Benefits of Aquascaping

[michael.leerak]

I am new to discus - bought my first group of 7 juveniles 3 months ago. I read all I could about discus care before getting into it, and I have about 10 years of experience fish-keeping prior to discus.

When I read about raising discus most of the advice was to have a bare-bottom tank with minimal aquascaping. So I understood the reasoning behind this, and went a long with the advice. For the first 3 months of raising my discus I did regular water changes, vacuumed uneaten food and waste nearly every day. My tank was empty except for a large rock in the center and two hydro 4 sponge filters on either corner.

During this time my discus stayed on one half of the tank, literally never venturing to the other side. They regularly hid behind my sponge filter when they weren't eating, and had a poor appetite with most foods I tried to feed (especially sinking pellets which I would usually end up just vacuuming out uneaten). Despite this behavior they have all survived and are growing at a healthy rate (about 1" per month) expect for a few stragglers who haven't grown quite as much - which is to be expected raising a group as I understand.

Well last week I broke down and couldn't stand my bare tank any longer. I went out and got myself a bunch of manzanita wood and decorated the entire tank with it. Since then my discus have been swimming all over the tank, they never hide behind my sponge filters anymore. They're very brave and social, and are no longer spooked by my presence or the aquarium lighting. The best part is that their appetite has changed incredibly - what I used to have to vacuum up uneaten is now devoured in minutes!!!

My point is that aquascaping seems to be a very important part of discus health, and an important factor in behavior. I'm surprised that I didn't come across this information in my research before getting into discus, and was wondering what other similar experiences people have had with aquascaping.

[Josef]

Careful - you are threading on dangerous ground! lol

[John_Nicholson]

LOL...sorry but you are incorrect. If your fish were acting that way in the bare bottom tank then something else was wrong. Might have been room traffic, shadows that fall across one end of the tank, any number of things....Plants are definitely not a cure all, in fact all you have done is to make your life with discus much harder.

Good luck.

-john

[strawberryblonde]

I've never attempted to grow out juvies, but with my 4" sub-adults they certainly did enjoy having a hunk of wood to circle around when they weren't busy eating. LOL

The thing about using driftwood though is to be sure that you suspend it in the tank so that it doesn't lay on the bottom where crud can slip underneath and rot. You can also use driftwood that sits on "legs" so that only a few small points are touching the bottom, making it easier to clean underneath it.

Domestic discus are tank raised by the breeders without the benefit of any decorations, so I don't know that they actually really care one way or the other, BUT, when you get them home in a smaller number and IF the tank is on the larger size for them, I can see them feeling a bit uncomfortable and hence, skittish.

Where prior to you getting them, they swam in a big, tight, mass of discus (which feels "safe") now they are just 7 little discus hanging out with lots of space around them. Hope that explanation makes sense. =)

[Skip]

op.. what size is your tank?

[Josef]

Told ya! LOL

[Cultofthefish]

I just like the driftwood in the tank and the look of a few plants tied to the driftwood. Makes me feel better even if it is more work 9 also keeps my wife off my back she hate the empty tank look.)

Thanks
Cult

[michael.leerak]

op.. what size is your tank?

75 gallons


I've never attempted to grow out juvies, but with my 4" sub-adults they certainly did enjoy having a hunk of wood to circle around when they weren't busy eating. LOL

The thing about using driftwood though is to be sure that you suspend it in the tank so that it doesn't lay on the bottom where crud can slip underneath and rot. You can also use driftwood that sits on "legs" so that only a few small points are touching the bottom, making it easier to clean underneath it.

Domestic discus are tank raised by the breeders without the benefit of any decorations, so I don't know that they actually really care one way or the other, BUT, when you get them home in a smaller number and IF the tank is on the larger size for them, I can see them feeling a bit uncomfortable and hence, skittish.

Where prior to you getting them, they swam in a big, tight, mass of discus (which feels "safe") now they are just 7 little discus hanging out with lots of space around them. Hope that explanation makes sense. =)

Totally makes sense, the driftwood seems to be compensating for the large size of the tank by creating hiding areas and giving the fish a sense of security.

[michael.leerak]

LOL...sorry but you are incorrect. If your fish were acting that way in the bare bottom tank then something else was wrong. Might have been room traffic, shadows that fall across one end of the tank, any number of things....Plants are definitely not a cure all, in fact all you have done is to make your life with discus much harder.

Good luck.

-john

Well my evidence supports my conclusion, and seeing as that was the only variable changed...I don't think I'm wrong.

Also, I didn't add plants. I only added driftwood.

Please explain how this is making my life with discus harder.

[strawberryblonde]

75 gallons


Yup yup, 7 little juvies in a great big 75 gallon tank would be mighty skittish without some places to feel safe. I'm betting that's why they were hanging around the sponge filters all this time... they wanted some cover! LOL

A lot of times on here we recommend using a divider in a large tank for growing out juvies till they're big enough to handle the large space. Glad you don't need to do that now that you've discovered the magic of manzanita wood.

