Planted discus tank

[severum mama]

I finally got around to taking some pics of my discus tank, and I just thought I'd share. I know it doesn't look like much at the moment, but it's only been set up for about 6 weeks. The tank is 55 gallons, and has a Coralife Aqualight 2x65 watt with 2 dual daylight bulbs. Filtration is 1 Fluval 204 and 1 Aquaclear 50, and I have a 250W Jager heater. Substrate is 40 lbs. Eco Complete, and 20 lbs. gravel. Plants are a bunch of vals, various crypts, micro sword (that stuff is driving me nuts), Brazilian pennywort, 2 Amazon swords, and one red-colored sword that I haven't identified, and anubias that needs to hurry up and attach to my driftwood.:rolleyes:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v139/fishgirl/DSCN3059.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v139/fishgirl/DSCN3086.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v139/fishgirl/DSCN3085.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v139/fishgirl/DSCN3075.jpg
Fish are:
4 discus that were given to me because they needed a home
3 baby keyholes
1 Bolivian ram
10 green fire tetras
6 rummynose tetras
1 silver hatchet- I had a couple of jumpers and mysterious deaths.:huh:
1 tiger pleco

Forgive the crappy pics. I can't wait until the plants start to grow in more, and I'll post updates along the way if anyone's interested.

[Aussie_hippie_2]

Nice! If you ever have too much val, pm me. I'd love some. Are you getting rid of the keyholes?

[severum mama]

Thanks.
No, I don't plan to get rid of the keyholes. They are extremely mild-mannered. The tank is very laid-back and all the fish get along.

[the Amazonian]

Thats a pro set-up!! your hard work paid off:read:

[WeeNe858]

nice touch with all the vals it has a different look compared to the more common planted tanks :] good work

[Mgamer20o0]

nice looking tank.

[KingOfTheDeep]

nice!

love that little pigeon blood!

[Ghost_knife]

Sweet! Love the discus!

[severum mama]

Thanks everyone!:) I appreciate the nice comments. The discus are doing really well so far. I never would have put them into such a "new" setup, but there was sort of a constraint on the amount of time I had to bring them home. I felt like it would work out, because this tank is actually an upgrade from my old 20 gallon, and I moved all the established gravel over, plus the established Fluval 204. I'm doing 40-50% water changes on this tank every 2-3 days and all the fish seem really happy.

I'm looking forward to when the vals grow taller along the back and right side of the tank, and I also can't wait until the sword plants fill out.

[fish_freak]

Very Nice looking tank!

[Temo]

i love your tank

[Temo]

i love it

[Rbishop]

Nice tank! Any updates Sev?

[msjinkzd]

this is a really lovely tank sev!

[bluerat]

nice tank

[mee-mee]

Great shots, cool tanks...

[kimmisc]

I'm so jealous. I want your plants and your discus fishies (I don't know the plural for discus :) )

Really beautiful tank and fish.

[mudskippers]

GREAT TANK SEV! :) Nice lookin Discus!

&

I love your keyholes! Im such a fan of keyholes!! ;)

[jm1212]

updates!!

looks great though!

[Temo]

please ,new update?

[Reefscape]

Any chance of an update here?

Oh no......here i go again !!!!

Niko

[Temo]

lol niko

[severum mama]

sorry guys!
Updates are coming soon, I promise!

[Temo]

ok ^.^ :dance2:

[chunkylover817]

can you honestly tell me, are discus really that hard to care for and keep??? because i really REALLY want to buy me some for my 55 gallon!:grinyes:

[mcox3]

How many vals did you start off with? How long ago?

Loooks great.

[jpappy789]

Awesome tank!

[Rbishop]

No, they are not as hard as everyone tends to lead you to believe. They can be finicky and do not tolerate a dirty tank or poor water quality though.

[bluerat]

very nice pics

[Que]

Those vals are spectacular.

Q

[chunkylover817]

thanks!!!immight buy me some now!:grinyes: do you consider yourself an expert??

[severum mama]

Finally! Updates!

Forgive the picture quality, a high number of megapixels can't always hide my lack of skill.;)

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/DSCN3482.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/DSCN3481.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/DSCN3480.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/DSCN3479.jpg

Unfortunately, I no longer have the discus I started with. They all went on a hunger strike one by one and died. :( I never figured it out for sure, but I suspect that the red one you can see in the pics may have introduced a parasite into the tank. I treated with PraziPro but only managed to save the red one. I bought 2 more and they've worked out a pecking order, and everything is going great at this point, so I'm going to leave well enough alone for this tank.

The aquascape doesn't look so great to me right now, I'm waiting for a better selection of plants to come around and then I'll get rid of a lot of the vals.:)

[mellowvision]

totally awesome

[Temo]

loock awsome!!!
dont get rid of the vals,give it to me;) :dance2: lol
:rolleyes:

[Reefscape]

Great looking system you have there...was about time we had some updates...lol

Niko

[Temo]

oh and dont forget to post it in here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122442

[chunkylover817]

wow nice!you sure like the vallisneria!:p:

[severum mama]

nah, I just can't get a great variety of plants around here.... yet.

that's probably going to change and I'm holding out.

