First Tank Advice

[Dane-alex]

I am setting up my first Discus aquarium :)
I have some questions I am hoping I can find answers to.

1. Do Discus live happily with Silk plants rather then live plants?

2. Is it easier to maintain high water quality with silk plants rather than live plants?

3. Would it be better to buy Discus first or last? I plan on creating a community tank with: Blue Rams, Bristlenose Pleco and Glass Catfish.

4. Also if I do buy the Discus first, will I even need a QT? or can put them in the main tank seeing as though there are no other fish in there?

Help would be appreciated.

Dane

[typicalalex1]

Hi welcome to simply.

As a new discus keeper myself, i have recently asked all of these questions and found this forum very helpful.

I started with silk plants before i had discus and when i changed my tank over to discus i added live plants but i do have 1 silk plant left in the tank but i did have 3 in there at one point.
Live plants are always better. They are better looking, they give off oxygen for the fish and it gives the tank a more natural feel.

Plants can pollute the water sometimes. Make sure you remove all dead leaves before you add them to the tank to help stop this happening. Keep up your water changes and there wont be a problem.

I added my other fish first. I thought this would be less stressful for the discus. It also helps mature the water. And if something isnt right with the tank, its better to lose a few tetras rather than all your discus.
I wouldnt add glass catfish personally, i believe they wont tolerate higher temperatures.

If you get your discus from the same supplier and you add them first, i wouldnt bother with QT.

Make sure you post pics when its done!

Alex

[Dane-alex]

Thankyou Alex.

I have considered Live plants, but I hear they can be more work than the discus.
Do you use plant fertilizer? Because I think it would be difficult changing from silk to live if I have to add fertilizer into the tank.

I have a aqua one 620t, it is rather tall so (I think) I can only have low light level plants in the aquarium.
I will consider changing to live plants in time.
Also do you run a air stone at night? I have read that at night the plants give out CO2 and that can cause pH swings and lack of oxygen for fish.

The Glass Catfish are in the same aquarium as the discus from my LPS so I don't think adding them should be to much trouble.

[typicalalex1]

The only thing i use for my plants is a liquid fertilizer which is just plant food.
I add it once a week and they do fine.

Cabomba (or fanwart) is a good plant. very cheap and grown very fast, upto 4inches a day with good light.
It grew to the top of my tank within 3 weeks and can be trimmed and replanted.

I use an air stone 24/7. doesnt seem to have any effect on the fish.

I almost bought glasscatfish because they are such cool fish but i read they dont like higher temps so i didnt buy them.

If you do get them, let me know how it goes because i would like to add some.

Alex

[walt3]

low light plants should not be much work. anubias is a cool plant and works well for me. plant it shallow or stick it in a hole in wood. grows well and gives a reall cool jungle look. leaves are very hardy. i dont use co2 or ferts at the moment with 130 watts on a 75 gallon tank and thats more than i really need. good luck.

[Northwoods Discus]

I had cobamba in a planted discus tank and it was beautiful and grew well. I found it messy with its small leaves. It tangles as it gets long and dies at the bottom. It is hard to make it stay on the bottom. Once it roots it will stay but was constantly floating up. I used weights to keep it down. If you choose it do not plant the stems in the soil they will die. Just weight it and let the roots grow in. I love the look of planted tanks but they can be more work. I have had crypts grow well and they are slower growing. Anubius are also nice if you like the leaf shape. The plants I started with were from aquariumplants.com They have a group of discus tank plants for warmer water.

[Skip]

welcome.. search the Basic Discus information.. there is lots of data.. good luck!