# JOBBER's 75 gallon - South American Amazon Basin Theme - Wild Discus



## jobber

(have something in the works at the moment, mind as well jump the gun and get a journal started while there's free time...STAY TUNED)*
* *
A Start to a New Beginning - Amazon Basin Theme

**CURRENT SETUP:
*

Tank: 75 gallon (48x18x21)
Substrate: Caribsea Instant Aquarium Sunset Gold
Filtration: Rena Filstar xP4, Large sponge filter
Filter Media: Seachem Matrix, Filtration pads. Oyster shell
Lighting: Marineland Double Bright LED
Heater: Hydor ETH In-Line Heater 200w
pH Monitor: American Marine Pinpoint
Powerhead: Tunze Turbelle Nanostream Pump - 6025
*
PARAMETERS:
*

pH = 5.5
Temp.: ~30.5°C
GH: ~3 dGH (~50ppm)
KH: ~1 dKH (~15ppm)
*

FAUNA:*

Corydoras Robineae (Mrs. Schwartzi's, Bannertail Corydoras)
Brochis Splendens (Emerald Corydoras)
Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis (Lemon Tetra)
Hyphessobrycon copelandi (Copeland's Tetra)
Hemigrammus rhodostomus (True Rummynose Tetra)
L134 Peckoltia Compta (Leopard Frog Pleco)
Crenicara punctulata ('Checkerboard' Cichlid var.)
Symphysodon aequifaciatus aequifaciatus (Putumayo Royal Spotted Green Discus)
Symphysodon Heckel (Nhamunda Blue faced Heckel)
*
FLORA: 
*

Echinodorus Amazonicus (Amazon sword)
Vallisneria nana
*
FURNISHINGS:*

Manzanita driftwood
Natural River Rocks
*
Additional CO2 Source:
*

Metricide
*
Dosing:
*

NPK Macro-nutrient mix
CSM+B Miconutrient mix
DIY Root Capsules

Seachem Prime
Seachem Equilibrium
Epsom Salt

Kent's Botonica Humic and Tanic Acid
Amy's Ketapang Almond Leaves
Almond Catappa Bark
*ADDITIONAL INFORMATION*

Frequency of Water Changes: Twice per week (as at March 1, 2013, will increase in future)
% Water change: 50%+
Estimated cost of setup (not including livestock): $750+
Estimate weekly maintenance time spent: 2 hour
pH from the tap: 6.8
"Tank influences/inspirations": (South American theme: 2wheels2, tony1928, luke78, josephl, mykiss, charles, killifishkerry) (Tank simplicity: crazy72, bunnyrabbit, davej)
Fish purchased from: Fantasy Aquatics, Canadian Aquatics
Equipment and supplies purchased from:J&L Aquatics, BCA member, ebay, Ken's
Aquatic plants purchased from: Amazon sword from Fraser Aquariums in 2000, Val nana from Fantasy Aquatics
Type of food you feed your fish: Earthworm pellets, shrimp pellets, NLS, Freeze-dried blackworms, frozen bloodworms, live bloodworms, red wrigglers, ibunch of other ken's stuff
Water test kit used: API master test kit, GH/KH
*Preview picture:*


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## monkE

love the drawing! can't wait for more progress! 


just a heads up... i've got a ton of rock lying around i can just give you if you want it... and I also have lots of vals and a ton of java fern when you're ready to go!


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## jobber

Day 1:

Progressing at a snail's pace but managed to move the tank and stand into place. Just wanted to thank Gary, Tony, Dave, and my brother for helping me move this from ninez place. If I was well, probably could have done it all myself . But wasn't as strong as Dave who managed to move the stand all my himself.

The tank at it's former residence at ninez. Thanks again ninez, great guy to deal with and great transaction experience. Everyone I have dealt with on BCA have been great to date. 









And now.....and so it begins....first the stand tight into my room.










On the tank rests on the stand beautifully.


















And at 3:30am, finished uploading the pictures to end the previous journal and to begin this journal.

Fish are all being housed in their temporary tank. Unfortunately, a bit of a oversight on my part with regards to the length of the canister filter's tubing. Let's just say I'll need to run to J&L's tomorrow morning to pick up a brand new one that'll reach far enough into the tank. Through it all, to save the bacteria in the canister, I placed all three trays of Seachem matrix from the canister filter and into the rental tank, placed an airstone underneath and just relax.

Plans for tomorrow:
-go J&L, pick up new tubing
-replace xp4 tubing
-install all equipment
-fill the tank
-dump the prepared tanic water
-let the tank water gets to the temp. I want
-dump fish straight back into the 75g

-go look at fish at the LFS
-and eat lunch

So until tomorrow.....


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## 2wheelsx2

Wow. That's a lot accomplished in 1 day. Great start.


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## charles

Nicely done. Are you planning to have pancake fish in the tank or 1000 cardinals?


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## 2wheelsx2

I heard it was going to be an L46 breeding project.


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## tony1928

Glad we could help you on your journey. Have you ever considered just using clear/black vinyl tubing? 

Can't wait to see your tank develop. This is the best part of any tank project.


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## monkE

jobber said:


> -go look at fish at the LFS
> -and eat lunch


my favourite part of every day 

Cant wait to see the tank come together!


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## Sploosh

Looking forward to how this one turns out, your 33g looked awesome


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## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> Wow. That's a lot accomplished in 1 day. Great start.


Took awhile for me to get going after the tank was brought back. I was on beast mode. Day 2 (today) wasn't as much to do. Picked up some things, took a break and visited the LFS and had lunch.



charles said:


> Nicely done. Are you planning to have pancake fish in the tank or 1000 cardinals?


Thanks Charles, mmmm....pancake fish, some green onions seasoned with some herbs, touch of salt...

Cardinals...probably more like [(1000/100)1+2]2. I think rummies would also be nice too....the possibilities...

Hey, I'm going to show as much patience as I can, I've told Gary awhile back that I'm lucky I had a small tank and can't shove anymore fish from Charles. Times have finally changed...for the bigger. You got my email....let's make it happen my friend.



2wheelsx2 said:


> I heard it was going to be an L46 breeding project.


Funny. Very funny! har har. It could have been but going towards another direction. Breeding fish is boring. I'll nature do it's course.



monkE said:


> my favourite part of every day
> Cant wait to see the tank come together!


haha. LFS and lunch: Item checked off the list. 
it's taking it's time. Takes quite a lot of time and water to fill and empty the tank...give me some downtime to upload stuff.



Sploosh said:


> Looking forward to how this one turns out, your 33g looked awesome


Maybe it'll be a bit of a surprise. Always great to just keep people guessing but post lots of pictures. Thanks for the kind words. Got bored of the 33g, got what I got out of it. Keep your eyes out, going to be a lot of pictures for this setup.


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## bonsai dave

I can't wait to see the completed set up. You can also use alder cones or roiboos tea to add tannins to your water.


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## charles

i think you should do an altum tank.
with + - 500 cardinals


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## crazy72

Very exciting, Ming! I'm glad you're making it happen.

Make sure to take your time stocking it. Dreaming of the possibilities is absolutely part of the fun!


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## jobber

Day 2:

Picked up supplies at J&L. Thank the guys there for helping me out and giving me some tips.









PIcked up a gasket set for a rainy day. Don't want to be caught having a leaky canister filter and having to post a threading asking where to find one...









Couldn't find any replacement suction cups for the intake and outflow pipes for the xP4 so decided to splurge a bit to buy these magnetic ones. I guess it'll save me money over the long-run. I'm using these two for the out-take flow pipe. The clamps don't fit snugged by still hold the pipes in place so i said to myself, hey, it works, let's just leave it.









Didn't get back to work on the tank until 5pm. So high-ho, hi-ho back to work I go.









Tony1928, saviour reminding me to get some pipe clamps as the new tubing is too wide for the stock plastic clamps. Saved me another trip out to J&L. Replaced the tubing for the quick release.









TIME TO FILL THE TANK WITH WATER: Well the time has come, the rainy season has arrived. Jobber's South American tank has begun the flood. 









It took some time to fill the tank up. I then proceeded to also empty the tank to suck up and clean any left over debris. A lot of dead nematodes but that's normal for any fish tank. It took about 25~30 minutes to fill the tank up on moderate water flow, another 45 to drain it, basically taking my time as well. Use it as time to upload some pictures. 









Again, ever wonder what the pH is out of the tap in Vancouver East. Well here it is....6.8









Temperature out of cold water tap today.









During the time when the tank was filling with water and while uploading pictures, I went and installed the inline heater. Took my time trying to figure out how to place the inline heater within the outflow tube. Some may know there's not much room period , so i placed the tank about 4 inches off the wall leaving room for the tubes but not for the inline heater. So what I did was extend the tubing out to the side, installed the inline heater, and curve the tubing back in behind the tank.









Having placed some almond leaves to soak, preparing to dump it into the tank. 









And finally after about 4 hours and diddling around, canister filter, powerhead, inline heater all plugged in, the tank is finally up and running.









My plans are to let the temperature in the tank to get back to about 20°C, dose the usual Seachem stability, Prime, Equilibrium, and epsom salt. Let the tank run for a few hours thereafter before I transfer the fish in the temporary tank and into their new home. I'm going to place some big flat river rocks into the take so the Loricariidae's can have some places to nestle against.

Items I am currently waiting for:
-40lbs of Caribsea instant Aquarium Sunset Gold sand from J&L Aquatics

At the moment, 40lbs should be suffice as i will be placing river rocks through the tank. This will take up some of the bottom so at this point hopefully I don't plan on needing more bags of sand thereafter.


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## jobber

bonsai dave said:


> I can't wait to see the completed set up. You can also use alder cones or roiboos tea to add tannins to your water.


You can't wait?!?! I CAN"T WAIT!!!! I have the worst patience getting this setup completed but I guess today was a good test of my patience. it's actually kind enjoyable this past few days setting up the tank systematically....as long as there's no stumbling blocks along the way.

I currently still have a bunch of ebay Amy's almond leaves, almond bark, and tons of driftwood. i may go find some alder trees around town. I think maybe we should do a thread on where to find alder cones in a park....thanks for the idea Dave 



charles said:


> i think you should do an altum tank.
> with + - 500 cardinals


True Altums? But I already have a paired up Pterophyllum scalare at home. Too boring. I thought about it and also Geophagus. I'll just contingently wait and see what you can bring in the next couple of months 

Cardinals eh...hmmmm....probably [(500/100)*5]-1



crazy72 said:


> Very exciting, Ming! I'm glad you're making it happen.
> Make sure to take your time stocking it. Dreaming of the possibilities is absolutely part of the fun!


It is indeed enjoyable going through the process. Takes longer to shut down a tank than putting one together. I've dreamt this entire two weeks already 

The best part is going through the process knowing there's also a few other guys on the forum getting some big tanks going. I guess we'll all have to wait and see when they'll start up their journals..i know one just picked up a steal of a deal for a salty tank.


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## m_class2g

nice setup! L46 would be nice!


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## bonsai dave

jobber said:


> You can't wait?!?! I CAN"T WAIT!!!! I have the worst patience getting this setup completed but I guess today was a good test of my patience. it's actually kind enjoyable this past few days setting up the tank systematically....as long as there's no stumbling blocks along the way.
> 
> I currently still have a bunch of ebay Amy's almond leaves, almond bark, and tons of driftwood. i may go find some alder trees around town. I think maybe we should do a thread on where to find alder cones in a park....thanks for the idea Dave QUOTE]
> 
> I know how you feel. I'm currently working on my wife's new angel set up. It's taking longer than I want. I just want the build to be over and done with so I can get the fish in there.. Just be careful where you are getting the alder cones from . Landscape company's and the city will be spraying lime sulfur and Dormant oil soon and that can be bad for your tank.


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## josephl

charles said:


> i think you should do an altum tank.
> with + - 500 cardinals


Those cardinals would look great to start.....


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## 2wheelsx2

josephl said:


> Those cardinals would look great to start.....


Then the Altums would be really full......


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## 2wheelsx2

jobber said:


> During the time when the tank was filling with water and while uploading pictures, I went and installed the inline heater. Took my time trying to figure out how to place the inline heater within the outflow tube. Some may know there's not much room period , so i placed the tank about 4 inches off the wall leaving room for the tubes but not for the inline heater. So what I did was extend the tubing out to the side, installed the inline heater, and curve the tubing back in behind the tank.


