night we started painting the tank, I tried a different kind of paint that I've used in the past. As far as color goes, I went with black, which was different for me (I've always went white due to keeping Pigeon Bloods)...but since all of my fish are blue based, I thought the black might look better..we shall see.

The plan is to add water and hook up all of the essentials this afternoon.

Fish are set to be shipped out tomorrow and should be at my doorstep by 10:30am on Tuesday...I can't wait!

[Pices]

That’s exciting news! My fish are from Kenny too. I was really glad I got the seeded sponge as someone here suggested to me too. One less thing to worry about.
Great idea to do a thread for people thinking about getting into discus. I saw some lil baby discus at my fish dealer the other day and felt sorry for them because if you’re lucky enough to find SD first you’d already know rule #1.
I’m really excited for you. Hope you do an unboxing video! hint hint
Patty

[0Dgreen]

Yesterday was a mad dash in the fish room, I worked on re-arranging and getting things ready for about 10 hours.

Anyways, the discus tank is setup and ready. I painted the bottom, top, and sides with some black acrylic water based paint with foam rollers (It took about 6 coats) and I'm pretty happy with it. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116182&d=1529321406

[0Dgreen]

Also, as I was getting ready for bed last night, I got a text from Kenny saying he wanted to talk. So I gave him a call, he told me that one of the fish I ordered had a bit of a defect that he didn't notice before and he wasn't very comfortable sending it out (This man truly wants people to receive fish of the best quality he can). He sent me pictures and while it is noticeable, I told him it wouldn't bother me and I'd rather have the fish stay with the group it had been with rather than leave it behind. He insisted on not charging me for the fish, but I refused, he then told me he would throw in an extra fish free of charge for the trouble (which I will leave as a surprise). The shipping labels have been made, and the fish will start their journey today, I should have some pics of bags floating sometime tomorrow.
Kudos to Kenny for going over and above!

[thomaswal]

wow!
You're lucky to be able to deal with someone like him!
The same probably goes for the other sponsors ;)


When you receive them, could you let us know what was the defect? I'm just curious to know what he considers to be enough not to charge you for the fish.

[0Dgreen]

Well folks, everyone arrived safe and sound, I have a bunch of photos to share (they looked a lot better on my phone...not so great when I uploaded them here, but never the less).

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116224&d=1529425573

So there are many ways to acclimate a fish and I've used them all. In this particular case, I did what most people do, and floated the bags to get them up to temperature (although this didn't take long due to Kenny's superb packaging).
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116223&d=1529425567

After the water was up to temp, I placed the bags back into the foam boxes, cut them open, and added some tank water to each bag. (I use the drip method often, but this was a quicker solution for me, the bags were a bit stinky and I just wanted to get the fish into the tank with some clear water asap). I let the bags sit for about an hour, adding a bit of water to each bag every 10mins or so.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116221&d=1529425552

After about an hour had elapsed, I started putting the fish in the tank 1 by 1.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116230&d=1529425609

I had the lights on for about 15mins just to snap some photos to share, Otherwise, the lights will be off for a day or so until they get comfortable...however, they've been in the tank for less than an hour and already seem pretty happy (Stress bars are starting to fade, and they are stretching their fins)

[0Dgreen]

some more photos...again I apologize for the quality (or lack-there-of) They looked much better on my phone :huh:

This was the free fish Kenny had tossed in - Albino Millennium Gold
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116222&d=1529425562

The next 2 pictures of 2 of the 3 fish that my fiance picked out..i must say, I REALLY like this Sapphire Ruby
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116232&d=1529425619
Ring Gene Leopard and the guy on the right is the Eruption she picked out
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116231&d=1529425615

All of the fish I picked out were Forrest Giant Blues ranging from 4" to 5.5"+
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116229&d=1529425603
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116228&d=1529425596
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116227&d=1529425589
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116226&d=1529425583

I am going to let them settle for the day, and give them a feeding in the morning.......I know we have a good camera around here somewhere, I'll see if the boss can dig it up when she gets home from work and I can get some pretty photos posted when everyone is less cranky.

Cheers!

[Pices]

Hey Mike,
I was excited to see your pics, but they aren’t showing:cry:

[0Dgreen]

Hey Mike,
I was excited to see your pics, but they aren’t showing:cry:

That's strange, I see them :huh:

[Pices]

Can anyone else see them? Am I on a “no look” list? I had the same problem Mike. My pics showed up as a link which I saw when I clicked on it, but no one else could see them. I’m dying to see your fishies!
Patty

[0Dgreen]

Can anyone else see them? Am I on a “no look” list? I had the same problem Mike. My pics showed up as a link which I saw when I clicked on it, but no one else could see them. I’m dying to see your fishies!
Patty

I think I accidentally set it to private viewing, give it a glance now, if that didn't work i don't know what else it could be

[goldfish]

Bautiful discus
I see them now thank

[brewmaster15]

I see them all fine and they are some nice looking Fish Mike!

al

[0Dgreen]

Thanks guys, we found our "good" camera...although its a bit outdated by today's standards, the difference will be big I think. Expect some nicer pics over the weekend once the fish color up and settle in.

