hamfist
Fish Herder
I have to admit that I have completely copied ... or is it "been inspired by" Snowflake311.
I have got a single discus to go in my very peaceful 130 gallon (500 litre) tank.
Main tankmates are 2 x Uaru and a chocolate cichlid, along with a load of other smaller stuff.
I just wanted one colourful, peaceful and sizeable fish to finish off the stocking of this tank. I did have a super red and turquoise severums in with the same fish but the sevs were just too boisterous and grumpy, so live in an 80 gallon on their own now.
The uaru and chocolate are wonderful, and characterful fish, always on the move around the tank grazing around for food. But none of them are particularly colourful.
So anyway after Snowflake's purchase, and her subsequent threads on fish forums I decided that a single discus might well do for me and was worth giving a go.
So I bought one today, not quite on impulse, but almost. I had been thinking about it but didn't go out with the intention of getting one.
Ended up buying a 4" blue turquoise discus (now named Eric) at a very reasonable price (I thought). He was being kept in acidic, soft water (although had been raised in hard alkaline water) so I knew I had to do the acclimation very slowly and carefully.
It all went well for the first hour. I'd set up the large bag with the fish in, floating in the tank, being held in one place by two stones on the edges of the bag holding it onto the glass cover plates to hold it all in place. I'd even got an air line set up into the bag. NEVER have I gone to so much trouble to acclimate a fish so perfectly. I was adding small amounts of tank water every 10-15 mins. Anyway, it was going well, and I had planned a 2-3 hour acclimation process. However on the hour, I managed to drop both stones straight into the bag with the fish, which promptly shot down to the bottom of the tank, and the discus shot out of the bag like a rocket and into the tank ..... acclimation process officially over !!
Despite this cock up, Eric seems to have survived the process well and has slowly been investigating his world. Even nibbling on silk plants. The others have checked him out but with no aggression toward him as yet. I'll try and get a photo later, although I don't want to stress him out. I'll see how he goes.
It's frozen bloodworm tonight so I'm hoping he might even eat one or two of those. He was the alpha male in his tank at the shop so I'm hoping he will be confident and outgoing.
I'll get a pic up as soon as poss.
I have got a single discus to go in my very peaceful 130 gallon (500 litre) tank.
Main tankmates are 2 x Uaru and a chocolate cichlid, along with a load of other smaller stuff.
I just wanted one colourful, peaceful and sizeable fish to finish off the stocking of this tank. I did have a super red and turquoise severums in with the same fish but the sevs were just too boisterous and grumpy, so live in an 80 gallon on their own now.
The uaru and chocolate are wonderful, and characterful fish, always on the move around the tank grazing around for food. But none of them are particularly colourful.
So anyway after Snowflake's purchase, and her subsequent threads on fish forums I decided that a single discus might well do for me and was worth giving a go.
So I bought one today, not quite on impulse, but almost. I had been thinking about it but didn't go out with the intention of getting one.
Ended up buying a 4" blue turquoise discus (now named Eric) at a very reasonable price (I thought). He was being kept in acidic, soft water (although had been raised in hard alkaline water) so I knew I had to do the acclimation very slowly and carefully.
It all went well for the first hour. I'd set up the large bag with the fish in, floating in the tank, being held in one place by two stones on the edges of the bag holding it onto the glass cover plates to hold it all in place. I'd even got an air line set up into the bag. NEVER have I gone to so much trouble to acclimate a fish so perfectly. I was adding small amounts of tank water every 10-15 mins. Anyway, it was going well, and I had planned a 2-3 hour acclimation process. However on the hour, I managed to drop both stones straight into the bag with the fish, which promptly shot down to the bottom of the tank, and the discus shot out of the bag like a rocket and into the tank ..... acclimation process officially over !!
Despite this cock up, Eric seems to have survived the process well and has slowly been investigating his world. Even nibbling on silk plants. The others have checked him out but with no aggression toward him as yet. I'll try and get a photo later, although I don't want to stress him out. I'll see how he goes.
It's frozen bloodworm tonight so I'm hoping he might even eat one or two of those. He was the alpha male in his tank at the shop so I'm hoping he will be confident and outgoing.
I'll get a pic up as soon as poss.
Worked though and he settled a treat.
