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For me, the only other tropical fish that really appeals is the Geo Suri. I had five at one stage in a planted tank and as long as I kept an open "runway" at the front, they would sift through the substrate all day long looking for food. My ones loved Spirulina tabs and blood worms. I also made the mistake of keeping a few tetras... lets just say the remaining were quickly removed. I would love to get some more one day would look fantastic with a sand substrate and rock wall.

The whitest sand I ever used was plain silica snad from placemakers. Only cost around $11 for a large bag. Was perfect for my planted discus tank

Good on ya Ronnie for setting up this wicked thread! Great for getting an idea of what Discus are out there and I have to admit yours are truely top quality courtesy of all the hard work your doing. Heres some pics of mine. Brown and Leopard were raised by the one and only Discus Guru. Thanks Spotted Leopard Female Blue Turq Brown Male - Blue Turq Blue Snakeskin

My cory's loved the white silica sand that i used from placemakers..only cost about $10 for a massive bag which more than covered my 320L planted tank. I am now using a layer of #1 sand with brightwater cravel on top. The glosso and mini sag still grow and I now prefer the darker look. Its up to you!

Hi there, Yes there seems to be quite a bit of information out there regarding Discus and their "special needs" but I think thats what makes them so much fun. This time last year I got my first tropical fish tank with a huge variety of fish, but their appeal quickly wore off and I moved onto Discus. Now I still consider myself a real novice but with a few hours attention every week, IMO Discus are just as easy to keep as any other tropical fish. Advice... 1) Get the biggest tank you can afford 2) Try to keep at least 5+ discus all around the same size 3) Have an efficient water change system - I am doing about 40% every 2-3 days 4) Feed a variety of foods In my limited but exciting experiences so far, I have found that every discus enthusiast has their differing opinions on many of debatable topics. But generally, they all seem to agree on these basic principles. I think Discus look boring in bare bottom tanks so I personally prefer to keep them in planted tanks. In answer to your second question I think that a variety of swords, rotala, ambulia, tiger lotus and sag make for an ideal discus environment. Every fish keeper to themself though!

Thanks for the kind words Antwan. It took a while but I finally got the setup looking they way I wanted. I have to move in a couple of weeks so will be a good chance to redecorate the tank. Might completely change out the gravel and put in that undergravel heater which I have had sitting around for the past 6 months. Also might chance from the Silica sand to a darker substrate.

Does anyone have any brown or RSTG discus? I love the natural look of those strains and would like to add one or two to my set up one day!

Fantastic looking Discus everyone, heres a couple more pics for the collection! Fighting in the ranks

I feel like I am cheating with the UV but it has made such a different to the tank. I can actually see the fish and all the plants and it has made the tank look so much bigger. Karen - My sterilizer is an external one that connect to the output from the filter. Do you leave yours continuosly running?

Tectron UV25 Sterilizer. Awesome little device. Has completely cleared up my green/cloudy water in 36 hours and getting even clearer! I will have to shorten the extra filter hosing that I used to connect the filter and sterilizer as this has restricted the flow rate into the tank.

I decided to run a UV sterilizer on the tank which has really helped and things are looking great. All the plants are pearling again so I guess the light is acutally able to penetrate the water now. Thanks for everyones ideas and suggestions. I am guessing that something isnt quite right with my filter so might look into cleaning/replacing some of the filter media.

I tried this as well as the P-Clear and nothing noticeably changed I have viewed this as a last resort but would prefer to find the cause of the problem rather than just quick fixes. I am getting to my wits end so could be a very realistic option shortly! Thanks No I do not use any carbon at all. I use to use this when I first started keeping fish about 10months ago but after a bit of research decided it was not suitable for large cichlids. Use to work wonders on the water and really keep it crystal clear though. I am using a FLUVAL 404 which is on max flow rate of 340gph Yes I washed the sand as best I could, but that was well over 5 months ago. Do some substrates expire? I usually feed one small cube of frozen bloodworms per day. I often wonder whether I feed too much but the food all seems to get eaten in a matter of seconds and the Discus are always hungry. The one section of bloodworms is the largest portion they get all day, with a couple of sprinkles of flake or colour bits in the morning and evening. I have reduced the waterchanges before but this only seemed to worsen the green/cloudiness. As Mr Pleco suggests, I wonder whether there are some extra minerals or trace elements in my tap water which is fuelling the problem This is the Nutrafin C02 reactor and activator sachets. Basically just yeast and sugar.

Well my cloudy water problem is still ongoing and looks to be more of a green water problem. I have been battling this problem for the past couple of months (tank been set up going on 6 months now) and is really starting to get depressing...and am thinking about starting all over again. :evil: I have tried blacking the tank out for a couple of days and although this was awesome for totally eliminating my small hair algae problem, it was only a matter of days before the cloudy green water returned. Obviously my tank is getting excess Nutrients from somewhere. Im feeding the growing Discus around 3 times a day with frozen bloodworm, color bits or Nutrafin tropical flake. Here are some other specs 6 x Med sized discus 18 approx x Cardinals 4 x Sterbei Corydoras 2 x GBA 2 x Dwarf loaches Ph 6.2 Temp 27-28' Substrate 2"Daltons with 1-2" Silica Sand on top Lighting 3.3 wpg CO2 DIY Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate are undectable using standard chemical testing methods. For a while I was also using Flourish and Iron at the recommended dosage but have stopped until I sort this problem out. I am doing around 30% water changes every second day and am adjusting my ph down slightly with a phosphate free acid. Here are a couple of theories I am having, but do not explain the low Nitrate & Phosphate tests. a) The silica sand as a substrate on top is not deep enough and maybe with the likes of glosso and min sag taking off along the aquairum base this is slowly releasing the mix into the water. b) Lack of C02 for amount of lighting therefore the plants cannot utilize the excess Nutrients therefore free floating algae is flourishing. c) Overstocked tank Please let me know if anyone has any ideas of what is going on? I cant remember the last time I could just sit back and enjoy the tank

Reef - Awesome Tefes! I have been contemplating on getting some of those for a while now and your pics may have just pushed me over the edge to splash out! Heres a pic of one of my Discus.

The same sort of thing happened when I first got twisted val a couple of months ago, the orginal plants withered away but new growth came back within a couple of days. Unfortunately I hadnt done my homework on these plants and as Kiwi Girl mentioned, an overdose in fertz (flourish)caused the plant to completely melt off!