Is there a kink in that tubing or is that the picture angle? If it's at an awkward angle, you may want to get a PVC or abs elbow to prevent kinking and subsequent flow stopping once the tubing gets too warm.


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## Sidius

Nice!! I can't wait to see this fully operational. It looks like you're close. My 180g just got delivered yesterday so I'll be working on it over the next month, until my mom arrives with all the goodies I ordered online in the US (March 20th). Journal for it will probably start this week.


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## tony1928

Nice progress Ming! Glad I could share some of my hard learned lessons with you. Just have built and tore apart a lot of setups so those things come as second nature now. 

I agree with Gary....that apparent kink in the line under the Hydor heater might cause a problem for you. I had a Hydor on my old 90G before too and I had the exact same problem. The canister is pretty tall so its tough to align the outlet to keep the hose relatively straight. Maybe move the hydor further up?


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## jobber

m_class2g said:


> nice setup! L46 would be nice!


Thanks Mike. I think many of us would love to have some L46. Some sort of wholesale group buy would be nice, but boy, this pleco is out of my financial league...for the time being until Lottomax helps me make sure all my buddies on BCA has _one_ .



bonsai dave said:


> I know how you feel. I'm currently working on my wife's new angel set up. It's taking longer than I want. I just want the build to be over and done with so I can get the fish in there.. Just be careful where you are getting the alder cones from . Landscape company's and the city will be spraying lime sulfur and Dormant oil soon and that can be bad for your tank.


Well, for me, I ensure the bio media in all three of my xp4 trays were saved. Along with using the water from the temporary tank and dosing Seachem stability, I'll minimize the cycling. I'm just glad I didn't have much stumbling blocks during this transfer. Alder cones, I think I may just pass on that idea after your info. Not worth my while and risk. It's the same with the oak leaves, unless I'm getting it from a provincial park in the back woods. With all that pollution and soot on the leaves. Thanks for the heads up!



josephl said:


> Those cardinals would look great to start.....


The 19 lemon tetras (after I find one dried up (ham yu) in the back of the stand) fills up the tank very well. The real question now is...how many in the double digit range. Have a few other tetras in mind also. Rummynoses would be good also. The choices.....



2wheelsx2 said:


> Then the Altums would be really full......


Thanks for remind me too. Would be quite the pricey snack to feed. No wonder Charles says 1000, slowly the school starts thinning out like sailfin marlins swimming through a school or sardines (see Blue Planet for reference).



Sidius said:


> Nice!! I can't wait to see this fully operational. It looks like you're close. My 180g just got delivered yesterday so I'll be working on it over the next month, until my mom arrives with all the goodies I ordered online in the US (March 20th). Journal for it will probably start this week.


Some more exciting news on both fronts, another big tank is in the works. Wow, March 20th? Are you patient enough to wait that long? Look forward to following your new increase in "gallon'eage" (I give credit for John for inventing that new word; gallon + mileage).



tony1928 said:


> Nice progress Ming! Glad I could share some of my hard learned lessons with you. Just have built and tore apart a lot of setups so those things come as second nature now.
> 
> I agree with Gary....that apparent kink in the line under the Hydor heater might cause a problem for you. I had a Hydor on my old 90G before too and I had the exact same problem. The canister is pretty tall so its tough to align the outlet to keep the hose relatively straight. Maybe move the hydor further up?


That's what I've noticed because the filter is tall and the stand is not that tall neither so the tubes need to go over and under to fit out of the stand. I think in that picture, I was playing around with the tubing to get it in place and the tubing was very stiff. But it's fixed itself after the tank water increased above 20°C.


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## Sidius

Haha unfortunately I don't have much choice.. My Eheim 2080 + media, UV sterilizer, heater, etc. were all shipped to my mom's place in the US so she's bringing it with her when she comes. It's worth the wait to save hundreds in taxes alone, not including the cheaper prices overall.


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## jobber

Sidius said:


> Haha unfortunately I don't have much choice.. My Eheim 2080 + media, UV sterilizer, heater, etc. were all shipped to my mom's place in the US so she's bringing it with her when she comes. It's worth the wait to save hundreds in taxes alone, not including the cheaper prices overall.


Surprised you didn't ship it to Blaine for quick pickup  haha. It's all worth the wait making the whole experience that much more enjoyable.


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## jobber

Day 2.5/3:

After filling up the tank with tap water, I was naive to think that my heater would increase the temperature in the tank relatively fast, I was wrong. hour went into the hours. At last, I gave up waiting and went and did a 25% water change and just dump straight hot water into the tank to expedite increasing tank temperature. I should have done that earlier but people in the house still needed to take their baths. When the temperature was at the level I wanted and knew would be comfortable for the fish, I decided to make the call and put the fish into the tank. I let my younger brother who's not that young, net the fish out and put them into the tank as I knew he'd always wanted to see fish being netted into the tank, mind as well give him this chance to Christen the 75gallon with the fish.













2wheelsx2 said:


> Is there a kink in that tubing or is that the picture angle? If it's at an awkward angle, you may want to get a PVC or abs elbow to prevent kinking and subsequent flow stopping once the tubing gets too warm.


Gary you have eagle eyes  haha.

After I finished playing around with the tubing and wiggle some things behind the tank a bit; there was less of a kink, but at the time, I figured the kink will work itself away once the tube gets heated a bit. it was very stiff so I couldn't do much to it. It's so nice to see clear tubing and not brown tubing. It's like getting a new canister without having to buy one. I was planning to replace the gaskets this time around but figure I'll just replace them with the kit when the time comes.










Well here were some quick shots of the tanktaken last night/this morning - don't ask me what time...it was a long night  . The water is still a bit cloudy since I dosed a bunch of stuff in there and a lot of bubbles. 


















For the time being, I'm going to leave the rocks in there, but once I receive the sand from J&L's, I plan on rescaping towards a hardscape with minimal plants (I'll try my best) sticking with the South American theme. Since I plan on just a minimal layer of sand...probably less than 1", I will be growing the amazon sword in a basket fill with pebble rocks and my own DIY root fertilizer capsules. Btw, thanks to Mike at Fantasy for getting me a few plantlets of Amazon frogbit (the bigger variant that grows with attachments). Once I get a better ID on it, i'll get some pictures up with the name of it. Hopefully that'll help soak up any nitrates in the tank.

The LED lighting is columnized. It's more observable in pictures, but spreads out a bit more when looking at it normally. I'm going to play a bit with it and see what i can do, I took these pictures with the extensions out so it's laying flat on the glass canopy. This, however, does not provide the shimmering effect. I have since raised it back up and having it sit on the extension legs, looks much better.

Placed 4 big almond leaves and about 15 almond barks to add more tannins into the water.

So far, all fish looking happier with their bigger water volume.


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## 2wheelsx2

Looks good. I should have loaned you my 250 w Jager heater to double up on the output to get it up to temp.


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## Sidius

awesome build man.. I really like how it's starting to look. I'm looking forward to seeing it with the sand and final scape.

Ya I thought about shipping things to Blaine but then I would have to claim $800 worth of goods at the border or risk lying and having them find it. Either way I'd pay duties/taxes at the border. When my mom brings it (or I'm down visiting over 48 hours), there's no charge.


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## jobber

Sidius said:


> awesome build man.. I really like how it's starting to look. I'm looking forward to seeing it with the sand and final scape.
> 
> Ya I thought about shipping things to Blaine but then I would have to claim $800 worth of goods at the border or risk lying and having them find it. Either way I'd pay duties/taxes at the border. When my mom brings it (or I'm down visiting over 48 hours), there's no charge.


Thanks Sid for the kind words. Tough having to let go of some of the plants in the tank, but I know some will be put to good use in another soon to new setup. It's pretty tough waiting out getting all the pieces together. I still have a few extra things I like to get into the tank before I acclimatize the tank's centrepiece  Love the savings ordering from the States.


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## jobber

Day 4:

Since the fish are now all transferred from the temporary tank into the 75g, I can now shut down and clean up the rental tank and return it to oppai. I can't thank him enough for his kind gesture to help me out.










Days do go by fast when kept busy. It's now 3 days after the tank was flooded and the plants in the tank is flourishing. I'm only running a Marineland LED. The Echinodorus Amazonicus I've had for almost 13 years is still with me in this tank. I've originally bought it in 2000 or so from Fraser Aquarium and had it in my dinky little Petcetera 1 gallon tank, 5 gallon planted tank, 10 gallon, in the recently shut down 33g long, and now in this tank. It's the legacy plant. As I have previously mentioned, my plans have and will continuously evolve. At present, my plans are to have minimal plants only keeping with the biotope/regional theme. Right now I have the echino. amazon sword, Brazilian pennywort, and Amazon Frogbit (limnobium laevigatum). It was still pretty curiously happen to find the Amazon frogbit by pure chance after posting a LF in the classified and no one responding; yet, found some at Fantasy Aquatics via Pat. So thanks to Mike and Pat. One thing off the checklist; now hoping the plant will flourish and help soak up some nitrate. I'm hopeful that it'll grow well despite not having T5HO lighting. At the moment I still have some needleleaf java fern which will most likely be rehomed in the near future.

Here's some pictures of the Amazon frogbit (limnobium laevigatum) (pictures obtained randomly on the internet for show and tell purposes):



















It's only been day 4 but I'm planning to thin out my school of lemon tetras and rehome a half dozen with their siblings in Gary's 125g. The lemons have grown up to about the size of a quarter. Having planned so, I picked up some rarity from Fantasy Aquatics yesterday which will compliment the existing Lemons well.



















These guys obviously look a bit pale as they're still juvies and coming from the store. They are Copeland's Tetra (Hyphessobrycon copelandi) I put them in the tank last night and they obviously were a bit skittish and adapting to the new tank hovering near the bottom in a tight pack. But this morning upon daylight, I can see them swimming together in a nice school mid-water. I turned on the light briefly and found their dorsal fins to have coloured up well - dark black and white tips. The below picture is what they'll looked like once matured.










Plans for livestock, I'd like to find a small group of corydoras and maybe some cardinals and or rummynose tetras. But my biggest plan is for the showcase pack which I have to patiently wait for if it ever gets brought in or have to obtain through other means.

Here's the tank now with crystal clear water with a nice tanic hue. The bottom of the tank is panted white so it's giving out a bright reflection.









Picture taken with a mobile phone.


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## 2wheelsx2

The floating plants will grow great with the LED as they are so close to the light source. You're going to have too much before you know it.


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## crazy72

Looks great, Ming. 

Nice tetras you got there. I had never seen them before. Good score there.


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## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> The floating plants will grow great with the LED as they are so close to the light source. You're going to have too much before you know it.


I think the plants now are melting away. Just not enough light. You know how it is, with our type of tanks with surface agitation, hard to have the plants not swirling around. Well it was worth the try. HOpefully they can adjust and not wither away.



crazy72 said:


> Looks great, Ming.
> Nice tetras you got there. I had never seen them before. Good score there.


Just trying something different rather than fish I've had in the past. If the ones in my tank grows up the what I've seen in that youtube video, then I'll be very happy. Good price for a not so common tetra at the LFS.


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## 2wheelsx2

May be too much surface current, I know I no longer have floating plants for that reason.


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## jobber

Day 6:

I think I may have missed yesterday's update, but was caught up reading up on corydoras and dealing with non-fish things. Decide to do a more hardscape now. Moved out the needleleaf java fern to keep the theme all South American abide a few smaller details here and there. Fish are happy. Had a big of an issue with my digital thermometer where the temperature reading was off by 4°C compared to the old school mercury floating ones made by Marina. Compared to the inline heater, the temperature should be around 28°C. All this time including when I had this digital thermometer, it was giving me a reading of 25°C when in fact it was probably really 28°C. So my suggestion to others, always have two thermometers to ensure the integrity of the thermometer readings.

Slowly piecing the tank together bit by bit is so irritating but enjoyable. I obvsiously would want to have everything together at one time; but that's not possible, but the whole process so far has been worth the time and money. Here's a few addition to the tank this evening.


















Brochis splendens (Emerald Corydoras)

Here's a picture from Day 5, before I shuffled some things around:









Here's what it looks like as of now with still things to shuffle around:









Day 7:
Can't believe the tank has hit the 1 week mark already. Time does fly. Did not experience any hiccups during the first week of operations so I'm very happy and pleased. It took a few days for the fish to get use to their new surroundings before they began eating but starving them a day or two certain got them hungry. Another day, another few fish after stopping by the LFS.



















