Discus Tank Pics

[Cian McLiam]

Hey all,

The Discus tank is almost finished now, I have moved the Angels and have some leaves soaking to cover the gravel. The bogwood stretches out to the front of the tank to get the catfish more involved in community life and the Discus are settling in very well. One of them, the smallest is being bullied a bit but not nearly as much since the last three Discus went in. I got two Marlborough reds to brighten the tank up a but after the Angels left, the gilfriend thought the Discus were a bit too dull after the Angels left

Parameters:
pH 6.8
KH 3 Deg
GH <6 Deg
NO3 10mg/l

These pics were taken from the back of the room, the group really shoal well if you step back and let them do their thing, so I didnt want to disturb them. Will get some clearer pics when they settle in better. The camera was set manually at F3.2 1/30 Sec and ISO 400 with flourescent 3 setting in white balance. The Fuji doesnt seem to take gret pics of tanks in auto mode, so if anyone has a Fuji S5000z I recommend playing around with the settings!

I must find the block for my tripod, my hands are the steadiest after the weekend

 

[Cian McLiam]

Bit of zoom, bit shaky but you get the idea

 

[Cian McLiam]

 

[Cian McLiam]

 

[Fresh_Start]

Well done. Those Discus are quite nice looking.

 

[jaywings19]

That's a great looking tank you got there. I will be diving into Discus (not literally) in the next few weeks. Out of curiosity... what temperature do you keep that tank set at? I see conflicting information out there about Discus. Some sites say 80-82F... other say 84-88F is optimal. Obviously, the 84-88F range severly limits what other fish (if any) you can put with the Discus. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[silver]

They are sooooo beautiful Ken!!!!

You should be proud! I love the red and blues together.

Great looking tank!!!




Silver

 

[Cian McLiam]

Thanks I have been waiting 6 months to get Discus after about two years withou, so its quite an exciting time. Hopefullythey will all make it, but the smallest has stress bars almost all day now, so if things dont improve for him it could be curtains .

I keep the tank at 85-86F at all times, they just get a little uncomfortable under 84F IME. Some shops here kep them at 82F but I rarely see vry healthy Discus in these shops, but then they are overcrowded and have very little cover.

Ken

 

[jaywings19]

Thanks I have been waiting 6 months to get Discus after about two years withou, so its quite an exciting time. Hopefullythey will all make it, but the smallest has stress bars almost all day now, so if things dont improve for him it could be curtains .

I keep the tank at 85-86F at all times, they just get a little uncomfortable under 84F IME. Some shops here kep them at 82F but I rarely see vry healthy Discus in these shops, but then they are overcrowded and have very little cover.

Ken

Thanks, Ken. I will take your advice and keep my Discus tank at 84-86F, but I was hoping to keep some Corydoras Sterbai with the Discus... that seems out of the question at that temperature. Do you know if Cardinal or Rummynose Tetras would do well at 84-86F?

 

[Nidge]

Looking good Ken, Take some more tomorrow when the alcohol has left the system

 

[Cian McLiam]

Both Cardinals and Rummy Noses would be fine The Corys dont really like temps that high, plus in a tall Discus tank, they have that bit further to go to get to the surface.

I would put the tetras in at least 4 weeks before the Discus to be sure they dont have any parasites.

Ken

 

[jaywings19]

I would put the tetras in at least 4 weeks before the Discus to be sure they dont have any parasites.

Ken

Actually, I was planning to get the Discus first. Then get the tetras... put them in my quarantine tank... then introduce the tetras to the main tank at a later point after treatment/monitoring. Would that be sufficient?

 

[Cian McLiam]

Well I find that the Discus settle in better with tetras in the tank beforehand, plus if the cardinals survive, thats a good indicator that the tank is ready for the more expensive Discus, Rams do the same job too

Ken

 

[G_Sharky]

Hey Ken, those are very nice Discus, I recently just jump into the world of Discus and have to gave away all my other cichlids. I have 5 right now on a 33 gallon, and I don't wanna discourage but 2 of mine are not doing too good despite my water being clean(not clean enough for them?). I went to a discus breeder near my area and she told me that tanks with gravel is more proned to disease and problems compare to bare tanks(it's always arguiable). Anyways I keep my temp around 30 C/86 F and they seems comfy on it even my other fish looks fine with it. How often do you change your water? I do 25% twice a week, but now that the 2 is a little stress i'm doing it every other day. They seem to brighten up when I change the water? Are you in any Discus forums?, check out simplydiscus.com as they have nice people like here that are knowledgable about these beautiful fish....GoodLuck with them, I hope they do well...

 

[jaywings19]

Well I find that the Discus settle in better with tetras in the tank beforehand, plus if the cardinals survive, thats a good indicator that the tank is ready for the more expensive Discus, Rams do the same job too

Ken

That makes sense to me. I have a 72G tank... how many discus and tetras would you think is optimal without overcrowding? I was actually planning to intentionally understock to avoid water condition problems in the beginning.

And sorry if I hijacked your thread here with all these Discus questions.