hi every, new to discus, from newcastle.

[firthy13]

hi all
been in to african cichlids for about 4 years now and needed a change so i ripped out all the rock and coral sand and replaced it with mangroves and anubias. i started out with a few orange head tapajos n Platinum blue angels. but lately i have been wanting to change it to discus.
the tank is a 4x2x2 with 2 ehiem 2217s.

if there are any breeders that live in the newcastle area please get in to contact with me as i would love to pick your brain about this species. i really want to learn the names of all the different varieties and colour mutations so if someone could direct me to a site or page that could assist that would be fantastic.
here a a few pic of my set up.
http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq104/firthy1313/IMG_4195.jpg
http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq104/firthy1313/IMG_4133.jpg
http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq104/firthy1313/IMG_4076.jpg
http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq104/firthy1313/IMG_4145.jpg
http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq104/firthy1313/IMG_4121.jpg

[Merrilyn]

Welcome to the forum firthy. Gorgeous looking tank, and ideal for a beautiful group discus.

If you're serious about turning the tank over to discus, I'm afraid the angels will have to go. They're just too much competition for juvenile discus at meal times, plus they can carry diseases that, whilst they may show no symptoms, could wipe out your discus.

I have kept eartheaters with adult discus, and they've been quite compatible, but not juvenile discus.

Juvenile discus are always tricky to raise, and do much better on their own. With your experience keeping africans, you shouldn't have too much trouble, but your water change routine will have to be very different. Young discus have a great need for ultra clean water, so water changes must be done at least twice and preferably three times a week. Quite a job in a decorated tank, but it can be done.

Colour strains are pretty difficult to keep up with. All of the breeding farms in asia make up their own names once they establish a new strain, and with hundreds of farms, you can imagine the number of new strains that hit the market each year.

Best I can suggest, is to have a look in our classifieds section when the retailers put up adverts of their current shipment. This will give you an idea of the more popular strains.

There's lots to learn with discus, but you'll find lots of friendly folk here willing to answer your questions. :P

[Nev]

Hi and welcome :)
Great setup, nice looking tank but merrilyn is right about the angels.

[Hooked]

Hi, welcome!

Great looking tank and very impressive photographs! Nice job,

Cheers

[firthy13]

thanks guys, after observing the angels n discus eat for the first time last night i really see what you mean. the angels are pigs. today im going to try and trade in my geos and ill separate the angels out.

[Discus Planetarium]

welcome to the forum mate looks like you have a very nice tank would look good full of discus...

[iro11a]

Hey welcome to the forum, i'm also from newcastle drop me a pm anytime, will also have some juvis for sale in the next 2 months once they grow.

Cheers jon

[Mr Wild]

Ditto on the angels the geos will be ok but they will sift the sand and probably uproot your driftwood but they are fun to watch!

I'm in Taree have a couple of adults atm.

[firthy13]

well after the angels and geos where remove, they have become alot more active. feeding them Sera vipan flakes and fish dinner for discus and nls. so hopefully that will be enough variety for them. also picked up a lovely blue diamond yesterday. will post pics later.

[broadfoot]

Hey firthy,

I really like your setup. I'm in Newcastle too! I'm starting a 4x2x2 now and I'm also interested in tapajos & discus, but I'll start with discus.

I've noticed you're selling / have sold a bunch of yours. Are you changing to not have discus anymore?