Wild rummynose tetras (Hemigrammus rhodostomus) with the narrower white in the tail, mid-body line, light black edging on anal fin, the red does not reach well past gill, and lower caudal peduncle spot is present.


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## panda.lover

That is such a nice looking scape you have going there. 
Good to seee it come along nicely.


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## Bien Lim

Very nice rummies man..


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## jobber

panda.lover said:


> That is such a nice looking scape you have going there.
> Good to seee it come along nicely.


Thanks. I'm still going to move and shuffle some things around. Thinking of just taking out all the rocks, so if you're interested, let me know. Just remember to bring your own bucket.



Bien Lim said:


> Very nice rummies man..


Rummies are very nice. Just something different. Very different schooling than the H. Bleheri's.


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## jobber

Well, the time has come and got the ball rolling. Had my eyes set on these for a couple of weeks and nice to see them still available after waiting a week's time to see how my tank cycle came about. Lost a few tetras, but that was already expected.

I've placed about an extra 10 almond leaves and about 10 pieces of almond bark into the tank to provide an even more tannic look. Furthermore, I lowered the pH from 6.5 to 6.3 and now to 6.0. This is the lowest pH level I've ever had my tank at. Temperature is dialed in to 28.5°C. GH is minimal, probably less than 9dH.

At this point, as much as I wanted to have the tank prepared beforehand with the wood and sand, I went ahead and picked up _part_ of my center piece. Made the plunge and now I'm a keeper of the "King of the Aquarium".

Thank you Mike at Fantasy Aquatics for helping me out and packing the fish very well. Gave me all the information and steps to properly acclimatize; very knowledgeable and great person to deal with; as well as to the BCA members that I've contacted to provide me with information during my pre-planning stages over the past two weeks.



















Been a long day and night, so I'll save uploading and posting more pictures in the coming days. So stayed tuned, this journal has just begun....


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## Foxtail

Tease! Looks like discus!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## crazy72

Low pH, high temp, "king of the aquarium"? Hmm... :bigsmile:


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## jobber

Pretty obvious eh? Well, here were some quick pics taken from my phone acclimatizing them. Didn't want the one snoozing and end up losing, pick them up while they're still available.

Bad picture, but posting it anyways.



























After lowering my pH to 6.0 and 30 minutes acclimatized, released these guys into the tank. within 30 minutes of so of exploring the tank, started losing their stress bars. Of course the stress bars were back. Fed some freeze-dried blackworms and they tasted it but didn't eat ...yet.

As I watch them now by my computer side, they've completed calmed down and very gracefully swimming in a nice pack. Hoping to find them some more friends in the coming weeks.


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## Diztrbd1

Tank is looking great buddy! And welcome to the club! Look forward to some pix/vids of the swimming in the tank :bigsmile:


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## monkE

AWESOME! can't wait to see more pics of these guys!


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## jobber

Diztrbd1 said:


> Tank is looking great buddy! And welcome to the club! Look forward to some pix/vids of the swimming in the tank :bigsmile:


Thanks John. I still have a bit of work to do. i did make more room by getting rid of the rocks. You ask and you shall receive. Short clips though...teaser videos for now. I'll try to get some better quality video up later. My tank water is extremly tannic. It's straight oolong tea colour.



monkE said:


> AWESOME! can't wait to see more pics of these guys!


Now you see why I wanted to pick up that container


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## jobber

Here's two teaser trailers for the time being. Very short...


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## monkE

ya i was wondering about that container! lol they look great! that blue colour is beautiful. congrats!


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## jobber

monkE said:


> ya i was wondering about that container! lol they look great! that blue colour is beautiful. congrats!


Beer for acid. Great trade 
Help me keep my pH super low.


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## crazy72

Nice!

Tetras schooling a lot tighter now...


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## oppai

looking good!!


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## jobber

crazy72 said:


> Nice!
> Tetras schooling a lot tighter now...


Love the tighter schooling effect. The first day when the discus were in the tank, the other fish in the tank were freaking out. They have the right to be but eventually every fish calmed down. The only fish that don't seem to care much are the brochis cories. They do their own things and are less bit fearful of the discus.



oppai said:


> looking good!!


Thanks buddy. Indeed I did get them. Held out for two weeks, stay tuned, more to come


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## jobber

It's now been about 2 weeks since the setup was filled. Since then I've cycled the tank with some new additions of tetras and cories. I've been patient waiting to piece together the supplies and furnishings, low and behold J&L Aquatics calls to let me know my sand has arrived. Unfortunately, supplier dropped the ball and I only received one bag. Not that big of an issue, just be patient and piece together slowly, the best part of a new setup. Here's some pictures of the tank before placing the sand into the tank. Can notice that the rocks are taken out to clear up space.





































Here's the sand. I placed a white napkin to contrast the colour. Luke78 originally had this same colour scheme for his 100 gallon tank. Really liked the muddy brown look. Try something a bit different since my other buddies have white sand.


















Once I put the sand into the tank, obviously clouded the water very bad. Along with the tanic water and the cloudiness, gave a good simulated visual effect on what the water may look like in the discus' natural environment as seen in some of those videos. The fish loved this murky water. Not even 6" visibility.










Here's a video:





I've since placed a filter floss and tied it to the intake pipe strainer and the water has cleared up 50% after 5 hours. Thereafter, I decided to do a 25% water change to see how the discus will react. First water change went good, discus were still exploring the tank and looking at the python tube.

This is my first time keeping discus. My experience so far has been to ask local hobbyists for their pH, temperature, feeding regime, water change regime, what they dose, what has worked for them, and any advice. I'm very greatful that the people and friends i've met on BCA have helped me make this tank transition and discus venture so far extremely smooth. So thanks to Joseph, Gary, Tony, Mike, Luke78, April, and a few other fellows locally and on Simply Discus. There's a lot of information and a lot of "Hobby Experts who think what's worked for them IS THE ONLY WAY" information, I just found that whether it's a guppy or a discus, you really need to absorb the information and use what caters and works best for your tank. I'm even borrowing some books to get original and basic information from the late '90's and not rely on current "Hobby Expert" information that has saturated the forums on the web.

Upcoming plans:
-load up on fish food (colour bits and whatever bits, only the best for my fish)
-tend my colony of red wrigglers feeding them carrots and red beets in the summertime
-upgrade the powerhead
-ordered Dan's freeze dried blackworms as treats
-waiting for my manzanita wood to arrive
-working towards another pack of TBA to build up the school
-continue reading my discus books I've borrowed from the Burnaby Public Library(BPL) (**If you need to borrow discus books, go with the copies from the BPL and not the VPL)


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## hp10BII

Looking really nice Ming, it shows with your attention to detail.

Spotted Greens are one of my favourite wilds.


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## 2wheelsx2

Saw this setup in person today, and I must say it looks even better in person. The LED's provide just the right amount of shadows. Good job, Ming.


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## Diztrbd1

jobber said:


>


 lol that brings back memories of when I added the play sand to my 75. I thought the same thing....looks more natural than a clear tank, just hard to see the fish lol In the end , the look was worth a few days of cloudiness. I might have to look into that sand for my 125, like the look of it.
You should borrow my log for a couple days if ya really wanna boost those tannins lol If I have to keep a bag of purigen in the filter to keep it from looking like blackwater.


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## bonsai dave

Great job with the set up Ming. Good Score with those greens. They're beautiful. I can't wait to see them when they have settled in..


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## trout

coming together nicely and looking great. really like that stained water look, not as much as the fish did i bet

great vid too, those discus look nice!


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## jobber

hp10BII said:


> Looking really nice Ming, it shows with your attention to detail.
> Spotted Greens are one of my favourite wilds.


It's very hard in this hobby not to detail oriented. This is the joy of the whole process. But the hardest part is not to make the tank too cluttered. I still have some manzanita branches coming and hoping that I can scape it well enough to provide some shelter for these RSG's. They'll be some friends these guys will have...hopefully in the near future. These guys still have a long ways to go to settling in and feeding out of my hands but they've been very good so far, even though at times, So far been great admiring their peculiar behaviour up close.



2wheelsx2 said:


> Saw this setup in person today, and I must say it looks even better in person. The LED's provide just the right amount of shadows. Good job, Ming.


Just need those pieces of wood! Don't know how some of you guys show so much patience piecing together a talk over the course of months. Thx again for the supplies and tips. Surface agitation indeed is way under-rated but has indeed worked well so far. Adjusted the powerhead higher and made a big difference. Can't wait for the upgrade.



Diztrbd1 said:


> lol that brings back memories of when I added the play sand to my 75. I thought the same thing....looks more natural than a clear tank, just hard to see the fish lol In the end , the look was worth a few days of cloudiness. I might have to look into that sand for my 125, like the look of it.
> You should borrow my log for a couple days if ya really wanna boost those tannins lol If I have to keep a bag of purigen in the filter to keep it from looking like blackwater.


So I'm not the only one to experience this murky water phenomenon. I'll have this same experience in a few week's time when the other bag of sand arrives. It is quite the sight though. Truly reminiscent of the videos of them in nature (ie. http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/aqua-lounge-7/south-american-fish-their-natural-environment-36373/). I can't believe the water cleared up within 20 hours or so; but did place a filter floss pre-filter in the intake strainer to expedite clearing the water.

With the number of almond leaves (10) and almond bark (15+) I have scattered along the floor of the tank, there's a lot of tanins. The water is yellow. I was thinking of getting some peat granules and just putting it into the canister but I got to utilize my hundreds of almond leaves in stock 

We'll keep in touch and let me know when you're setting up the 125g. I"ll send you a PM.



bonsai dave said:


> Great job with the set up Ming. Good Score with those greens. They're beautiful. I can't wait to see them when they have settled in..


It was nice running into you and finally meet you. You scored the bigger one, but glad you did, I wanted these smaller ones to slowly grow out a bit more. If you weren't there picking that one up, I wouldn't have jumped on these guys a few days later. Glad I did as these guys have quite the character even when still getting use to the tank.



trout said:


> coming together nicely and looking great. really like that stained water look, not as much as the fish did i bet
> great vid too, those discus look nice!


Appreciate the compliments. Going to get as much videos up on youtube as possible....helps feed the fish with the monetarized videos. I think the fish liked the murky water, they were curious and exploring. I used a flashlight and they'd go chasing after the light. I think I'm going to be the few that will try to keep the tank stained and natural looking as possible. Just something different for the time being. Hard part is not having plants in the tank; just can't seem to not have plants. Glad I kept the Echino. Amazonicus.


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## jobber

A day or so later, water clears up and no more murky water. It was neat to see the water murky as in nature. Fish have finally eaten. Trying to condition them onto pellets slowly as they were spoiled while in at Fantasy. Just want to thank the LFS for helping me out in acquiring these flat guys. I've fed them NLS bits but they didn't take the first few days. They would peck and spit back out freeze dried blackworms. Picky eaters...until I picked up some frozen bloodworms at Fantasy and these guys went to town on them fast. The next feeding i gave them, I threw some NLS in with the frozen bloodworms. They would nibble and pick at both the NLS and bloodworms. 

I'm in the process of getting together a variety of pellet foods for them as a staple. Look forward to seeing them feast on them.

I also did a 25% a day before and they took it well. Water straight from the tap, kept the water lukewarm, warmer is better. Every other fish is doing well. Brochis splendens starting to show a nice green sheen as well as getting fatter. Crenicara Punctulata (old school checkerboard cichlid sp.) getting extremely pudgy. Took out the rocks and the L134's are out and about more often than hiding in vrevices. Tetras...well, they're schooling very nicely in a close pack when the discus are on the move. Overall I'm happy with the inhabitants and the numbers, for now.

The RSG discus are starting to show more of the red spots while the stress bars are less frequent. Thought they do at times hover in the corners, still understandable considering it's only been a few days since acquisition. I'm certain these guys will be more lively in the coming weeks especially once some friends are added. I think that once the tank is furnished with some underhanging manzanita's that they'll feel a lot more secure. 

Not really the 'best' picture taken per se, but it is what it is with a phone camera.































Video of them eating for the first time.


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## josephl

Looking really good Ming. Those discus look great for having travelled from S America to the LFS's tanks for a week and then your tanks in such a short period. We would be tired with that travel let alone fish!!

I think you need a turtle :bigsmile:


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## tony1928

Starting to come together nicely Ming! Can't wait to see their new friends too. I would love to rescape my 400 soon. Dying to do it actually. Just such a big undertaking with 24 square feet of space to work with. Thinking of buying one of those aquascaping tongs too.


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## jobber

josephl said:


> Looking really good Ming. Those discus look great for having travelled from S America to the LFS's tanks for a week and then your tanks in such a short period. We would be tired with that travel let alone fish!!
> I think you need a turtle :bigsmile:


They still have a ways to go before settling in my tank. They're still cornering and only coming out to eat bloodworms. Hope these guys can tough it out a bit longer before reinforcements arrive. I still need to treat all the wilds at one time so just waiting before I treat with some prazi pro. That's the plan.

No turtle for me, all my ground critters would be tasty morsels. I'd love to have a tortoise one day though.



tony1928 said:


> Starting to come together nicely Ming! Can't wait to see their new friends too. I would love to rescape my 400 soon. Dying to do it actually. Just such a big undertaking with 24 square feet of space to work with. Thinking of buying one of those aquascaping tongs too.


Thanks for helping me move the tank! Still have a bit more additions. Friends, wood, sand,....

Your 400 looks good, nice open plain for fish to swim about and no clutter. hard thing to do...not adding more things into the tank. Surprised you haven't picked up one of those 6' trees like another buddy is doing


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## jobber

Here's another video in HD. Water is clearer, 25% water change was done again. Just showing how much almond leaves and almond bark I use for the tank....a lot.


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## 2wheelsx2

I really like the leaf litter and your fish are colouring up very well. Looks great.


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## rickwaines

super beautiful ming!


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## mdwflyer

Ming, that looks outstanding! The discus look happy and healthy.


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## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> I really like the leaf litter and your fish are colouring up very well. Looks great.


I'm glad the leaf litter isn't making a mess in the water column when the leaves decomposes. The first batch is looking good in colour though still punks at times cornering. They do come out for food. Quite the site but I need to sit still for a bit.



rickwaines said:


> super beautiful ming!


Thanks RickW. Exciting to see that your pair of blue snakeskins are spawning for you. Look forward to seeing the next update.



mdwflyer said:


> Ming, that looks outstanding! The discus look happy and healthy.


It's very hard to 'try' making them happy especially when they're still acclimating to the new tank. Still shy and timid running back to the their safe haven in the left side corner of the tank. I see them from time to time all parked against the front glass when I'm typing on my computer. Curious pack of punks they are.


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## jobber

Has it been that long since the last update...4 days hence. Been caught up enjoying the fish and doing a few small water changes in between. Tank water with discus and plecos smell. Though the tank water usually smells like wood as it's very tannic. I've bumped up the temperature to 31°C as I'm dealing with a few specks of salt grains on the cories and discus, but I'm not fretting much about it. They're all eating and I'm remediating it with some good old Seachem Paraguard. Just getting it back in control is the key. I expected the tank to go through a bit of a cycling due to the inclusions of bigger sized fish this past week or so. First signs was a diatom bloom that made the water extremely murky, but a good 60% water change and less feeding got that fixed. Just all part of the process.

It's now been 3 weeks since this tank has started and yesterday went through an out of the _blue_ venture. I brought home my showcase fish and war stories that I will save for private converstions. Just realizing that if I'm going in the pool, that I'm going in with a big splash. Took the initiative to get things done the way I want rather than wait. I'm sure as hobbyists, we can all relate to the fact that it's hard to be patient. The fever was caught and I had to make it happen. I've read and heard some of the extreme extents that some hobbyist go through just to have a fix of the fever. Well this is my fix albeit not as extreme. Only pictures can show how i got my new pack which makes the new acquisitions that much more worthy and appreciated.























































The fish are still acclimatizing in the tank so I'll post some pictures up of them once they look a bit less skittish and I can sit there with my camera for minutes on end trying to find the best opportunity.




























The greens were very curious checking out the newbies of the tank.

stay tuned, will have one more addition hopefully tonight and uploading some new videos to share with all.


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## josephl

Nice additions, can't wait to see them settled in


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## 2wheelsx2

Sweet! Patiently waiting for vids of the recent additions.


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## crazy72

My Goodness Ming you're going for the big league here! You're brave! 

Looks great.


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## Bien Lim

I know u suggested to go for wilds...I can see that its very addictive so I wont..lol



jobber said:


> Has it been that long since the last update...4 days hence. Been caught up enjoying the fish and doing a few small water changes in between. Tank water with discus and plecos smell. Though the tank water usually smells like wood as it's very tannic. I've bumped up the temperature to 31°C as I'm dealing with a few specks of salt grains on the cories and discus, but I'm not fretting much about it. They're all eating and I'm remediating it with some good old Seachem Paraguard. Just getting it back in control is the key. I expected the tank to go through a bit of a cycling due to the inclusions of bigger sized fish this past week or so. First signs was a diatom bloom that made the water extremely murky, but a good 60% water change and less feeding got that fixed. Just all part of the process.
> 
> It's now been 3 weeks since this tank has started and yesterday went through an out of the _blue_ venture. I brought home my showcase fish and war stories that I will save for private converstions. Just realizing that if I'm going in the pool, that I'm going in with a big splash. Took the initiative to get things done the way I want rather than wait. I'm sure as hobbyists, we can all relate to the fact that it's hard to be patient. The fever was caught and I had to make it happen. I've read and heard some of the extreme extents that some hobbyist go through just to have a fix of the fever. Well this is my fix albeit not as extreme. Only pictures can show how i got my new pack which makes the new acquisitions that much more worthy and appreciated.
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## April

Your right bien don't do it! 
Congrats Ming on the new acquisitions.


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## blurry

Update with new pic soon?


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## jobber

josephl said:


> Nice additions, can't wait to see them settled in


I can't wait neither. The skittishness freaks me out a bit but we've all been through it, well at least the more discus seniority hobbyists. The greens have settled in very well after 7-10 days now. Hecks...more skittish than greens were. Night and day.



2wheelsx2 said:


> Sweet! Patiently waiting for vids of the recent additions.


You ask and you shall receive. Uploading some videos and pictures at the moment.



crazy72 said:


> My Goodness Ming you're going for the big league here! You're brave!
> Looks great.


Big leagues...not yet. I don't have a Digital Aquatics controller...yet 
These guys do make you observe a lot more closely....for the time being while they're settling in. The more experienced discus keepers were not kidding at all when giving me tips.



Bien Lim said:


> I know u suggested to go for wilds...I can see that its very addictive so I wont..lol


Too addicting. Addicting observing and addicting over-monitoring their well-being. Although a few discus swimming in a nicely scaped planted tank would be the ultimate sight! But until the day comes.



April said:


> Your right bien don't do it!
> Congrats Ming on the new acquisitions.


Bien, DO IT!!!

Thanks Aprils again for the tidbits of info. Helped ease me into this new addiction. The new acquisition, adds to the treasure chest of war stories to share with others  Makes me appreciate these new guys more.



blurry said:


> Update with new pic soon?


Yup. very soon


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## jobber

Ok. So it's now Friday. About two full days since acquisitions. I noticed that due to my new additions these past few weeks, the tank is going through a period of cycling or recycling. Keeping my eye out and keeping up with water changes at the moment. As the new discus, Nhamunda Blue Faced Heckels, are settling in, I can see how they are sensitive to abrupt things whether it be movements, lighting, water temperature, and most importantly water parameters. I'm trying my best not to over-monitor or get over-anxious on things, especially when I see 1 particular one being more skittish than the rest. The skittishness rubs off onto the other guys. The Putumayo Greens have settled in very well, being that they go after food first as the Heckels start learning that bloodworms and NLS pellets are food. I've been feeding NLS bits, bloodworms, and FDBW. I'd rather see them eat something than to force them to eat pellets at the moment.

Been a bit of a small rollercoaster ride after doing a few large water changes last night and one this afternoon. Fish looks much healthier and acting normally after clean water. I've also placed another 8 almond leaves into the tank after this afternoon's water change.

Ok, so what's been new the past few days. Well, picked up the Blue face heckels, worrying for their well-being. Received my wood which was smaller than I expected so went to found some thicker pieces of manzanita, thank you blurry via April. Glad he had some a few pieces available to fit my tank.

Then also acquired some rare corydoras. Though expected shipping is rough on them, I order a few more to offset any loses. Can't point fingers at anything but rather just accept that things do happen. I'll get some close up pics of them once they acclimatize better into the tank; but at the moment, teaser photos.



















Here's the two pieces of lumber i acquired from blurry. 









I added another 4 more Brochis spendens to increase the pack in the tank to 10. Can't wait until these guys are full grown monster cories.


















Here's a picture of one of the well acclimatized Putumayo Greens:









...and here we are, the Nhamunda Blue faced heckel, still looking a bit skittish and not yet fully acclimatized; but lovely blue gill plates. Hope these guys work out well for me for the long-run.


















The most important update of all, videos. I enjoy watching them and I enjoy making them. Takes a lot of patience to wait and capture the right moments. I had to sit there for a long time to capture these videos.

This is from last night. Heckels following the Greens grazing on frozen bloodworms.










Oh yeah, had to share with you all, this beast of a pleco that a buddy now has in his big tank. One special beast and a beauty of a specimen. At least I've seen one in person in my lifetime 






Things to do:
-water log and scrub the new wood
-wait for J&L to notify me for my remaining bag of sand
-stock up on fish food cache
-over monitor my fish to ensure their well being is met
-....water changes....


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## oppai

its looking good my friend. All the hard work will most definitely pay off.


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## Immus21

Wow I missed a ton over the past little while. Beautiful Discus! Keep up the good work.


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## crazy72

What? New fishies again?!? Hey Ming you'll probably be just as (over)stocked as you were with your 33, no? That's a LOT of fish in the tank in a very small amount of time. Good thing that you're keeping a close eye on everything.

Looks great.


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## jinsen

wow,that's alot of fish 
i wish i could do the same thing in the future  "haven't got enough space for big tanks " 
looks awesome!


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## trout

great pics and vids! tank is coming together very nicely! congrats on those discus. hope they settle in well for you. 

all you discus folk need to stop posting such nice pics, might just go off the deep end and do a discus setup if i keep seeing any more pics! i think that happened to John.....and I can see why haha


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## jobber

oppai said:


> its looking good my friend. All the hard work will most definitely pay off.


Hard work does pay off when you do a lot of water changes to get things back to stabilization. Been quite the week, but embracing the experience of this hobby.



Immus21 said:


> Wow I missed a ton over the past little while. Beautiful Discus! Keep up the good work.


The journal will always be here to catch up on. Indeed beautiful when they are in the mood...especially during feeding time and after wc's.



crazy72 said:


> What? New fishies again?!? Hey Ming you'll probably be just as (over)stocked as you were with your 33, no? That's a LOT of fish in the tank in a very small amount of time. Good thing that you're keeping a close eye on everything.
> Looks great.


One word...Extremely. I've been finding out this past week what I got myself into but now things have settled in after having to let go of one; though it was expected. Though my philosophy has always been to get them in a school rather than a few here and there. Gives them a better sense of security. Hungry hippos they are!



jinsen said:


> wow,that's alot of fish
> i wish i could do the same thing in the future  "haven't got enough space for big tanks "
> looks awesome!


That's what I was saying a few months ago; until I just made it happen. This is not even a big tank now that I have it. Even a 100 gallon tank isn't big to me anymore 



trout said:


> great pics and vids! tank is coming together very nicely! congrats on those discus. hope they settle in well for you.
> all you discus folk need to stop posting such nice pics, might just go off the deep end and do a discus setup if i keep seeing any more pics! i think that happened to John.....and I can see why haha


The videos turned out very well, but it does take some time to capture some good footage. Glad the discus are not as skittish anymore and getting use to the camera upclose. Still a work in progress but they've gone through quite the journey and have settled in well enough for my liking for now. The coming days and weeks will hopefully being more stability. Well, thanks to John and a few other guys posting discus pictures up, that's what got me into this discus mess 

Btw, with all hose nice planted tanks....a discus sure would look nice swimming around in one....


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## jobber

Another week has passed and haven't updated as I was busy doing a lot of water changes. Added a sponge filter, uv sterilizer, and air stone. Upgraded the powerhead to a Tunze 6025. Amazing powerhead and made a big difference. Much stronger surface current and agitation. Well, like any new discus keeper, bound to run into some hiccups. We all ideally want things to work it's course accordingly and perfectly, but life, and fish tanks, never do. Things do happen and we need to quickly adapt and persevere; but also expect any worst case scenarios. Sadly had to put one down but the rest of them in the tank started doing a lot better thereafter.

As previously foreseen by crazy72, yes, indeed it was a lot of bioload within a short span and it did catch up on me fast especially with the ammonia spike. Let's just say, a lot of water changes and monitoring to keep things in check over the course of 3 to 4 days.

Washed and scrubbed the pieces of wood outside. Let it dried again before placing them into my tank to get water logged. Like many other hobbyists, including myself in the past, with driftwood, you will expect the unavoidable slime. I took the pieces out and did a once over scrub and the majority of it has since been gone. Here's some pictures of the slime, happens to everyone.


















Decided to give the fellows in the tank a bit of a treat. They didn't know what to make of it until they took the fish few pecks at it. Here's some videos of the discus and the Corydoras Robineae seeing their first live blackworm. There were some bickering and some pecking order being established after this special hors d'oeuvres.


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## dssv

you always have great videos Ming !!


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## 2wheelsx2

Those Heckels are beautiful.

Hahaha...I got no slime. All the plecos took care of it. I did soak it one day first though. Mine are all sunken now.


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## trout

awesome vids! thanks for sharing. really like the second to last vid of the wilds. did i see a little cichlid or two in there as well?

lemons are a great touch too....nice to see them shoal like that with the presence of bigger fish.


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## crazy72

Nice videos, Ming. And what a feast! This is as much food in one feeding as my tank sees in a whole month!


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## jobber

dssv said:


> you always have great videos Ming !!


Thanks Dave. Takes a lot of patience to wait for the fish to settle in. Need to get some African cichlid videos up my friend!



2wheelsx2 said:


> Those Heckels are beautiful.
> Hahaha...I got no slime. All the plecos took care of it. I did soak it one day first though. Mine are all sunken now.


That's one thing less to worry about, I brought in a LF bnp I got from you to help me clean the wood off. But it wasn't enough, I had to take the wood out for a one time scrub through, but now it's only a minor coat of it still on the wood. Amazing that even putting these two pieces of wood and some almond leaves can drop the pH further down from 6.1 to 5.8.



trout said:


> awesome vids! thanks for sharing. really like the second to last vid of the wilds. did i see a little cichlid or two in there as well?
> lemons are a great touch too....nice to see them shoal like that with the presence of bigger fish.


That second to last video I also like. I keep watching it in hope that once these discus in my tank settle that they'll always look like the mood they're in in the video. I have some little cichlid in this tank. They're Crenicara Punctulata (one of a group of cichlids with a common name of "checkerboard cichlid" along with Dicrossus Filamentosus and Dicrossus Macalautus). Pretty neat behaviour...I'm still trying to get some video of them moving almond bark around in the tank. Love to have more tetras in this tank right now...but biting the bullet for now.



crazy72 said:


> Nice videos, Ming. And what a feast! This is as much food in one feeding as my tank sees in a whole month!


Franck, the more feeding I give them only means more water change. I'm trying to fatten them up for the next week or so as they're still recovering from a very rough two weeks. Need to get them to settle in and not be as skittish.


----------



## blurry

How often is your water change and how much do you take out?


----------



## jobber

Another weekend has come, been a very labourious week water changing and getting these guys back to health. They're out and about more often but still skittish at times and going to their corner giving me their back tails. Thanks to Gary for the eggcrate, it's help diffuse some of the light which I have noticed that the fish have reacted positively (as in more willingness to come out and explore and bicker). There has been a lot of bickering and I'm observing the green with the trailers becoming the dominant one in the group. Since the greens have been in the tank longer than the heckels, I'm sure they're more bolder at the moment though I have seen in a few instances where the heckels are pecking back. The more bickering for now, the better. Just tells me that they're not ill and getting their natural instincts back. The past week or two has taken a big toll on the fish through their journey, acclimatizing to a new tank, as well new tank syndrome. Made 3 or 4 trips out to J&L to pick up some stress guard, para guard, stress coat...whatever i could get my hands on to help make these guys settle in better. Plus a lot of water changes and salt bathing.

Tetras have been doing great. The Copeland's Tetras have grown and colours are starting to show more. Lemon tetras have lost some weight as there's more swimming to do for them. Rummies...Love to add to this numbers. 
Corydoras...they're getting fat. I have not been target feeding them but they've been eating the discus pellets.

Tetras are loving hanging in and around the Val nana leaves.










Changes made to the tank: Thanks to J&L, I picked up my shorted bag of sand. This time, I rinsed the sand a few times to get the muddiness out. Helped a lot as I scooped the sand into the tank with a dixie cup, just a bit of cloudy water which cleared up after a few hours. I picked up a few bags of 100ml Seachem Purigen to add inside my Rena XP4 canister filter. I placed 3 bags of Purigen inside to help buffer any ammonia, nitrite, nitrate spikes. I plan on always having three bags inside while regenerating and cleaning older ones in the near future.










Plant-wise, I picked up another 3 bunches of Val nana and possibly a few more to fill some places with some plants. I find the val nana's give a nice grassy look in the tank without taking up too much ground space. Wood I picked up from blurry is still floating which saves me the trouble to tie it up wards.

At the moment, I'm running a large sponge filter and air stone. I'm thinking I may run two large sponge filters; but that will be determined later on once the tank settles with the cycling.

Discus are taking pellet food right now. They love their frozen bloodworms but slowly and steadily, they work through the numerous types of pellets I've been giving them.

**mind you that the discus currently don't always look as per the below photos; depends on their mood.

One of my favourites with a wild battle scar.









RSG with the long trailers. Dominant force in the tank.









The biggest one I have in the tank at 6.5".


















One of the four Nhamunda Blue-faced Heckels in a good colourful peaceful mood.









Current tank shot









Since there were visitors to check these guys out, the discus weren't being too cooperative during visiting hours, decided to wait and get some video footage of them undisturbed and being fed; showing their true colours.


----------



## jobber

blurry said:


> How often is your water change and how much do you take out?


This past week, was doing daily water changes 75%. 2x 75% water changes first few days of the week, then did one water change the past three days.


----------



## crazy72

Ming this looks great. Really great. The sand and the more subdued light have made a huge difference. I love it on this last video there. Very inspiring.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

I'm so inspired, I'm going to do a water change right now....but in a 3 gallon and a 20 gallon.


----------



## crazy72

2wheelsx2 said:


> I'm so inspired, I'm going to do a water change right now....but in a 3 gallon and a 20 gallon.


That's the only thing, yes. I have to say that reading about the daily 75% w/c also inspires me to stay away from discus...


----------



## 2wheelsx2

I didn't want to mention that I did 3 x 75% and 2 x 80% wc in 100 and 125 gallon tanks respectively this week already.


----------



## crazy72

You should install a garden watering system for the whole neighbourhood.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

crazy72 said:


> You should install a garden watering system for the whole neighbourhood.


That's what my garden and lawns are for in the summer. But at this time of year it's difficult to convince anyone their gardens need watering since I have standing water in mine.


----------



## crazy72

It's all in the nutrients! :bigsmile:


----------



## josephl

2wheelsx2 said:


> I didn't want to mention that I did 3 x 75% and 2 x 80% wc in 100 and 125 gallon tanks respectively this week already.


That's what pythons are for....just finishing up third of 3 X 50% water changes on the 210 gallon while catching up on bca and simply and having breakfast


----------



## 2wheelsx2

josephl said:


> That's what pythons are for....just finishing up third of 3 X 50% water changes on the 210 gallon while catching up on bca and simply and having breakfast


Pythons are too slow.  That's what 800 gph water pumps are for. And I'm getting a 950 gph one soon. But filling still sucks. I'll be plumbing in a 3/4" water line with the basement reno for water changes.  Right now it's 10 minutes to drain but 20 minutes to fill. Soon it'll be 20 minutes coast to coast for an 80 gallon water change!


----------



## tony1928

Lol. I just did another 200 gallons this morning. Yup refilling is so slow. Gotta be careful not to forget about the fill! 

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk 2


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Your water is so clean you should just save it for the hot tub Tony!


----------



## zhasan

Woah Ming!! Thats an awesome jump into Discus with a nice 75! Tank is looking amazing and those Discus are fantastic!! Congrats on the change over!! btw, sorry to hear about 1 trooper going down. its all part of the battle!!


----------



## Luke78

Having gone MIA for a while, finally got around to seeing the post from start to now.Looks awsome Ming, it's a work in progress as they all say.The lighting is something you'll have to manage or work around with, i had this issue when i had my Tefe's they hated the bright light, and changed it to something lesser than expected an old T8 bulb which made the difference.That or find/add some manzanita branches floating up top to break the light sort of speak.


----------



## AdobeOtoCat

I like your new tank sir.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 LTE


----------



## Swope2bc

Well Jobber it looks great! Im looking forward to watching your progress!


----------



## jobber

crazy72 said:


> Ming this looks great. Really great. The sand and the more subdued light have made a huge difference. I love it on this last video there. Very inspiring.


The sand lightened up a bit from when it was in the bag. When the sand was in the bag, it looked gold/brown coloured, but I'm really liking the beige look. I'd need to thank Loukas for the influence; a continuation from his 66 gallon and 100 gallon setups. The fish are really liking the floating overhanging branches. As the discus are starting to get use to their new surroundings. Taking time, but what a big difference not being skittish.



2wheelsx2 said:


> I'm so inspired, I'm going to do a water change right now....but in a 3 gallon and a 20 gallon.


Water change is therapy . You, Tony, and Joseph are the true inspiration and motivators of water changes. Seeing you guys drain your hot water tanks....I can't complain about my WC's.



crazy72 said:


> That's the only thing, yes. I have to say that reading about the daily 75% w/c also inspires me to stay away from discus...


Well, I haven't done a water change for the past 3 days. But indeed, the daily water changes for the first week or so was quite demanding on me and the hot water tank; and especially if fish are ill due to overstocking , even more water changes.



2wheelsx2 said:


> I didn't want to mention that I did 3 x 75% and 2 x 80% wc in 100 and 125 gallon tanks respectively this week already.


Even if you did, the amount of water volume still dwarfs Tony's for this week. I feel for Tony and his water tank this past week. Hope all is well.



josephl said:


> That's what pythons are for....just finishing up third of 3 X 50% water changes on the 210 gallon while catching up on bca and simply and having breakfast


Now this is the true dedicated discus keeper, keeping it all fresh for his discus. My true inspiration and motivation for water changes and keeping my fish healthy and happy. If Joe can do it, so can you!



tony1928 said:


> Lol. I just did another 200 gallons this morning. Yup refilling is so slow. Gotta be careful not to forget about the fill!
> Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk 2


I'm feeling it for you this past week. Hope the changes have decreased. I see that you have a new toy you're playing with SGH-I317M 



zhasan said:


> Woah Ming!! Thats an awesome jump into Discus with a nice 75! Tank is looking amazing and those Discus are fantastic!! Congrats on the change over!! btw, sorry to hear about 1 trooper going down. its all part of the battle!!


Thanks Z. It was quite the big jump, but needed to change things up in the hobby. I would have gone bigger if I had the room to go bigger.



Luke78 said:


> Having gone MIA for a while, finally got around to seeing the post from start to now.Looks awsome Ming, it's a work in progress as they all say.The lighting is something you'll have to manage or work around with, i had this issue when i had my Tefe's they hated the bright light, and changed it to something lesser than expected an old T8 bulb which made the difference.That or find/add some manzanita branches floating up top to break the light sort of speak.


What's the deal with the MIA! I'm forcing the fish to get use to the light. No point easing off it. I think as these guys are settling in still to their new environment, they're doing much better. Letter bumper car; but still giving me the rear ends from time to time. I may add some window screen material on the eggcrate to diffuse the light more, but I'm going to monitor how things are this upcoming week to justify whether to spend time to glue mesh to the egg crate.



AdobeOtoCat said:


> I like your new tank sir.
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 LTE


Thanks Oscar. I think it's time you should make the splash into this game with a massive school of cardinals.



Swope2bc said:


> Well Jobber it looks great! Im looking forward to watching your progress!


Thanks buddy. Progress is always in the works, but in the mean time, need to get these guys fatten up a bit now that they're healthy and eating ferociously. In the meantime, new videos to share with you all.


