how to make discus color up in planted tank?

[aqua]

hi

last saturday i got myself a 4" wild green discus for my 2.5 feet planted tank. i notice that currently the discus does not color up as in the lfs.
my question is, wat should i do in order for it to color up?

btw i do 10% water change everyday and my tank is quite heavily planted with nana and java fern, no CO2 injection. the discus is kept with 4X 2 inch domestic discus and a number of other tropic fishes.

thanks

[ckll]

This is not directly related to your question of coloring-up discus, but I think 6 discus in 2.5ft is a little overcrowded, considering Simon's recommendation of 1 discus per 10gallons in this thread.

Unless this is just their temp home.. not trying to be nosey, but just thot that this could be counter-productive to your efforts of trying to get their colors to show.

[hwchoy]

I tend to agree, 2½ft is only about 20 gallons.

[plantmania]

Overcrowding is indeed bad.... If your discus are not stunted , they will grow to a magnificent 6 inches...

Anyway for colouration , some guide :

1) Lightning colour makes fishes look very different. Try different spectrum of lightning e.g the white-blue , white-pink or technically colour temp of between 6k to 10k.... Mix and match

2) Background colour also brings out the colour contrast, since it's a planted the heavy green might dim out the light green , etc. Background poster like black, blue or even white can change the appearance of the fishes too....Decor can really make things different

3) Stress , new fishes or bullied fishes tend to lose some colour. Once they are used to the new tank and the surroundings or "fights back", they will colour up to their full glory.... You can try some salt to reduce stress. A note why some planted tank are not suitable for smaller sized discus (3" and below) is due to high lights, and other chemical addictives that make them stressed out. This ... time will tell, observe fish for a month up to 3 months....

4) Food... Colour enchancing food . Overtime the colour will become brillant with the necessary natural colour pigment enchancers Of course if you bought those hormones fed fish.... too bad for you. They are showing fake colours below their age, e.g You showing a bushy mustache when you are only 10 years old.... These fishes have short lifespan, prone to disease and probably sterile. They will also lose their colour after some time as the hormones are resetted....

5) Getting a good breed, well that's why there are champion fishes and their fries.... More expensive but worth the price

[aqua]

hi guys

thanks for pointing that out. actually the 4 small domestic discus are only temporaily, intend to give away. i was worried about the bioload thats y i have been doing daily 10% water change everday, does it help??

cheers

[mordrake]

if you give away the 4 juve discus then ur single wild one will be very lonely and maybe more stressed.
discus like to be in groups for security especially wild discus.
try to have at least 2 in your tank.
with 2, the biolaod should be manageable.
oh ya, wild discus prefer soft water and lower ph

[unicorn]

Hi,

As you've mentioned, 4 x 2" discus, plus your wild green in a 2.5 foot tank will be fine at the moment. Considering Discus are mainly schooling fishes, 5 would be a good number at this stage in your tank, but, alas...hoping that your wild green is reasonably sized compare to the 4 juveniles..if not it would pose some problem..next..the number of other community fishes...have to watch your bioload...its discus or your other fishes ? but that again, discus needs other tank mates for security and feeding ease...consider and plan...

But in about 8 months, you may have to look for a larger tank as Discus will need lotsa food during maturity and they sh*t much too... therefore the water volume would play a big part in water maintenance...

Hope it helps...

Cheers

[Simon]

i have a single Tefe green in my tank for the last 1+years and he enjoys getting all the attention

[mordrake]

simon, maybe time to consider adding a playmate for your discus?
GAN still has some wild discus in stock

[brian_reeves]

have 5 discus in a large community aquarium, i've noticed that the discus who stay after feeding and munch away on the spirulina discs i give them have the best color. it works for me, anyways, good luck to you