My small piece of the Amazon [Archive]

rickztahone

04-28-2009, 01:13 AM

what size tank is that? it really looks great. what type of camera do you have? if you speed up your shutter speed you would be able to get the fish without the blur, just fyi

calihawker

04-28-2009, 01:15 AM

Nice! :D:D

Steve

Eddie

04-28-2009, 01:26 AM

Looks great Tito, real nice. Looks like a nice big tank, 180 or what?

Eddie

Tito

04-28-2009, 10:34 AM

Thanks for the comments guys. I have a cheap $100 camera no SLR here. It's a 125 Gallon tank.

There are a few more branches still being soaked. I will be adding them to the back left corner of the tank as soon as they sink.

WHat I want to achieve is the sense that there is a huge tree somewhere back there and the roots are becoming denser as they near the trunk. Hence why there are just two Amazon swords a short distance from the trunk as the roots become more sparse. Also the hint of open sandy water with a few pebbles and some grass growing.

Some Amazon Frogbits would make some good shade for the left side of the tank - really bringing in the scene.

Then of course - I will need to get rid of all of those red based fish! Bring in some more blues - Turqoise would be my preference.

Tito

04-28-2009, 11:03 AM

I set this up yesterday. This morning lights on and shortly there after by instinct these domestics headed to congregate by the stone/grass area.

I can hear them saying - hay, where's the shrimp? LOL

Before I took this pic there were about five of them going over the grass looking carefully for something to dart!

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z87/TitoTee_2007/Discus/Photos012.jpg

stallion150

04-28-2009, 11:08 AM

Great Tank Tito. What are you using for the light blue tank background?

Tito

04-28-2009, 12:00 PM

Great Tank Tito. What are you using for the light blue tank background?

Back of glass spray painted.

Tito

04-29-2009, 09:03 PM

Well here's the final layout! I added about six more branches. Looks more dense now.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z87/TitoTee_2007/Discus/Photos013.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z87/TitoTee_2007/Discus/Photos015.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z87/TitoTee_2007/Discus/Photos020.jpg
I 'm fascinated by watching these graceful fish swim through the simulated root system. Now there is no more bullying either. everytime a fish picks on another one the aggressor looses his target when it darts past a branch or two. Now I see why their bodies are shaped the way they are - they just float thru these branches with the greatest of ease.

Imagine trying to catch them in the wild under a tree with roots in the water. Collectors don't bother - I see why!

Eddie

04-29-2009, 09:17 PM

Looks great Tito, the fish look happier than some hippos. ;)

Eddie

Tito

04-29-2009, 09:58 PM

Looks great Tito, the fish look happier than some hippos. ;)

Eddie

Thanks Ed!

Hopefully they will continue to grow. They are all between the 6th and 7th month in age. Some are reaching 4" to 4.5" the rest a topping out at 3" or so. I"ve noticed some will go on a growth spurt then stop then another batch spurts and slows. Hopefully they will all do this and top out at 6" that is where I would like them to be. I know some people want to grow theirs to giants but not me.

drew22to375

04-30-2009, 01:42 PM

Very nice. Are your branches attached to the top of your tank some how to keep them from moving. Where did you get all of the branches from?

Drew..

plecocicho

04-30-2009, 03:29 PM

Some floating plants, few kattapo leaves on the bottom (or heaper oak leaves) and it would be real biotope aquarium. Just a small schoal of wild discus of the same locality and it wiould be a blast. But its really nice setup.

kats3kids

05-03-2009, 06:18 PM

Very nice!!

Tito

05-03-2009, 08:47 PM

Very nice. Are your branches attached to the top of your tank some how to keep them from moving. Where did you get all of the branches from?

Drew..

The Branches come from Manzanita Bulworks

They are attached to the glass canopy with suction cups and fishing line.

Thanks for all the compliments.

Got two already shaking though it's a bit early for them.

rbarn

05-03-2009, 08:57 PM

Nice Biotope, layout is very accurate to nature

I would add some more long leaf swords along the back right side though.
Like where you have that one, but more and extending to the right.

Tito

05-05-2009, 08:50 PM

Nice Biotope, layout is very accurate to nature

I would add some more long leaf swords along the back right side though.
Like where you have that one, but more and extending to the right.

Thanks.

Here's a nice way of them showing that they like the new furniture.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z87/TitoTee_2007/Discus/Photos034.jpg
Parents inspecting the eggs.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z87/TitoTee_2007/Discus/Photos037.jpg
Male takes a look.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z87/TitoTee_2007/Discus/Photos021.jpg
Female takes a look.

Diskboy12

05-05-2009, 09:58 PM

This is an amazing tank I love the simulated roots. can you show how you did that?

Tito

05-05-2009, 10:18 PM

This is an amazing tank I love the simulated roots. can you show how you did that?

