New to Discus and have a few questions

[Dazed]

Hello all, as the title says I'm new to the forums and had a few questions. But first a little information about myself and my current set up that I'm looking to redo. I still consider myself new to the fish keeping world; only have about 14 months experience under my belt and I currently have a planted 4 foot 55gal tank. My end goal is to have a planted Discus community tank. From what I've read, this isn't ideal for beginners, but I think I'm up for the challenge. Now to the questions and concerns....

To my understanding, water quality is key with Discus and I don't think my current filtration is going to cut it. Right now I'm running a Emperor 400 and been toying with the idea of getting a canister but not sure on what to get. I've read bad reviews about the fluval, so I'm leaning towards a Eheim classic 2213. Between the two, would this get the job done? Also, how hard is it to hook up an canister to running tank?

My main concern is around feeding, with young Discus (planning on getting 3-4 in discus) having to be fed 4-6 times a day, how does someone with a full time job manage to fit it in there day? I was thinking of an automatic feeder but I wasn't sure since it seems a lot of the food is homemade. Can someone clue me in on what there feeding schedule is like?

Thanks for you help in advance

[Skip]

i was talking to the GODFATHER John Nicholson.. he feeds his fish twice.. morning/after working.. all fish.. fry to adults..

however, i feed them in morning and right when i get home.. but another feeding a couple of hours later.. :) actually.. i just keep throwing in a little food at a time as long as they keep eating it all :)

others use auto feeder during for a feeding or two while at work..

how small of fish are you thinking about getting?

[atitagain]

i was talking to the GODFATHER John Nicholson.. he feeds his fish twice.. morning/after working.. all fish.. fry to adults..

however, i feed them in morning and right when i get home.. but another feeding a couple of hours later.. :) actually.. i just keep throwing in a little food at a time as long as they keep eating it all :)

others use auto feeder during for a feeding or two while at work..

how small of fish are you thinking about getting?

+1

I'm running the same feeding schedule as warlock but not nearly as many fish. :)

My little 2" starters fish are growing and doing well so far.

[BlazednSleepy]

From what im reading if you gonna get and raise juvies then a planted tank will get really dirty with all the left over food and poo. And if your planning on giving nutrients to the plants, that would pretty much be wasting money because of the amount of water changes your gonna do during the week.

Im doing the same thing except my planted tank will have adults.

But then again I have a 40gallon right now and If all my other fish are in the new 90 gallon I could raise some juvies in the 40 gallon since it would be clean and bare bottom...hmmmmm

[Dazed]

how small of fish are you thinking about getting?

I'm as thinking around 3+ inches (but really haven't done any research yet on what's available)

[Skip]

they are very happy in groups of 6.. i had 4 for a week or so.. very shy and skittish.. i added 3 more siblings. then PRESTO CHANGO!! happy as a pig in Sh*t! :)

[Dazed]

Thanks, that makes me feel better about the feeding!

[Dazed]

From what im reading if you gonna get and raise juvies then a planted tank will get really dirty with all the left over food and poo. And if your planning on giving nutrients to the plants, that would pretty much be wasting money because of the amount of water changes your gonna do during the week.

Im doing the same thing except my planted tank will have adults.

But then again I have a 40gallon right now and If all my other fish are in the new 90 gallon I could raise some juvies in the 40 gallon since it would be clean and bare bottom...hmmmmm

maybe I should of phased it better, it's going to be a sand bottom, and my plant stocking are all "easier" plants, jungle val, anubias and jave moss. I'll post pics once I've have planted, but still think this might cause problems?

[Eddie]

I'd get adults in your case, not juvies.

[Cevoe]

Marc,
Personally, I do not like canister filters and would recommend looking into Aquaclear hang on the back filters.
A Hydro filter (sponge type/air driven) would also be good to help with the bio filter and aeration.
As Eddie & Skip said, stick with half a dozen or so adult discus.
Good luck and don't forget to figure in some water changes.

[BlazednSleepy]

maybe I should of phased it better, it's going to be a sand bottom, and my plant stocking are all "easier" plants, jungle val, anubias and jave moss. I'll post pics once I've have planted, but still think this might cause problems?

So your going low tech?

Same here. But still if your doing juvies Its just not worth it until they are adults.

[calihawker]

I'd get adults in your case, not juvies.

+1

Steve

[Dazed]

Marc,
A Hydro filter (sponge type/air driven) would also be good to help with the bio filter and aeration.


I've seen this mentioned a few times, my only concern is that this tank is in the bed room, and my fiance complains about the noise level of the emperor 400....Could you recommend a quiet air pump?

