Heckel Discus

[blue acara]

Hi all, my new wild Heckles arrived yesterday morning. I have 7 of them in a 55 gallon bare bottom tank. The tank has a couple pieces of wood and I have thrown in some weighted down plants for them to hide in. Water is GH 3 KH 2 TDS 110 ppm. No pics yet but their shape looks pretty good.

So far they are still very stressed and are all huddled together behind the wood and plants, the good news is they have eaten-I have seen most, maby all of them eat. I have fed them live bloodworm and live brineshrimp, and some have eaten a small amount of Tetra pro. I have used a turkey baster to get the food near them.

This morning, after having the room light on for an hour I turned on the aquarium light (60 watts). They did not appreciate this at all, some of them swimming erratically on the bottom of the tank. So I turned this off right away and put on a small 11 watt light.

Hopefully some good news and pictures to follow over the coming weeks. Wish me and the Heckles luck

 

[angelmouse]

congrats , i love wild discus, look great in a planted tank, no domestic discus can beat them for looks and gracefullness, hope to get some oneday but they can be expensive. can't wait to see your photos, let us know how they settle in, i'm sure once they realize you are the main man with the food they will stop hideing.
good luck but i'm sure you won't need it
regards Angel

 

[darknirvana217]

Heckels are amazing. They are so hard to find lfs were I live, I hoep tehy do well.

 

[blue acara]

Day 3 with the Heckles- I'm really happy to say every thing is good with them.
They are eating well, they still love the live foods and they are also enjoying some earthworm stick.

Here are some pics-

They look good don't they!? There 3 inch long approx. After only 3 days of being in a new tank, I'm well impressed with them.

They don't seem to mind me getting close to the glass, or the camera.

 

[randallhart]

great looking Heckels.

 

[angelmouse]

they are great looking discus , make sure you lock your doors cause i might be round to pinch them (dont be fooled by my santa disguise on christmas eve) LOL. Did you get them from plymouth discus as i have be looking at theirs on the web site, i'm going to cornwall this weekend i might pop in and take a look.
Glad to see they like their new home
regards Angel

 

[blue acara]

great looking Heckels.

Thanks.

they are great looking discus , make sure you lock your doors cause i might be round to pinch them (dont be fooled by my santa disguise on christmas eve) LOL. Did you get them from plymouth discus as i have be looking at theirs on the web site, i'm going to cornwall this weekend i might pop in and take a look.
Glad to see they like their new home
regards Angel

Thanks Angel
Must remember to lock them doors then, I haven't got a chimney so you can forget about that too.

Yup got them from Plymouth Discus- They were very well packed and in good condition so thanks Plymouth Discus.

 

[darknirvana217]

Wow those are really nice and I see you have got good filtration on them too.

 

[blue acara]

Little update on the Heckels- They are eating well and some more color is starting to show. I have lowered the tds to 50 ppm.

not a good pic but it shows the lines starting to come.

 

[kribensis12]

Very Nice!!!!!!!!!!! I love them!!!!! They look like they've grown a bit too! Very Pretty!

 

[severum boy]

Very very nice!
If only every Discus keeper kept Heckels, the world would be a better place.
You thinking of adding any other fish to the tank?

 

[Straydum]

yes the wild variants pawns the inbreeds

 

[blue acara]

Very Nice!!!!!!!!!!! I love them!!!!! They look like they've grown a bit too! Very Pretty!

Thanks. I have noticed some growth Hopefully in a year or two they will be dinner plate sized.

Very very nice!
If only every Discus keeper kept Heckels, the world would be a better place.
You thinking of adding any other fish to the tank?

My plan is to keep them alone in the 55 gallon for 6-12 months. After this I will move them into a 100 gallon where they will have some tank mates. I'm thinking 1-2 groups of Tetras and some Corys.

yes the wild variants pawns the inbreeds

I like both domestic and wild Discus, although the Heckel and wild green are my favorite.

 

[blue acara]

Decent close up of the best looker in the group.

 

[blue acara]

Had the Heckel discus for almost 2 months now. Time for an update with pics.

I have changed the tank a bit to look more natural. White sand and lots of wood is Blehers advice so that is what I have done.

Tank a month ago:

Now:

I have even added some brown curtains to the tank to hopefully make them feel more secure and to block light when they go to sleep.

As you can see from these photos of the tank they hide behind the wood alot(they come out as soon as food is added to the tank). Wether this is because they are young (1 year old approx) or fairly new to the tank I don't know, hopefully in time they will come out more.

Some pics of the fish!: