reef13 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I went around to my parents house last night and asked them what they would like for christmas. straight away they both asked if i could please sort out thier fish tank and have it looking lovely for them over the christmas period as they have let it get away and don't really enjoy watching it anymore. The tank is a 4ft jinlong curved glass tank around 250litres they have an aquaone 1200 external filter. In the tank they have 2 discus and alot of algae. They love the discus so i'm just going to start it all over for them and go that way, however i have never personnally had any experience with discus so a bit of help would be great. For a start how many discus should i be looking at putting in there? they have 2 already a peach coloured one and 1 that looks like a blue turq to me. What other fish make a good addition to a discus tank that i should be looking at adding? I have read alot and tested thier water and they seem to be doing everything ok the discus are still alive the tank just looks yuck! any ideas on how i should make it look would be awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doddle69 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 i would put some algae eating catfish in there and some neons and another 2 maybe 3 discus what sort of plants are in the tank? oh and a nice bit of driftwood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doddle69 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 plants maybe some Ambulia stems Valliseria nana at the back of the tank some Saururus cernuus at the front not sure if thats how you spell them (lol i have always wanted to do a discus tank) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N1CK Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Depending on who you are talking to people reccomend that you have 1 discus to every 40-60L of water, and you have more than 3, or a pair, more discus also means more work (W/C's ect) If I were you I would leave it with the two discus if they are happy If they want some kind of plants we will need to know about the lighting/substrate first good/easy plants are are things like anubias, most crypts, java/willow moss, java ferns and quite a few stem plants Fish wise, larger single species schools of things like tetras/rasboras look good, Cardinals would be a good option for the higher tempratures of the discus and then a few bottom dwellers: BN's/plecos, corys, and loaches would be some options and as SamH always says: Have a browse through these and see if you like any of them, even just some of the features they have that you want would be good. http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... ry=0&vol=1 HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 If you have 2 discus in the tank, and they are happy being with each other don't add more to the tank. It would help to see what the tank currently looks like, so we can provide suggestions that can make use of the stuff you already have. basically all you need is wood, some plants, and some dither fish like rummy noses seeing as you already have the other equipment. The tanks in the AGA contests are not even worth looking at as those tanks need far too much maintenance, usually daily. what sort of light does the tank have? (need the K spectrum). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I have to agree with not adding more discus, I have only introduced 2 new discus to my tank and they got pick on pretty bad, so I have had to separate them. It could work but then it could turn bad - be prepared to separate if need be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I'd only do a maximum of 4 discus if you wish to increase from the two as otherwise if you want to add any other fish you will need to upgrade the filter. I have cardinals, rummynose, hatchets,sterbais and fancy plecs in my tank and they look good. Other fish that cope with the temps are bn & harlequins. You could add some driftwood and contrasting plants. I currently have red pine, indian? fern, swords and dwarf sag, all of which are doing well without great lighting, with jbl balls added and flourish excel to keep the algae under check. Val looks good as well but doesn't like a lot of excel added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef13 Posted December 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Thanks i'll get some pics later this evening and put them up of what it looks like now was just thinking of starting over as the things in the tank now are covered with a furry black beard type algae or something you'll see in the pics just due to them letting it get away. The lighting i'm not sure about but it doesn't look flash convincing dad to get a new light unit just got to try find a good one that fits Sounds like sticking with just the 2 discus is a good idea from peoples thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Black beard algae dies off with regular florish excel dosing as on the bottle. Heres a couple of pics of my tank which also needs a good glass clean. The flecks are air bubbles as I also run an air hose in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floater Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 That's a nice looking tank, how mature is it? You have 5 discus in there? What size is the tank? What sort of lighting do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_sphinx Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 That's a nice looking tank, how mature is it? You have 5 discus in there? What size is the tank? What sort of lighting do you have? I can count 6 :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doddle69 Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 weres number 6 hiding i can only see 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 In the top pic no 6 is hiding behind the blue snakeskin (you can just see the tail of it) and in the bottom pic the white diamond is in the half of the tank I didn't photograph. This tank is 450 litres and I run 3 very basic tubes for lights. Wanting to get T5 after Christmas. The tank is 2 years old mid Jan 2010. Tank needs a really good clean up and filter needs cleaning as well I think. My job after I finish for the year at the end of this week. Even with 6 (2 confirmed pairs and 2 oddballs) a fair bit of fighting goes on between the males who have their own females. The other two whose sex I do not know referee the fights :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef13 Posted December 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 Whats the grassy stuff you have at the front of your tank called do you know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 dwarf sag (you would have to ask alanmin the proper name for it as I got it off him - It is pretty fast growing in the tank, I started off with about 15 small plants at the beginning of winter which is not a good time of the year and it has pretty much covered the tank even with bits being taken out and given away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 looks like microfolia adodge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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