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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| What happens when fishkeepers get bored?
I mean really bored. They take their SW lighting fixtures they have laying around and ghetto rig them up to their cichlid tanks!  Well heres a 55gal fts...its not the planted paradise like some of you have, but with daily water changes i don't want to think how hard that'd be.
96w Quad on left 250w MH right. Discus scared out of their minds LOL.  | 
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| neat invention..what will you stock it with?
its great seeing before and after pics | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| It looks cool, but I don't think the fish are thrilled. lol
Shawnie look at the left hand side of the tank. | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Interesting...I hope your fish get used to it.
Last edited by Darlene; July 26th, 2008 at 10:28 PM.
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| are those fish on the left? I thought it was a decoration LOL o my!@ | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Lol yes those are the discus. I had just done a waterchange so they are freaked out more from that then the lights. I was just playing around. I have kept the 96w on and turned the MH off for the stock lighting....it was just to bright and hot.
Had the nice shimmer going. | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie  are those fish on the left? I thought it was a decoration LOL o my!@ | Oh Shawnie!  Between you and I, I don't know who's worse. | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| is it really live fish? I just saw the line below and WOW are those really live discus? I seriously thought it was deco..poor babies 
wondering why you would play around with such beautiful sensitive fish? not to mention the cost if you loose them! | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie wondering why you would play around with such beautiful sensitive fish? not to mention the cost if you loose them! | They are fine. Heck Discus are much hardier than people give them credit for. Just give them ~50% water change a week. (Once they are older and wont stunt of course). And don't ever take them and put them from high pH to low ph.
Anyways I fully understand the need for bare bottom tanks. (Almost all mine are). And I was just thinking about replacing my bulbs to 50/50...
Are you planning on keeping the lights on during the day?
Last edited by ikevi; July 26th, 2008 at 11:12 PM.
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by ikevi They are fine. Heck Discus are much hardier than people give them credit for. Just give them ~50% water change a week. (Once they are older and wont stunt of course). And don't ever take them and put them from high ph to low ph. |  oh yes, they look fine~! | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| I dont know much about discus, but dont they like plants and such? or is that Im just in awe of MsMTS's discuss tank.... is your tank setup being fair to these scared looking fish? | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie oh yes, they look fine~! | Well they have all their color, they aren't hiding under the filters, it just looks like they were startled... I bet in less than a half an hour they would be swimming around like nothing happened.
As for plants. Well almost all breeders I know never grow their discus in planted tanks. (Now that mine are older I keep them in tanks with potted plants.) | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
|  all I can do is shake my head..maybe its been a long week and im just seeing things  | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Quote: |
As for plants. Well almost all breeders I know never grow their discus in planted tanks. (Now that mine are older I keep them in tanks with potted plants.)
| Im not referring to what breeders do and how they keep them. Im asking about what is natural to the discus in their natural habitat and keeping a fish at home in an aquarium isnt it more humane to attempt to create than environment... Im just a newbie and could of course be completely wrong, however I read this
'Discus are a natural for the planted aquarium as they like to have cover to hide with aquarium plants and therefore are not quite as likely to be skittish.' on this site http://www.freshwateraquariumplants....pe/discus.html
again I could be wrong, but I think sticking a fish in an empty tank with nothing but some lights and filters which is on display in this picture is not attempting to create an envornment for the fish.... | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Lol.
Discus are really not the delicate fish people make them out to be. They were major delicate in the 80s and early 90s. Now they are just another FW fish IMO. I have more problems with GBRs then Discus. I find them easy actually. I do daily WCs right now. Look at them they are perfectly fine. They are just grouped up for saftey. They arn't black, fins arn't clamped, not gasping for air in a top corner....they are perfectly fine i assure you.
Discus like plants....to hide behind, any structure for that matter. My philosophy is the less they have to hide behind, the less they hide. Domestic fish don't know a plant from a rock. Its easier to keep them in the water they prefer in a bare tank. Plants just make the discus look pretty. And in all honesty there is a major lack of plants in their wild habitat, just sticks.
And yes they are swimming around now. | |
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July 26th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| $100 says most fish you get at your LFS are bred in tanks just like this. | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Agreed. And the reason people don't keep discus with plants till they are older is because it is next to impossible to keep the water clean enough to prevent stunting. (IE big eyes compared to the body, body isn't really round, etc.) | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Yeah, the tank is very hard to clean if well planted. And the wastes just stay in the tank. Barebottom i see the waste and do a WC right then. I'm actually comfortable enough to drink the water out of my discus tank. 