Thanks. Basically the driftwood are hanging down. There is a suction cup attached to the glass canopy above the water line and then a fishing line tied to the suction cups as wel as the tips of the branches.

Eddie

05-08-2009, 09:55 PM

Hey Tito, whats the status of these 2?

Eddie

Tito

05-08-2009, 10:03 PM

Hey Tito, whats the status of these 2?

Eddie

These are young fish I beleive you know. The male shot blanks eggs unfertile. They are still hanging out together. I'm sure they will continue to spawn. They ate all the eggs and I expected it so - eggs were turning white. I also knew he wasn't doing a good job as he was rolling to quickly over the freshly laid eggs. He needs to slow down! LOL

Eddie

05-08-2009, 10:27 PM

These are young fish I beleive you know. The male shot blanks eggs unfertile. They are still hanging out together. I'm sure they will continue to spawn. They ate all the eggs and I expected it so - eggs were turning white. I also knew he wasn't doing a good job as he was rolling to quickly over the freshly laid eggs. He needs to slow down! LOL

Okay, thanks for the update. At least you are sure about one thing......you have a female! ;)

All the best with them,

Eddie

Eyecandy

05-09-2009, 08:48 AM

Hi. The tank scape is looking better all the time.. Hopefully the other discus will turn out to be a male and fertilize the eggs so you can have lots of fry. Sue:D

Tito

05-09-2009, 09:11 AM

Thanks for the comments.

All the fish in the tank are young. The one that laid eggs should be about 7 months old. Her partner is no more than six!

Right now I'm just hoping that two fish begin to grow as they have me concerned that they may stay behind.

The aquascaping continues to develop. I still need floating plants for the root system.

Will take another pic soon.

chemjab

05-10-2009, 12:12 PM

Tito

05-10-2009, 01:36 PM

Nicely done. your set up is great. I will echo what has already been said here. I hope they turn into an active pair for you. Is that a Red Pigeon and a Yellow Mellon? That would be a good combination IMO.

THanks.

Yep a Red Pigeon (Checkerboard) and a Yellow (Apricot) of course we all know there are vendors that want to create their own names. What are you going to do right!

Eventually - somewhere down the line - I want this tank to be restocked with a group of nhamunda blues.

cc_woman

05-10-2009, 02:50 PM

These are young fish I beleive you know. The male shot blanks eggs unfertile. They are still hanging out together. I'm sure they will continue to spawn. They ate all the eggs and I expected it so - eggs were turning white. I also knew he wasn't doing a good job as he was rolling to quickly over the freshly laid eggs. He needs to slow down! LOL

Typical male :laugh: You know I am only joking guys, but with a statement like that I couldn't help myself.

That is a great set up, and you have a beautiful male there. He should get things right quite quickly....or the female might just want another mate lol.

Tito

05-15-2009, 07:35 PM

I've got another two that just paired off.
A Brilliant Blue with a Red Turq
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z87/TitoTee_2007/Discus/Photos042.jpg
The BB is the female.

The other pair has spawned again as well but many eggs turning white. With a hP of 7.5 out the tap I suspect purdy higfh TDS. Good to know if I ever decide to breed any of the fish.
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z87/TitoTee_2007/Discus/Photos047.jpg

Eddie

05-15-2009, 07:48 PM

Guess the first pair inspired the second. ;)

Eddie

Tito

05-15-2009, 08:40 PM

Guess the first pair inspired the second. ;)

Eddie

At this point I don't care to breed. I want them to continue growing.

Should I seperate the famales from the males in another tank?

Tito

05-15-2009, 08:46 PM

By the way Ed,

I noticed I don't get the usual suspects commenting on my posts except for you. I want to thank you for being an unbiased person. I'm from the Bronx and I have that Bronx way of seeing things and people. So yes - I poke fun at some things but it's all fun and games. Too bad people take things seriously. Thanks for keeping it real with me. I appreciate your input. As for others - keep it going and don't even bother harping on my threads. No love lost.:kiss:

discusluvr818

05-15-2009, 10:37 PM

Awesome tank Tito. I notice Discus Hans set one up like that recently too with the simulated root system. I really like it. I might want to do that in my tank someday. Looks great!!

Tito

05-15-2009, 10:44 PM

Awesome tank Tito. I notice Discus Hans set one up like that recently too with the simulated root system. I really like it. I might want to do that in my tank someday. Looks great!!

Thanks a bunch! I am definitely enjoying it. I can't wait till I find some floating plants to gorw over the roots. That should look pretty cool.

I need to post an updated pic. The aquacape has been finalized and it looks just a little different then the previous pic.

discusluvr818

05-16-2009, 12:13 AM

Thanks a bunch! I am definitely enjoying it. I can't wait till I find some floating plants to gorw over the roots. That should look pretty cool.

I need to post an updated pic. The aquacape has been finalized and it looks just a little different then the previous pic.

That's awesome. Can't wait to see some pics.