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Post by firthy13 on Mar 1, 2012 18:08:24 GMT 11
hey guys, well decided to take some photos of the new discus this arvo. not the best as i really didnt have the patients to sit down and play with settings to get them perfect. they are by no means show winning or breeding quality fish but i am happy enough with the quality of the fish for my display tank. currently have 7 in there at the moment, will get close ups of the other 3 when they decided to get more friendly with the camera. apparently a blue turq x sea green... dont think so but. red and white pigeon blood blue diamond red spotted leopard Red melon unsure of these two fishes trade
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Craig
Tropheus
Posts: 400
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Post by Craig on Mar 1, 2012 19:22:13 GMT 11
Very nice
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Post by fisshy on Mar 1, 2012 19:49:32 GMT 11
your red spotted leopard looks very good quality....they all look good quality to me mate ...very nice tank ....are you goin to leave it bare bottom tank ...would like to know more mate ... size of tank ...chemicals you use for fish an plants as iam sellin all my breedin tanks an stock for a new discus planted tank
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Post by firthy13 on Mar 1, 2012 20:43:52 GMT 11
colour wise they are good, but ideally they aren't a good shape. there is alot more to quality then colour when it comes to discus. see this fish here. he is a good shaped discus, you can almost draw a perfect circle around the fish. where as mine have more of a pointed or pinched face. also the hard rays at the beginning of the of the dorsal fin must be flow evenly, not being different lengths. eye shape and size is another thing to consider. its all very small picky things that the true discus enthusiasts quibble over. if your interested there is a critique section at www.discusforums.com where you can upload photos and other member basically tell you what is wrong with the way your fish looks. definitely not for the faint hearted, they can be brutally honest. tank is 4x2x2 filtration :sponge filter, 2 eheim 2217's, 1 with standard media, other full of matrix. yes, leaving it with a bare bottom as its alot easier to keep clean. 40% water changes 3 times a week, the mangrove root helps keep ph at a stable 6.4 food: sera vipan flake, NLS, australian freeze dried black worms, bloodworms and discus dinner. the only chemicals i am using is prime. but i do treat for fluke worms with praziquantel and intestinal worms with with Big L levamisole pig and poultry wormer.
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Post by fisshy on Mar 1, 2012 20:51:07 GMT 11
i have heard that need to treat forintestinal worms all the time is that cause you are feedin them worms an some may carry eggs an then hatch in side when digested
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Post by firthy13 on Mar 2, 2012 13:56:09 GMT 11
some say that, but its more the case of them being carnivorous. anything that eats a lot of meat will tend to get worms. make sure you buy good quality frozen food like hikari, it guaranteed to bacteria, worm and parasite free. doesnt mean you wont get them. but will reduce the chances.
also ensure you quarantine your fish for 3 weeks before adding them to main tank to help stop spread of disease and parasites.
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Post by fisshy on Mar 2, 2012 14:20:48 GMT 11
is your matrix filter in the same line as the other filter or set up seperatly .... ie does one filter run into the other.....as i was thinkin of cf1000 with sponges etc plumbed in to a cf1000 with.matrix ..... then in same line a uv light.... as i was thinkin that the matrix filter is there for conditioning the water i thought that would be best runnin in line with the sponge filled filter to collect the large waiste an the matrix for the micro waiste
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Post by fisshy on Mar 2, 2012 19:43:11 GMT 11
you have 7 discus in ya tank for that size...... how many discus can i put in a tank size of 1000Lx500hx420deep aswell will most tropical fish go with discus ie blackwidow tetras ...danios .....swordtails
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Post by firthy13 on Mar 2, 2012 20:52:43 GMT 11
The general rule for discus is no more then 1 fish for 50 liters With a minimum of 5 fish. They get very scared and jumpy if you don't keep them in big enough schools. They will tend to hide a lot. As your tank is only 200 L before displacement it is not ideal for discus, you may get away with 5 but as they grow and pair up you will encounter aggression problems. Canisters are not designed to be connected in series. You will be reducing your water turnover by 50%, also the finer one will need to be cleaned more regularly so when you have to clean it you are going to have to turn both of them off. You are getting no benifit by connecting them in series you will create more problems for yourself. Just set them up as they are intended. As per tank mates, no they are not normal tropicals so you cant keep most fish with them. A small school of 1-2species of tetras are ok. Swordtails, plat ties and those other cheap tropicals should not be keep with discus. They can carry diseases that will wipe out discus rather quickly. Basically would your risk a $90-$150 fish for a $3 swordtail? Also angelfish shouldn't be keep with discus aswell for the same reason and also they are to aggressive feeders. No plecos or bn, they have a taste for the discus slime coat. Corydoras are a good catfish to go with, sterbai in particular as they are one of the only species that will thrive at 30degrees+ that discus require. Ottocinclus cats are great for algae.
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Post by firthy13 on Mar 3, 2012 17:50:09 GMT 11
I keep cardinals and rummy nose in with mine, only 5 of each though. Thanks for the kind words.
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Post by fisshy on Mar 3, 2012 19:25:51 GMT 11
if you buy discus with a bit of peppering if your conditions are good will they go away after a bit of time
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Post by firthy13 on Mar 3, 2012 20:56:19 GMT 11
No, if anything it will get worse. Spend the extra money and buy or order good quality fish. Sydney is great for quality discus. The stuff we get in Newcastle is s*** most of the time.
