Mark

Great Pics I think you could add some broad leaf plants like Amazon sword and Java fern. Both easy to grow and you will be able to get more plants from them when they reproduce. How many Discus do you have and do they get on well with each other as mine have been prone to bully each other.

Run the air tubeing under the gravel and place a rock about half way along. This will hold it. Or you could by the suction rings that are used to hold themometers on to the side of the tank. Stick them to bottom of your tank and run the tubeing through them.

Hi Matt I have thought about adding peat to my filter. I actually bought some a few months ago. After rinsing it through a stocking it still looked very dirty so i have not bothered to use it. I expected after some time the ph would gradually drop. So i guess as it is still quite high i will try adding the peat. tks

Thanks for the nice comments. On the question of phospate remover i have never used it in my tanks. The tank that i posted the photos of has been set up for six month now. At first i had a problem with algae but this was expected with a new tank. I had planned to only run a external filter for water movement but due to the problem of algea growing on the water surface i added a airstone. I used silica sand for the substrate which the plants seem to not mind as they are growing well. Have been adding flourish iron from time to time and also put some plant tabs that are used for water lillies in the substrate. The plants in the tank are Amazon swords, Borneo swords, Java fern, Twisted val, and some crypts. I consider most of these plants easy to grow. Only thing now is to get the the PH down as it sits around 7.4 a little bit high for Discus. Also i need to by some more Discus as i have only two left out of six i purchased eight months ago. They like to bully the weakest one until they stop eating and pine away. Then pick on the next one in line. As i work away for five weeks at a time its hard to deal with the problem untill its to late

Ok i give up. I followed all the instruction and this is what i got Any way highlight the text between the two img and paste in address bar You should be able to see the photos there...

I hope this works

Here are two photos of my planted discus tank. Please excuse the incomplete photo as this is the first time i have used a digital camera [edit]removed link to images, please use other image host[/edit]

To feed mussels to your fire eel just boil the mussels for a short while until the shells opens up. Remove the mussel from the shell and take out the seaweed bit if any. Cut the mussel into bite size bits and feed to your fire eel. Freeze the other mussels in a plastic bag but make sure they are seperated from each other as they will freeze together. Put the mussel on a plate in the microwave for twenty seconds to thaw it out. I have been feeding my fire eel mussels now for the last two years and she is in very good health. Just grown a lot thats all. She is at least 60cm long and rather fat Good luck Mark

Slimys home is 1.5mtrs long. I have read that the fire eel will grow to 1mtr in the wild. He use to have three Discus for tank mates but when feeding time came he use to lunge at them so i thought it best to let him have the place to himself. I have tried to feed him guppys but he does not seem to bother with them. They tend to die off after a few days i think due to the PH being very low from feeding meat. The ox heart i use to put in a blender then flatten it out and freeze it.

Hi Jac This is one subject i feel i can help you with as i have kept a fire eel for the last seven years. Slimey jake is his name and he or her is about three feet long now. I fed him with ox heart for about four years then he decided he wouldnot eat it any more. After a month without food i ended up trying worms from the garden. This he relished with great joy, only thing was my back lawn started to look like the moon after digging for worms everyday. So i invested in a worm farm, not a good investment as the tiger worms that came with the farm obviously did not taste the same as the garden worms. So after another week of trying different food i bought some mussels from the supermarket this hit the spot. He has lived on mussels ever since. Just put them in a pot and bring it to boil so the shell opens. Then freeze them after they cool down. When you feed him take the mussel and put it on a plate and microwave for 30 seconds. Then cut it into smaller pieces. Make sure to separate mussels in the freezer or they will stick together. On the planting of the tank dont bother! as the eel will only dig them up Hope this helps

Maybe it was the rare south island SARS virus or something like that. Nothing that a couple of shots of rum couldnt cure. I must say i was a bit sore from sitting down all weekend, could not push myself to get out for a run while i was at conference. Managed to drag myself out of bed early Tuesday morning to go to work that was bad enough. Four day weekend i like the idea

I am keeping mainly fresh water tropical fish but also have a large pond with goldfish. My 400 Ltr community tank has Discus, Clown Loaches, Striped Head Standers, Twig catfish, Scissor Tails a red tailed black shark, and Pearl Gouramis. This tank is densely planted as well. Our pride and joy is a Fire eel he is in another five foot tank on his own. I have had him or her for five years now and he has grown to about two and a half feet long. Hopefully that is about as big as he will get. One other five foot tank i keep for growing plants and letting guppys do what they do best.

Hi I have been a guest on this forum for some time now. I have finally decided to sign up. I have been keeping fish for over twenty years now and still enjoy the hobby very much. A lot of the information on this site has been very interesting to say the least.