Raising Juvi Discus

[Aphotic Phoenix]

I like to do my research well in advance, and I won't be able to do this for quite a while, but the advice of some experienced discus owners would be appreciated...

I eventually want to have a 75+ Gallon (~280+ Liter) well planted Discus tank, but since I live "reasonably" close to a large hatchery I would like to go with juvi discus since I'll be able to survey their condition, know what they've been fed, etc.

The benefits of using a bare-bottom grow out tank are pretty well documented, but I was wondering if I could get a similar effect (and added benefits) by simply dividing down the large tank with a mesh divider and planting one side with fast growing nitrate sucking plants like hornwort/foxtail which don't really require a substrate.
The theory is:
- I could keep the lighting on the juvi side lower w/ higher lighting on the planted side thus "refugium" style benefit
- Easy cleaning ability retained
- More stable conditions
- Don't have to worry about conditions of main tank being different than those of the grow out tank
- Easily "expandable" as the Discus grow larger.

Of course the biggest issue would be that I'd have no ability to get the tank fully planted, troubleshoot any CO2/fert/lighting balance issues, and all pretty before adding the Discus.

Thoughts and opinions?

 

[jayjay]

Well, water changes aren't just for nitrate removal. It's all the other organic build up as well take is being removed. So you will probably still have to do a lot of water changes even with the plants. If you had a large tank you could go bare bottom as well as having the one side/end separated for plants? Or go the whole hog and setup an auto water changer.

I would go for larger discus though, they can be adapted and you can just ask what they were already being fed on without all the effort of growing them yourself.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

lol, I do twice weekly changes on my regular tropical tank...don't worry I plan on doing a lot of pwc on my discus tank, I just liked the idea of the extra benefit that plants can provide.

Plus...I like the effort of growing them myself (or at least I think I will ><). Currently saving up for several tanks / breeding pair or trio of Apistos...so I might see how that goes first.

 

[kev_kb]

To raise very young discus you'd be looking at daily water changes. I'd suggest that keeping a fully planted tank and discus are two different things that both need to be mastered. I would setup the full planted tank and run it for a few months with less sensitive fish to ensure CO2 injection is working ok and that you can keep the water parameters stable. I would then setup a bare bottom tank for the discus. If you really want juveniles then fine, but they need to be raised in large groups and will need a lot of work. Buying Discus of 4" plus will be easier and they will be able to go into the planted tank sooner, but I'd still keep them in a bare bottom tank at first. Learn how to keep them happy there, then when your confident on keeping discus and planted tanks you can mix the two. You'll need to keep up the maintenance on the planted tank to keep it really clean for the discus though, and you need to ensure the ph and softness do not fluctuate.

 

[paul-discus]

I absolutely agree with all of the above. I would never personally purchase a discus under 4" either and after saying that i would also go to a well established dealer who specializes in discus.
I take my hat off to people who can grow a nice planted aquarium but i personally would go for a biotope that just incorporates nice pieces of bogwood and almond leaves and my preference would be wild discus only as the my fish of choice. You have to be able to hoover the tank daily so you don't want food getting trapped anywhere so any planting or indeed decoration has to be done with this firmly in mind. I also do daily water changes and believe this to be extremely beneficial to the fish.
As for juvenille fish it would have to be a bare tank, regular feedings, regular hoovering, daily water changes and i would suggest this being left until you are experienced with larger fish first. I hope that some of this may help...regards....Paul.

 

[angelmouse]

i wanted to do do the same when i got my discus and and was advised against it if you want young discus to grow to their max, so i started with just afew plants and tetras for afew months then added my discus at 4", it wasn't easy with all the water changes and keeping it clean around the plants was a battle, i also found larger leaf plants easier to keep clean as any uneaten food got trapped in fine leaves, once they got bigger i started to add more plants but with lots of free swiming space at front and around plants they are now 6". If i done it again I would either get larger discus or grow them first then add plants its alot easier

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

I not worried about the work involved...that is what makes it enjoyable to me. The challenge is also an important part of the equation. I'm really not happy if there isn't something to do in my tank.

Really I was just debating on two options:

1. Keep the discus in the larger divided tank and slowly build the system after they had reached a good size or
2. Fully plant the tank, and keep other fish in it to transfer out later.

I'm pretty much stuck waiting for the current tenets lease to run out on a house owned by a family member before I can move in...so hence why I don't just go ahead and start now. I don't have the room for my plans atm, and I don't want to put myself (and fish) through the stress of moving tanks from one location to another.

Eventually I plan on two planted 50-60 gallon tanks in the living room, the discus tank in my bedroom, and the spare room will be devoted to smaller tanks for fry grow out tanks, plant nursery, QT/Hospital tanks, etc.

All things considered I may just simply plant and stock the 75 gallon until the discus were ready...keep one of the living room tanks planted and cycled to switch the 75 gallon stock to a bit in advance, over the course of a month (to decrease the chance of any unknown pathogen surviving) dose the 75 to keep it cycled, perform regular maint to ensure it's as clean as possible and to shift the parameters of 75 gallon to softer more acidic water and higher temps to ensure the plants don't melt. That at least prevents me from having to move the discus twice (in and out while the substrate is being put in), and cuts down on plant nursery space and transplanting.

Yes, I have a very very bad case of MTS.