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Post by fisshy on Mar 3, 2012 21:44:57 GMT 11
i think for my first sacraficial discus i will get from up here to save time an money as i say i will loose them if there that finiky..... where do you get the pig wormer from please...your opinion what type of background should i have as i make my own ....shoul i keep it reasonably flat to give them more room to swim an no sharp edges ... or just buy a back ground sheet with plants on it to help them feel like that there in there type of enviroment...there will be some sort of plants in tank before i get the discus
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Post by firthy13 on Mar 4, 2012 8:19:58 GMT 11
dont do a 3d background, they scratch them selves on it. and with a small tank like yours you need as much room as possible. just go with a single colour background, either paint it or get that stick on plastic sheet. dont get the one with all the plants of it. you loose the discus on the background. most people preference with discus is black as it really shows of the colours alot more. also when you decide to buy them, if possible, buy them all at once. dont forget, they are cichlids and they are aggressive and do have a rather savage pecking order. so if you introduce a single fish later on it could get harassed quiet badly. also, discus dont really need any hiding spots, of cause it wont hurt them. you can run the tank completely bare. obviously if is its a display dont be the best looking tank but will definitely show off the fish well. just food for thought. just google big L pig and poultry wormer. you will find someone that can ship it to you no worries.
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Post by firthy13 on Mar 4, 2012 8:21:41 GMT 11
also last night i notcied the red spotted leopard and the red n white pigeon blood have paired up and the red spotted leopard was laying eggs on the mangrove roots while the male was sitting behind her eating the eggs
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Post by fisshy on Mar 4, 2012 20:20:13 GMT 11
instead of runnin 2 filters that are using power what if i ran 1 cannister with sponges an ran it into a above tank filter filled with matrix an then of course is gravity feed back into tank will that be ok ....an THANKS for all this great advise
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Post by firthy13 on Mar 4, 2012 21:26:03 GMT 11
Mate, your going to have over $500 worth of fish in this tank, if not more. Whats another $30 a year in electricity. if your that concerned with power consumption why don't you run the whole tank of sponges? No worries.. But I really do encourage you to sign up to discusforum and simplydiscus and do a lot more of your own research. Because this thread is only just the basics. These things work for me, that doesn't mean it will work for you. The most important thing is make sure you have good quality test kits and stay on top of your water parameters and read a lot.
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Post by fisshy on Mar 5, 2012 17:18:56 GMT 11
not to sound smart but i got 7 tanks so tryin to save a little does help ..... keeps the wife off my back ......yeah i will join a discus forum soon i am seedin a tank for a few weeks ...before i buy any .... thanks for your time any info mate....cheeres
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Post by kil308 on Mar 10, 2012 20:06:13 GMT 11
Hey Firthy, looks good mate, good job..
David...
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Post by firthy13 on Mar 10, 2012 23:08:40 GMT 11
thanks david,
just a quick update, the other night i noticed the white n red pigeon blood and the red spotted leopard cleaning an area of wood. it didnt occur to me at the time but they were actually making an area to lay egg. the next night i had hundreds of egg up one of the pieces of wood. i believe one of the other got in to them and ate them as they were gone the next day.
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Post by firthy13 on Apr 1, 2012 0:12:08 GMT 11
Well those two discus are at it again. I noticed some different behavior in the pair tonight. They were picking up the eggs and moving them around. On closer inspection the egg actually had tails and were swimming. The parents were scooping up the ones who ventured away from the grouup and put them back in with the others. The parents take turns looking after the fry and when I feed, they actually rotate several time so they both get a chance to go get food. With try get some pics of the wrigglers tomorrow.
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Post by fisshy on Apr 1, 2012 9:34:53 GMT 11
congrats there ....cant wait for the photos of little ones developing in juvies
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dazzman
xenotilapia
Mbuna Boy
Posts: 675
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Post by dazzman on Apr 1, 2012 18:16:03 GMT 11
good stuff firthy
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Post by firthy13 on Apr 2, 2012 9:12:02 GMT 11
Oh there is no way they will survive in a display tank. I very much doubt I could even keep them alive even if there was no chance of them being eaten. But we will see. About 20 left at last could. Egg sacks almost all gone so they will start feeding on slime coat soon.
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Post by fisshy on Apr 10, 2012 21:34:25 GMT 11
what do i use to treat my quarantine tank with ...... for when i introduce other small spiecies of fish as i have never quarantined a tank before
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Post by iro11a on Apr 10, 2012 23:06:10 GMT 11
Fluke and tape worm medication and get some big L pig and poultry wormer on the discus forum gives me information at a dose rate of 1ml per 7litres. good to quarantine for 4 weeks before introducing them to the main tank.
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Post by firthy13 on Apr 11, 2012 17:29:47 GMT 11
the aquamaster fluke and tapeworm tablets seem to be pretty good and readily available. just make sure the active ingredient is praziquantel. the Big L pig and poultry wormers if more for intestinal worms. its active ingredient is levamisole
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timandson
Tropheus
If it's not fish, who cares ?
Posts: 283
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Post by timandson on Apr 11, 2012 18:23:52 GMT 11
I know this is a bit late in the discussion but, your fish look AMAZING!! Soooooo beautiful. Where did you *get* them from?
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Post by firthy13 on Apr 14, 2012 13:15:16 GMT 11
got these fish at a few different stores - hunter pets, crossroads and all about fish. i did need to been pretty patient and very picky about what i purchased. alot of the fish that come in through the wholesalers are poor quality. and becuase there isnt a great market for discus in newcastle i found alot of the shops were just buys whatever was cheap or on sale on bayfish not actually paying the extra to get quality lines of fish in.
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Post by firthy13 on May 8, 2012 17:58:31 GMT 11
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