New discuss tank.

Hello,

I have purchased a Jewel Vision 260 litre aquarium, and plan on keeping
Discus for the first time.

Other requirements:
- I plan to keep tropical plants (discus friendly of course)
- I would also like to keep some other fish which will co exist in harmony
with the discus. Maybe clownloach, neons and some mollies?

Where do I start? First of all, how should I cycle the tank? I am not sure
about a fishless cycle, welcome suggestions - but if someone can recommend
some hardy fish which will be happy in the tank once the discus arrive.

Do most community fish such as the species mentioned above adapt well to the
Discus optimum temperature (It is higher than normal?)?

What is the optimum discus temperature?

Lastly, I already have an established 100 litre community tank, and I am
happy to do a 40% water change and use the 40 litres of water in the new
tank if it will prove useful. However, I do not want to mess with the
filtration on my smaller tank.

Any help greatly appreciated!


Regards,

Gary.

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I did a Discus tank a year or so back & it wasn't very succesful at all -
and not for a lack of trying, research or maintenance. To this day I still
don't know why I lost them.

I have purchased a Jewel Vision 260 litre aquarium, and plan on keeping
Discus for the first time.

With Discus the old adage that you don't keep fish , you keep water is more
relevant than ever. What kind of water do you intend to put in it? If R.O.
then fine - but learn how it works & what you need to add to it, if tap
water, you'll need very soft (low Kh) water (& no, not from a water
softener!). If you have hard water you can try peat filtering but you need
to get your head around how it works (this is what I used - and still do use
for my community tanks).

- I plan to keep tropical plants (discus friendly of course)

No problem with that but you'll need plants that work well at higher temps.

I put CO2 on my tank both for the plants and to keep the Ph down for the
Discus. Its a bottled gas system with Ph controller so highly regulated.
Even so I'm not sure its a good way to manage Ph for Discus.

- I would also like to keep some other fish which will co exist in harmony
with the discus. Maybe clownloach, neons and some mollies?

Loaches & neons yes, Mollies, not really - they do best with some salt in
the water which Discuss won't like at all. Avoid things like Gouramis &
Barbs

Where do I start? First of all, how should I cycle the tank? I am not
sure
about a fishless cycle, welcome suggestions - but if someone can recommend
some hardy fish which will be happy in the tank once the discus arrive.

Fishless cyclying just involves getting some pure Ammonia from your local
Pharmacy & adding till you get a sensible level in the water & then
maintaining that while your filters kick in. It probably quicker than normal
cycling. Quickest of all is to kick start the filters with some media from
an existing tank.

Do most community fish such as the species mentioned above adapt well to
the
Discus optimum temperature (It is higher than normal?)?

Discus are best kept at 82-84 AFAIK - most FW tropicals are OK with that.

What is the optimum discus temperature?

82-84

Lastly, I already have an established 100 litre community tank, and I am
happy to do a 40% water change and use the 40 litres of water in the new
tank if it will prove useful. However, I do not want to mess with the
filtration on my smaller tank.

Its not the water you want, its the filter media.

Any help greatly appreciated!

Discus are expensive fish to buy (if you buy half-decent fish). Investigate
whether there are any local breeders that you can talk to visit & then read
up on them - and then read some more. If they aare going to come from an LFS
find out where they get them from & how long they have been bying from that
source. I don't think that there is any doubt that some strains/bloodlines
are much hardier than others.

They need a lot of looking after and lots of water changes i.e. lots of
commitment. You need to think about where the tank is going to go because
they are easily spooked and can damage themselves in the tank. You need to
understand a lot about water parameters & how to maintain them. They are
expensive fish and, having learned the hard way, not something you want to
get into trouble with & have die off on you. Lastly, I'd suggest you get the
tank up & running & established with plants & Tetras etc for 4-6 months
before you even think about putting Discus into it.

rgds

I.

Thanks for all the tips, will take them into account.

Regards,

Gary.
PS - goign with the fishless cycle, just bought a bottle of "Nutrafin Cycle"
which apparently does the job well.

Gary.

