freshwest

Thanks Fenriswolf. There is no problem with the gravel sliding off as I have glues a thin layer of gravel using silicon to the aquascapes. There were some pics of the process earlier in the thread but I stuffed up my pics in photobucket so they are no longer showing in the thread :-?

I checked the dose I used and it was defiantly 2.5mg/l followed by a repeat dose 2 days later. Mine were in tablet form so I had to grind it up to a powder and dissolve it in luke warm water before putting it in the tank. I had no problems with my bio/filter. But it would pay to keep an eye on the ammonia levels for a while. Any spikes could also be caused by the extra load put on the filter dealing with the dead cryno not the erythromycin.

Had the first Discus spawning in the tank last night Great to sit back and watch with the family. The kids found it very interesting. They are a pair of green tigers. This is their first attempt so I don’t hold out much hope. Still it’s nice to have another pair. I will move them into there own tank in the future. Heres a pic of the action.

I got erythromycin from the local vet . Cheep to around $1/500mg Took a bit of explaining though. I think i used 2.5 mg / 1L X 2 doses 2 days apart . Did an amazing job.

Thanks Discusguru. Some hard lessons learnt. Dreading having to cull them

Sad news on the 1st batch of fry. About a week ago I began to wonder if the fins were developing correctly, as they didn’t look right. The anal and dorsal fins were not growing correctly I posted the problem on a Dutch discus forum and was informed that it was caused by any of the following, poor water when they were very young, not enough minerals in the water or something missing in their diet. It’s a real shame as they are growing so well Heres a pic of them Fingers crossed for the other 2 batches of fry in the breeding tank. This disappointment has spurred me into getting some proper breeding tanks set up.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. Antwan I think the plant you are referring to is the Star Grass (Heteranthera zosterifolia). Kindly donated to me from Diverjohn. Sharn. Yes I am using a pressurised CO2 system with a pH controller. If you check back on this thread you will see how I have gone about using polystyrene aquascapes with JBL aquamix. Besides the substrate i think the M/H lights have been the key to the good plant growth. Hope that helps.

The babies are now safe and well in there own tank. I ended up with only 27. Oh well better than nothing. The dilemma continues 2 of the other discus in that tank decided to do the wild thing on Sunday night and they now have about 20 wigglers clustered on the side of the tank. It is the first time they have spawned, in fact they showed no typical signs of being a pair. So I am amazed they have done so well. This spawn is a blue snakeskin X blue diamond.

Another mile stone for my tank yesterday. The first discus are in and loving it . It’s been great kicking back on the couch and watching them explore there new home. The plant growth continues to amaze me considering the plants only went in on 20 of Jan . Here is a few pic’s

I run a 10 micron filter. The pump i have running it is a Eheim 1262 (3200l/h) . I my change this pump for some think bigger in the future.

I would go for a sump as your main filtration for a big tank . There is some very good info in the latest FNZAS mag about building sumps which will help . I am running a 200 l sump + a inline 10 inch pleated filter on my 1300 l planted tank . The water is cristal clear .

Still going well. May have lost a few, there hard to count. The fry are now eating b/shrimp and growing fast. I would have taken them out this week but have decided to leave them with the parents until Monday as I am going away for the weekend. I have a non-fishy friend coming around to feed them. I must say Im a bit worried. Explaining how to hatch and feed B/shrimp is going to be interesting. Fingers X

Great looking fish .Great Pics . Could you give us a run down on how to take pics like that . Well done .

Sorry for the confusion. When I said outflow I mean from the overflow box not the pump. Restrictions going into the tank ok. Restrictions out of the overflow box not ok.

Are you putting a valve on the outflow? The flow out will be the same as your flow in so there is no need to have a valve any were in the system. If your flow rate is to high you should use a smaller sub/pump, put a valve after the pump, or use a bigger diameter outflow pipe You don’t wont to put any restrictions on the outflow.

Thanks for the offer thunderstorm. At this stage Im going to sit back and see how things develop. I can see already there will be some changes in the tank with regards to plants. Some are turning out to be too vigorous and will have to go others I have planted in the wrong place and will be moved. One of the big movers is the twisted val I started with 15 plants a month ago now there is over 70. A big thanks to all you folks for your encouraging posts and pms. Much appreciated

I was having one of those dumb moments. :oops: Nice fish. Who breeds them? Got to love those wild types.

RSTG ?

Great fish there guys . Luke . Love the look of that brown discus . Is it a wild strain ?

Mum dad and the kids still going well Their parental care is truly amazing. I was a bit worried this morning when feeding as the male had the fry on his side and the female was waiting in the area I feed them. I was sure that when I started feeding he would leave the fry or worse bring them to the feeding area. But he stayed down in their territory and waited for the female to come back and take the fry before coming down for a feed. I even dropped a bit of food down his end of the tank, which he didn’t touch until the female had the fry.

Wish they were ... They are with another blue snakeskin (male) and 2 blue diamonds. Im in the process of setting up my fish room so in a couple of weeks they should be in there own tank.

Here are some pics of colbolt mum and blue snakeskin dad.

Mum Dad and 40 kids doing well. Will start hatching some b/shrimp today. Both parents are doing a great job especially considering this pair has spawned every week for the last 5 months with out so much as a wiggler to show for there efforts.

Sorry for the lack of up dates. Been a testing few weeks. I ran into a major problem with blue green algae, which required a dose of erythromycin to clear it up. I would have gone with the black out method but decided it may have been to hard on new plants. Any way the erythromycin has done the job. The challenge now is to get the water parameters right so it doesn’t come back. As for fish I have called in a crack squad of SAEs to fight the algae battle. They have done a great job on the thread algae shame they don’t eat b/g. I don’t plan to put any discus in until the water conditions are stable and the plants are bigger so there is cover and shade for them. The plants are really starting to pump now they are getting their roots into the JBL aquamix. I still have a bit of fine-tuning with the fertiliser dosing. Heres some pics of the tank and plumbing

Mum dad and the 50 + kids doing well Some good thoughts posted. Thanks everyone I feel if I try to move any of the adults it will end in tears. The tank is planted and has a piece of driftwood running the length of the tank which would make catching them difficult. If they were in a b/tank I would go for the divider. These fish have always been quite timid as well making catching them even harder. Any way the plan from here will be to keep activity around the tank to a minimum. I am also leaving a low wattage light on during the night so the parents can see what going on. And hopefully in ten days time remove the young. I have read Asian breeder remove the young 7 to 10 days after the fry become free swimming. At what age do people out there remove the fry from their parents?