what should i get?

[Joander123]

So I'm revamping my 120 gallon planted community discus tank, and looking for ideas on how to do so. It's going nicely thus far, but i'm just looking to jazz it up a little bit around the holidays...

Currently in the tank are:
-3 Wild blue discus, they are very nice, but two of them have formed a pair, so obviously that leaves the third fish as the odd one out which is not an ideal situation. He's holding his own so far, but this has me looking to possibly add more discus..

~50 cardinal tetras, full grown wild caught.

-8 Sterbai Cory's

-5 Bristle nose plecos

-1 Green phantom pleco


Is this light on stocking? I also have the tank connected to a 40 gallon sump, that adds approximately 30 gallons of water volume to the whole system, making it more like 150 gallons of water, with filtration being an eheim pro III canister filter, a large sponge filter in the sump, and a fairly large biomass of plants in the display tank. I perform a 45 gallon water change every other day, occasionally every three days if I'm lazy, so realistically I change out basically 100% of the water every week...


I guess I'm realistically looking to add some more discus if possible, but I don't want to push it stocking wise either...so i'm looking for opinions on this, how many i should feel comfortable adding, if i should add any at all...

And finally, i'm looking for strain recommendations. I love wild caught discus, blues, greens, browns, heckles, etc. but many in my family feel that they are "too bland". Excuse them, they don't see the true beauty of this fish... but with the interest of keeping everyone happy and interested in the tank i'm probably looking to add some more brightly colored domestics, I'm just not sure what strain exactly... I feel in such a natural looking planted tank with driftwood, and wild caught discus that many of today's popular strains will look goofy, what are your thoughts?

I'm going to attach a picture, tank doesn't look quite like this right now as this picture is months old, but you get the idea...

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f146/joander123/DSC_1589.jpg

[Second Hand Pat]

How about some red turks.

[Discus Origins]

I feel in such a natural looking planted tank with driftwood, and wild caught discus that many of today's popular strains will look goofy, what are your thoughts?

+1, wild discus belong in planted tanks :)

[Joander123]

So I think I've had an idea.. let me know what you think...


I think i'm going to buy a group of 8 sub-adult stage discus here of a single strain, and grow them out, at which point i can chose 6 of them, and then have those 6 put into the tank. I would move the wilds and the worst looking two domestics.... I know this might sound a little rough, and trust me, i love the look of wilds very much, but i feel like not everyone can appreciate the beauty of a discus in an environment similar to its natural one, lots of people just like to appreciate the bright colors of the pretty domestic fish... and with the aquarium being a centerpiece of the house, i'm trying to make it appeal more to everyones tastes and not just my own.

Thoughts?

I want something rater plain, maybe red turqs, or maybe some solid blue discus, like cobalts or blue diamonds... something plain pattern wise but vibrant colored. I also feel like they'll be more active and feel more comfortable in a fairly brightly lit aquarium with non-amazon type plants, and crystal clear water..

[TNT77]

Could try Albino Millenium Golds...can't get more vibrant than that.

[Joander123]

Could try Albino Millenium Golds...can't get more vibrant than that.


I hadn't thought about a yellow based discus, I was leaning towards more blue based or red based, but that might look really cool too actually..

[chiligum]

Buying 8, growing them out and ending up with 6?...It wont happen if you're anything like me, i had that idea and when it came to it, i couldn't bare to part with any and i've still got all mine!