[Rbishop]

Very nice, Sev! I love discus with just the vals, looks serene.

[rich311k]

Looks great.

[Temo]

still loving it, any update?

[severum mama]

ok, I've got updates!:)

I spent this evening rearranging the tank. Last week I added scarlet hygro, crypt spiralis, and rotala indica, and 5 more rummynose tetras, but could only find h. rhodostomus. That's ok, they are healthy and rockin'. They are eagerly schooling w/ the h. bleheri I already had. It's pretty easy to see the differences in the 2 species when they are right next to each other. Then this evening, I added pennywort, red ludwigia, wisteria, and an ozelot sword. I don't know how well these plants will do under my lighting (2x65W PC) but I figure it's worth a shot.;)

Anyway, here are the pics.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/DSCN3485.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/DSCN3486.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/DSCN3487.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/DSCN3488.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/DSCN3490.jpg

I'm not entirely pleased with the aquascape and I welcome any suggestions as always. Let me know what you think!:)

[Lupin]

Any close-up pics of your green fire tetras? I absolutely love them.:hearts: ;)

[jm1212]

your tank is looking awesome! more pics!!!

[severum mama]

well, I have old close ups... lemme see if I can find em. I love green fires also but I'm down to 2 out of 6. I've had mine for years and I moved them over to the discus tank from my old 29. Sadly, I don't think they do as well at the higher temps that discus like- I keep my tank at 84-85. That's why I haven't replaced them.:(

edit: Lupie, I found this pic just for you.:grin: That's from when they lived in my 29, which I sold.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v139/fishgirl/greenfires1.jpg

[Lupin]

Nice fish, Sev.:hearts: :D

[Temo]

love your update

[rich311k]

Very nice!

[pinkertd]

Your tank looks really great!!!!

[StereoKills]

:clap: Love the rescape!

[saltydunc]

nice set up there.....i kept discus till i decided to go marine......the only advice i can give you is keep the temp at 84 - 86 and the ph 6.0-6.5 and you won't have any problems....the problem with this is your plants won't like the heat.....i also done 50% water changes every week.....with these setting my discus spawned almost weekly and grew to 10"....their awesome fish and if the waters right you won't have any problems.

[guppygirl123]

Wow, nice tank! My first though when I saw it was, Wow, that's only 55g? Looks great, and a nice combo of fish.

[NinjaPenguin]

Stunning! :)

[Rbishop]

Very nice, Sev!

[gatotsu77]

I have that very same light fixture on my tank now. I've had it for about 5 days, and I already love it! My brazilian pennywort just kinda floated and looked nice under the old light... with the new light, I've literally got hundreds of new leaves forming on it... looks like its getting ready for some MASSIVE growth. :-) My plant bulbs were just barely sprouting and just kinda hanging out under the old light... with the new one, they've practically exploded! I can't believe how much faster my plants are growing. Even my stubborn old anubias which had been sitting there exactly as I got it for months is tossing out new leaves. :-) Absolutely beautiful tank :D Do you get rummynose tetras from a lfs? I've wanted a small school of them for a long time, but haven't found anywhere that has more than a couple on hand at a time. :-(

[severum mama]

Thanks guys!

gatotsu- yes, I got my rummy nose tetras from a LFS. I started out with 6 tank raised rummies about 3 years ago, and I still have 3 of my original 6. I added some more later, and lost a few (they are known for being touchy). Just last week, I added 5 more that I knew were tank raised, and they are doing great. IME if you can find some that are tank raised, they are MUCH easier to acclimate/keep than their WC counterparts. I've heard it said that if you can get them past the 1 week mark, they will generally do fine. That's been my experience as well.

BTW- my light was given to me.:) I couldn't be happier with it, especially for free!

[daayda3]

cool!

[gatotsu77]

Thanks guys!

gatotsu- yes, I got my rummy nose tetras from a LFS. I started out with 6 tank raised rummies about 3 years ago, and I still have 3 of my original 6. I added some more later, and lost a few (they are known for being touchy). Just last week, I added 5 more that I knew were tank raised, and they are doing great. IME if you can find some that are tank raised, they are MUCH easier to acclimate/keep than their WC counterparts. I've heard it said that if you can get them past the 1 week mark, they will generally do fine. That's been my experience as well.

BTW- my light was given to me.:) I couldn't be happier with it, especially for free!


Hahaha... lucky you! I paid $130 for mine... :-X It is a great light though, definitely worth the money. :grinyes:

[Coral Keeper]

Very nice tank!

[severum mama]

Time for an update!

Things are really going well, and I've added some new plants. I've seen a lot of growth from the ones I added in the last update.:)

Here's a full tank shot.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t263/severum_mama/001-11.jpg

[Reddog80p]

sweet Sev! That wood rocks! nice plants too!

[Temo]

awsome tank sev

[jm1212]

hope my planted tanks turns out as good looking :D

[bluerat]

very nice i like it very much

[mr.key]

Is the micro sword e. tennelus? or pygmy chain sword. It looked like it in a couple of the pictures, just curious as I am on the lookout for those.

[pinkertd]

Looks great!!! Plants are growing and filling in really nicely!!!

[severum mama]

Thanks guys!

I don't currently have any micro sword, mr. key. I tried it once a while back, and I was never able to get any decent growth out of it so I gave up.:)

[Damien37]

awesome tank you got there Sev :)

[Coler]

absolute beaut sev - great work.

[mellowvision]

lloookin goood! so dark and mysterious

[severum mama]

I lost a discus today, the little yellow one.:cry: I have no idea what happened, the others seem fine.

I reached a conclusion today: I shouldn't keep them anymore. If I had the money to fork out for adults, then I would certainly do so, as I am confident in my abilities to keep them thriving. However, I've learned through much trial and error that juveniles are a whole different ballgame, and it's been a lesson in humility along the way.... I guess sometimes we need a good lesson in humility when we think that we can bend the rules due to our experience level. The truth is, juvenile discus are suited for bare bottom tanks until they hit adolescence, or preferably adulthood. Everyone that told me that was 100% correct. Keeping juveniles in planted community tanks yields stunted fish at best, or at worst, dead ones.:( At least, that's been my experience with several of them. You simply cannot keep the water quality good enough to grow out juvies in a planted tank.

My other issue is, I stretched myself too thin with 2 other planted tanks, a cichlid tank, and a nano reef. I have found myself unable to keep up with all the maintenance necessary for a discus tank.... unless it comes at the expense of proper maintenance on the others. With a 50 gallon reef on the way, I simply won't be able to do it.

Thus, I've thrown in the towel on discus, at least while I can't afford to buy adults. It was really difficult for me, as I've grown attached to these fish, but today I took the remaining 2 to the LFS where I work part time. I will be back tomorrow to pick up some small angels to grow out in this tank instead- I know that this can be done.;)

So here ends my journey with discus.... at least for now. Thanks for reading my rant, and for all who are considering keeping these beautiful fish, remember: what you hear about the difficulty of raising juveniles is completely true. Do not cut corners, and if you don't have the time or resources to raise them properly, then please save up for adults.

You'll likely see a "planted angel tank" thread from me tomorrow. Look for it.;)

[Mgamer20o0]

sucks for your lost..... angels are very nice too.

[mellowvision]

:(

[Temo]

sorry sev, i know it feel like, but you told me not to gives up, a misstake/ failur is just a step on the way to success. so dont give up, if you have made up your mind then, good luck with angels.

[severum mama]

They are gone emo. I've made up my mind. I have stretched myself too thin and angels are a better fit for my tank at this point. I really hope that someone buys them that can give them a more suitable home than I could.:(

[Temo]

me too

[Star_Rider]

wow, sorry it didn't work out for you.

It is extra work to raise juvenile Discus.

However, I raised jevenile Discus in a planted tank..they still thrive in the same tank nearly 2 years later.

I did go for a strain of Discus that were locally bred and raised.
and the plant selection is limited since the tank temp should be relatively warm.

I will say tho that the best conditions for juvenils is a bare bottom at 84-86 and several feedings.

Angels are a fun species to raise too.

[pinkertd]

Oh .....Sev! :thud:
As a discus owner....I totally hear ya! I love my discus tank, but it is a big commitment to water quality/tank maintenance more than any other fish Ive ever kept, and I've kept a lot!' Seems like slim to none when it comes to slacking on anything with them. I have already had conversations with myself that if anything happens to them, I'm not doing it again. Good luck with the angels, and post pics!!!

[severum mama]

It is extra work to raise juvenile Discus.

However, I raised jevenile Discus in a planted tank..they still thrive in the same tank nearly 2 years later.

I'm glad that it worked out for you :) and I should clarify that my statements were made as generalizations, and of course there are always exceptions. As hard as I tried, changing a ton of water multiple times weekly, I just couldn't get them growing. :wall: So eventually, I dropped off to weekly 50% changes since I figured they wouldn't grow anyway.

I miss the little guys, but I have to say that it was a relief of sorts to acclimate the angels yesterday and have a couple of them eat NLS pellet just a few hours later. :grinyes: The discus would only accept frozen food, even though I tried on many occasions to get them onto some pellet as well as some frozen. It was almost like I didn't realize how much the tank was stressing me out until I had made up my mind to change the stocking list.

[bethkira2000]

You had a Lovely tank, and fish Sev, I am very sorry for your loss of Discus, but I can't wait to see the Angels in that tank.

[Bazz28]

Hello IKeep Discus fish Please could u tell me the best way 2 feed themThank you:help2:

[kyryah]

Bazz28, a lot of these threads are several years old, and the authors probably do not check up on them any more. You could start your own thread in the Discus and Angelfish section and you will get a lot more help and answers.

This is the section of the forum where you will get the most help. Angelfish and Discus (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=112) Here in the photo gallery you might have some difficulty.

Kristina