Jmaldo's Discus Build

It's interesting to see the color change since you've added the sand. It's like an entirely different strain. Great tank and discus jmaldo

 

Looks like your blue diamonds are a bit darker with the plants. Looking good.

Maybe due to the dark substrate and background along with the additional driftwood and plants they look much deeper blue than when you first got them.

It's interesting to see the color change since you've added the sand. It's like an entirely different strain.

Thanks Guys and Agree
Yes, I noticed that to. With the addition of black sand, plants, dark background and angles of lighting they do appear darker. I also think they are a little stressed due to all the changes. Just an observation about these "Discus" along with others keep. I have to say I liken them to "Mood Rings". They change colors depending on their mood, breeding, habitat and water changes in a matter of minutes. I have seen mine go from a bright brilliant blue to all shades in between to darker deeper blue to almost translucent at times.

Learning all the Time.

 

Ugh! It appears I have a second pair of Discus. Moved the Alpha back into the 55 gallon everything was "Ok" for a couple of days, then they were ganging up on #5 again. Turns out they wanted to mate.. They are busy cleaning a piece of the tall driftwood and the intake tube. Time will tell. I really need to get some breeding cones for them. Ended up moving #5 to a 20h with a pair of coralbandit Rams. Everyone is doing fine.

 

Here is a pic of the first breeding pair in the 29g. They have spawned many times, still waiting for wigglers?

 

I really need to get some breeding cones for them.

I found these at the Aquatic Experience so grabbed 2 of them for like $10 each .
I like them and what they are made of [ plastic ] .
Someone once told me I should get paid by Kens !
Tropical Kegel Spawning Cone

So far the Blue Snakeskins have used one the Santarems hit a terracotta pot last time ..
There are several choices for each pair in their tanks ..
I hope you get to see wigglers and feel the need to raise them !

 

Ugh! It appears I have a second pair of Discus.

Ok,everyone. To be clear, My Ugh! in the post should have been "Augh" due to the fact now it appears I have 2 pairs. This was not in my ultimate plan. "Mother Nature" has other ideas. Some of you may say "Lucky" for you, but... silly me, thought I would be able to upgrade to a 90 or 125g Planted tank with "Discus". So much for planning.
During my research, forgot the possibility of pairs developing. I moved the first pair to a 29 gallon due to the aggression and protecting they exhibited with their spawns, causing the others to huddle in the opposite corner of the tank. Now with the 2nd pair in the 55 gallon moved #5 to a 20H so 3 tanks with "Discus". What to do?
Since I have no immediate plans to raise any fry (just watching to see if I have viable pairs).
What would you do?

 

If you do not want pairs forming in the 55g, put in a divider. Males on one side, females on the other. OR if you want a pair that doesn't keep the rest confined to a corner, put the pair on one side and the rest on the other. You can put the divider at less than halfway point to give the pair less room. Dividers for 55 gallon tanks are easy to come by.

Here is the one I have used in my 55g. I like that it is black and largely blocks the other side. If you have bottom dwellers, just raise up enough for them to scoot under.
Amazon.com : Fin Friends 29 or 55 Gallon Aqarium Divider with Suction Cups (29 or 55 Gallon) 12.5" X 18.75" Please Measure Your Tank Before Purchasing. : Pet Supplies

 

f you do not want pairs forming in the 55g, put in a divider.

Thanks, I have used a divider when the first pair formed. See pic below. It just was not what I had planned. Maybe the black will be better?

