Planted or Bare Bottom???

[Proteus]

Which is better?

Why?

[Essayons89]

Planted all of the way!!!

Unless I'm planning on breeding them I prefer planted tanks. Outside of asthetics I like the benefits that plants provide in the aquarium, eat up ammonia, nitrates, etc. I think that they add to the overall health and provide a balance to the tank.

Bryan

[kevkoi]

Here's my opinions on the topic...

It comes down to what u intend to do with your fish and what u expect from your fish.

Do you want to grow your fish or do you just want them to add colour to a display tank? Are u intending to grow/show/breed your fish? Or is it a pet fish?

I find that it is usually very hard to grow small fish to large show fish in a planted tank. People that want their Discus for show/competition want to grow their fish as large as possible and as imposing a fish as possible in the shortest period of time. LARGE fish score well, young fish have good skin quality and again, score better... so young and large stands a good chance of winning Grand champion at a show.

Planted tank discus usually don't get to over about 4inch in size. I don't think I have heard of a Discus Grand Champion in any show around the world that has been grown up in a fully planted tank with gravel.. They are all bare bottom grown fish.

Also, because in shows, discus are showcased in bare bottom tanks, if your fish has been grown up in a planted environment, it will not show well at the shows because it would be stressed.

Next, to the aesthetic point of view of certain discus bred from the pigeon blood base. Pigeon blood discus and fish bred from them tend not to look so good grown up in planted tanks. The reason for that is that in heavily planted tanks, we require lots of lighting (Even metal halide lighting!). These orange discus tend to speckled with strong lighting and get this black dusting on their bodies in strong light. So fish like Marlborough reds, Pigeons, etc tend to not look so good in planted tanks after a while. The breeders are working on red fish strains that speckle less.... The Goldens are now the current base for better red fish these days that do not speckle as much. Red Melons, Bunga Raya, Golden leopards etc that are bred from the Goldens tend to keep the speckling to a minimum, but in a brightly lit tank, chances are that u will still see a few black spots.

In planted tanks, stick to the blue fish if you're not a fan of the black speckling effect on red fish or only plant very low light plants like Anubias, Java moss, bolbitus and cryps with one bar of lighting.

Another problem a discus keeper sometimes has is medicating in a planted tank..... How much water is there in the tank after displacement? How do u dose medication when u are unsure of the volume? Also, some dye medications tend to get depleted quite quickly in planted tanks so the fish don't get a full dose. Then there is the problem of dosing meds in a community tank... U've got other fish to worry about! Praziquanted, a drug commonly used for deworming discus cannot be used in the tank if you have for instance, bristlenose catfish in there! Are we going to wreck the planted tank to get the bristlenose catfish out of the tank b4 we deworm the discus??

That's just a few practical 'problems' I can think of against the Discus planted tank..... but hey, we at SLS are just about to embark on a 6x2x2 planted Discus tank with all the gear.... Heating cables, CO2 system, PH controler, Computer dosing systems, Metal halides.... the whole works! The reason for that? IT LOOKS BLOODY AWESOME!!!

kev

[Essayons89]

Like you basically said, it's all a matter of personal preference.

Since I have no intention (at least for the near future) or raising show quality discus I want a nice display tank. The new tank for my discus will be 75g-- once I get the Tanganyikans out of it of course. ;)

Bryan

[Annie]

I like a fully planted low light tank for my Blue Diamonds...Plants fish and water quality go great together when properly taken care of.
I love my fish and my plants.. :D

[Lily]

I have no intention of showing my discus. I also have no real intention of breeding them because I can't be sure what they're bloodlines are and I suspect they are not pure blue diamonds (damned pretty fish though). If and when I decide to breed discus (and after I am released from the asylum and have secured a substantial bank loan) I would get me some of SLS's nice ocean greens or bunga rayas (sp??) because I figure if I'm going to spend money breeding them they might as well be saleable ...

BUT I digress!

I think my discus like the planted tank. They are being nasty to me at the moment and hide when they see me coming but they have coloured up beautifully, have great appetites and clearly are not distressed (just cheeky). SO if they like the planted tank, planted tank it is. It makes the water chemistry so, well, nice too. And I don't keep bristlenoses etc with them (I always thought that was discouraged) so medicating isn't a problem, and I would quarantine any fish I added to the tank so new illness isn't really an issue.

sorry to rabbit on!

