DISCUS TANK "Doing it the MFK way"

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
DaveB;4705358; said:
Interesting. So the reddest ones in there are just the original emerald greens then?

How old were your babies before you netted them out? My pair has conquered an entire half of my tank protecting their brood. But I'm afraid to take them from their parents just yet.

What dream tank dimensions are you saving up for?

I have pretty much the same combo except my tank footprint (once set up) means I can only do Hystrix. Which is fine... I don't need the giant ones to be happy.
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Yea, by the end of the week I should have reds in there ;).

I'm looking to get like a 300 or 360 for an inside tank. At least 3 feet wide.

I removed the babies soon as I saw they were in her mouth. I just keep them in the breeder net as shown in the same tank. This way the water chemistry stay's consistent. When I tried catching the mom she spit out all the fry and most got away. I managed to get as much as I can but the others were way to small to chase around. I probably have about a 50+ babies growing. They are getting size on them as well. All I feed is grounded up Tetra flakes. I mashed it up really fine and feed that. At least twice a day. I just make sure in the morning I put enough for them to be able to graze for food until I get home in the evening.
 
R1_Ridah;4705461; said:
Yea, by the end of the week I should have reds in there ;).
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Nice. Nhamunda? The ones in the Dec shipment have a ton of color. I have been in touch with him since early last month but still haven't made up my mind 100%. I have San Merah in my upstairs tank and am thinking of putting some Santarem in with them, which satisfies my red/orange/blue combo needs and frees me up to put a different variety of true wilds downstairs when I set that tank up. Still haven't decided what'll go best with Leucosticta, Abalios, and a black Aro. I know you and others will probably suggest heckels, but I'm not a giant fan of them. Or at least not enough of one to say "yes, definitely, I want to put Heckels downstairs." I hate indecisiveness.

It seems that you combat that by just getting a bunch of each :)

I'm looking to get like a 300 or 360 for an inside tank. At least 3 feet wide.
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If I may, with your tastes, stocking amount, and photo skills, I would highly recommend an unusually tall tank too. Obviously that means much thicker glass/acrylic, which basically triples the cost... but man, a very tall discus-filled tank would just be jaw-dropping. Think of the photos you could take (and we could look at, heh)!

I removed the babies soon as I saw they were in her mouth. I just keep them in the breeder net as shown in the same tank. This way the water chemistry stay's consistent. When I tried catching the mom she spit out all the fry and most got away. I managed to get as much as I can but the others were way to small to chase around. I probably have about a 50+ babies growing. They are getting size on them as well. All I feed is grounded up Tetra flakes. I mashed it up really fine and feed that. At least twice a day. I just make sure in the morning I put enough for them to be able to graze for food until I get home in the evening.
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Thanks for that info. I think I was a bit too hesitant to try to go in there while they were holding - plus I had a few people advise me not to - and then I started watching their parenting behavior (which is just plain fascinating - if you have a 20-30 long to set them in in a week or two to start over, I'd highly recommend it)... and now I think just in the few hours since I wrote that, they may have lost them all. They started getting really bold about where in the tank they were with their brood, which had dwindled, and now suddenly their coloring has gone back to normal. I should've just siphoned the kids out two days ago. If only to avoid the inevitable crying fit my wife will have.

Hopefully Pair #2 downstairs will get busy soon. I think I'm going to go give them a -3 degree water change and some zucchini (seems to stimulate spawning). Peathenster has some cool videos of the pair he kept separate, which stuck around raising the fry well past a full month. Pretty cool.
 
That's an amazing setup:drool:! Love the 3d background and the discus:jaw:
 
DaveB;4705814; said:
Nice. Nhamunda? I have San Merah in my upstairs tank and am thinking of putting some Santarem in with them, which satisfies my red/orange/blue combo needs and frees me up to put a different variety of true wilds downstairs when I set that tank up. Still haven't decided what'll go best with Leucosticta, Abalios, and a black Aro. I know you and others will probably suggest heckels, but I'm not a giant fan of them.

If I may, with your tastes, stocking amount, and photo skills, I would highly recommend an unusually tall tank too.

I started watching their parenting behavior (which is just plain fascinating - if you have a 20-30 long to set them in in a week or two to start over, I'd highly recommend it)... and now I think just in the few hours since I wrote that, they may have lost them all.
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Yea, I'm excited about the Nhamunda. That will definitely satisfy my red craving, at least for now. however the San Merah is insane in it's breeding colors. Or does the deep red always stay the same? My LFS distributes for Discus Hans and they had a BEAUTIFUL Santarem that I was going to purchase. As my tank was cycling it was on hold for me but one of the employees had forgotten it was on hold for me and sold it =-( ..... I told him it better have been some hot chick...lol...haha...

I wasn't really a fan of Heckels either but had wanted at least two in my tank, just to get some blue's. But after receiving them I'm glad I did. I ordered a couple of Blue face Heckel from Snook. They have really grown on me. Especially the batch I picked up from a local hobbyist the other weekend. Below is the Nhamunda Bluemoon Heckel, one of the Heckel strains picked up from the batch.

As for the height of the tank. Yes, I plan on going tall. Especially that it will be my Discus tank. I want at least a width of 3 feet but will give up the length for more height.

It felt bad stripping the mom from the fry's. But I assume they've been in her mouth for a few days prior to me seeing them. Because when I did see them they were pretty comfortable being out and about. My female looks to be ready to drop another batch in my tank. This time I will just leave them in the tank.

115JPG2.jpg
 
the_deeb;4705775; said:
The tank looks great. I love the wild discus, especially the heckels. Personally, I think the bright color of the albinos clashes and doesn't complement the overall look. To each their own, but If it was my tank, I would stick with all wilds.
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I hear ya.. I'm really torn about the Albino's. Part of me say's get rid or them, than another say's get rid of half, then when I get home and see them in my tank, I can't see getting rid of them...LOL.... They do stand out when your watching the tank. But I feel as they are my trainers for my wilds. It seems that my wilds follow everything they do...haha.... Seeing them in person though is a whole other story. Just beautiful..... decisions, decisions...
 
R1_Ridah;4707459;4707459 said:
Yea, I'm excited about the Nhamunda. That will definitely satisfy my red craving, at least for now. however the San Merah is insane in it's breeding colors. Or does the deep red always stay the same? My LFS distributes for Discus Hans and they had a BEAUTIFUL Santarem that I was going to purchase. As my tank was cycling it was on hold for me but one of the employees had forgotten it was on hold for me and sold it =-( ..... I told him it better have been some hot chick...lol...haha...

I wasn't really a fan of Heckels either but had wanted at least two in my tank, just to get some blue's. But after receiving them I'm glad I did. I ordered a couple of Blue face Heckel from Snook. They have really grown on me. Especially the batch I picked up from a local hobbyist the other weekend. Below is the Nhamunda Bluemoon Heckel, one of the Heckel strains picked up from the batch.

As for the height of the tank. Yes, I plan on going tall. Especially that it will be my Discus tank. I want at least a width of 3 feet but will give up the length for more height.

It felt bad stripping the mom from the fry's. But I assume they've been in her mouth for a few days prior to me seeing them. Because when I did see them they were pretty comfortable being out and about. My female looks to be ready to drop another batch in my tank. This time I will just leave them in the tank.

115JPG2.jpg
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Those blue faced ones are awesome (still need to learn my variants lol)! I'm not ready to mess with the wilds, but who would you recommend as a source? I know Snookn has quite a bit.

I'm thinking a rimless 48x30x20 would be nice for my next tank. I don't want a tall tank though, since I'll be planting it. Maintenance would be a nightmare. Plus, you can't go tall with a rimless tank unless you get super thick glass which would cost a small fortune.
 
jcardona1;4707483; said:
Those blue faced ones are awesome (still need to learn my variants lol)! I'm not ready to mess with the wilds, but who would you recommend as a source? I know Snookn has quite a bit.

I'm thinking a rimless 48x30x20 would be nice for my next tank. I don't want a tall tank though, since I'll be planting it. Maintenance would be a nightmare. Plus, you can't go tall with a rimless tank unless you get super thick glass which would cost a small fortune.
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Snook as great wilds offered at incredible prices. All the discus I've gotten from him are great in my book and I've been extremely pleased. Discus has been girthy, active, eating the same day soon as they are released in my tank, just incredible experience. You can't go wrong dealing with Snook.

Other's I've read about is Hans Discus that distributes for H&K Discus which brings in some incredible looking wilds but at a price. Like the Blue Moons I have pictured.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhhKEiNVnY8

It's very similar to PBASS politics. Same fish could be sold but dependent on vendor will determine price. Also, source is key, just like Pbass.
 
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