----------



## jobber

Been only a few days. I took out the UV sterilizer that Tony was kind enough to let me use - thanks again and made good use of it during this past two weeks. Though it's useful life has probably come to an end. Opened up some room in the tank. Wiped and cleaned up the glass where a lot of slime is building up. Went to Fantasy Aquatics to pick up a few more Vallisnera nana to fill the tank with a bit more plants. Started to feed the discus some FDBW and new cichlid pellets. These guys are getting a bit more bold and coming out to eat. They still give me the back end from time to time. Punks!

Since I did a 75% water change, added about 7 almond leaves into the tank. pH drops from 5.8 to 5.5 now. Dries my hands up pretty well each time I dip my hands into the tank.

It's been about 3 or 4 days since I did the last water change. Did one today and cleaned up the tank a bit. I smell the woodiness and bacteria from the tank - sweet smell of a healthy tank.

Seems like these guys are now back to full health and eating ferociously. Took them about 2 weeks, constant water changes, and patience on my part. Finally get to sit back and watch them bicker over some freeze dried blackworms.

Had to split the 1080p HD videos into two parts.

Part 1 of 2





Part 2 or 2


----------



## tony1928

The fish are definitely looking more settled in now Ming. Its funny, in my 400g, my domestic discus prefer to stay in the shade when available. My wilds in the cube tank could care less about the shade. They just want to eat their fdbw. 

Glad you could get some use out of it. I was hoping the JBJ would work for you since I had all those new parts for it. I hated the Green Killing Machine. What a piece of junk, imo. Looksl ike it was designed by a 3 year old.


----------



## jobber

tony1928 said:


> The fish are definitely looking more settled in now Ming. Its funny, in my 400g, my domestic discus prefer to stay in the shade when available. My wilds in the cube tank could care less about the shade. They just want to eat their fdbw.
> 
> Glad you could get some use out of it. I was hoping the JBJ would work for you since I had all those new parts for it. I hated the Green Killing Machine. What a piece of junk, imo. Looksl ike it was designed by a 3 year old.


Fish are indeed doing a lot better. From what they, specifically the greens, looked like during that two weeks. But what doesn't get them, only makes them stronger. I'm waiting for the day when these wilds go wild during feedings instead of assessing the situation for a few minutes then decide to start frenzying.

Made good use of the GKM but like you said, poorly designed; but that's how they get you to buy a replacement assembly and make money.

Hope your fellows are doing better. Looking forward to seeing your monster pleco playground.


----------



## jobber

Always exciting to receive packages in the mail. This time from Dan for some delicious freeze dried blackworms. Seeing what the hype is with the new recipes. Now my fish food cache is full; all high protein diet.



















As the day passes and more time spent observing the fish and tank; finding the discus to be getting very inquisitive in nature. They are getting quite the appetite at the moment; similar to cories, always looking for food along the bottom even after a feast of fdbw. As I'm currently deworming the wilds; I'm sure their appetite will just become even more ferociously _wild_.
Here are some random videos.






Been always hard to get videos of these dwarf cichlids (Crenicara Punctulata; 'Checkerboard' cichlid var.). I'm still trying to get video of these guys lifting and moving almond bark. Getting videos of the corydoras robineae are a pain since the discus like to come out and check out the camera, scares the corydoras away. Need to adapt and find a way to distract the discus while filming the cories next time. Both are not so commonly (ie. rare) acquisitions.






1 of 3





2 of 3





3 of 3


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Boy that's a lot of blackworms.  The discus must be nice and fat now.


----------



## Momobobo

Whoa, those Cories are gorgeous! Whered you get them?


----------



## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> Boy that's a lot of blackworms.  The discus must be nice and fat now.


Should see feeding time. Need to load up on more. After a month now, the discus are thick and plump.



Momobobo said:


> Whoa, those Cories are gorgeous! Whered you get them?


Thanks. Got the the Brochis Splendens from Fantasy and the Robinae from an import venture.


----------



## jobber

Just a quick update with pics and videos.
Discus are getting thick and plump; getting fed well. Moved out some fish and added some back.





































Some nice healthy Otocinclus Hoppei. Finally able to keep otos for more than a few weeks. Hope they dont' get starved.






Otos schooling since I got a dozen.





L134 fighting for a cave.





Discus hanging out and relaxing before feeding time





Discus knowing it's feeding time soon.


----------



## monkE

beautiful videos! love those L134's.... oh yeah those discus are going to beef up in a hurry eh? Looking good.


----------



## jobber

monkE said:


> beautiful videos! love those L134's.... oh yeah those discus are going to beef up in a hurry eh? Looking good.


Thanks Mike. Been caught up watching the blue leaves.

Nothing much to report other than the fact that I'm feeding fish and doing water changes weekly. So far so good after about 2-3 months of getting into discus. Thinking of more to add to the school. Quite the personalities in these fish, always providing different characters from now and then.


----------



## jobber

Feeding something new. Red wrigglers from the garden. Harvested my first batch, fish was attacking them with vigor, but I think I'll harvest the smaller ones the next time. They did tear a few to pieces but had to retrieve some uneaten ones before it fouled the water. Fish have been doing good and being more active schooling around always looking for food. I've focused their feedings on krill pellets and a treat of bloodworms now and then. I'm going to deviate from feeding fdbw for now as the fish seem to prefer the pellets more than the fdbw. Good for me also as it saves me a lot of money over the long run and provides the fish with the nutrients and vitamins.

Here's a few video of feeding red wriggler worms.


----------



## tony1928

Nice job with feeding the worms Ming. I guess if the fish don't eat the red wigglers then you have to fish them out or the worms will drown right?


----------



## jobber

tony1928 said:


> Nice job with feeding the worms Ming. I guess if the fish don't eat the red wigglers then you have to fish them out or the worms will drown right?


Yeah. It took about 2 hours before the worms looked dead but the fish were still pecking away at it. I put one smaller nightcrawler in there but it was too tough for the fish to break apart. The tetras had a great time with the smaller red wrigglers. I'd definitely will be more selective and picking out the smaller worms which are easier for the fish to rip apart.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Yes, keep it to the smaller worms. And I would probably only feed those the night before a water change, to minimize fouling.


----------



## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> Yes, keep it to the smaller worms. And I would probably only feed those the night before a water change, to minimize fouling.


I keep saying I will only feed pellets but always turn to worms.


----------



## jobber

Here's a video of the corydoras robinae and brochis spendens (Emerald Corydoras)


----------



## 2wheelsx2

jobber said:


> I keep saying I will only feed pellets but always turn to worms.





jobber said:


> Here's a video of the corydoras robinae and brochis spendens (Emerald Corydoras)


Hard to resist. They are just so eager to eat worms. Hence the reason I hadn't tried weaning them from blackworm until this weekend. Still not successful after 2 days. Will have to stop and go back to worms tonight so they can get some food before trying again for the next 4 days.

Those C. robinae are extremely cool.


----------



## Diztrbd1

Cool vid Ming! Like the red wriggler feeding one too. My fish go nuts over them too lol
I really gotta lower my post view count per page though, so many vids on one page almost locks me up lol


----------



## jobber

Been awhile since updates, just wanted to update to say thanks to angelfins.ca for the fish food samples. Great portions, can't wait to start overfeeding my tank


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## 2wheelsx2

Wow, that's a great offer!


----------



## jobber




----------



## jobber

Here's a better video of the crew eating Austrailian FDBW. Feeding the remainder of the FDBW and in the process of feeding pellets exclusively with a treat now and then.


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## 2wheelsx2

They're too well fed.  They're not throwing water everywhere like when I feed mine FDBW.


----------



## jobber

Just love video recording these guys now.


----------



## nigerian prince

the cory's in one of your previous vids have great looking fins


----------



## Luke78

Just did a start to finish again with your journal, looking really good, lots of activity here and everyone is healthy.Are you done stock wise? or pushing for more? Keep the updates coming


----------



## Luke78

Ming, whats the story here? We getting any new updates? Hope the setup is going well!


----------



## Diztrbd1

Those are some cool vids Ming. The Discus look great in there buddy!


----------



## jobber

nigerian prince said:


> the cory's in one of your previous vids have great looking fins


These fish do have nice fins. The tails are the very nice with the patterns.



Luke78 said:


> Just did a start to finish again with your journal, looking really good, lots of activity here and everyone is healthy.Are you done stock wise? or pushing for more? Keep the updates coming


It has been a while indeed. Was kept busy for the summer so haven't done much until recently. Added a school of cardinals to replenish the school of tetras and another rarity. I did lose a discus and a few dither fish here and there; but typical. The tank has stabilized and the discus did take a while to acclimatize to my tank surroundings.



Luke78 said:


> Ming, whats the story here? We getting any new updates? Hope the setup is going well!


Been awhile to see you back in action here on the forum. The story of the tank, doing wc every two weeks or so, haven't cleaned the canister, feeding sparingly and keeping the maintenance to a minimal. Just sitting back and enjoying the colours and behaviour 

You ask and you shall receive.



Diztrbd1 said:


> Those are some cool vids Ming. The Discus look great in there buddy!


Thanks John.


----------



## jobber

Kept myself busy outside of the hobby past few months and hope all my BCA friends have been doing well.

Made an addition to the tank recently. An oddity and rarity from Fantasy Aquatic. I'm back into the plecoworld. Plus 50 of Charles' famous cardinal tetras


----------



## Momobobo

Heehee, I was considering getting MY 70 gallon South American one of those 

Beautiful addition!

edit: Oh, I'm jealous, I think those were the Cories I was looking for after I spotted them in the Baensch aquarium atlas


----------



## josephl

jobber said:


> Kept myself busy outside of the hobby past few months and hope all my BCA friends have been doing well.
> 
> Made an addition to the tank recently. An oddity and rarity from Fantasy Aquatic. I'm back into the plecoworld. Plus 50 of Charles' famous cardinal tetras


That's a beauty. It was hard to resist those and the red shoulder angels and the red wild discus didn't help any :bigsmile:


----------



## jobber

josephl said:


> That's a beauty. It was hard to resist those and the red shoulder angels and the red wild discus didn't help any :bigsmile:


I think I'll be back for some more . Indeed hard to resist amongst many others. Cleaning out the wallet each visit. They were some healthy arrivals.


----------



## AdobeOtoCat

Tank and fish is looking juicy as always. By the way, do you find any behavioral differences in wild discus vs captive bred?


----------



## Luke78

Thanks for the updates, that's one nice looking specimen  congrats! Ha ha i was gone a while from the pleco world myself,and jumped right back in! You never really leave is how i see it!



jobber said:


> Kept myself busy outside of the hobby past few months and hope all my BCA friends have been doing well.
> 
> Made an addition to the tank recently. An oddity and rarity from Fantasy Aquatic. I'm back into the plecoworld. Plus 50 of Charles' famous cardinal tetras


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Rumour has it that there are even newer inhabitants!


----------



## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> Rumour has it that there are even newer inhabitants!


Rumour? It's actual fact that there's new inhabitantS. Got to help rehome a few ground dwellers to keep the floor of the tank a bit more active. 
A beautiful L114 from 2wheelsx2 and some baby frogs and bnps, a transient shrimp and assassin snail . Thanks again from one hobbyist to another.

During capture, containment, and transportation:



















The L114 looks similar to the one tony1928 has:









The baby froggies, i didn't get a chance to take a picture of as I was rushing out for dinner, but they look exactly the same as ones I had previously:


----------



## josephl

Very nice, I can't believe you have resisted those beautiful red discus that Mike and Kerry brought in


----------



## mdwflyer

Good looking additions! I still don't have a good picture of my L114, but he is much easier to find in the smaller tank.


----------



## Luke78

Looking good,what left to make room for this guy? Gary is down sizing  hard to believe!


----------



## jobber

josephl said:


> Very nice, I can't believe you have resisted those beautiful red discus that Mike and Kerry brought in


Believe it Joseph. Anymore discus in my tank, i'd be cramming way too many  Finally enjoying the wild heckel and greens at the moment. Took them a bit to settle into my tank, but alas! The ones at Fantasy are so bold.



mdwflyer said:


> Good looking additions! I still don't have a good picture of my L114, but he is much easier to find in the smaller tank.


Thanks. It's so hard to get pictures of these guys even in my tank. That just the mystique of keeping cats.



Luke78 said:


> Looking good,what left to make room for this guy? Gary is down sizing  hard to believe!


Haha. what left my tank....a few here and there went to the aquarium in the sky over the past half year. I just needed some more ground dwellers; but even so, these new guys hide a lot.

Gary downsizing? He's more like doing some reallocation and restructuring; or something like that.


----------



## jobber

Looking forward to seeing this little guy's tail grow trailers. I placed this big stone by the corner of the tank as a hiding spot, the L114 took over the spot now.


