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Keeping discus in plant tank

12K views 56 replies 12 participants last post by  reefboy1 
#1 ·
Well now that my 265gal plant tank is stabilizing and while the tank cycles im starting to study keeping discus.

Is there anything i should be aware of in keeping discus in heavily planted tank with high tech system such as bright t5 ho lights and co2?
What about ferts such as nitrate?

I have a 120gal sump system where first 1/4 section is poret filters then mid 1/2 is 50gal space of bioballs and last section is seachem biomatrix media(enough for 400gal) and sponge and 18w uv sterilizer, then finally return pump. Also co2 reactor with ph controller at end section.

I was watching this video where this guy uses refugium ecosystem mud to filter 120gal lowtech discus tank where there is 15 adult discus in it and hundred tetras. He has only done 10 water changes in 6 years!
His fish look amazing and he never even scrapes the side or back wall of the tank for algae cleaning.

Check it out and lmk what u guys think:


http://www.ecosystemaquarium.com/products/freshwater/miracle-mud/miracle-mud-freshwater/

Now i kept refugium for saltwater reef tank before and it did wonders. I hardly did water change and corals thrived.

So what im thinking is to replace the huge bioballs i have with this miracle mud.

Discuspaul where r u? Now im gonna need your help.
 
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#2 ·
Well this guy is a discus breeder himself and if we never tried this route and keep saying it can never be done then that wont be smart.
I wanna keep healthy fish but why do more work when u dont have to?
Just wanted to see if ppl have any knowledge about this aspect of discus keeping.
Cuz everyone including myself knows daily water change is good for discus.
 
#3 ·
I agree completely. I removed my previous post because it may be misconstrued as offensive to some and I don't want to step on any toes. If you decide to try something similar to the setup in the video please post up a thread on it, I am extremely interested in the possibility of a low maintenance discus tank.
 
#4 ·
Well i dont wanna be the first guy to try this method just believing this video cuz looks like the guy is a promoter of ecosystem miracle mud...

Im hoping to find some other discus keepers who went this route and their experience.

My another problem i see is if this mud is so efficient at removing nitrates then how would that affect heavy high tech plant tanks for nutrients?
 
#5 ·
Well i dont wanna be the first guy to try this method just believing this video cuz looks like the guy is a promoter of ecosystem miracle mud...
BINGO!!!

at 4:40.. he talks about the importance of water changes.. if you want great growth, color and size..

and 20:25 he talks about what size of fish he brings in to sell..
so he is not breeding them, he imports them from asia

i am not sure why people get get stuck on a statement about that display tank only have 10 water changes in 6 years.. YET.. disregard how he states several times over 32 minutes, the importance of water changes for growth and health.. and 25th min he states the best type of tank, is a Bare bottom.
those fish in the Display tank have not been raised from juvies to adult in there.. so beware to trying to do the same

to answer you question, of all the discus people i know from around the county.. they do not have a planted tank to house their discus with refug...

ps.. IF one must feel the need to have planted discus tank.. you should get a MINIMUM Of 5" fish, young adult
 
#8 ·
when u mean be careful of co2 hightech, u mean co2 overdose and PH swings?

cuz i have a ph controller and it keeps PH day and night at 6.8-6.9 all the time.

anything else i need to be careful of in hightech plant tank with discus?

what about dosing fertilizers NPK, micro?

are 4" size considered adult enough?
 
#11 ·
i know an importer that brings in tropical fish from thailand and singapore including discus.
i can order couple and see how they are. biggest they have is 4" they have classified some as hormoned and nonhormoned. im of course gonna buy nonhormone ones.
cost is great so im considering it but also wanna check out local breeders around here.
 
#12 ·
Over the past few years I've read & heard several times that Thailand's discus-breeders, generally-speaking, do not have an unblemished reputation for supplying good quality, healthy discus, and that many breeders there have a rep for exporting/supplying (undisclosed) hormoned fish - a no-no in the reliable/responsible end of the discus-producing industry.

In Malaysia for example, it seems you will rarely, if ever, come across a discus breeder who hormones discus, whereas in Thailand, it may be the other way around.
To me, it doesn't speak well for the importer you mention, if he is bringing in & selling hormoned discus.

How far are you from SF ? I would suggest considering getting your discus from Kenny's Discus in Daly City, Ca. He imports quality Forrest discus from Malaysia, which is what I buy from an excellent supplier here in Vancouver.
 
#16 ·
i called Bill and he doesnt have much tank bred 4"+ ones. he needs to custom order from malaysia but he guarantees good ones.

ive been reading about difficulty in hightech plant tanks and discus from here:
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?93624-My-Planted-Tank-Experience

i do plan to get 4-5"+ discus only but again. is it that hard to keep plants and discus both happy?

im not stupid to say well i can do better where almost everyone failed.

all other ones in my stock list plans are small fish like tetras, corys, rams.
i need a big show fish. and i hate angels...
 
