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Hi all

I'm (sort of) creating a bio type for my wild blue & brown discus. ATM, there are 2 wild blues and 3 wild browns in the tank. There are still 2 more wild browns to add & they will transfer over sometime during the coming week.

Trying to keep the tank minimalist. ATM, I've avoided planting anything in the substrate. That might change but for now, it's not in the plan. I'm in the process of sourcing floating plants, as wilds are said to have these in their natural environment. Trying to get hold of amazon frogbit.

Would like to get rid of the heater. Maybe inline, but not sure if I have room in the cabinet for that.

There will be non discus tank mates to come.

Thanks for looking





Cheers
TW

what do u plan on puting in the tank? the tank is looking really nice what size tank is it and how long has it been running dont see much alge build up on it.... looks like ur trying to get moss to grow on the drift wood. and depending on tank size thos discus. u could probly hide the heater behind the driftwood.... what temp u keeping the tank at? whats the filtration on that tank? just reallty intrested in this tank always have loved discus... cant wait till the plants and new fish get in the tank!

The tank looks quite nice. I like that the driftwood is coming from the top down kind of like fallen branches.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

That's a perfect simple set up and the discus set it off nicely

The Amazon Nut...

it very well emulates the submerged roots of amazonian trees that the discus would naturally see and inhabit. Although I do think it need mush more green as many times various aquatic plants grow immerse and once the amazon or its tributaries flood they become submersed... I cant wait to see how it progresses and your fish are absolutely stunning!

-Brandon

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

how do you keep the DW from floating out of place ? ,,one of the reasons I went to using mopani none are that big that I can find

Looks very nice. Get a big school of corydoras in there to add the the biotope feel.
Some of those discus dont look so wild, though.

They are all wild u can tell by the look of them.

Yeah, it was meant as a complimant, as in, the colours coming through.

what do u plan on puting in the tank? the tank is looking really nice what size tank is it and how long has it been running dont see much alge build up on it....

Hi riri1 - Tank is 4ft long - 79G. It's been running several years now, but in Sept 08 it was changed from an African Mbuna tank to a discus tank. It was BB until maybe 1 month ago, as I was keeping these wilds in it for an extra long QT before I decorated the tank. Now that all is fine, I am gradully transferring the last 2 wild browns that are still in my 7ft planted. They will move in soon.

.... what temp u keeping the tank at? .....whats the filtration on that tank?

Around 28-29deg Celsius. Filtration is eheim pro II 2028. I may add Pro 2024 later.

Wings: The tank looks quite nice. I like that the driftwood is coming from the top down kind of like fallen branches ..... DaMossMan: That's a perfect simple set up and the discus set it off nicely

Thanks Wings & DaMossMan

It very well emulates the submerged roots of amazonian trees that the discus would naturally see and inhabit. Although I do think it need mush more green as many times various aquatic plants grow immerse and once the amazon or its tributaries flood they become submersed... I cant wait to see how it progresses and your fish are absolutely stunning!

Hi Brandon. Thanks for kind words & advice. From what I've researched & from what Heiko Bleher says, where wild discus live in the amazon river, there are trees roots growing up & out of the river & there are floating plants, with roots hanging down into the water column. The river bed is sandy & there is not much in the way of submerged plants. Notwithstanding, I can't resist just a little greenery, so that's why the n.leaf java & the moss is in there. There's a little more of java fern to go in. I wish I had even more of it & that it was taller already. Trying to find suitable floating plants is proving a challenge. I'm searching for amazon frogbit. Have a few leads (private hobbyists) but nothing solid yet.

how do you keep the DW from floating out of place ?

After the DW has been submerged long enough, it doesn't float anymore. I had these pieces soaking in the bathtub for several months (no little kids here anymore - we all use the shower) At 1st, I had to weigh them down.

Looks very nice. Get a big school of corydoras in there to add the the biotope feel.

There will be sterbai corys, cardinal tetras & maybe rummynose. Would like some apistos, but as I don't want to have anything resting on the sand (eg driftwood caves) i don't think that would be fair to them, so have decided against them. Will have to wait for these tankmates though. No spare QT available ATM. I have 4 QT's, but they are all full (actually, one of this is housing some future tank mates - the cardinal tetras. They will have to do some growing up, before they're added in - otherwise they will just become lunch).

Some of those discus dont look so wild, though ....Yeah, it was meant as a complimant, as in, the colours coming through.

They are definitely wilds I love the colours of the wilds much more than I love the colour of my domestics. I still do love my domestics, don't get me wrong - but IMO they don't match the beauty of the wilds.

Here are some pics of the wilds browns taken earlier this month. Will find (or take new ones) of the wild blues later. UK & USA probably have access to better quality wilds than I can get here in OZ.



This guy has a bumpy forehead, but he has a nice reddish tinge to his base body colour. Wilds are less likely to have a perfect body shape.



They seem more peaceful compared to my domestics. There is very little bickering. Find the same in my wild green discus tank too.

Thanks for all the kind words. I appreciate it all.


Cheers
TW

yea the river they are found in doesnt have many plants on the bottem but has a bunch of floating plants....... I saw some sweet picks of a huge school of like 30+ wild discus and like 15+ 2 foot long golden dorado and the bottem of the river was covered by amazon swords!.... cant remember wat river........ was pretty cool to see such a aggressive fish and such a peacful fish hanging out playing in the plants.......

I just discovered how much discus love DW!
I added like four big pieces of mopani to my tank an my discus automatically perked up!

