old hand offering help with tropical tanks

[Corithien]

Hi all I thought I would join all you good people and see if I can help. I have been in to the fish since I was a boy and have had many tanks in the last 28 years I currently run 4 tanks 100lr corner a 90lr 2ft and 2 30lr med tank and breading tank I have had to cut back as its all in my bedroom! I have discus and congo tetara in different tanks but I have had most every fish you can get. I feel my knowledge of discus is my most valuable attribute I have had them for 9 months and not lost a fish because I have been in preparation my hole life reading all I could I even looked at the amazon river to understand their natural environment. As this will make a few people look at discus and will think yes I can do that my tank is good and you know what to do you are 6 months away at best for geting fish unless you have huge amounts of cash to get all the things you will need.
Oh and I am dyslexic so if my spellchecker gets the wrong word sorry and my punctuation is terrible but the information is good l look forward to hearing from you all soon

 

[Convict2161]

Welcome to the family!

 

[Andrew McFadden]

to AA! We hope ya enjoy

 

[Hholly]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[dragonflyher]

Hello Corithien, yes I:m like you were before you got your discus tank. I:ve read lots too and always wanted a small school of them in a larger tank. What is the smallest size tank you suggest for a small group say 6-10? It will be my first discus tank but I have had tanks for over 20 years off and on, sometimes several and all with fairly good luck and healthy tanks.

 

[Corithien]

I would say a about 20lr per fish but its the shape of the tank thats important you want depth over anything els now you got to decide on how to keep them their are two schools of thought and alot of mad idiots in the midle the first are the import fresh from the amazon with cleen bottom tanks with sterile RO water 50% water changes every other day
I would never do it this way it is cruel by my way of thinking
The other way is with what is known as a blackwater tank and you use indian almond leaf and bark and a few other bits to add the same stuff that they swim in in the wild just so happens to be an antiseptic this is why you cant just use tap it seems to me to be obvious after my original research but its the breeders that first got it but the information never got back to the home tank market
You will whant to plant the tank with grasses and other discus plants good mixes avaliable on ebay and I would recommend wood and bang it in straight away
Set it up with lots of good spots to hide now add 20-50 cardenals or neons I like to have 10-30 cores a few dwarf rams ether the yellow or the blue now it is your choice you can have any of the calm tetaras not blue or congo but dimond rummenose phantom widow are all good oh and no daeos and go get good test kits your going to need alot
Now this is how I start up a tank fill tank
Put in classic undergravel filter then add washed gravel add wood and plant use standard airlift on under gravel filter and add an external filter with around 10 to 12 times the volume of a tank in an hour can use a trickle bar return so as to not have too much current
Now you need a dirty filter but it needs to be fresh within 4 hours of removal from the other tank wash the filter in your tank this sounds insane but it will kick start your filter better than any bottles rubbish you can get in your shop
Now wate a week testing every day......

If you have your tank stable time to get some fish but not your discus

Now you have to do the boring bits and wait for around 6 months walst levels stabilize in the tank and you have to get to a month with no disease at all you can do this faster but you will most likely loose fish and it wont be the tetras that go first!

Do this read more books but only new ones the old ones will kill your fish with bad stupid and just plain wrong advice

All in all good luck you will need it its an expensive love affair but when it all works it is amazing I can watch my tank for 2-3hrs at a time