[Swedgin]

Nice quality fish. I really like those giant blues. The sapphire ruby has a really nice shape to it

[danotaylor]

Wow mate, stunning looking fish...all of them...they look very relaxed already. Kenny you've done it again!! TFS

[Hiball1]

Really nice setup! Really like your brittany. I have 3 french brittanies and one looks just like yours.
Sean

[0Dgreen]

Really nice setup! Really like your brittany. I have 3 french brittanies and one looks just like yours.
Sean

Hey thanks Sean, that's my buddy Lambeau, out of our 3 dogs, hes the only 1 that truly likes/connects with me..he doesn't care too much for mom or his "brothers". Although, he could learn to be a better help in the fish room, if only I could figure out a way to get him to scrub or drain tanks for me :idea:

[Pices]

I see them now. Wow! Nice picks-your wife picked some stunners too. I’m sure you are thrilled with them. I’m wishing I had one of those giant blues!
Patty

[0Dgreen]

Little update: day 2 - I've done 2x 100% water changes since arrival, fish are starting to eat both FDBW and my Beefheart mix, pecking order is being established (The smallest fish of the bunch - the Albino has turned out to be the boss), everyone is healthy, but still getting used to their new home.

Unfortunately, Kenny was unable to fit a cycled sponge in the package without compromising the foam box, so I've been battling cloudy water/Bacterial blooms. I am combating this with big water changes as well as flushes....it should be stable in the next week or so. I'm also going to feed on the lighter side until things chill out a bit, feeding regiment as of right now - morning feeding - 4 FDBW cubes, Lunchtime - 1 FBDW Cube and a small amount of Hans Flakes, Dinner - 2 small Beefheart mix cubes followed by a 100% waterchange. This may seem like a lot of food, but remember, there are 18 fish in here...which is another reason I will be doing 100%WCs forever.

They are not used to eating flakes from what I can tell, and are not a huge fan of them yet...I do have some Forrest Aquabites on the way, which I assume they are used to eating in Forrest's hatchery, so that should enable me to feed a bit more variety.
Sorry for not having an photo updates today, I'm going to get some up this weekend with the good camera.

Cheers!

[Hiball1]

Keep it up! Sounds like you have everything in control. As far as Lambeau yeah that sounds like my Cora. She is super loyal and stays close out in the field and at home. Like you said if only they could help on the fish responsibilities. Lol!!!!

Sean

[danotaylor]

wow man that sapphire ruby is stunning...love the shape, especially the forehead up to the 1st dorsal ray...what a stunner!!

[0Dgreen]

I know I promised pictures over the weekend, but I've had a hectic week at work and I've been doing my best to get the fiance trained up to take care of the fishroom while I go to Chicago for a week.

Some updates: I added a second HOB filter to the left side of the tank, an AQ70, packed with poly-fil and a sponge. I've been fighting off the bacterial bloom and the poly-fil/filter floss helps to clear up the water. I also added some filter floss to my AQ110, the water clarity is looking much much better, and I think were just about over the hump as far as cycling goes.

These guys were being super picky with food the first week, I finally have them eating other things than FDBW. At first they would just "act" like they were eating beefheart or the Han's flake. Just about everyone recognized my bearded mug and begs for food when I come to the tank. The alpha dog in this group is the little albino, I can't put my arm in tank without him plucking my arm hairs out. He's the smallest of the group, but with his attitude and appetite..I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being the biggest a year from now.

[0Dgreen]

It's been awhile since i've updated this thread, I know I promised better photos, but I'm still catching up from vacation.

The group as a whole is doing great, however, 1 fish isn't doing well (the lone Ring Leopard). It hasn't ate since before I left town, white cloudy poop and cloudy eyes. When my fiance called me while I was out of town, I walked her thru setting up a hospital tank for the fish and have been treating him with Metro for about 4 days now....hopefully he pulls through, but I haven't noticed much improvement.
Also, I have grown bored with my planted 55 gallon, once I got back into discus, the community tank just doesn't do it for me anymore. I have been considering breaking it down and trading in the livestock and plants for store credit, and possibly setting up another discus tank and shuffling some fish around....we'll see what the next few weeks brings.