----------



## jobber




----------



## jobber




----------



## jobber




----------



## charles

Beautiful L114


----------



## jobber

charles said:


> Beautiful L114


Thx. But the school of cardinals is quite the impressive sight!


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Boy the Pseudas both look great!


----------



## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> Boy the Pseudas both look great!


Really enjoying the pseudacs. Thx for this young one, hopefully this little guy can grow to it's full potential over the years.


----------



## jobber

Been awhile but still doing my water changes and daily feedings. Since weather's gotten colder, I've gotten back more into the hobby. Wanted to tweak my stock a bit and it was great adding some plecos back into the tank. The L273 has grown fast since it's been eating ferociously. The trailers are starting grow out. Discus have been good and more active since I've adding a few nice schools of dither fish. I'm still doing weekly 75% water changes and doing two to three feedings a day.

Recently swapped out the Marineland LED for a Hamilton LED strip. The LED strip is less bright so the fish are swimming closer to the top of the water (tetras and discus).

The number of fish I have in this tank is testing the threshold but everything is healthy. I haven't had any issues as I maintain routine water changes and keep my feedings in check. If you want to know the fish count, it's in the video description on youtube.

The amazing thing is that I just recently maintained my canister filter after 6 months. Not something I would suggest doing.

Here are some videos of some new additions and full tank shots. Enjoy!


----------



## jobber




----------



## 2wheelsx2

Those are nice shoals of tetras. The fat discus are keeping the tetras groupings tight.


----------



## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> Those are nice shoals of tetras. The fat discus are keeping the tetras groupings tight.


Makes the tank look bigger than it is. Discus in my tank, at this moment, don't seem to be concerned with feeding on any if the tetras, thank goodness.


----------



## Luke78

Great videos, and update thanks for sharing.You have just about every species from SA in there huh Nice to see everyone settling in.Those rams are huge, where did you pick them up?


----------



## jobber

Thx Luke78.
Tank seems to be lacking more cories though . I don't have "all" the species per se. Don't have any zebras in there.
Rams I got from Charles, good price for the group during his sale week. They're actually very small, but "cute". The other cichlids are the puntulatus, another type of dwarf cichlid that for some reason grew pretty big in my tank. One of the bigger ones croaked the other day.
Still trying to get a good HD video up on youtube, seems after uploading it, the video quality degrades.


----------



## Fish rookie

Love the amazon "feel" of your tank very much.


----------



## Luke78

Your so lucky, when i had my wilds they took down a school of 24 cardinals in very little time.But with your feeding schedule i don't see that being an issue, but you never know.


----------



## kacairns

Luke78 said:


> Your so lucky, when i had my wilds they took down a school of 24 cardinals in very little time.But with your feeding schedule i don't see that being an issue, but you never know.


They don't have to be wild to take down cardinals! I lost near 60 of them in about 3 months in my planted tank and there was never a shortage of food for the discus in the tank, just a good opportunity for them once and awhile for expensive sushi!


----------



## tony1928

Yeah only my thicker bodied tetras survived my discus, domestics or wilds. Great looking tank Ming, it's really evolving nicely. 

Sent from my gigantic Samsung Note 2


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## jobber

tony1928 said:


> Yeah only my thicker bodied tetras survived my discus, domestics or wilds. Great looking tank Ming, it's really evolving nicely.
> 
> Sent from my gigantic Samsung Note 2


So far, my discus does not have the taste for tetras, yet. Hope that stays that way.
Lots of activity at all levels of the water column.


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## jobber

Another video to share. Got the remaining shoal of these from Charles.


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## Momobobo

WOW, was the yellow guy that video bombed the Robinae?! I am very jealous :bigsmile:


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## jobber

Momobobo said:


> WOW, was the yellow guy that video bombed the Robinae?! I am very jealous :bigsmile:


Yeah it was the Robinae photo bombing the video. I just turned on the lights so the colour of the robinae were a bit washed out.


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## 2wheelsx2

Those are some chubby cories. And the C. robinae are a gorgeous addition. Wish I had got some when you got yours.


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## Diztrbd1

Definitely nice additions Ming! Really liking those , may have to get some myself in the future.


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## Luke78

That's one pricey dinner no doubt! Even well feed huh?



kacairns said:


> They don't have to be wild to take down cardinals! I lost near 60 of them in about 3 months in my planted tank and there was never a shortage of food for the discus in the tank, just a good opportunity for them once and awhile for expensive sushi!


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## jobber

Thanks for giving me a few youtube views fellas. For people who want to see how epic my water changes are....





And after the refill, tetras start schooling and discus start pecking at each other.


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## jhj0112

wow! that much of water change? how often do you do water change? lol i thought my 25% water change per week in 90g was a lot of work


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## jobber

jhj0112 said:


> wow! that much of water change? how often do you do water change? lol i thought my 25% water change per week in 90g was a lot of work


Once a week. Sometimes I do a 25% or 50% water change in the middle of the week.


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## jobber

Updated previous post to include video of the tank after a water change and how lively the tank becomes with tetras schooling, cories searching for food, and discus pecking at each other.

Here's another video with a single LED from my phone. Water is a bit yellow as I just dumped about 5 almond leaves into the tank after the WC. Tetras seem to like the light.


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## aznfire888

As always the simplicity of your tank makes it absolutely stunning. How about a feeding video?


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## jobber

aznfire888 said:


> As always the simplicity of your tank makes it absolutely stunning. How about a feeding video?


Feeding frenzy video to come. You ask, it shall come. I plan on doing some different videos of feeding different food.


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## kevin22

very nice setup, very similar with my previous tanks for wild discus and Altum angels.
I just bought a 75 gallon and waiting for the branches to sink.
once I have some Geo or discus, I'll be back to the game.
Kevin


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## rwong2k10

great looking tank jobber! I love wild discus and biotope tanks!
!


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## jobber

rwong2k10 said:


> great looking tank jobber! I love wild discus and biotope tanks!
> !





kevin22 said:


> very nice setup, very similar with my previous tanks for wild discus and Altum angels.
> I just bought a 75 gallon and waiting for the branches to sink.
> once I have some Geo or discus, I'll be back to the game.
> Kevin


Thanks for the kind words. You guys should get into the wild discus itch sooner rather than later.


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## jobber

Got inspired since Gary took some pics; so I decided to spend a bit of time staring at my tank last night. Took some pics and really loving the colour popping out from the fish after I started feeding a bit of tetra colour bits the past week.










Close up of a bnp calico.










Corydoras Robinae










During feeding time when all the fish congregate.










Up close of corydoras robinae









Upclose with Brochis Spendens (Emerald Corydoras) checking my camera out


















L273 growing fast since he's eating a lot.


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## jobber

and a video of rams and corydoras eating.


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## charles

Beautiful fish.


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## oppai

Very nice fish and pics. Im in envy.


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## 2wheelsx2

Your L273 is growing up with beautiful markings and colour.


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## bonsai dave

Tank and Fish are looking great. It makes me want to get more wilds for my new tank.


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## josephl

bonsai dave said:


> Tank and Fish are looking great. It makes me want to get more wilds for my new tank.


Ming, those fish are looking great

Dave - I was at Rick's picking up the Dantum Angels last week and Rick has some sweet looking wilds(not sure if they are for sale)


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## jobber

charles said:


> Beautiful fish.


Thanks for supplying some of the beautiful fish. Brings the South American biotope together.



oppai said:


> Very nice fish and pics. Im in envy.


Don't need to envy, let the impulses take over and just get 'em wilds!



2wheelsx2 said:


> Your L273 is growing up with beautiful markings and colour.


Big difference when feeding the tank red colour food. It really does make the colours pop out, but then again this L273 has been eating like a fat cat.



bonsai dave said:


> Tank and Fish are looking great. It makes me want to get more wilds for my new tank.


Do it. I know you have a nice 210g coming along which the fish will enjoy schooling in.



josephl said:


> Ming, those fish are looking great
> Dave - I was at Rick's picking up the Dantum Angels last week and Rick has some sweet looking wilds(not sure if they are for sale)


There you go Dave, there's supporters for you to get back into things.


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## jobber

Here's another feeding video, mostly of the discus since they were quite aggressive as I hadn't fed them for a day. In this video, was feeding Hikari Frozen Blookworms. i'll be doing a few upcoming videos on the different types of food I feed my fish.


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## 2wheelsx2

I'm surprised the cories aren't all over the bloodworms. I see hte L273 like them.


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## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> I'm surprised the cories aren't all over the bloodworms. I see hte L273 like them.


Cories were first there munching away until the discus sniffed out the worms. Oddly, discus have been eating a lot more this past month.


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## Phillyb

Cool video, nice looking fish, love the cories!


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## jobber

In the spirit of journal updates and recent power feeding my tank, here's a video of the fish feeding on freeze dried bloodworms.






So far, did video on feeding the following food:
-freeze dried bloodworms
-Hikari frozen bloodworms
-Hikari Sinking Wafers


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## 2wheelsx2

Wow, that's a big cloud of tetras!


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## Fish rookie

Nice. My discus never eats freeze dried bloodworms. 
I tried so many times I finally give up.


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## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> Wow, that's a big cloud of tetras!


Rewatching that video myself, the school is pretty impressive. But I expect the school to thin out now and then.



Fish rookie said:


> Nice. My discus never eats freeze dried bloodworms.
> I tried so many times I finally give up.


Don't be afraid to starve them a day and then try the freeze dried stuff again. They'll take to the food. I'm assuming their new fish.


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## 2wheelsx2

Fish rookie said:


> Nice. My discus never eats freeze dried bloodworms.
> I tried so many times I finally give up.


Were you trying with Aussie blackworms or the California ones? I don't think I've ever seen discus not eat the Aussie ones. All my wilds eat that. But some of them won't eat Dan's.


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## jobber

2wheelsx2 said:


> Were you trying with Aussie blackworms or the California ones? I don't think I've ever seen discus not eat the Aussie ones. All my wilds eat that. But some of them won't eat Dan's.


I had a previous video on the freeze dried blackworms when I had some. I swapped over to freeze dried bloodworms, the cheaper alternative. My variety in my fish food cache is pretty diverse.


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## jobber

Video of discus grazing on premium krill pellets 1.5mm after the pellets have softened up 15-20 minutes in the tank.


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## josephl

That's cool. By pure coincidence I have also just started to feed freeze dried krill to my discus and angels. Amazing how the food gets attacked even when dry and floating.

Frozen Mysis shrimp seems to be a winner as far as food goes too


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## 2wheelsx2

I keep trying frozen mysis but they don't seem to go for it. What size do you feed?


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## jobber

josephl said:


> That's cool. By pure coincidence I have also just started to feed freeze dried krill to my discus and angels. Amazing how the food gets attacked even when dry and floating.
> Frozen Mysis shrimp seems to be a winner as far as food goes too


You're giving me too many feeding options and spoils for the discus . Love watching the discus go into full attack mode on food.



2wheelsx2 said:


> I keep trying frozen mysis but they don't seem to go for it. What size do you feed?


for me? it's the one's i got from J&L in cubes. side of an adult RCS.


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## jobber

Caught this little guy coming out to explore a new territory. Just love the bands on these guys. Everyone should have at least one of these guys in a South american community or southeast asian community tank.


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## 2wheelsx2

jobber said:


> for me? it's the one's i got from J&L in cubes. side of an adult RCS.


Hmmm..I have to check but I think mine are that size. Have to try feeding them the mysis again.



jobber said:


> Caught this little guy coming out to explore a new territory. Just love the bands on these guys. Everyone should have at least one of these guys in a South american community or southeast asian community tank.


That's a great looking Peckoltia.


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## eternity302

I don't post... but you made me post. Hate you for that LOL!
Darn they are gorgeous!


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## jobber

eternity302 said:


> I don't post... but you made me post. Hate you for that LOL!
> Darn they are gorgeous!


Wow, special guest appearance. I think John needs to see this


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## bonsai dave

Man I wish I can keep plecos a live in my tank. So until I figure a way to keep my angels from killing them . I'll just have to enjoy them in your videos.lol


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## jobber

*updated Feb 23, 2014*

Keeping with updating my tank journal. Tank has been doing good. I've been feeding the fish a wide variety of food. Lose a few tetras and cories here and there. Had a bit of water quality degradation for a week or two. So i've lessen the frequency of feedings.