#17 ·
When I kept discus, I started with 5" adults in a barebottom tank with some potted plants. Ofc, I had no idea about plants back then so probably the heat kept killing them, or lack of ferts, or lack of lights who knows, but at that size the discus felt like regular fish to me. I think you will be fine if you start out with good stock and do the water changes and pick high temp plants!

and I agree with you on angels.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Just thought that I would give you a little inspiration. You can have a planted tank and keep Discus too. This is a picture of my 90 gallon tank. I run pressurized C02 and UV sterilization. I have 4 Royal Purple Tiger's, 3 Siam Yellow Master's and 4 Red Melon Yellow Faced Discus. All of which have been doing great over the past several months.
 

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#21 ·
Just thought that I would give you a little inspiration. You can have a planted tank and keep Discus too.
Your discus tank looks great, dinnese - I agree with you.
Here's a couple of sets of pics of mine - forgive me if you've seen them before:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/3RedSnakeSkins
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011


And please allow me to add another small (but worthy) thought for you folks wanting to get started with discus:

Besides making sure you get reasonably good-sized, more mature stock to begin with, from a known experienced supplier of quality, healthy discus, another of my other prime 'rules' for being successful at keeping discus, is to keep things as simple as you can.

Because once you start to elaborate, move into high-tech, make maintenance & control of water params more difficult, take on those extra challenges, etc., rather than just focusing on the discus, then you increase the 'opportunities' for messing up, and things often begin to go sideways.
Follow the KISS concept when keeping discus, and you'll succeed !
 
#20 ·
Ammania Gracilis
Bacopa caroliniana
cryptocoryne Balanesae
cryptocoryne Lucens
cryptocoryne wendtii Brown
cryptocoryne wendtii Green
Echinodorus Parviflorus
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
hygrophillia difformis
Limnophillia Aquatica
Limnophillia Aromatica
Ludwigia Natans
HC
Java fern
Narrow leaf Java fern
Rotala Indica
Sagittaria subulata
Vallisneria Spiralis

this is what i have. any plants that cant handle 80 degrees?
 
#22 ·
Ammania Gracilis
Bacopa caroliniana
cryptocoryne Balanesae
cryptocoryne Lucens
cryptocoryne wendtii Brown
cryptocoryne wendtii Green
Echinodorus Parviflorus
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
hygrophillia difformis
Limnophillia Aquatica
Limnophillia Aromatica
Ludwigia Natans
HC
Java fern
Narrow leaf Java fern
Rotala Indica
Sagittaria subulata
Vallisneria Spiralis

Quite a nice selection for a discus tank - most of those should work well assuming you maintain temp in the 82-83 range, as opposed to 85-86, as a concession to the plants. A few may not do so well, at least at first until they become more acclimated to the higher temps - but just be patient - they could all come around.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Well, 80 is a little low for discus - I wouldn't go lower than 82-83. Remember, focus on the discus, not the plants.
As for the plants, as I said, most should do well, except for the HC (ok with CO2, but make sure you want to go that route - if you really want to suceed with discus, you might want to avoid it, at least at first until you become familiar with discus traits & behaviors - their likes & dislikes).
I don't have any experience with Gracilus and Hydrocotyle, so don't know how they would do.
Make it easier on yourself - stay away from unknowns, and stick to the tried & true methods with discus, especially in a planted environment, and in such a large tank as you're planning. As I said before - keep things simple - but in line with proven successful methods & approaches.
I honestly don't know what else to tell you, without sounding like a broken record.
 
#26 ·
Paul is correct. Talk to your breather about the temperature for your discuss. For the most part, specially in tank bred discus you will slow down their metabolism too much if you drop the temperature under 82 degrees, I have seen some experts keep wild discus at 80 degrees, but I certainly do not recommend going that route with out fully knowing the why.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#27 ·
Glad ur looking to adult fish... the young ones require lots of feeds
. And thus producenlots of waste.. once I went barebottom I could not believe how much waste there was in jus 30min.. could not imagine how was actually jus laying in the gravel. . Ugh!

Discus can live in a planted tank.. but can they thrive.. not really. . Hence need to buy adults. They wont stunt.. if u get juvies.. chances are they will stunt, ie. Really big eyes compared to entire body

Gl

Bill is a great source
 
#28 ·
warlock, have yu heard of Frank from Discus King here in chino hills, CA?
friend of mine bought few from him.

i was reading kenny's discus forum on april shipment and was blown away at his selection.
not sure if Bill can get that kind of selection and pricing. i hope he can...
 
#32 · (Edited)
Nice tank.
Nothing wrong with keeping discus in a heavily planted tank using pressurized CO2, if you're familiar both with keeping discus healthy, and using CO2 properly.
Many people do it well, and successfully.
If you're new to either one or the other, particularly discus-keeping, that can be, and often is, a recipe for problems.
 
#36 ·
I wouldn't recommend that anyone buy any of those fish, even someone I didn't like - lol

I'd be willing to bet that many of those fish are stunted - judging by eye to body ratio & shape. Many don't look very healthy, and peppering turns me off, since stress due to less than ideal conditions can occasion it, just as much as genetics & tank coloration do.
 
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