Discus in Planted Tank

[Lighthammer]

Hi all.
Anyone has any experience in keeping discus in planted tank? Trying to keep some discus in my tank with poor results.

The discus in my tank all become really jittery with clamped fins and turning dark. Have isolated them in a hospital tank and given them some treatment for internal parasite coz they were passing out white feces. 1 has died so far... What else can i do? Some experienced discus keepers told me discus will not do well in planted tanks but i have seen some other guys' tank and the discus look great.

Any experienced forumners can give me some tips?

[yeobt]

i read from a ph test kit tat discus need lower ph level
than many other tropical fishes. so, make sure u chk ur
water n make sure it is safe 4 ur fishes.

juz my humble opinion

[james]

Hi,

You can get some tip from these links:

http://192.38.244.204/article.asp?ty...amp;amp;id=453

or

http://article.dphnet.com/dph-projec...ank-2000.shtml

There are a lot more info on the web.

[spilopterus]

In Singapore, it is quite easy since our tap water already a good enough. No problems, stick to turqs and pigeons to test it out first before you go into wilds perhaps. Just for the experience.

[ek]

lower pH is required only when u want to breed them. Just make sure your pH is stable and maintain good quality water. High temp is also desirable (28-30 degree)but this temp range is undesirable for certain plants. So u may have limited choice of plants.

BTW, I find Discus quite aggressive towards its own buddy and very territorial but however can get along well with other fishes. And they are always very hungry and a big eater.

Lighthammer:
Discus are sensitive fishes so it is better that u keep them in a mutured/stable planted tank. I waited 4 months b4 I decided to to keep 2 adopted Discus from a relative.

Also better to QT them first.

[ek]

oh yeah... this site will also useful if u are serious about keeping Discus.

SimplyDiscus Forum

And the second site recommended by James is a great site, very useful info in Discus keeping.

[fishboy]

i'm currently keeping 6 discus in a planted tank.
Had the same prob and my tank was fairly settled at 6-8 mths along.
Discus will adapt, eventually. Just how long is up to them. If they were from a lighless env b4 the move it might take some time before they settle in.
Try and get at least 4, they feel secure in numbers.The settling in should be in stages. E.G. transfer them when the lights are out and only on bit by bit. Also try to watch out for any tankmates that migh harrass them.

Transferring them in and out may be more traumatic then in tank medication. Allen has had gd results with Protozin by Waterlife and me with Melafix. Plants seem ok.

But our tank attributes may be diff so this is just a suggestion.

[a_scape]

Folks, I also put some discus on my planted tanks without any said problem.
The only species that very hard to adapt in such situation only the "Blue Diamond". The rest like Turq,Pigeon Blood,Red Melon, Heckel,Leopard are very lovely to be placed in planted tank. The other key that I noticed, that we never provide special treatment for the discus (like no heater),normal filtration etc.
You can also see my friends website (Walter):www.aquariumhobbyist.com/discus/main.html ,he also love combining discus with plants. Worth to see.
Cheers

Chen

[Lighthammer]

Hi everyone.
i'm currently keeping 7 discus...all still juveniles. Already treating them in a hospital tank with aquarium salt, MQ4 and a heater. They seem to have stabilized a little. Swimming around more, eating more and not as jittery as before. The colours are still a little dark but the fins are no longer clamped. I went to my LFS for some advice and they told me to get a product called "Oxy-something". Didn't get it as it was too costly.

I asked the LFS if discus could actually thrive in a planted tank. He said it was possible for larger ones. The juveniles were still too small and harder to get used to the surroundings. So i'm now thinking of growing out my discus in my bare tank until they get bigger then transfer them to my planted tank. Hope that works. Anyone has any advice?

[reef]

The thing abt planted discus tank is , u need to have a stabilise plant tank first b4 introducing discus. I cannot imagine the trouble and problems one have to handle simultaneously setting up both at same time. For me, I have a stable planted tank system b4 introducing discus. In this way, u already settle the algae bloom stuff of a planted tank. And following up with monitoring the discus health only as the established planted tank acts a bio filter for the water column and stress reliever for them.