I did read somewhere that most of the discus habitats have foliage, although I think it may vary according to seasons and the location in which the collection and etc are actually taking place... or i read some BS.

your new pictures are stunning,
I wish I had the money to make a huge discus tank with wild caught specimens...
better yet i wish i had the money to go and collect them myself!!!!

-Brandon

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Hi Robyn,

Know it's been awhile to be adding a post to the thread. I'm just wondering (if by chance you see this) how the tank has progressed and how the discus are doing. I'll be most likely getting some discus for the first time myself shortly.

The Amazon Nut...

Know it's been awhile to be adding a post to the thread. I'm just wondering (if by chance you see this) how the tank has progressed and how the discus are doing. I'll be most likely getting some discus for the first time myself shortly.

Hi DaMossMan

Well, I'm in the final stages of a disaster. In May I bought 2 discus that brought in disease. Although they were quarantined in their own tank, somehow I cross contaminated all but one of my discus tanks. I think it happened by water from the diseased tank back syphoning into my storage container & then that contaminated water was pumped into the other tanks at water change. Or maybe I didn't sterilise my hands properly after being in the diseased tank, before working on the healthy tanks. There was also talk about this being caused by airborne transfer. Whatever, I ended up with 4 infected discus tanks, with 18 sick discus. After numerous vet visits & much money spent on prescription meds (a lot of the meds you buy at LFS, I need a prescription). Anyway, to cut a long story short, nothing worked. 15 out of the 18 exposed discus are dead. 10 of the dead are wild discus - including all the ones pictured in this thread. As of today 3 out 18 still live, but I'm not counting on them making it just yet, but things are looking better for them.

Only one of my discus tanks remained disease free. Not sure what saved it. It was filled from the same water storage container. The only differences between that tank & the others are:_

a) it was planted and
b) it had a UV steriliser.

By all accounts, my UV didn't really have high enough wattage (25W over 138G, run via an eheim pro II 2028) but maybe it was just enough to make the difference.

I've had a good run with discus until now, so don't let my experience put you off. In my one healthy tank, I still have the very first discus I ever bought, back in June 2006. It has taught me not to buy my discus from an unknown source again.

Cheers
TW

Wow, TW. I'm so sorry for your loss! Those looked like beautiful fish! At least you still have your original fish. Wow, nearly 4 years old! That's impressive (to me. I think the longest I ever had a fish was two goldfish when I was a kid that swam in a two gallon bowl and lived for two years. Those were the days! Simple, hardy goldfish that you just threw in a bowl, cleaned once a week or two weeks, fed every day, and voila, simple pets! Lol)!

Hey TW... That is a sad tale to be sure... But yea, impressive and touching that you still have the originals! I guess live and learn and start all over?

Thanks for sharing all the awesome pics and info!

I'm sorry to hear you lost so many amazing discus, I hope the rest pull thru ok.

All it takes is a 'new' store to bring on some bad karma. I'll be getting domestic bred if I get them. Less challenging but more forgiving & although a reputable source will be qting them anyhow. All I have here is metro what else should I have on hand ? Have alot of prep to do beforehand.

The Amazon Nut...

Hi Delenn & Scott, thanks for kind words. Nearly 4 years is not too bad, considering this was my very first. But, if you look after discus well, then I hear that 10+ years is very likely.

I'll be getting domestic bred if I get them. Less challenging but more forgiving & although a reputable source will be qting them anyhow.

I don't know that I agree that domestics are less challenging, but more forgiving. It was domestic bred that brought my troubles with them. But it probably is best to do your practise runs on domestics - plus most people prefer them. I'm the odd one out, that likes wilds ones best.

The most important thing with discus is stability. Contrary to what a lot of pple may say, a stable pH (such as what comes out of your tap) is the better way to go - rather than playing around with chemicals to reach a targeted pH.

All I have here is metro what else should I have on hand ? Have alot of prep to do beforehand.

Preventative treatment can be a hot topic on the forums, which can cause passionate & heated discussions from both sides of the fence. Don't know which side you sit on, but I do give preventative worming treatments, using levamisole & praziquantel. Week 1 & 4 = levamisole and weeks 2& 3 = prazi.

I don't treat preventively with metro. Metro is an antibiotic & IMO you should only use AB's when you know you need to. However, it is something that you might need (but hopefully not).

PP is good to have on hand for gill flukes, as is FM&G (eg. Quick Cure).

Juvenile discus are best grown up in a BB tank (you can have driftwood, potted or plastic plants - it's the substrate that can cause the issues). Best to save the substrate until they are adults.

If you take the discus plunge, there are some dedicated discus forums with lots of helpful people. Let me know if you want the links.

Cheers
TW

Thanks Robyn,

The challenge of wild-caught would have it's own rewards, I don't blame you for preferring them

Wild or tame, it's all about a reliable source, and don't mix the two. Mixing wc with captive-bred isn't good practice. They carry disease strains the wilds have no resistance to, the meds are harder on the wilds, even if the tames are not ill and they're just carriers, the wilds will catch it. With SA cichs, the tames would also have to adjust to the lower ph, osmotic (ph poisoning) shock may cause stress which promotes disease, which pass to the wilds. Just stuff I've read.

The side of the fence I sit on is the side best for the fish. Discus breeders & experienced keepers qt, pre-treat, deworm any new stock & if thats best I'd do it.
I knew you'd have top notch advice Definately if I'm to have discus I will prob have more questions for you. Sorry for detracting from the original thread content I appreciate your help

The Amazon Nut...

Sorry to hear about the hard times in discus land. It is never good to loose a bunch of fish no matter the type.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric