pica_nuttalli
don't be a twit
krib, i hate to burst your bubble, but if you think that plecos "clean up the waste of other fish"--then you are sadly, sadly mistaken. i would also venture that you probably do NOT know what you are doing with this discus with regard to long-term care.
get that pleco out of there! a heavy algae growth is actually a fantastic thing to have in a hospital tank because algae is very efficient at using up ammonia and nitrite. it doesn't look good, but its great for controlling waste levels. adding an algae-eater not only reduces this natural "buffer", it also increases tha amount of waste being produced and pretty dramatically if your algae-eater is a plec. furthermore, plecos are notorious for developing an appetite for the mucus-layer of other fish and rasping on the sides of flat-bodied fish such as discus.
also, the oxygen content of a tank is only marginally affected by the number of plants and very heavily planted tanks actually tend to experience oxygen-depletion at night when the plants begin to respire (use oxygen) instead of photosynthesize (use carbon dioxide). the best (and some would say only) way to increase the level of oxygen in a tank is to increase the effective surface area open to oxygen exchange by surface agitation. agitating the surface (by using an air-pump or HOB filter) essentially creates many small waves. each wave between two points presents more total water surface to the air than that presented by still water, thus there are more opportunities for oxygen to diffuse from the air into the water when waves/ripples are present.
get that pleco out of there! a heavy algae growth is actually a fantastic thing to have in a hospital tank because algae is very efficient at using up ammonia and nitrite. it doesn't look good, but its great for controlling waste levels. adding an algae-eater not only reduces this natural "buffer", it also increases tha amount of waste being produced and pretty dramatically if your algae-eater is a plec. furthermore, plecos are notorious for developing an appetite for the mucus-layer of other fish and rasping on the sides of flat-bodied fish such as discus.
also, the oxygen content of a tank is only marginally affected by the number of plants and very heavily planted tanks actually tend to experience oxygen-depletion at night when the plants begin to respire (use oxygen) instead of photosynthesize (use carbon dioxide). the best (and some would say only) way to increase the level of oxygen in a tank is to increase the effective surface area open to oxygen exchange by surface agitation. agitating the surface (by using an air-pump or HOB filter) essentially creates many small waves. each wave between two points presents more total water surface to the air than that presented by still water, thus there are more opportunities for oxygen to diffuse from the air into the water when waves/ripples are present.