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125G Discus + 75G Dantum Angels

mikehookipa

Member
Joined
30 Mar 2015
Messages
42
Hi all

Mike here. Some great aquarists here on UKAPS. I really like the minimalism of this aquascape so far. But sometimes feel a bit bored since the plants are so slow growing. Plants include: Anubias, Bolbitis heudelotii, E. Tenellus.

Looking for suggestions. Cautious to screw up balance and simplicity.

IMG_6159.jpg
 
Nice! Going to follow your journal. I have yet to pick up courage of putting discus into my tank yet. May I know how long have you had the discus in these tanks? What are your water change regime and how do you setup your filtration system?

I think missing a dash of colours. A little too green although the colours from the discus make good contrast against the greens and black background. I presumed that the water temperature will be fairly warm (at least 28 Degrees Celsius?).. I would recommend exploring different varieties of Amazon Swords. Personally, I have the ubiquitous Echinodorous bleheri, Echinodorous cordifolius, Echinodorous red flame. Red flame might add that bit of colour to the scape if it is planted in the middle amongst the Anubias.
 
Yea I was wary doing the discus and planted tank thing because of the general consensus spread around.

It's very simple and easy. Get adult discus. I've had these guys for half year. I kept them in 75 gallon before the upgrade. I feed couple times a day. WC every couple days. Filter is a single Eheim 2217. Water temperature of 30C had no ill effects in previous 75 gallon which had 10+ species of plants.

The key is just having adult discus. Really fun fish. They eat a lot.
 
Yea I was wary doing the discus and planted tank thing because of the general consensus spread around.

It's very simple and easy. Get adult discus. I've had these guys for half year. I kept them in 75 gallon before the upgrade. I feed couple times a day. WC every couple days. Filter is a single Eheim 2217. Water temperature of 30C had no ill effects in previous 75 gallon which had 10+ species of plants.

The key is just having adult discus. Really fun fish. They eat a lot.

Cool! Thanks for sharing, really appreciate it. +1 for adult discus. Will take your advice on this. This is similar to the feedback that had been given to me as well!
 
For me it's perfect as it is.
I have read many warnings on keeping Discus in black tanks & the evidence does show this to be a problem with light coloured Discus or those with light patterns.
The white gets black specks & blotches I also wonder if this is because their fish are in bare tanks without hiding places & they're trying to camouflage themselves to the background.
My Discus are in planted tanks with dark substrata & black backgrounds, I have no problems but then all my fish are wild or "Natural" not hybrids.

I have 5 Uaru in a black tank & they have stayed black in their juvenile colours it will be very difficult to change the tank background due to space but I'm planning on a fish room upgrade & I will change it to light blue then.
The tank was planted but the Uaru soon cleared that!
They are just let with driftwood.
 
Looking for suggestions. Cautious to screw up balance and simplicity.

Tank looks great, it needs time to grow in, as you say the plant sp. you used are slow growers, if you plant it sparsely with only epiphytes you need time, even with co2 you at least need a year or maybe 2 years to get it all grown in and get that matured natural look into it. Now the plants still look just glued on, this setup is still brand new looking, not aged, but it will in time..Wait till those anubias rhizomes start to creep and form roots drapping down from the wood. Same for the bolbitis also just needs some time to addapt and develop a heatly rootstrucure once it has that it realy takes off and gets pretty large.

a major improvement imho would be hungry floating vegitation and since you are not into south american theme with this tank, i would go for something like Hygroryza arista which has a rather large floating leaf size and a very decorative rootstructure hanging down waving in the current. Its also a hungry plant, likes a lot of nitrogene and potassium, ideal for pooping (dirty) discus tanks where poop and bioload by feeding protiene rich food for the discus (ammonium- nitrite - nitrogen levels) are always a consern for the discus keeper. :) So this would be a win win, not only an improvement for the looks but also for the health of the tank water and fish, they would also appreciate the cover it provides. :thumbup: The major consern for having discus in a planted tank is the dirt accumulation at the substarte with floaters you do not have this issue but still the plants benefits. :)
 
I like the tank very much for the focus is on the Discus and Angelfish.
Plus One for selecting Adult fish that do not need near the amount of high protein food's for growth, and way fewer water changes to export the organic input.
 
Thanks to all for the tips. The carpet plant is E. Tenellus currently planted as a lawn (everywhere).

I actually really like Swords but I find them very difficult to integrate into the aquascape due to their massive size, fast growth rate, and overall mismatch in leaf texture.

Will keep you guys updated. My knowledge for plants is pretty limited so I'll have to go to the shop and see what's around.
 
Swords are too big indeed. You may check plants with narrow leaves, e.g. valisneria Nana, echinodorus angustifolius, or maybe eleocharis sp. Xingu, Cyperus helferi, to think about adding to back. You don't have to put anything there, this is just possible thing to do.
 
Happy New Year


Almost 2 weeks since last update. The light was tuned down to using only 4 x 39w during last 2 weeks.

A mistake was made by putting Nymphoides hydrophylla 'Taiwan' in the background. Not the best balance. Will switch to Limnophila Sessiliflora.

Shows aquascape, discus hiding after WC.
IMG_6304.jpg


Fish feeding on freeze-dried blackworms (thanks planter for the source, angelfins).
IMG_6327.jpg
 
Wow, fantastic job all around.

Given time the tenelus will fill in. It can be super weedy once it gets going. I also think echinodorus can be a bit tricky to work into a design, but I really like seeing them in the background with emersed foliage - like Marcel's tank or some of the tanks done by the guys at Aquaeden in Portugal and peHa68 in Poland.
 
Cool glad you like it.

I'll look up those guys and how they use e.tenellus. I plan to trim E telleus just like hairgrass (buzz cut) not sure if that can work though. :D. Waiting for strong roots to settle in before I do initial trimming.
 
Cool glad you like it.

I'll look up those guys and how they use e.tenellus. I plan to trim E telleus just like hairgrass (buzz cut) not sure if that can work though. :D. Waiting for strong roots to settle in before I do initial trimming.

Oh no, I thought you meant other swords fitting into a scape - those guys all integrated other echinodorus species into their scapes nicely. E tenellus isn't really an echinodorus (at least not according to some botanists I know who say it's a helanthium), just hack away. When I had it growing in a tank I just treated it like hairgrass and mowed it right back when it got too thick.
 
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