Anyway, I was able to snap a few photos during feeding time, the best colored fish was nice enough to sit still for me and get a good shot.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116536&d=1530972113

The sapphire ruby thinks it's slick and tries to grab the cube from the cone....it never works out in her favor.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116537&d=1530972126

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116538&d=1530972132
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116539&d=1530972140

[0Dgreen]

It's been a few weeks since and update...and quite frankly, a lot has changed. I've since purchased a second 135g tank, repainted the original from black to white, added a couple new fish from Kenny's July shipment, reorganized the fishroom, and shuffled the discus around according to size so I don't have such an overstocked tank.

The wall in the fishroom is just over 12ft long, so these 2 135g tanks take up the length of 1 of the walls. We tried some new paint on the newer tank and it didn't turn out so good, so we are going to strip that down and repaint it again :thumbsdown: so while that tank is under construction, I will have to move everyone over into 1 tank again for a couple days.

Once that gets completed, we're going to move the flowerhorn and planted tank back into the fishroom, get everything plumbed up..then I just need a recliner in there so I can sit around and enjoy them! Cheers!

During WC
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117188&d=1532998404
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117189&d=1532998413

This big orange/red guy is a Red Striped Alenquer (my newest addition)
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117185&d=1532998378

WORMS (I've been feeding them a cube as I fill the tank, this seems to make them more comfortable and used to the waterchanges without being cranky and skittish)
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117186&d=1532998383
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117187&d=1532998389

[Pices]

I love your Alenquer, and had been thinking about a Penang Eruption, now I may have to get 1 of each. Beautiful fish. Hope your leopard gets better, he is another beauty. Good luck with him.
Patty

[0Dgreen]

I love your Alenquer, and had been thinking about a Penang Eruption, now I may have to get 1 of each. Beautiful fish. Hope your leopard gets better, he is another beauty. Good luck with him.
Patty

I was originally going to get a blue diamond, but Kenny said this batch of Alenquers were very good, I trusted his judgement and had him pick me a winner..super satisfied with this fish. I myself like to keep 1 strain in the same tank, but my better half likes to mix it up...as long as I let her do her thing and pick some variety fish she doesn't complain about all of the tanks and helps me with maintaining everything. She seems to be drawn to the spotted fish - Leopards, Eruptions, etc. Where as I'm more a fan of turq strains.

[fljones3]

I was originally going to get a blue diamond, but Kenny said this batch of Alenquers were very good, I trusted his judgement and had him pick me a winner..super satisfied with this fish. I myself like to keep 1 strain in the same tank, but my better half likes to mix it up...as long as I let her do her thing and pick some variety fish she doesn't complain about all of the tanks and helps me with maintaining everything. She seems to be drawn to the spotted fish - Leopards, Eruptions, etc. Where as I'm more a fan of turq strains.

Now I know where my 4th Alenquer went! LOL!
They are beautiful fish. I got three from Kenny and they are all doing well. I, too, liked the Eruptions from the photo but now that I have the Alenquers I would not exchange.

Frank

[0Dgreen]

I was able to finally get the better camera going, however, for some reason it would not let me upload them directly to the site. I know Al said specifically he wants them on the site so they stay there, but some of them were pretty darn good so I thought I'd share them anyway.

https://i.imgur.com/vfupumy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/I1Aq8QQ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mQ0NJHI.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/unwqQXx.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/U6ToyC7.jpg

[0Dgreen]

Also, it is REALLY hard to get a decent shot of fish.....Props to all the legitimate photographers, those NADA pics that were posted must have taken a lot of time and patience!

[0Dgreen]

Again, I know the contest is over...just thought I'd toss up some updated photos. I have shuffled some of the fish around, and left the ones that grew best in this setup. There are 3 pairs forming up in here, I get eggs on the daily...there are at least 6 females in this tank and only 1 confirmed male, and 1 suspected male.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122513&d=1549593127

These 2 fish that are pecking the cone are my 1st confirmed pair, I've gotten 3 batches of wrigglers out of them...I just haven't buckled down and setup a breeding setup for them yet.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122512&d=1549593126

This smaller fish to the right is the female of another pair both are sapphire rubys (the male is in the middle peeking at the camera)
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122511&d=1549593125
This is the male ruby, trying to fertilize the FDBW.......
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122510&d=1549593123

These are my biggest 2 females, they are always trying to win over the biggest male in the tank, who happens to be to the right.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122509&d=1549593122

[danotaylor]

really nice group of discus there mate...the 2 big girls are stunning, some nice breeding stock for sure!

[Second Hand Pat]

Those are some lovely fish you have there Mike :D
Pat

[0Dgreen]

Thank you both! I wish I could have gotten better shape/size out of some of them at this point...but, they are still young and growing...just a lot slower.