[Goondoo]

----------------
On 4/18/2003 3:44:56 PM

Hi everyone.
i'm currently keeping 7 discus...all still juveniles. Already treating them in a hospital tank with aquarium salt, MQ4 and a heater. They seem to have stabilized a little. Swimming around more, eating more and not as jittery as before. The colours are still a little dark but the fins are no longer clamped. I went to my LFS for some advice and they told me to get a product called Oxy-something. Didn't get it as it was too costly.

----------------

Sounds familiar...
Oxy-5 and Oxy-10?




Just relaxing the folks... [] [] []

[Lighthammer]

Hello reef.
My tank has not had an algae bloom for many weeks... the water conditions are alright and the plants are thriving. In fact have to do trimming every few days as they grow really fast. The discus were fine initially and i've been told to give them a few weeks to adapt to the new enviroment. Now trying to grow the plants really thick so the discus won't hide. But as i posted earlier, will let them grow up bigger. []

Btw any one has red melon discus for sale at low price? Hehehe...

[fishboy]

Hi lighthammer,
a planted tank can only mature over time, the absence of algae need not neccessarily be an indication of a stabilised tank suitable for discus. I think its a good idea for you to let your discus grow out. Perhaps you can try adding 4 in a mth time and then the other 3. Easier to manage. Dun worry people have reared discus in planted tanks before. Do update us ya

[Lighthammer]

Here's the latest update....
2 have died!!! Just went out for 2 hours with my girlfriend and when i came home... 2 of my red ribbons were floating and rigor mortis had set in... really sad man.
Then i did a check of all the equipment and i realised some joker had put in too much MQ4... my mum...

Heartpain leh... first time keep discus kenna like that. Luckily i managed to salvage my sole red ribbon, blue diamonds and pigeon blood. Anyone have cheap discus juvenile to sell me? Really like those fish. Or maybe i not fated to keep discus. SIGH...

[unicorn]

Hi lighthammer,

Sorry to hear about your lost. Generally, I do agree with Reef in regads to a stabilized tank b4 inputting your fish...this could take up to months...patient is the game.

Next...base on my own experience....I've kept my discus from juvenile (2-4inches) to adult size in a planted tank. And trust me, they will adapt better in a planted tank from young. I've tried putting adults into planted tank, they go jittery and hurt itself more often than not and in 1 case, killed itself after cutting itself from a drift wood resulting from a mad dash in the tank...your consideration...I've learnt not to take any advise from LFS anymore without knowing their criterion...lesson learnt.

Discus need larger than normal volume of water, this is mainly due to the need of them having good water condition and balanced neutrients. Therefore, you may have to consider changing your tank every 6 months as they starts to grow. By the time the other tank settle, its about time to switch.. Mine, switch from a 2.5 foot to a 4 footer and finally 6 footer. I still remain the rest of the 2 planted tanks soly for breeding pairs only....though not much maintenance are done to them except the 6 footer.

Any yes, Discus needs lower PH. This is due to the fact that discus are rather weak to combat becteria and fungus (especially for Blue diamond Brilliant strains) The lower PH will kill most becteria and fungus. And My plants are doing well in it. The PH kept in my tank after a bad ordeal which I've encountered is between 6.0 to 6.2. And the fishes and plants are alright.

As for temperature, I kept it at 25 deg C ...don't believe ? Ask GAN at LCK. It's nothing new, there has to be a strike of balance between the plants and the Discus. Discus do not like bright lights, but, bright lights are necessary for planted tanks, therefore keep a section (about 40%) of your aquarium densely planted for them to shade themselves, Lotus plant will be great. AS they mature, there will not be enogh space for all of them to squeeze together and some are force to move into the open. By then they will have to adapt and they will swim about the tank normally.

How I did it is that I only keep discus which are young and slowly grow them up. When they are young, they are easy to adapt to changes. Initially, they would be stressed out and dart around the tank. Discus are scholling fish, keep them in at least 6 in a group in a planted tank, I would not say the same for bare tank. If you could not have the budget, do not try.