[shoveltrash]

I actually think that at FIRST, a piece of 'aquascape' is beneficial. however once acclimated, I really don't think it matters at all. and in my experience, when adding a new fish to an established tank, having a few things to remove or move around makes it easier on the new arrivals. with that said, all I have in my BB tank now is one lone center 'statue', and 2 sponge filters :p.

[Elliots]

I have read on SD and in other places that some fish like multiple places as shelter or to hide. They seem to do better that way. Now I know many people on this site advocate a bare bottom tank and sponge filters. I understand that and see the value of it. Now to have some wood of some type makes it a little harder to clean the tank and food may get caught under the wood to rot. You can move the wood to clean. In a bare bottom that is easy. I suspect that almost no one on this site has gone from empty bare bottom to BB with wood to see how the fish do. Would anyone who actually tried adding wood care to comment?

[oldfar]

I have 3 pcs of driftwood in my tank 75g the wood sits on a total of 6 legs in less than 1 sq
inch for each leg.The fish will swim 90 degrees from vertical to get through some holes in the wood the discus seem to enjoy this cause I can see their teeth when they smile.Bb tank.

[Psionic]

I have read on SD and in other places that some fish like multiple places as shelter or to hide. They seem to do better that way. Now I know many people on this site advocate a bare bottom tank and sponge filters. I understand that and see the value of it. Now to have some wood of some type makes it a little harder to clean the tank and food may get caught under the wood to rot. You can move the wood to clean. In a bare bottom that is easy. I suspect that almost no one on this site has gone from empty bare bottom to BB with wood to see how the fish do. Would anyone who actually tried adding wood care to comment?

I did that. I have 6 juvies, some are now sub adults though. The tank has a heater, sponge filter, air stone, and hob filter. They are in a 55 gallon tank btw. I put in a piece of manzanita I had leftover from another tank. It's not all encompassing of the tank. I got one that didn't have tons of small branches either. I do large water changes every night. It's easy to take right out of the tank when I take the hood off the tank to clean. They do like to linger in it. Before they would hover around the bottom or the biggest one would take over the spot behind the sponge filter as his home. Now they swim all over. I also noticed that they were sleeping in it that night and every night since. They'll look like grapes hanging from a vine. It's quite cute. I also take out the wood and scrub it with a scouring pad. It takes all of 5 minutes and then back in it goes.


-Val

[rachelchick]

Careful - you are threading on dangerous ground! lol
LOL!

Maybe I shouldn't speak up, as I'm just a newbie too, but I noticed something similar with my fish - however, I did have a couple more variables.

I have a 55G in my living room, right as you walk in the front door. I love fish. They are kind of a pet, but more than anything a hobby as well as a . . . I don't know, work of art, I guess. Fish tanks are beautiful and add a certain ambiance to a room that I really love. My 55G is the only tank I plan on having right now (with five little kids, that's all I have the time or patience for :)), and I expect it to be pretty.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get all six fish to stock my tank with all at once, so I bought three, put them in my 55. Later I bought three more and put them in a tall 30gal bb QT in my bedroom (least traffic area of the house). My original three have always been pretty friendly and enjoy swimming among the driftwood. In the bb tank, all three fish have been incredibly skittish - often banging into the glass if I even walked into the room. Even when I would feed them, I'd have to leave the room before they would come from behind the filter to eat. I recently moved the second batch from the QT into my bigger, main tank that has both sand and driftwood and there is such a difference! They don't hide at all, colors are better, and they will even eat out of my hand.

Now I know that having the other three fish in the tank is bound to have made a big difference as well, but they just seem much happier with the arrangement of this tank vs. the bb. I'd imagine that it's like strawberryblonde said, just happier not being the only thing in the tank.

It's definitely more work to have more in the tank, but as I mentioned, this is my only tank and I'm happy to put the extra work into vacuuming nooks and crannies to have a more appealing tank. - and I DO think my fish are happier. Just my opinion --- so don't shoot me! :)

[Wjmulder]

I've had the same experience except in reverse. Started with a fairly full tank with plants and driftwood and the discus were all over the place and very independent. After a few weeks I removed the largest piece of driftwood and a couple plants to make cleaning easier, that's when they started schooling and hiding and their appetite went down. A month later I put a couple items back and they were back to normal.

I've noticed that a lot of newbies lately are posting like experts but are only regurgitating what they have read. Not referring to anyone on this thread. But it would be better if people only posted what they personally experienced.....might be enlightening :)

[michael.leerak]

Im glad other people have had similar experiences. Although it seems like common sense, this is a topic i haven't really come across among the tank setup guides for discus. Maybe it can help someone in the future