discus substrate

[the night doctor]

come on then all you fishkeeping guru's....
do i 1. leave the tank with a bare bottom 2. put in traditional type gravel..or 3 use some of that new fangled type sand (not marine) that you can get...
for info the jewul tank comes with its own filter pump and heater in a compartment within the tank.
also would i benefit having plants (either real or plastic) within the tank bearing in mind the heat needed to keep discus...
any further ideas or recommendations appreciated..
ta very much!

[dan51]

i would definetly go for a substrate of some kind, it provides a perfect place for bacteria to brake down waste , natural coloured sand suits discus set ups very well

[Mr.Happy]

bare bottom

[Lego]

It's a lot easier to keep your discus tank clean with no substrate but asthetically it sucks lol. I use medium grain sand in my discus tank and I think it looks pretty good It's easy to siphon the debris off the top and as long as you regularly run your fingers through it then you shouldn't encounter any problems with anaerobic gases building up.

I think you would definitely be wise to put in some kind of plants as they offer the discus cover if they're feeling a little spooked. I personally dislike fake plants but they'd do the job fine and there's no need to worry about them dying lol. On the other hand, live plants help to keep the nitrates at a reasonable level so that's always a good thing

There are loads of plants that will do well in the temps required for discus. I have a bunch of anubias in mine (and a couple of other randomers) and they're growing incredibely well

Which Juwel tank have you got? My discus are in a Rio 240 but I'm running an Eheim 2028 on it instead of the Juwel internal. They're good internals considering but I prefer the greater turnover and filter media that my external offers

[Mr.Happy]

Depends if your thinking about breeding them or not. If you are then bare bottom,is the way to go i thinks.

[Lego]

Originally Posted by Mr.Happy

Depends if your thinking about breeding them or not. If you are then bare bottom,is the way to go i thinks.

Would definitely agree with this

I don't intend to breed hence having sand but if you do then bare bottom would definitely be better

[the night doctor]

as bad bitten as stung here! the tank is juwel rio 125 and im told i can get 4 - 6 discus in this but no more... add a couple of tiddler cardinals and some corys...got some bog wood in it and its made it look like tea! think i'll go with the sand idea... the tank looks like a mirror on the bottom and i wonder if it'll spook 'em?
i know the tea will disapear after some water changes... as long as the fish are okay i'll put up with pg tips till it clears...also think i'll go with a couple of plants... thanks for the tips guys...or gals?
didn't know it would be so complex.... cant remember it being this hard when i won a fish at the funfair in 1968!

[Lego]

Originally Posted by the night doctor

as bad bitten as stung here! the tank is juwel rio 125 and im told i can get 4 - 6 discus in this but no more... add a couple of tiddler cardinals and some corys...got some bog wood in it and its made it look like tea! think i'll go with the sand idea... the tank looks like a mirror on the bottom and i wonder if it'll spook 'em?
i know the tea will disapear after some water changes... as long as the fish are okay i'll put up with pg tips till it clears...also think i'll go with a couple of plants... thanks for the tips guys...or gals?
didn't know it would be so complex.... cant remember it being this hard when i won a fish at the funfair in 1968!

Gal Well, for me anyways lol

Can I ask who told you, you could keep 4-6 discus in 125 litres? As juveniles they'd be ok but there's no way that many fully grown adults would be happy

The tannin thing made me giggle You could be waiting a while Water changes are the way to go though and maybe some carbon in your filter too (Juwel internal should already have some in ). My wood is still leaching a bit over a year later lol.

Don't get me started on goldfish and fairs

Good luck with your discus, I'm sure you're gonna love them

[dan51]

Originally Posted by Lego

Don't get me started on goldfish and fairs

lmao has to be the one pet hate of every fishkeeper (including me), ironic for me though cos it's what got me into fishkeeping

@OP good luck with the discus, they are great fish to keep, although they will need a larger tank as they get older

Dan

[the night doctor]

so its a bigger tank from santa in a year then!
thanks again folks!