Give your fishes some time to settle and let them get use to you being around. I fed me fish with my hands, and when they are grown they are comfortable to your touch due to the consistancy of your hand reaching into the water for maintenance with the plant. The fish has to get use to you.

Next the postion of your tank. Believe it or not Discus and some other fishes do not like their tank to be place right infront of a TV. I have this problem. After shifting the tank everything is normal.

I took me years to learnt as much as possible for discus in planted tanks and I'm still learning till today. Trust me, the satisfactory you'll get at the end of it is unimaginable....Don't be dishearted for just a shortfall, It takes patient and the learnt to improve.

If you guys may like it, we could have a small Planted Discus Tanks hobbyist chit chat/coffee session anywhere during a Sat afternoon (like ek and some others). I could fetch some of them which may stay near me. If you guys are game please contact me at 97527348 and we see each other soon for some light hearted sharing session and get to know each other.

Cheers

[DEA]

i believe it's called oxycure
not much point using imo

anyway, besides the problems pointed out (water params etc)
i find that wild heckels have a problem with planted tanks cos they are very shy and unless you spend a lot of time with them, they don't like to come out to feed
what happened to me was when i went off for reservist for 2 wks, they wouldn't come out when my mom fed them and one of them died before i came home (got bullied by the rest)
so... just to let you know...

[libra04ts]

Hi,

Any of you having planted tank for discus experience having snails problem. I got planted tank for discus, but has snail problem. Any suggestions to solve?

Thanks.

[Samuel2618]

Hi,

Any of you having planted tank for discus experience having snails problem. I got planted tank for discus, but has snail problem. Any suggestions to solve?

Thanks.

Hi..

I kept 6 pieces of at least 4.5" discus in my 422ft planted tank and initially I have a hard time with them I must admit.. These discus fell sick very easily probably due to the tank has not fully been cycled I guess (only for a month).. I have to add medication to cure them, on my heater and off the light.. And at the cost of it.. Some of my plants started to die off.. Especially the needle leaves java ferns.. Also usually discus preferred higher temperature water which make it even more unsuitable for most plants to adapt.. Just like you have to balance off two things at one time.. To add on, these discus preferred changing of water of at least 30% daily.. Sometimes even 100%..

Now, after 2 months plus.. The tank seem to become more stable and after healing these discus from their sickness.. I no longer find them that fragile but in fact I must say they are much more hardy than some of my smaller fishes like tetras, apistos in the tank etc..

One thing for sure.. You must really quarantine all the fishes which I normally don't in the past before adding them into the discus tank as discus can easily caught unwanted virus which might be immune to these newly added fishes..

To solve your snail problems.. I got those "killer" snails which are rather effective in wiping out snails.. Please do not consider puffer fish as they always prey on the fins and tail of the discus.. I have experienced that before..

All the best for your discus planted tank.. If you put in effort in maintaining the tank parameters well.. The tank really turns out very nice with all your healthy discus swimming around..

Best Regards
Samuel

[platar1]

ok this my experience with discus I started a 40 gallon fish tank with gravel two corner filters with just wall and a sponge filter on the middle in fact I bougt 14 2 month old discus before Ifill the tank with water I used some api clorine remover I let set for 2hr keep the tempeture at 90 before I put the fish there of course the fish got sick I didint panic no food for 1 week 50% water change every day then I feed them bloodworms It took me another week to get them to it I just follow what my breeder told me he told me no matter what they will ge t sick from being transfer to my fish tank after 3 weeks I added some plants and drifft wood planted in trays now I feed them beef heart pellets mostly any food most people the have dicus will think Im crazy but discus are pretty hard fish the problem is the we panic when they dont eat the secret is water chage every they do not worry about ph and amonia etc artifisial buffers will kill the fish I have some pics to show from day one to now is 4 month my discus are fine and healty

[psp1000]

Discus in 7ft plants tank

YouTube - Huge Planted Discus aquarium 7feetx2ftx2.5ft