Gravel or no Gravel

Here's a question for you all. I was told by one person that gravel in the tank is o.k. if I'm not breeding. Others have told me no gravel.... Sooooo what's the word????


Thanks
Erin

I'm not breeding my discs so I keep them in a planted tank with some gravel for substrait. It's whatever you prefer. :)

Hi,
I use no gravel. It is easier to clean the tank. easier to clean up uneaten food and feces.

Gravel can trap debris, leading to bad bacteria (for the fish).
Also if treatment is needed it is hard to be effective as parasites and bacteria can "hide" in the gravel.

SOme people have good luck with gravel, but cleaning it is paramount.

hth

My Discus just laid eggs. I have gravel in my tanks just enough to cover the bottom. About 1/2" to 3/4" thick. I do take extra time making sure its clean when doing my water changes. I believe as long as you keep it clean its not a problem. Like I said it justs take more time to clean it. I am pondering over taking out the gravel for my just breeding pair. Hope this helps.

Do the professional discus breeders have gravel in their tanks? Read Ardan's post above for the reasons why.

You can have gravel, but you have to spend much more time on tank maintainance AND have a bare hospital tank to treat illness.

I agree 100% with Carol and Ardan!!! ;D Been there done that and the gravel drove me insane!!!!!!!! I feel you can never clean the gravel enough. I would rather have BB and know that everything is clean!!!!
Darcy

Bare bottom is the way to go. especially with a new owner. i have all bare bottoms and even then i spend hours cleaning and wiping all my tanks. i vote for none to get good healthy fish and good growth. and lots of water changes to go with that.

Hum, I smell a poll! Look under General and take a poll about Gravel, and Carbon.

Really I think it is up to the user if they want to use gravel or not. Me, I got gravel, and Plants!

I have both and I have things I like and dislike about both. For the beginner I would definitely suggest a BB tank if they like the way it looks. It might take a little while to get used to if you are used to keeping planted tanks. I have kept planted tropical tanks for years before getting Discus. The bb tank was something I definitely had to get used to before liking it but I can't disagree with the benefits of it.

If you are new to discus, BB really is the way to go. Start off with nothing else, and then you might like to try some plants in pots, if you are after greenery. You will find that unless you keep the water parameters stable, and have your bio filter working properly, the discus will become susceptable to parasites, making them virtually impossible to eliminate with a gravel substrate.

Believe me, it's the way to go.
James

I have had my Discus for almost a month. At first I did not want no gravel. But I decided to listen to advise given. At least about the gravel should really have listened to all of the advice, well anyway, I added a few tank decorations, color on the bottom glass and a picture background. The tank looks real nice and is a breeze to clean.

I liked the look and clean up so much, I removed all the gravel in my community tank and went barebottom on that one as well.