what kind of substrate is everyone using for planted Discus tanks, I have heard not to use black?
You can not bury the roots of anubias, if you do they rot.
Coree
Life is maintenance, happiness if flexibility,
May you stay forever young.
what kind of substrate is everyone using for planted Discus tanks, I have heard not to use black?
It isn't that you can't use dark substrate, but the fact is that dark substrates promote a darker looking discus in some strains, such as pigeon bloods. Many use sand, which I have heard is a bit tedious to take care of (vacuuming), other use gravel. However, the majority of discus keepers have bare bottom (BB) tanks because most would rather not deal with the added maintenance that substrate bring. YMMV
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I use a very thin layer of sand (less than a half inch) and I do solely for the look. When wet the sand stays compacted enough to keep the food on the surface of the sand. As long as I keep up with siphoning the food out after each feeding or after feeding messier foods at least, I have no problem. A trick I have learned is to hold the siphoning tube a few inches above the sand and move it slow circles. This lifts excess food and waste off the bottom so I can remove it and not the sand. I also keep emerald cories and MTS to assist with anything I might miss. Hope this helps.
Has anyone tried using larger gravel ( stones ) . That way plants look good and the stones can be used to hide the pots ( potted plants ) . If we use gravel about inch big , that should help with siphoning as well.
Thanks for this! It's incredibly helpful!
Thanks for posting this! I've killed one plant so far and had success with another but its good to know what has worked for others.
This has not been the case for me. Anubias will root onto wood or rough rocks. But unlike African ferns, anubias will grow an extensive root system into your gravel. Keep that rhizome above your gravel. Anubias grows much better when the light hits its rhizome. The best way to encourage growth is to anchor it to wood with a rubber band. Some anubias fans insist the rhizomes rot when buried in the gravel. We just find it slows their growth -- a lot.
This is a picture of my anubias planted in the gravel
uploadfromtaptalk1411580078786.jpg
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Judi