I Converted... To Barebottom!

[KageBunshin]

Oh no the famous white discus died. You should have looked around for another white one IMO.

Yeah, that was what we did... except all the white ones were too small and I was afraid it might get bullied by the bigger ones. Oh well, i'll just keep visiting the LFS regularly to find a white one.

Thanks for the comments! keep em coming.

 

[Matty]

too bad about the white discus...never seen anything like that

kinda liking the bare bottom concept.

 

[Seb R]

think the barebottom makes it look really great

discus ... oh oneday

 

[KageBunshin]

Floating Hornwort relieves the reflected light off the bottom. Discus like it dark and what not... I got a good price for them at petco! All you see for 1.99 USD!!!

 

[Durbkat]

I liked it better when it had gravel but would look better with sand IMO.

 

[KageBunshin]

yeah me too... It's just that it is easier to clean and I dont have a lot of time to clean the tank. Also it is the best way to keep discuses hands down!

 

[Durbkat]

Oh yeah it would be easier to keep the poop away and you could keep perfect water conditons.

 

[wuvmybetta]

I could have swore I posted in here last night, right after you put it up I even asked about your cories and clown and how they were handling it...oh well...guess I hit the back button or something.
Anyhoo! How are your cories and clown handling it?
I really like the way it looks! I keep my big (and little) betta tanks bare bottomed and I just love how clean they look. Beautiful discus by the way, they look really nice in a group like that.

 

[Parin]

I've been lurking around here for a while, and I think it's safe to say American and Asian ideas on keeping fish differ strongly from European. But I guess it's just another view on things. If you believe the fish are really happy, then so be it, I'm sure you're right.

Please don't think of this post as a personal attack. I'm just trying to outline the different approaches to keeping fish. "Barebottom".... I'm sure it's easier this way, but is it better for the fish? I don't think so.

Discus need clean water, we all agree on that. However, there are better ways to keep the water clean than to go "bottomless". Some examples:

- Add real plants in stead of plastic ones: plants will reduce nitrates, phosphates and what not and introduce oxygen. You can't do this anymore, since they can't root anywhere.
- Get a large enough tank for your discus. IMHO (and in the opinion of every person I know) your tank is too small for 8 discus. In Belgium/Holland we count at least 50L water per discus, so for 8 discus you'd need a 400 liter tank (+100 gallons). Tankmates will count extra towards the water amount. So for your fish, a 500 liter tank would be required by Belgian/Dutch standards (about 130 gallons I think that is).
- Add a "sump" (I think that's the English word for it, an extra tank pure for filtration of at least 100L). So total amount of water is increased by another 20%.
- ....

That's how Discus are kept by the people I know in real life, and they only have to do monthly water changes. Just like everyone who has an aquarium. Their discus are completely healthy and spawn on a regular basis.

Oh, and corydoras like to burrow their nuzzles in the sand... it's kinda sad they can't do that anymore. My corydoras sometimes stick their entire heads in the sand looking for food and it's really fun to watch to see all 9 of them doing that next to each other. Always brings a smile to my face.

Once again, this is just my personal opinion and opinions differ. But we're all entitled to express them, are we not?

In any case, good luck with the tank and the fish.

 

[simonbrown403]

Looking good.

Bare bottom tanks need not look boring, why don't you try some plants on the bogwood, such as java ferns, java moss and anbulias, i bought some smaller pieces of wood and screwed some large suckers on to stick them to the back of the glass to create shaded areas for the discus to sit under.

You can even put some swords or something in terracotta plant pots for i nice center piece

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I have 2 cories and 3 clown loaches.. Do you think they will be ok in a bare bottom?

Also I will post up pictures when I get the floating hornwort!

I agree with Parin, and although i dont mean to sound harsh...
The tank looks nice but i was also concerned about your bottom dwelling fish when i first saw the pics- Corys and Clown loaches have evolved to sift through substrate to look for food, its as normal to them to sift through sand and fine gravel as it is for you and me to drink water through our mouths.
I dont think it is fair to deny them of a basic and very important part of their enviroment just to make it easier to look after other fish in the tank- its no better of deny a nocturnal fish of shade/cover, or a shoaling species like neons of its kind. I am sure the removal of substrate will have a negative effect like stress on the corys and clown loaches health.
You will also need to feed your corys and clowns more regually as there will no longer be any food/organisms to be able to take hold on the bottom of the tank for the corys and clowns to feed on naturally.

If you wanted an easy to maintain tank bottom personally i would have gone for fine sand, in concept it is no different from how a bare bottom tank works as it is too fine to trap waste in it like gravel- i personally advise you to get sand, it think although the shinyness of the bare bottom tank looks nice, sand would look better and be better IMO .

 

[simonbrown403]

Discus have been brought up in bare bottom tanks for generations and is more natural to them that a nice sand bottom planted tank.

I must agree with on the cory and loach thing, i curently rehomed my 2 corrys in a sand bottom planted tank, where they seam happyer grubbing about in the sand.
I hope to rehome my clown loach as well in a friends tank.

I would like to home my dicus in a nice planted tank, but keeping up with maintance and such can be taxing when you have a full plate, so it was a nessasery compomise at the time for me as i would imagin with KageBunshin.
Discus are a comitment such is a house, work and kids i would of thought it was far better to go down this rought than to run the risk of possable problems due to poor mantaince from lack of time.

I would of thought that it would be far better for beginners to keep discus in a bare bottome tank, to make life easyer as they learn the ropes.

PS hows the breeding going?

 

[KageBunshin]

Yes... I was afraid the cories and loaches were going to be unhappy. I will try to find a home for them. . My breeding experience is just awful and I think I know why. I ask the LFS where I purchases the discus and they said that the breeder where they bought there discus has been artificially raising their fry for generations (generations of fish that is) so when these discuses spawn, they eat there eggs right away. I have tried reducing as much stress as possible by giving them a 29 gallon, in the remotest corner of my house, and perfect water conditions. But when they lay there eggs, they still eat them. So I have really given up on breeding these guys. But, if I someday want to do it again, I would consider artificiialy raising the fry... After tons of research though.

I dont know about European rules or American/Asian rules, but I know I am over stocked. I plead guilty. But I do perform frequent water changes. I have added the floating mass of hornwort to add to nutrient absorbtion and I have an external Fluval 404 filter that can count I guess as some sort of "sump". I try to please my discus as much as possible, although I am very limited on money being a High school student, I spend a good portion of my income tutoring kids on Discus and gas money. Someday when I get more money I would like to upgrade their home. Please dont think im an incompetent discus owner, I do try the best for these little guys.

EDIT: Is it ok if I add a small portion of sand for the cories? like in a dish or something? I would really like to keep them!

 

[Durbkat]

I'll take your corys if you would like me to, they will be in a good home in my long 20g with female bettas.

 

[T1KARMANN]

i also dont mean to sound harsh but i think bare bottom tanks are for lazy fishkeepers or wholsalers who wont be keeping the fish for long

it has taken the corys millions of years to evole to be able to look for food in the substrate with their barbels in a bare bottom tank they cant do what comes natruls looink for food in the substrate

but if that sounds harsh sorry