The enviornments we provide for our tank bred fish are purely for our eyes to enjoy. Its not needed. Wild fish or F1 fish, sure i can understand. But further down the bloodlines nah, just to please us. If it were true that we should create tanks for our fish, why are all the tanks not biotypes? | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Oh and just wanted to add. Remember when comparing any aquarium to its natural environment it is just impossible... Many of our fish that we pack into 55 gallon tanks have territories over a 100 feet long....
So my philosophy is to keep the fish in conditions that keep them healthy and encourage breeding. IE if your fish are breeding and no one is stunting you know you are doing things right. | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Master Of Fish Poo!
| Cool!  | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| oh matt.....couldn't you have just played a video game or something.....i kinda wish you hadn't gotten bored
i respect each persons method of their fish hobby as their own, but i believe your view of happy fish is a bit different than some of ours.
prolly a good thing you're not ready to be a betta dad  | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Thanks. I'll probably end up seperating 2 pairs out of the group soon into their own tanks, might have to get a few more to fill out the group afterwards.
A happy fish to me is one that eats regularly, swims normally, and shows perfect color. All of which i see in my tanks. Can a human really determine a happy fish? Or is it more so the human believing the fish is happy, making themselves happy? The questions still remain...
I respect everyone's way of doing things, its just the "typical" stereotypical planted discus tank is very unpractical for what i want to do with the fish (breed them). I have future plans for a fully planted Wild Discus tank, or planted to a point. Anything but a bare tank is just impractical right now and would be more trouble then its worth.
EDIT: And believe me, i'd be one of the last ones torturing or providing malcare to my fish. I assure you.
Last edited by Slug; July 27th, 2008 at 01:36 AM.
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Slug Thanks. I'll probably end up seperating 2 pairs out of the group soon into their own tanks, might have to get a few more to fill out the group afterwards.
A happy fish to me is one that eats regularly, swims normally, and shows perfect color. All of which i see in my tanks. Can a human really determine a happy fish? Or is it more so the human believing the fish is happy, making themselves happy? The questions still remain...
I respect everyone's way of doing things, its just the "typical" stereotypical planted discus tank is very unpractical for what i want to do with the fish (breed them). I have future plans for a fully planted Wild Discus tank, or planted to a point. Anything but a bare tank is just impractical right now and would be more trouble then its worth. | Understood.... | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Well, if you get really bored, I know where you can come do watchchanges for days on end without repeating yourself on the same tank.
Doesn't that sound like fun? | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| I can always tell when my fish are happy. But there is a difference between thriving and surviving.
Discus are from the amazon and pretty much have same water as angelfish.
Now if you are buying wild discus you'd have to try to be as close to their natural environment as possible. They aren't the same as the crappy lfs kind bred in factories or what not.
For breeding discus a bare bottom tank is a must. But I'd have another tank for them when they aren't breeding, a nice planted one. | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Dino Well, if you get really bored, I know where you can come do watchchanges for days on end without repeating yourself on the same tank.
Doesn't that sound like fun? | I'd love to! haha Quote:
Originally Posted by Allie I can always tell when my fish are happy. But there is a difference between thriving and surviving.
Discus are from the amazon and pretty much have same water as angelfish.
Now if you are buying wild discus you'd have to try to be as close to their natural environment as possible. They aren't the same as the crappy lfs kind bred in factories or what not.
For breeding discus a bare bottom tank is a must. But I'd have another tank for them when they aren't breeding, a nice planted one. | These are still growing though. Range in size from 3-4". Putting them in a planted tank will likely stunt their growth. Adult non breeders in a planted tank is fine.
Problem is, plants in the waters of the amazon where discus are, are pretty much non existent. So how would putting them even in a planted tank be better then a bare tank when neither is their "natural" environment? | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| Maybe just me , but need some rocks or something ! | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| But its not a show tank, why does it have to be pretty? | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| knowing the knowledge you have, as well as the purpose for this type of tank, its how things are done I guess.. I just thought the fish looked terrified and having NO education about discus, I guess we learn something new everyday
Im hoping to learn more on each thread you post...but I still think those critters look like they saw jaws!!LOL | |
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July 27th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Cause pretty stuff is nice to look at and fish like swimming around pretty stuff.
Sorry, couldn't resist. | |
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