Newish Tank

[Sydney Dean]

Hello all.
I setup a new tropical tank 2 months ago, 140l. It's my first fishkeeping experience since I was a kid with goldfish... and I've absolutely loved it so far!

I've had a real variety of small fish in my tank, but last week introduced a Discus. He (she? I don't know!) just sat with his nose in the corner for the first day, but now he roams around quite freely. I also noticed that he's a different color depending on the lighting. Usually he's changing from Red / Blue depending on whether he's in front of / behind the top globe, but under my camera's flash he's green :)

Anyway, I've got heaps of beginner questions about the Discus and my tank in general... First off, it looks like most people buy discus in pairs... do I have a male or female? What should I consider when getting a mate? (my first instinct would be to go back to the store and ask them "hey, remember that discus I bought...").

Also, my neons die. I've gone through about 30 of them. For the first 4 weeks I took a water sample in and had it checked, first the PH was too high, then the ammonia was too high, then the PH and the Nitrite / Nitrate were too high... but eventually (after removing / soaking all my decorations, and purchasing a bunch of water treatment stuff) I got it all under control.

Then neons kept dying... so I thought it might be the rainbow shark eating them, and took him back.

but the neons keep dying! and this morning my guppie was dead too :(
I've put the 3 killifish into a net in the corner. they have big mouths and I am suspicious of them.

So anyways, at present I've got:
1 Discus
3 Neon Tetra's
3 Killifish (Panchax?)
2 Rummynose
1 Glass [catfish?]
1 Pakistani Loach
1 (mini gourami? not sure. he looks like a cookies n cream :))
1 sucking catfish (bottom feeder?)

[axl]

what sort of filtration you got in there??? I bet the tank wasn't cycled was it??? and that's why your getting ammonia

[Sydney Dean]

I just had a look and im having trouble identifying the exact make/model filter, but it had 2 "cartridges" with spongey stuff and charcoal in there, but after the high nitrate/nitrite reading, I cleaned one out with fresh water. and did a 50% water change, and put some "bacteria booster" or something in. haven't had any trouble since then. 2 weeks before putting in the Discuss I chucked a bag of "ceramic noodles" into the filter as well (between the 2 cartridges) and when its time to swap one of those out I'll fill the noodlebag up with some more noodles too.

I don't know what cycling a tank means, but it was acctually an old tank we had since 1988-2005 with goldfish in it. Then from 2005 - 2 months ago, it was just an empty tank with no water, but gravel and ournaments in it. Then i took everything out, scrubbed it down, and went and bought a brand new filter and heater.

It looks a hellovalot like the Aqua One Clear View 500.
http://www.aquaticlifeaquariums.com.au/contents/en-uk/p3361_Aqua-One-Clear-View-500-Filter.html

[Discus Planetarium]

a mate your discus looks good you should get another 4 they do better in groups how long has your tank been running for now keep doing your water tests discus fish like a low ph let me know how you go....brock...

[Sydney Dean]

Hey brock, thanks for the message. I'm thinking about getting another one but I don't know what to look for in a mate (how do I tell if mine's a guy or a girl?)

I've had the tank running for 2 months, I'm doing PH tests every time I change the water (once - twice a week) and full ph/ammonia/nitrate/nitrite tests every 2-3 weeks from the store. PH is around 6.5.

[Discus Planetarium]

a mate i think your discus is still young the only way i know i have a female is the female will start to clean the breeding cone the male will watch for some time before helping her you should get 3-4 more discus then when they are ready they will pair up it sounds like your water is all good now if you live in qld i have some a grade discus for sale if you live in nsw marlon would be your man to contact good luck with it all and let me know how you go...

[Sydney Dean]

Cool, thanks for the tips! I'm on the Central Coast and have been dealing with Awesome Aquariums at Tuggerah. They only had 4-5 Discus. and at $95/ea, buying a pair certainly wasn't the first thing to pop to mind!

[Discus Planetarium]

contact marlon on the forum here you will get much better discus from him than a lfs at much better prices also tell him i sent you love your pics looks good

[goodoo]

This is the best post ever. Sorry but I was laughing in a nice way. I like the way you went into keeping fish, That discus is an awsome looking fish. Now you have to keep him alive, I think its a boy. You will need to learn about water chemistry. If your discus is happy dont rush into getting more fish. I made that mistake among others. But you will need to eventually get more discus a bigger tank bigger filters. A huge water storage device, some books more heaters air pumps, salt and some pool filter sand, that substrate is horrible. Theres heaps of other stuff you will need but i cant remember. And dont but any more neons, even neons take up valuable discus space. Also start aiming towards changing 100% of your water every week.

[lpiasente]

$95 for that fish is very expensive, you should have got 2 for that price. Get on to Marlons discus like said above. Now you have 1 the addiction WILL begin :)

[goodoo]

I think marlon has a minimum order. I paid 70 for my first discus from a fish shop and he is a heaps better fish than the $220 dollar fish i have bought from sponsers.