My New 150.. any suggestions?

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yeah i knew they were, i was just saying i dont want guppies, etc lol... and sorry, i forgot, it took 4 hours last time i went, but i live an hour closer now lol... it would take 3 hours to get to dayton
 
wow, those are beautiful...and i usually drive around 80-85 so it wouldnt be that much of a drive... ill definately look in to doing discus, but i do want to at least get the tank established and let the plants start growing... what are good tankmates for discus?
 
Angelfish (if you have adult discus since the angels can outcompete juvie discus when it comes to food), rams, apistos, neon tetras, cardinal tetras, many other tetras, BN plecos, cories, etc.

You will want at least 5-6 discus as they are schooling fish and they form a hierarchy. It is also best to grow them out in a barebottom tank.
 
bs6749 said:
Angelfish (if you have adult discus since the angels can outcompete juvie discus when it comes to food), rams, apistos, neon tetras, cardinal tetras, many other tetras, BN plecos, cories, etc.

You will want at least 5-6 discus as they are schooling fish and they form a hierarchy. It is also best to grow them out in a barebottom tank.
Click to expand...

I noticed he didnt have any substrate in those pictures on that craigslist ad i saw either. wierd, whats the reasoning behind that?
 
Discus keepers have found that it's best to grow them out in a barebottom tank. This makes it easier for the fish to see food which prevents ammonia production from uneaten food spoiling, it prevents the poop from getting buried in the sand/gravel, it makes it easier for the filter to do its job, and it makes it easier on the hobbyist to let him/her know when a gravel vac is needing in the tank. Also you don't have to worry about the substrate getting messed up everytime you do a water change, which will be frequently with sub-adults and even more frequently with juvies.

A light colored substrate helps to keep them looking their best because a dark colored substrate and background encourages them to become dark colored. Black spotting known as peppering is even more pronounced in pigeon blood based discus when there are dark background and/or dark substrates in the tank. It's best to keep a light colored substrate or none at all. If you would like a planted discus tank I would recommend a barebottom tank with plants in pots that have a nutrient rich substrate.
 
ok, i guess that makes sense then. Youre making me really want discus now, ill probably look at doing it sometime around christmas (maybe ill tell the fiance thats what i want for christmas) thanks for the info, ill definately keep you in mind when i dive in and get me some... thanks agian
 
Just send me a PM when you are ready to order some discus and I can give you a handful of guys around the country with excellent stock at great prices. Shipping is not a problem for any of the ones I'd recommend. I just had 3 large discus sent to me on Tuesday and all are doing well. This is one fish you definitely do not want to purchase from an LFS as they are of very poor quality 90% of the time and just plain poor quality the other 10%. I highly recommend Mike Beals because he is so close to you compared to the other guys I know of and I really recommend handpicking your discus. Mike is a great guy and will treat you right.

In the meantime please feel free to join Simply Discus (www.simplydiscus.com/forum). This site is dedicated to discus and there are numerous experts in the field and top breeders/importers from around the globe willing to help and give advice. The site is the absolute best that I've found so far for discus keeping with a mature atmosphere and an abundance of knowledge and experience. You can learn much from the site and you will be ready to have your first discus before Christmas with all of the information you will acquire.
 
Here are some updated pics of the tank... It still needs some more work, but the water has cleared up tremendously and i think the cycle is going to go quick because i put the 3 filters in it out of my existing tanks... hows it look so far?
 
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funny you should mention the sand... i paid over $6 a bag for that crap... got it at a pool supply store... went to meijer today, $1.99 a bag! i bought 3 bags... i have no need for it, but i bought them anyways... at least i have backup in case my sand magically disapears :) what do i need to add to it? it looks so bare. I have a few more pots to put in, once its ready for fish, so i dont take them away from my other fish till theyre ready to go in.. ive got some live plants now (wish me luck with those) and the slate that looks like a rock slide on the side of the road... any ideas?
 
I dont know exactly but it needs to be higher. It looks like low stuff kind of scattered around. Maybe some really big size rocks? See if you can find some holy rock or lace rock? Some thing big though.
 
put some boulders in there with large pieces of driftwood and java ferns. planted tank with apistos angels and neons would be sick
 
so im not totally done, but at least i have made some progress since yesterday. I added some more rock and plants... also got 2 bumble bees (male and female i hope) and 2 auratus (also male and female, one is clearly male as it is blueish...). just thought id share my progress... and thanks for the suggestions guys
 
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That plant in the middle with the dark green leaves looks like an anubias or a crypt. Do you know what it is? If it's an anubias you should definitely not have planted it as you did already. The rhizome needs to be exposed for the plant to live.

Also just realized that you are going with African cichlids and you have plants in the tank....good luck! They are notorious for tearing apart plants and yours most likely won't last long. Some people have had success with several plants in an African tank but not too many plants will work well. I think they find them rather tasty.

Also, I've never seen PFS at Meijer for anything less that $7.99 per bag. Are you sure that it wasn't a 7 and not a 1? I know it goest for about $6 per 40lb elsewhere and that's the cheapest I've seen it.
 
first, yes it is anubias... and yes, i know i changed it after reasearching some... second, i am fully aware that cichlids eat plants, i just mainly put them in for decoration, as most of them are fake plants which obviously they wont eat... and third, i am 100% positive as to the price of the sand... as i mentioned, i purchased 3 bags, and that was all, so at just over $6 they were $1.99... i dont plan on having a planted tank, like i said i just put those in there to decorate it somewhat and give the fish something to snack on... thanks for pointing that out though
 
ok, update on the fish... all are doing well except that one went missing ;( My overall favorite fish, a femal auratus has dissapeared... All the others are there, looked all around the tank, though i dont think it could have possibly jumped out. Lifted up every rock. Nowhere to be found. I know it wasnt eaten because there were fed just before i left and theres no way that even all 3 of them could have made it dissapear in a matter of an hour and a half that i was gone. Could it have burrowed in the sand? any ideas? btw i even tried feeding them to see if maybe it might come out, but no female auratus :(
 
Another update... i have a total of 7 fish so far... 2 Kenyi, 3 auratus, and 2 bumblebees... i plan on getting more of course, im probably going to get a couple red zebras, some aceis, and maybe a couple others... i dont want to overstock it, but i know im nowhere near capacity right now
 
looking great keep up the good work... funny my wife brought me home a bumblebee last night lol.... and my steal of the year was my 6 dollar male strawberry peacock :).. i wanna see more pics :)
 
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