 

IMO a divider is the same as a 'wasted ' tank .
No disrespect I use dividers but when it comes to tank space and planning dividers should be back up not main plan ..
I share your pain Joe . I only got the round fish on a whI'm and now they take up valuable real estate .Not saying they don't deserve the space ,I think maybe even more but I am not sure I saw this out either ..I got two pairs also who both finally aligned and laid eggs today !
The blue snakeskins on intake tube again and the santarems on the cone I linked ..I am flexible enough to say I might keep discus in my 180 and even enjoy it .I mean I am a vetran keeper and the King of fish seems an appropriate goal ? I didn't have a long term goal ..Even if I did the best plans need adjustment or alteration ..
I got two pair , one in a 65g all to them selves and the other still sharing the 60 gallonwith 3 others .. I don't see these all going together in the 180 even after a few beers ? The not placing them all in the 'Big Tank' in the beginning like others have ,and the separating of the alphas from others I think makes a 'community ' impossible for these fish ?
So what to do ?? I want to raise fry a couple times like I know Joe does ..We share a desire and taste that is hard to deny ..
I see myself with 1 of my two pair long term the others gone [sold or back to LFS] and maybe depending on how things go looking to a color disc I really want to work on and picking a group to grow out in 180 and separate a pair or two if it happens again ..
Fish breeders say buy 6 and you should have a pair..I guess if you buy 10 you get 2 pair ..
I kind of feel bad for people I send 6 rams to..They get 3 pair every time !

 

Can you keep all male or all female groups? If so, you could have a nice big group in a 180g for sure.

 

Well I started my 125 with 12. Like I said than I believe I took the biggest risk going with the substrate and a planted tank. Still no pairs and very little aggression. Most of mine are in the 4-6 inch group now so I assume they’re adults. I wonder why this is? Could it be the bare tanks stimulate breeding? fa4960 how about yours? I went pretty much the same way as you though you have even more discus. Have yours paired off? If so how long into keeping them did it happen? Even after adding the new 2 everything stayed the same in my tank. I have no top dog. There’s some chasing around but nothing consistent. Those that chase are also chased and nothing lasts the length of the tank. Got to say I’m very happy with this.

 

86 ssinit

My big blue and big yellow did pair and had eggs a few times around the age of 12 - 15 month but I haven't seen anything happening the last 6+ months. Since I have no intent to breed them I am not really giving it any thoughts to be honest but I think part of the reason I see very little pairing / breeding activity is a higher than ideal Nitrate content in the water with only weekly WC's as well as a fairly high PH around 8.2 with the organic potting soil somehow leaking Nitrate as well as increasing PH by 0.8....

Since I now only have app 20 fish left in 330 Gal / 1250 L there is plenty of room to swim around as well as plenty of places where they can get out of sight without necessarily hiding, so very limited aggression also for me.

 

Thanks for the replies and theories everyone. Researching all over the net quite a bit, not much out there. It appears a larger tank along with more Discus might help the situation, but still no guarantee. The divider would be a temp fix but not long term for me. Decisions?
Raising some fry as mentioned by Tom, would definitely be a learning and rewarding experience, since their first nourishment comes from the parents slime coat. If it happens "Great" but no expectations. So much for my goal of the 90g -125g with a group of these beauties, maybe 2 55 gallon with a pair in each. Or just sell 1 pair and keep the other pair in a 90-125g? Need to figure this out.
My brain hurts right now. LOL

Learning all the Time.

 

Not much happening except, I noticed for awhile when I approach the tanks the Discus would swim away and hide. Hmm...
My theory is they think I am going to give their tanks a cleaning, so instead of water changes and cleaning every 3 days. I waited a week, the water parameters are fine except I did notice more bio-film on the glass.
Might just be a coincidence but... they are now coming up to the glass when I approach. Yeah!
Oh, and I have a cloud of Bolivian Ram wigglers/mostly swimmers in the 55 gallon with the pair of Discus. The parents are "Great" protectors, even though everyone is coming over for a snack, decided to add a divider to see how far they get.
Hey, Tom I took your advice and got some breeding cones from Kens fish. The pair in the 55 gallon layed eggs yesterday on a cone. Yeah, but of course they were gone today. At least they keep trying. The pair in the 29 gallon have been cleaning theirs.
See pics:

 

As mentioned the pair in the 29 gallon were cleaning the cone and woke up yesterday, to eggs. Still there today.
Yeah!

 

Fingers crossed.

 

As mentioned the pair in the 29 gallon were cleaning the cone and woke up yesterday, to eggs. Still there today.
Yeah!

View attachment 637133

Congrats! Congrats! Congrats! Said three times for posterity! I haven't looked at this side of things myself but as always in this hobby it's a sign of really healthy and happy fish. Please keep us updated, I'd love to see how this progresses.

 

Well, started seeing little dark specs in the eggs from the pair in the 29g, but I guess they got hungry, eggs gone yesterday. Young parents still trying to figure out this parenting thing.
At least both pairs are using the cones.
Learning all the Time!

 

Well. the 2 pairs are still laying eggs and eating them after a couple of days. And got kinda of worried for the odd one out so I moved #5 to the 33L with the EBA brood and Hybrid Rams from Tom. It is doing "Great"
As mentioned in my breeding thread my 2 remaining Bolivians decided to pair up and spawn in the 55 gallon Discus tank. Yeah? But no extra tanks, so...
Great parents, but once they became swimmers they struggled with keeping them together. I did add a divider and it helped but ... then decided to remove it and it was snack time for everyone. At least I know I have a viable pair for future breeding.
Made the "Turkey Day" trip to my sons in Michigan. They have a "Good" LFS close by
Home - Moby Dick Pet Store, Inc.
They always have a supply of "Driftwood", I picked up these 3 pieces for under $50 total. Score!

 

You're keeping the Bolivians in with the disc ??
What temp ??
Maybe I am not reading right or missed this before ?
I FINALLY managed to pull a second set of Bolivian wigglers with mom and dad and it looks like I am on my way to group #2 finally ! So happy !
First group could be pairing up anytime now ? Fun fun fish ..

 

You're keeping the Bolivians in with the disc ??

Yep, 83'. I know it is at the high end of their temp range. They are doing fine, in fact last night they started digging some pits again. I will be doing some rearranging this weekend, so they will be getting their own tank. I'll feed the offspring to the "Discus" and the "Darks" I got from you.

Learning all the time.

 

Well. the 2 pairs are still laying eggs and eating them after a couple of days. And got kinda of worried for the odd one out so I moved #5 to the 33L with the EBA brood and Hybrid Rams from Tom. It is doing "Great"
As mentioned in my breeding thread my 2 remaining Bolivians decided to pair up and spawn in the 55 gallon Discus tank. Yeah? But no extra tanks, so...
Great parents, but once they became swimmers they struggled with keeping them together. I did add a divider and it helped but ... then decided to remove it and it was snack time for everyone. At least I know I have a viable pair for future breeding.
Made the "Turkey Day" trip to my sons in Michigan. They have a "Good" LFS close by
Home - Moby Dick Pet Store, Inc.
They always have a supply of "Driftwood", I picked up these 3 pieces for under $50 total. Score!

View attachment 640103

View attachment 640104

Great looking driftwood jmaldo! I got some really nice pieces of MopanI from chewy - but get what they send, so it’s a gamble. Sounds to me like you need another tank!

 

Well. the 2 pairs are still laying eggs and eating them after a couple of days. And got kinda of worried for the odd one out so I moved #5 to the 33L with the EBA brood and Hybrid Rams from Tom. It is doing "Great"
As mentioned in my breeding thread my 2 remaining Bolivians decided to pair up and spawn in the 55 gallon Discus tank. Yeah? But no extra tanks, so...
Great parents, but once they became swimmers they struggled with keeping them together. I did add a divider and it helped but ... then decided to remove it and it was snack time for everyone. At least I know I have a viable pair for future breeding.
Made the "Turkey Day" trip to my sons in Michigan. They have a "Good" LFS close by
Home - Moby Dick Pet Store, Inc.
They always have a supply of "Driftwood", I picked up these 3 pieces for under $50 total. Score!