Lisa

[Proteus]

Lisa... if it works, then do what is best for you...

yes, there are stats proving that bare bottom tanks, and huge water change ratios will grow the discus quicker, and prepare them for breeding in a better way... but is the Amazon glass bottomed... NOPE!!! so that throws that theory out the door...

I have both, bare bottom tanks, and planted... they both work, the fish are happy, I am very happy... so it is a win/win situation...

[Mattzilla]

i have bare bottom only atm and find it helps me provide excellent water conditions for my discus. i would like to have a planted tank one day that i would stock with adults....but not for a while

i want to give breeding etc a go first

[nicholas76]

I.M.O

Bare bottom tanks - easy to maintain water quaility and tank hygiene at a premuim level

Planted - Looks Great! - greater effort in keeping it clean and maintaining above points

Nick

[luvfishies]

I.M.O

Bare bottom tanks - easy to maintain water quaility and tank hygiene at a premuim level

Planted - Looks Great! - greater effort in keeping it clean and maintaining above points

Nick

Big fat Ditto.

My fishies are pets, so I go planted.

[flukes]

Planted tanks arnt always harder to keep clean as the plants soak up alot of nitrate therefore less water changes. Just a hassel with gravel and plants to clean the tank.

[luvfishies]

Planted tanks arnt always harder to keep clean as the plants soak up alot of nitrate therefore less water changes. Just a hassel with gravel and plants to clean the tank.

We change water for more than just removing nitrates. There are many other things that need removing and/or replacing via waterchanges, not to mention the excess food and poop that gets trapped in the gravel, which can be considerable.l

[Annie]

We change water for more than just removing nitrates. There are many other things that need removing and/or replacing via waterchanges, not to mention the excess food and poop that gets trapped in the gravel, which can be considerable.l

Oh luv I think you just wrapped it all up. When I first started keeping fish again, I heard or read this "The solution to pollution is dilution" some where...I cannot remember where, but gosh, it is so true!

Another point that can be made with water changes other than the dilutung of toxins and cleaning up the waste is the dilutions of meds.
Works wonders. :wink:

[Proteus]

Thought I might dig this up since we have many new members since this was an active topic...

[Merrilyn]

And some good information there too. Thanks proteus.

[DiscusMad]

I love seeing my discus swim through the plants and get right down on there sides when chaseing that missed bit of food at the base of the plants

[Proteus]

And some good information there too. Thanks proteus

After reading that post by Kev, plus the other insights afterwards, I thought this topic needs further discussion.

At the end of the day it come down to preference, but I cant seem to think, plants are good for there development and nitrate obsorption.

[Del]

I would not of thought of a bare bottom tank when deciding on discus. I guess I want the Amazon in my lounge room - well as close to it as I can get it... personal preference but planted tank for me.

[leanne31]

Just wondering why people say that discus dont grow as fast or as big in a planted compared to a bare bottom I have a planted and my sister has a bb just due to I stay at home with the kids so I have time to clean and vac etc, but I dont know about the size they'll eventually get to but growing fast comparing the two tanks I would have to say its 5o/50 she has a couple that are growing faster but then she gave me a pb that wasnt growing compared to her two now mines bigger and we both got a rm each well, she got two but my rm would easily be 3 times the size as both of hers and she has a couple that have grown faster than mine. We thought we'd test it out and I dont see the difference but then again mine might get to a certain size and stop growing and hers might continue guess we'll have to see but for now Im sticking with my gravel, planted tank the fish like it and so do I. :lol:

Leanne

For me it is diet. Beef heart and planted tank is a nightmare. Bare bottom is easy

[Merrilyn]

Hi africandiscus, and welcome to the forum. Like you, I have mostly bare bottom tanks because I feed juveniles heavily to increase growth. Clean up is so much easier with nowhere for the stale food to hide. I still have driftwood and plastic plants, so it's not completely spartan, but I do like to see a clean tank.

[DiscusMad]

For me it is diet. Beef heart and planted tank is a nightmare. Bare bottom is easy

depends on how much you put in in the first place. My discus can get in under the plants to get the stray bits of BH.