Help Stocking a new tank

hi guys n gals, i will be changing my comunity tank into a planted tank over the next few weeks. i want to add as much plants as possible.
tank size 1800x400x450 - so about 300 liters of water. ok now the fish i want maybe 2 or 3 different types of schooling fish only if this is possible need some advice from u guys here. exsiting fish that will stay are
2 clown loaches
2 blue loaches
2 hoplo cats
i would ideally like to add a couple of discus when the tank settles down.
filteration will be provided by a tetra EX1200 cannister and a elite hush 35 HOB.

so please advise on the schooling fish guys and if i need to remove or add anything else.

 

Hi Linga

As a fellow loach fan, I would advise you to get 3 more. They are really much happier when in a group of 5 or more. I don't know the blue loaches very well. Do they dig? If so, you are going to have problems...

Clowns like the warmer side of tropical. I keep my tank with clowns at 28 degrees. There are plenty of tetras that school well, but I've found that cardinals do well at that temperature and look very nice in a planted tank. They are also often kept with discus.

However, I would not advise you to keep discus in a planted tank, unless you are a very experienced discus keeper and have a lot of time on your hands.

Regards
Lauré

 

thanks for the reply. clown loaches are fantastic. i did have 4 but sadly 2 died. the blue loaches are great but u dont see much of them they are very shy. maybe that will change with the plants. they dont dig from what i see. they normally just chill under a big rock. as for the discus that will be way in the future.

 

I wouldn't suggest the clown loaches - they can be quite destructive in a planted tank when they get larger.

 

Clown loaches do not dig like other loaches. But when they get over 15cm their bodies become quite bulky and then they can cause some destruction. If you are careful in your plant selection and make sure you keep well-rooted plants, then it shouldn't be a problem.

 

They are my favorite fish and add the most character to the tank, simply put they are fantastic, i think i could live with them uprooting a few plants they are indeed worth the trouble. i have had mine for about 2 years now and they are they only reason i still keep a freshwater tank.

in addition guys is it better to plant before you fill up the tank or should one plant with the water already in.

 

Hi in my opinion, depending on the size of the tank fill it about 1/3 to 1/2 with water and then start planting, then fill up the tank when you're finished.

It works for me and its easier to handle than a full or empty tank.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi Linga - If you do a search for discus in planted tanks, there is a thread for it - There is no problem keeping discus in a planted tank. Feed them well, keep the water clean with siphoning on a regular basis and do regular water changes. The discus will be fine, They are NO harder to keep than any other fairly sensitive fish such as rummy nose etc. It is only when you want to start breeding etc. that they can be a pain..

 

I do not have any experience keeing discus, but I have read extensively. You are right, they can be kept in a planted tank. I have seen some incredible looking tanks on the web with discus and plants. Go google a guy named Filipe Oliveira. Really inspiring stuff!

However, the biggest problem is waste produced by discus. And if you feed them properly with beefheart mix then you will have PO4 issues in your tank. In a planted tank you will battle to syphon all the waste properly. You may have to do water changes many times per week, depending on how much filtration (mechanical and biological) you have.

I am definitely going to try discus in a planted tank sometime in the future, but I believe the way to do it is to first master a planted tank, then master a bare bottom discus tank, and then combine the two.

I did not mean to totally put Linga off the idea; I just wanted to point out the obvious difficulties.

 

Hi Laure - this was not meant as a dig at you or anyone - I just have a "thing" about the discus community (in general) that try's to keep the myth alive..

BTW they cuc about as much as a pleco, so with reasonable normal water changes you should be OK.

 

hi guys thanks for the response hope i havent stirred something up here. i have been doing a crazy amount of reading on the net about keeping discus some articles suggesting water changes every single day with multiple feedings others with a normal once a week water changes with regular feedings of just once or maybe twice a day. from all that i have seen pictures and a few live setups, planted tanks really complent discuss and there colours simply shine through with a nice green planted background. i havent kept discus before so this would be my first time, but i will make sure i do all the proper research before i buy any fish, and of course make sure i can actually give them the proper care. plus from most of the info avaliable most discus now are captive breed and are much more hardy then the wild caught ones, if fact there were some nice articles were it was stated that when people first started keeping the wild caught discus that even with perfect water conditions (well in an aquarium that is) that these fish didnt live for more than 3-4 months

just as a question from any of you guys experiance how often should one do a water change on a discus tank, here again maybe 4 discus at max not a large school.

i saw these pics on the net truely amazing.

 

As far as I know, young Discus should be kept in a school of 6 or more. The larger the school, the better.

 

Linga - My planted discus tank is a 1.2m with 7 discus (5 large, 2 smaller) and 2 Ancistrus. I water change on average between 1 and 2 week intervals, and I siphon during water changes only..

Oh and BTW - 2 of them are pairing ....

Aqua canister filter and 2 HOB's with a large airstone.

 

now thats excellent to hear. if one reads through most of the articles on the net and belive in them then your setup sounds like a myth, i still cant get over most of them (90%) that says u need a water change atleast every two days. also what water do u use to do a water change do u run it through a RO unit or use "matured" water

 

The all discus tank gets water "matured" between 3 hours and 5 days. (Depends on what other water changes were done during the time.)

The other tank is water changed every two weeks with buckets straight from the tap and anti-chlor added to every second bucket !!!!!!!!!!!!

REMEMBER - CT water is actually soft and slightly acidic once "matured"

 

thanks again, i have a RO machine that i will use, i will just disconect the membrane section and use only the carbon filters so there will be no chlorine or any other hash stuff in the water without affect the PH etc. so this should make the water perfect

 

I do a 30% change every 10 days or so, with tap water I add SeaChem Safe and Discus Buffer and wait to dissolve. Water out of the tap is hard and alkaline where I stay.

With regularity they breed at least once a month.

If you are thinking of Discus, please get more than 4 for such a big tank. I have 6 in my tall 4ft....

A large school of tetras would go well like Rummy's or Cardinals

 

hi neil thanks well atleast i have some time to save money while the plants grow.

ok a little update on the tank progress i cant get any flourite anywhere, so i went to a large LPS in the area, they have a awesome planted discus tank with huge discus in there they are quite hyponotic, ok back to the point, they use tetra complete substrate in thier tank so i bort myself a little bucket, man that stuff is expensive, and doing some research it seems to be quite a nice product if its well covered, and in addition its meant to be a once off which is great so i dont have to worry abt replacing the stuff

 

Hope you ready to clear off the mud. Where do you stay Linga?

 

yeah i belive the product has a very high clay content, so no fish that dig and make sure theres enough sand or pebble on top and there wont be any problems.
im in queensburgh, durbs