[BlazednSleepy]

I've seen this mentioned a few times, my only concern is that this tank is in the bed room, and my fiance complains about the noise level of the emperor 400....Could you recommend a quiet air pump?

Theres no such thing lol

You could try and aim the spray bar up at the surface..

[strawberryblonde]

I tried doing just a canister. A week later I was adding a sponge filter. (Lightly planted tank and 4" discus).

I bought a tetra whisper air pump. I know everyone hates them, but it honestly is whisper quiet, it's cheap and if it wears out faster that's ok, I can afford to buy another one and still not spend as much as for the other brands.

That being said, I only just purchased a Rena double for another tank. LFS owner, a really great guy, swore it would be as quiet as the Tetra. Yep, he was WRONG! LOL
It's still quieter than others I've owned, but eeeeesh, it sounds like a plane when you're sitting on the wing seats.

So if quiet is a factor in all of this, consider the tetra line. They won't hold up as well, but they are nearly silent. Oh and I also put mine on top of a huge chunk of polyfill batting to dampen the vibration even more.

Everyone here is being honest with you about the extra hassle of raising discus in a planted tank. It can be done. I guess it can even be done with very small juvies, but I'd never go there personally. I have 4" discus and I had to make several modifications to my tank layout in order to accommodate the needs of the discus.

So, assuming that you're going to give a planted tank a try, here's my tips and tricks. Still learning as I go too, so expect more updates.

Canister Filter: I have one and love it. It's silent! I loaded all the trays with bio media and lost the carbon and other mechanical filtration. With a pre-filter on the intake tube you won't get much food or other detritus in the canister itself so it won't be a rotting stinking mess. Plan to clean the media trays in tank water at least once a month. No heavy cleaning, just swish, swish, swish in the water, then reload the trays and refill with dechlorinated water. Takes about 10 minutes to complete the operation and you can do it while you are doing a WC.

Hydro Sponge: Buy one not just for the loud noise! You'll want one for the awesome bio load it can handle, for the extra aeration in the tank and as a backup should your other filtration ever fail or should the power go out. You can run it on a battery powered air pump and voila, the discus get oxygen AND filtration while they sit in the dark. To make it a bit quieter you can add an air stone to diffuse the bubbles.

Plants: You said you want low tech, so get creative with the way you use them. Try attaching java fern and anubias to pieces of driftwood. They look gorgeous and you can pull the driftwood out of the tank in order to give it a thorough vacuuming. Use hornwort on top of the water for some nice shimmering light effects and the extra nutrients that the hornwort will use. Dwarf saggitarius works well and is easy to replant when the discus uproot it in their endless search for yummy tidbits. I "planted" my amazon sword in a squishy pot. It's a homemade deal and your fiance may look at you funny when you ask her for a pair of her pantyhose.

Cut the foot off of a clean pair of pantyhose, add straight soil (no ferts or compost material) to the toe, then top with a small amount of fine gravel. Stuff in a root tab, then add the sword plant and squish the roots into the soil firmly. Add more gravel if you need extra stability, tie the hose around the base of the sword plant and then trim off the excess hose. Now just "squish" it into a nice shape and place it anywhere in your tank.

If you choose a shade of pantyhose that matches your sand no one will notice it! I stuffed my sword into a hole in my big driftwood piece. It looks totally cool growing out of the wood and it's easy to lift it out and clean around it when I need to.

Feedings: Plan to feed a variety of foods. Discus will eat just about anything you offer. Give them flake food during the day. It's less polluting and your water will stay cleaner while you are out of the house. You can use an automatic feeder if you want to, or do what Warlock does and just give them a healthy feeding in the morning, then spoil them at night with a constant buffet of foods. Plan to feed beefheart or other frozen foods an hour before your WC. That way it won't have a chance to break down and rot in the tank.

Back to the canister filter. You asked how hard it is to hook one up to a running tank. Easy peasy! I chose a Marineland, but Eheim's also have a good rep.
Give the canister and the media a good rinse in dechlorinated water, wipe with paper towels, then load your trays into the canister. Put the top on and set it aside.

Next you attach the hoses to the intake and outflow tubes. Pop a prefilter onto the intake tube. Run the tubing down the back of the tank, then connect it to the block. Stuff the block, or head, into the canister top, push the primer button a few times to get water started and then plug in the canister.

Once the motor starts and the water is flowing smoothly through the hoses, prime a couple more times to shove out excess air and that's it, you're done.

[Dazed]

Thanks for all the advice