Cycle won't cycle a tank - it may take a couple of days off the time at
best.
Get the new tank up and running & then squeeze the media from your old tank
onto the new filter. This will give it a jump start & you need to add food
for the bacteria ( actual food or ammonia) to increase their numbers.



"Gary" wrote in message
news
Thanks for all the tips, will take them into account.

Regards,

Gary.
PS - goign with the fishless cycle, just bought a bottle of "Nutrafin
Cycle" which apparently does the job well.

Gary.

Only the Marineland Bio-Spira can cycle the tank from a commercial product,
IMO.

Also, do not add any Discus until stable, cycled water parameters are had
for at least 4-6 months. Introduce other sensitive fish first, such as
cardinals and Blue Rams.

Be prepared for a lot of maintenance and some few hundred dollars of lost
fish as you gain experience.

Most commercial breeders use bare tanks (no substrate).



"Sue" wrote in message
...
Cycle won't cycle a tank - it may take a couple of days off the time at
best.
Get the new tank up and running & then squeeze the media from your old
tank onto the new filter. This will give it a jump start & you need to add
food for the bacteria ( actual food or ammonia) to increase their numbers.



"Gary" wrote in message
news
Thanks for all the tips, will take them into account.

Regards,

Gary.
PS - goign with the fishless cycle, just bought a bottle of "Nutrafin
Cycle" which apparently does the job well.

Gary.

They need a lot of care and lots of water, that is a lot of changes commitment. You need to consider in the tank is going to go, because they are easily frightened and can damage your tank. You need to learn a lot about water parameters and how to maintain.

"Gary" wrote in message
.uk...

Other requirements:
- I plan to keep tropical plants (discus friendly of course)


I have a list of plants that work well for me in 86ºF water with my Discus
on the webpage in my sig.
Tankmates, too!


--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/discus.htm

Thanks Toni.

You are keeping:
Blue Diamond discus
Cardinal tetras
Diamond tetras
Harlequin Rasboras
Corydoras
Otocinclus
Farlowellas


What is the best starter fish? If I am to cycle the tank with fish, which
is best to go with? Also, do the cope with the higher water temp? In an
earlier post, it was mentioned that 82-84 is the ideal discus temp.

Regards.

Gary.

"Gary" wrote in message
.uk...
Thanks Toni.

You are keeping:
Blue Diamond discus
Cardinal tetras
Diamond tetras
Harlequin Rasboras
Corydoras
Otocinclus
Farlowellas


What is the best starter fish? If I am to cycle the tank with fish, which
is best to go with? Also, do the cope with the higher water temp? In an
earlier post, it was mentioned that 82-84 is the ideal discus temp.



I keep the tank at 86ºF.
All the other fish went in months before the Discus- they really need an
established tank especially if you intend trying them in a community
setting. It's not the easiest thing to do. Cut your teeth on the others and
make sure you have things down pat before you invest in Discus.

I do *not* recommend cycling with fish. There are too many easy alternatives
that do not cause pain and suffering to living things. IMO cycling with
cocktail shrimp or straight ammonia is the best way.
http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html


--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/discus.htm

I second that. Please cycle with amonia. Even if they don't die during
cycling, the fishes scales will be permantly burned. It would be similar to
you swimming for a long time in a pool with lots of chlorine.

Read http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php

Duzzie

"Toni" wrote in message
.. .

"Gary" wrote in message
.uk...
Thanks Toni.

You are keeping:
Blue Diamond discus
Cardinal tetras
Diamond tetras
Harlequin Rasboras
Corydoras
Otocinclus
Farlowellas


What is the best starter fish? If I am to cycle the tank with fish,
which
is best to go with? Also, do the cope with the higher water temp? In
an
earlier post, it was mentioned that 82-84 is the ideal discus temp.



I keep the tank at 86ºF.
All the other fish went in months before the Discus- they really need an
established tank especially if you intend trying them in a community
setting. It's not the easiest thing to do. Cut your teeth on the others
and
make sure you have things down pat before you invest in Discus.

I do *not* recommend cycling with fish. There are too many easy
alternatives
that do not cause pain and suffering to living things. IMO cycling with
cocktail shrimp or straight ammonia is the best way.
http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cycle2.html


--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/discus.htm