View attachment 640103

View attachment 640104

Great looking driftwood jmaldo! I got some really nice pieces of MopanI from chewy - but get what they send, so it’s a gamble. Sounds to me like you need another tank!

 

Well, it was water change day on the 55 and 29 with the Discus and friends. Not much happening or so I thought. Came back a few hours later and both pairs layed eggs on the cones. The closest I have have gotten so far with the 2 pairs is some dark spots in the eggs from the pair in the 29g, before they are gone. Have pics will upload tomorrow.

 

Pics:
55g



29g

 

Fins crossed ! They are so close I hope they catch up to you .
You are there ! Enjoy until they make you work harder ...
Very nice Joe .

 

Pics:
55g
View attachment 642269

29g
View attachment 642270

Never been much of a Discus fan, but wow yours are beautiful

 

55 gallon eggs gone after 2 days, Try,Try again.
Still have eggs and what appear to be a few wigglers so far in the 29g.
Fins Crossed!

 

What a beautiful color blue!!

Fingers crossed for the wigglers.

 

"Confirmed Wigglers"
I know as many will say, unless you have a pic they do not exist. Well...
They look like tiny dark specs in pics, but I was able to get a vid.

 

"Confirmed Wigglers"
I know as many will say, unless you have a pic they do not exist. Well...
They look like tiny dark specs in pics, but I was able to get a vid.

Congrats jmaldo ! One step closer! Slow and steady! Hope the best for you and your now wigglers! Now they just have to not eat them! Lol

 

Well, not to be. They are gone, not sure if they are eating them or the Gold Ram pair sharing the tank are snacking on them. At least I know I have a viable pair. Yeah!

 

Per Tom's advice.
Now the pair in the 29 gallon have it to themselves. I did notice another spawn before water change and moving their tank mates yesterday. Oops! Forgot I had a male Super Red with them. Maybe he was the culprit after lights out.
Will see how far they get now, "Fins Crossed"

Got this shot last night of the pair in the 55g.




And this one of the Ram kept checking me out.

 

Well, the pair in the 29 have spawned again. Glad they are still trying. So much for having a 90/125g with a bunch of Discus. Just too much picking, chasing and hiding spawning or not. Really no interest in "Breeding" them to much of a High-end niche market. So I have decided to sell/trade at least 1 pair plus the outcast come springtime.

Learning all the Time!

 

Well, the pair in the 29 have spawned again. Glad they are still trying. So much for having a 90/125g with a bunch of Discus. Just too much picking, chasing and hiding spawning or not. Really no interest in "Breeding" them to much of a High-end niche market. So I have decided to sell/trade at least 1 pair plus the outcast come springtime.

Learning all the Time!

That’s great that that you’ve got 2 pairs jmaldo! I’m sure you’ll be able to get good money for them - to put towards other fish you’d like to have for your 90g. Discus are certainly a learning experience! I would enjoy having my Turqs raise a ‘brood’, but the main thing I like about these fish are their personalities, and their beauty.

 

LOL I must have a "Discus" fever. Had a dream last night of fry attaching.
Anyway got some pics with my phone the other day, Google sent back an enhanced pic using the program Picasso. Here it is.

 

Taking pics of some Homemade Pleco caves I purchased, of course most of the inhabitants had to come over and check me out. I could not believe my eyes but the EBAs and Rams have been doing some cave exploring. Actually disappearing inside. The first pic still has a Discus in it along with some Rams courtesy of coralbandit ,so technically it's part of the build. I should change it to Community Build with Discus. LOL

 

I like the stump / caves ...
Are they clay or plastic ?

 

Clay, Handmade from an artist in California. As mentioned by tfreema in another thread purchased through KJE Aquatics

 

Watching the tank this afternoon and the Super Red BN decided to claim a cave.




Close up of the EBA




And the spawn in the 29 gallon starting to hatch into wigglers.