Here's some pics of the discus and L273.





































and while you enjoy the pics above. i'm acclimatizing....


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## jobber

Finished acclimating and into his new home.


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## 2wheelsx2

Beautiful L600. Along with the gold medal game commentary.


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## josephl

jobber said:


> Finished acclimating and into his new home.


That's a beautiful fish


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## AWW

Great Looking addition Ming!


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## tony1928

Very nice orange finnage on the L600. Future monster! 

Sent from my gigantic Samsung Note 2


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## jobber

Thanks. I couldn't resist. Had to splurge a bit. Here's another addition. After a week's time, started being a bit bolder. Beautiful additions. Love them.


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## AWW

I want some of those L014's so bad... Can't wait to find the right group.


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## tony1928

L273 showing the L14 who's the boss! 

Sent from my gigantic Samsung Note 2


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## jobber

Plecos eat a lot. This guy was hoovering up all the tetra bits in the tank. quite the sight to see the beast out and about.


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## Fish rookie

Hi Jobber,
What would you say is the favorite food of your wild discus?
What is the most challenging thing in regard to keeping them in your opinion?
Thanks for your video.
Richard


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## jobber

Fish rookie said:


> Hi Jobber,
> What would you say is the favorite food of your wild discus?
> What is the most challenging thing in regard to keeping them in your opinion?
> Thanks for your video.
> Richard


This is just my experience. which has only been 1 year.

My discus's favourite food has been freeze dried bloodworms, frozen bloodworms, freeze dried blackworms, variety of pellets. My discus has been eating anything i put in the tank. They even graze on pellets. Feeding freeze dried bloodworms and blackworms have kept the water quality relatively cleaner than when I feed pellets.

The most challenging thing regarding keeping them is ensuring not to over feed the tank. I don't see doing water changes to be any challenge nowadays. I do 2-4 wc a week 80%. I think once the fish settles in, and you maintain a good regime of water changes; you become adept to any challenges. What's been annoying is when fish are sick, you really don't know what it is; so the best resolution for me has been to just do extra water changes. That seems to resolve all my issues. As you can tell, my tank is stocked beyond the norm. No 1" per 10 gallon rule for me.

From my videos, you can tell the floor of my tank is relatively dirty.


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## Fish rookie

Actually I think the bottom just resembles the natural environment of the Amazon which is a great look.
I do not care for the one fish per ten galloon, or is it one inch gallon or whatever, rule myself. 
I really like the look of wild discus. They are different from the domestic strain and have a beauty of their own.
Did you buy your discus locally or were they ordered from other sources? They look very nice together. I assume you added them into the tank at various stages. 
One year without any major problem is a great feat. Great job!!
Thanks for taking the time to post the videos.


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## jobber

Fish rookie said:


> Actually I think the bottom just resembles the natural environment of the Amazon which is a great look.
> I do not care for the one fish per ten galloon, or is it one inch gallon or whatever, rule myself.
> I really like the look of wild discus. They are different from the domestic strain and have a beauty of their own.
> Did you buy your discus locally or were they ordered from other sources? They look very nice together. I assume you added them into the tank at various stages.
> One year without any major problem is a great feat. Great job!!
> Thanks for taking the time to post the videos.


Yeah i'm on the same page as I don't fret too much with a dirty bottom.

To each, their own. Wild discus caught my eye from the beginning. I never thought to get into wild discus as I was more into the corydoras and plecos. I got the greens locally and the heckels imported from the states. I actually put them all in the tank within a month's time.

I did run into a few hiccups along the road with a few discus lost; but it's part of the hobby and I expected it. But at this moment, i still have a good group that aggressively eats. The hiccups was my fault by feeding too much. But i think i've found the balance now.

Everyone should post more videos up, helps gives each hobbyists ideas.


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## crazy72

Going back into plecos, Ming. Slowly but surely.


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## oppai

Now imagine if u had 2 L600's in there feeding!!


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## TCR

... Well I just had a jobber tank marathon ( "wasted" a good 2 hours or so after reading and videos). Was out of fish for a while so I had to catch up as I have been frequently the site again. 

I had a feeling you would eventually go for a bigger tank, glad you did. Guessing with a tank that busy you are not getting spawning anymore?

Very nice looking set up though, but I have to say I miss the plants that were in the 30 gal long.

Crazy nice set up regardless. Gonna have to keep a look out when you post fish for sale, you always take such great care of them


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## jobber

crazy72 said:


> Going back into plecos, Ming. Slowly but surely.


Indeed getting back into plecos. Had to go through the discus phase. I do love my 'cats.



oppai said:


> Now imagine if u had 2 L600's in there feeding!!


You said it. Don't need to imagine anymore. Now there's 2.



TCR said:


> ... Well I just had a jobber tank marathon ( "wasted" a good 2 hours or so after reading and videos). Was out of fish for a while so I had to catch up as I have been frequently the site again.
> I had a feeling you would eventually go for a bigger tank, glad you did. Guessing with a tank that busy you are not getting spawning anymore?
> Very nice looking set up though, but I have to say I miss the plants that were in the 30 gal long.
> Crazy nice set up regardless. Gonna have to keep a look out when you post fish for sale, you always take such great care of them


Right on! Glad my thread entertained you for 2 hours. I did go bigger and if room was available in this house, i would have gone bigger. No spawning action at this moment. This tank is more about enjoying the sight of fish feeding; i'll get into dedicated breeding tanks in the future. I do miss the plants, it's funny that I just looked over and I don't have any plants at all in this tank. Just one less item to maintain, plant health. Water changes and overfeeding the fish . I would like to find a good home for some of the discus; but at times, hard to let go of them now that they're all settled in and big.


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## jobber

Been awhile since last update. I've just been doing nothing but a lot of water changes and a lot of feeding. Tank has been doing well. Big cats are doing well and eating ferociously. I can go through a 16oz flat of frozen bloodworms in a couple of days. Here's a couple of video updates.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic

Wow, that's a lot of food & I thought I used to overfeed. I did frequent small feedings, not huge ones like in the video. Cool to see so thanks for sharing.


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## jobber

After 5 months....


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## Momobobo

Now THATS how you do a SA tank :bigsmile:


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## crazy72

Looks fantastic, Ming. It really does.


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## jobber

Crap. Can't believe the last update was 10-10-2014. But caught my fish fighting in the tank for a cave. L273 vs. L134. Here's a short clip.


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## 2wheelsx2

Boy that L273 is growing out beautifully.


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## Pamela

Lol, your plecos are just like my twins - they only want what the other one has! It doesn't matter that there's 3 other perfectly good caves he's taking that one! In my mind all the tetras in the background are cheering "fight, fight, fight" :lol:


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## 2wheelsx2

Haha, it's more likely that the cave against the glass get the "bounce-back" flow and the plecos like it. In my tanks, you can always tell where they like the flow as the other caves won't be used as much so once I figure it out, I try to set up more caves in similar spots. In this way, I have been able to sometimes get 2 or 3 spawns going at once.


----------



## eternity302

WOW! Now that's interesting face!


----------



## jobber

After a period of reclusiveness and time occupied with busy life, decided to do a water change to the tank. Last water change was 8 weeks prior (not something I'm proud of). As I was water changing and spending some time to inspect some of my fish (seeing my L600 recovered fully from wounds suffered from fighting, and losing a few discus); i noticed something dart away like a water flea. Upon further observation, saw a fry and a tiny pleco. Low and behold; the L340's bred in my tank. I got this group from giraffe last December in 2014. I told giraffe about the spawn; and he noted that the hypancistrus L340 is sexually mature at 1 year --- as an observation as he was successful in breeding his group he got from charles; which the offsprings have now spawned in my tank. The exact numbers of new fish; I cannot determine as there are a lot of nooks and crannies in my tank. However, i did see 3 varying sized fish and can reasonable deduce that they may have been 3 different clutches.

I tried getting some videos but the focus on my phone was not adequate. Here are some pics (see if you can find it in some of the pics):


























Update to tank from previous entry:
lost a few discus but still have a few remaining. The plecos have been good and pudgy; always coming out of their caves when they notice me near the tank. School of tetras withering down in numbers, corydoras doing well as usual. Through this tank's growth, I come to realize how hardy catfish can be and that fish become very territorial when food is scarce (when I feed less).


----------



## April

Very cool.nice to see you posting. I guess the conditions were to the pleccos liking .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## josephl

Congrats on the babies. I think the barometic changes as a result of those crazy wind/rain storms that we had set of all kinds of hypan/pleco hormones. I have been getting fry too and I have done nothing different in my care


----------



## charles

Beautiful fish as well... MOre update needed


----------



## jobber

April said:


> Very cool.nice to see you posting. I guess the conditions were to the pleccos liking.


Thanks April. Just had to pop by BCA to catch up on some things . Best conditions are the conditions sometimes best left alone.



josephl said:


> Congrats on the babies. I think the barometic changes as a result of those crazy wind/rain storms that we had set of all kinds of hypan/pleco hormones. I have been getting fry too and I have done nothing different in my care


I'm believing so too; like our November is the rainy season which is equivalent to the South American rainy season triggering spawning. Too bad the aches and pains my joints get too. Hopefully, everyone's plecos tanks are doing well.



charles said:


> Beautiful fish as well... MOre update needed


I'll need to replenish in the future 
More updates coming.....


----------



## jobber




----------



## 2wheelsx2

That's a very pretty fish. He's much darker in body colour than mine.


----------



## jobber

Quick update. Got some breeding going on in the tank. Got a group of L340's last winter of 2014. These guys started breeding in the fall of 2015. Here's some pics.


----------



## jobber




----------



## matedogg

Looks awesome


----------



## jobber

Time has certainly flew by. I can't believe I've had this 75g setup for 3 years now. Went through the wild discus phase and now back to corydoras, tetras, and plecos. It was a fun learning experience with wild discus. Upon reminiscing, the tank was really "happening" when the tank was at it's pinnacle. Now to update the tank journal with upgrades and restocking.

*CURRENT SETUP:
*

Tank: 75 gallon (48x18x21)
Substrate: Caribsea Instant Aquarium Sunset Gold
Filtration: Eheim Professional 3 2080 canister filter
Filter Media: Seachem Matrix, Eheim SubstratPro, Filtration pads. Oyster shell
Lighting: Hamilton white LED strip
Heater: Hydor ETH In-Line Heater 200w
pH Monitor: American Marine Pinpoint
Powerhead: Tunze Turbelle Nanostream Pump - 6025
*
PARAMETERS:
*

pH = 6.5
Temp.: ~26.5°C
GH: ~15 dGH (~250ppm)
KH: ~1 dKH (~15ppm)
*

FAUNA:*

Corydoras Robineae (Mrs. Schwartzi's, Bannertail Corydoras)
Brochis Splendens (Emerald Corydoras)
Corydoras Aeneus (Bronze Corydoras)
Corydoras Sterbai
Corydoras Julii
Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis (Lemon Tetra)
Hemigrammus rhodostomus (True Rummynose Tetra)
Paracheirodon axelrodi (Cardinal Tetra)
Hemigrammus erythrozonus (Glowlight Tetra)
Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi (Black Neon Tetra)

Pseudacanthicus Leopardus L600
Pseudacanthicus Titanicus L273
Hypancistrus sp. L400

Neocaridina davidi (Red Cherry Shrimp)
*

FLORA: *

Microsorum pteropus (Java Fern)
Aponogeton ulvaceus
*
FURNISHINGS:*

Manzanita driftwood
Natural River Rocks
Pleco caves
*
Additional CO2 Source:*

Metricide
*
Dosing:*

Seachem Safe
Seachem Equilibrium
Epsom Salt

Kent's Botonica Humic and Tanic Acid
Amy's Ketapang Almond Leaves
Almond Catappa Bark
*
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION*

Frequency of Water Changes: 2-4 times a month (weekly and sometimes bi-weekly)
% Water change: 50%+
Estimated cost of setup (not including livestock): $750+
Estimate weekly maintenance time spent: 2 hour
pH from the tap: 6.8
"Tank influences/inspirations": (South American theme: 2wheels2, tony1928, luke78, josephl, mykiss, charles, killifishkerry) (Tank simplicity: crazy72, bunnyrabbit, davej)

Type of food you feed your fish: Earthworm pellets, shrimp pellets, NLS, Hikari frozen bloodworms, bunch of other ken's stuff
Water test kit used: API master test kit, GH/KH

Here's a corydoras feeding frenzy just the way I like it:


----------



## jobber




----------

