mr.reeferman
Active Member
All my fish died not sure the cause lfs tested everything is normal
Let's see your FW tanks!!!
- Thread starter StevenBell
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mr.reeferman
Active Member
And it would be just gouramis or just barbs
Cleo642
2500 Club Member
I am sorry. Did your coral make it?
mr.reeferman
Active Member
Only had two frags and from what I know they did but I won't be back to the states till the 6th
SCMatt
Active Member
Thanks!
That's just a taste of all of the pictures I have haha. I don't always have pretty show tanks but I've kept FW for many many years now. Here are some of my older photos.
Same wild discus as above. They are like coral frags, you buy them for potential. They don't always come in looking like how they end up.
I've kept some Geos
As well as some wild Angels
Festivums again
And a whole heap of discus
Here is an old African cichlid tank circa 2007
Cleo642
2500 Club Member
Where do you but your discus from?Thanks!
That's just a taste of all of the pictures I have haha. I don't always have pretty show tanks but I've kept FW for many many years now. Here are some of my older photos.
Same wild discus as above. They are like coral frags, you buy them for potential. They don't always come in looking like how they end up.
I've kept some Geos
As well as some wild Angels
Festivums again
And a whole heap of discus
Here is an old African cichlid tank circa 2007
OP
OP
StevenBell
Well-Known Member
Good looking stuff y'all!
mr.reeferman
Active Member
matt are discus hard to keep ? and would they do well in a tank with dry rock
SCMatt
Active Member
I have none at the moment but there are a number of great vendors I would recommend. Kenny's Discus out in the Bay area, Discus Hans from Baltimore, Josie from Chicago Discus, Jamie and Nate from Arizona Discus, or Eric from Carolina Discus. Anyone who is a sponsor on Simply Discus is who I would trust, those sponsors have been vetted and staples in the discus hobby for years. Wilds are another matter and there are only 2 vendors in North America that I'd trust for them first Mark from Discus Origins and John from Freshwater Tropicals (Snookn21 on multiple forums and aquabid). And wilds are seasonal so Fall-winter is the best time for them.
I would say if you maintain a healthy reef, and/or have been in the aquatics hobby for a good while then they would be fairly easy. They do need some TLC, much like our reefs/SW fish and coral so I wouldn't say they are easy like a bag of mixed africans or any of the community fish at the LFS. The keys to discus IMO are simple, start with healthy stock from a reliable source, provide constant clean water, and a good meaty protein filled diet and you shouldn't have issues. Most people get turned off at the water changes, but feeding such meaty protein rich foods its really hard to escape this. This is also the reason most people go barebottom and sponge filters with the tanks, ease of cleaning it comes in handy. I don't see why they couldn't do fine in a tank with dry rock provided you don't let anything fester down there in or under the rocks!
Also, start with the largest discus your budget will allow. We all like growing stuff out but the smaller the discus, the harder the routine gets as they have very critical growth stages under 2", 2-3", and then hitting that 4-5" stage where they become exponentially easier IMO. I've always said if you end up with 6" discus you are doing very well, larger is a plus but 6" is probably the average of what you want to end up with for your adults.
These aren't my personal fish but photos of some of the showfish at the last 2 North American Discus Assoc conventions. Every color and pattern you can think of! (Almost)
Here is a photo of my wild angel tank when it was first setup, I eventually added more wood than you see here. These angels were mammoths. When the largest died I measured it, about 8" from tip of nose to end of streamer and from top to bottom fin to fin it came in at around 11-12" tall. Just massive.
Am I sharing to many photos?
Cleo642
2500 Club Member
Is jack wattley discus a sponsor too.I have none at the moment but there are a number of great vendors I would recommend. Kenny's Discus out in the Bay area, Discus Hans from Baltimore, Josie from Chicago Discus, Jamie and Nate from Arizona Discus, or Eric from Carolina Discus. Anyone who is a sponsor on Simply Discus is who I would trust, those sponsors have been vetted and staples in the discus hobby for years. Wilds are another matter and there are only 2 vendors in North America that I'd trust for them first Mark from Discus Origins and John from Freshwater Tropicals (Snookn21 on multiple forums and aquabid). And wilds are seasonal so Fall-winter is the best time for them.
I would say if you maintain a healthy reef, and/or have been in the aquatics hobby for a good while then they would be fairly easy. They do need some TLC, much like our reefs/SW fish and coral so I wouldn't say they are easy like a bag of mixed africans or any of the community fish at the LFS. The keys to discus IMO are simple, start with healthy stock from a reliable source, provide constant clean water, and a good meaty protein filled diet and you shouldn't have issues. Most people get turned off at the water changes, but feeding such meaty protein rich foods its really hard to escape this. This is also the reason most people go barebottom and sponge filters with the tanks, ease of cleaning it comes in handy. I don't see why they couldn't do fine in a tank with dry rock provided you don't let anything fester down there in or under the rocks!
Also, start with the largest discus your budget will allow. We all like growing stuff out but the smaller the discus, the harder the routine gets as they have very critical growth stages under 2", 2-3", and then hitting that 4-5" stage where they become exponentially easier IMO. I've always said if you end up with 6" discus you are doing very well, larger is a plus but 6" is probably the average of what you want to end up with for your adults.
These aren't my personal fish but photos of some of the showfish at the last 2 North American Discus Assoc conventions. Every color and pattern you can think of! (Almost)
Here is a photo of my wild angel tank when it was first setup, I eventually added more wood than you see here. These angels were mammoths. When the largest died I measured it, about 8" from tip of nose to end of streamer and from top to bottom fin to fin it came in at around 11-12" tall. Just massive.
Am I sharing to many photos?
SCMatt
Active Member
It is not. Jack doesn't have much to do with the business anymore and is rapidly aging. Gabe a guy that has worked with him for years to my knowledge is running the farm now. Again to my knowledge they are importing these days vs breeding like Jack did it years ago. Pretty much all of the old Wattley strains have been lost apart from maybe a few keeping it alive in Japan. I can't really comment on quality as I've never bought fish from them before. Seen people on both sides of the fence that have. That's why I just stick to the Simply crowd and play it safe.
Cleo642
2500 Club Member
I follow the Jack Wattley discus page on Facebook. The guy, Gabe, he does run it but he breeds discus there. He imports discus too but that is just to breed better stains. Idk. He shows parents and newly hatched ones. They are all pretty to me.
Waters
"...in perfect isolation, here behind my wall."
Here are a couple of pictures of my old planted tank......
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SCMatt
Active Member
Took some new shots of the Tropheus tank last night. FTS one with tank lights and one with speedlites firing above to see what effect I could get. Then a fish photo and a headshot.
I think my ball head was unlevel here...LOL oh well.
I kept the crop fairly large so you could appreciate it more, hope I don't blow up people's computers. Those viewing on a smart phone don't stand a chance.
I think my ball head was unlevel here...LOL oh well.
I kept the crop fairly large so you could appreciate it more, hope I don't blow up people's computers. Those viewing on a smart phone don't stand a chance.
Waters
"...in perfect isolation, here behind my wall."
Beautiful tank....never thought I would like the looks of keeping just one species of Cichlid (or any fish for that matter) but that tank definitely works.
Cleo642
2500 Club Member
I am sure some of you who have dealt with freshwater aquariums have heard of Takashi Amano. This man created beautiful aquarium designs that mimicked nature. He authored books teaching people how to create these beautiful designs themselves. I only wish I was a fraction as talented as this man was. He passed away today at age 61. Mr. Amano is an aquarium legend.
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WOWI am sure some of you who have dealt with freshwater aquariums have heard of Takashi Amano. This man created beautiful aquarium designs that mimicked nature. He authored books teaching people how to create these beautiful designs themselves. I only wish I was a fraction as talented as this man was. He passed away today at age 61. Mr. Amano is an aquarium legend.
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