Altums, discus and geophagus photos

[JasonC]

Kind of an odd mix but it works for me. Altums are around 6-7" total for scale. Sorry about the pic quality...I just did a water change. Oh, and the algae too :icon_hang:

[stevenallenbarnard]

nice fish, gotta love those altums. why don't you tell us a little more about the set up.

[freespool]

I liked the moss growing on the driftwood. looks like a very natural tank.

[Darbex]

Nice set up. How big are the discus?

FTS

[myjohnson]

Dude, that's a pimp @$$ set-up!

I wish I could keep discus and altums.

[Mzungu]

Very nice!!

I second the request for a full-tank-shot.

[TonyO]

Pterophyllum altum is a species I intend to keep someday!

Did anyone else notice the blooming Anubias plants in the background? There are a few.

[danielp]

Very very nice.

+3 want a full tank shot

[cichlid1409]

very nice JC!!

[mgarrido]

Very nice fish selection!
+4 for the FTS and more details about your setup

[mark razmandi]

im curious as to your waterchange schedule with the altums as well as how long you have had those geos.

[JasonC]

OK - I know I'm going to catch a ton of grief from this but here goes...

About the tank: I don't even want to say this but - it's an oceanic 30 cube! I use an eheim 2213 and an aquaclear 50 for filtration, keep the temp around 82 (much higher and it kills the plants) and do weekly water changes of 33% (10 gallons). Now before people get on me about it let me explain that there is a key to successfully keeping both of these fish in "smaller" aquariums (Jack Wattley keeps his adult breeders in 20's! ) . I typically buy altums and discus as small as I can get them (this batch of altums were nickel sized when purchased and this batch of discus are 2.5") then sell them back to fish stores once they are sub-adults to young adults so as not to possibly stunt them. It's not a money making venture but I typically come out ahead and it allows me to keep my favorite fish and buy the products I need spending as little of my own money as possible. Same goes for the discus. In fact the discus typically come and go in three to four month intervals because they grow so fast. Oh, and I never introduce new altums to a tank with other fish. Fresh altums = only inhabitants for at least a month or until I see they are healthy, bug free and eating like pigs.

Altums: Without question my favorite fish and believe it or not one of the hardiest once acclimated. There are three things which make keeping altums a little easier: older established planted tanks, buying them as small as possible and switching them to a flake diet ASAP. Since all are W/C they've all had a REALLY rough few weeks and once they make it to the LFS you can see it in all of them(frayed fins, missing scales etc). There is a roughly 5-10 day window once they come in where they'll live or die and there is nothing you can really do to save them except put them in an established tank and wait it out. If you're looking at altums buy the smallest you can, put them in an established planted tank and you'll have much better success. Once you've got them in the tank start feeding a little bit of blood worms/brine shrimp and high quality flake. Once you see them taking flake stop feeding the frozen product and go all to flake. The day you walk up to the tank and all of them dart to the front is the day you can breath easy...they've made it past that rough spot and you can treat them like any other angel. I mentioned established planted tanks numerous times above: that, in my opinion, is the key to young altums. These guys are W/C - put them in an environment as close to home as you can.

Discus: I love to hate these things. Beautiful fish but tough to switch over to living in planted tanks with more aggressive feeders. The problem lies in that most were born and raised in bare bottom tanks and they aren't accustomed to hustling for dinner or eating flake. They are usually fed and then leisurely pick it off the bottom glass - this won't work in multi-species tank. I do the same thing with getting these guys to eat as I do with altums. Feed a little of both blood worms and flake. Once they start taking the flake - switch to all flake. They figure out pretty quick that if they want to eat they have to get in the mix. What you want is for the whole tank to take the same product at the same time. Then blood worms and brine shrimp become supplements and treats. During this transition time I do water changes twice weekly due to the amount of food being offered.

Geophagus: I use these guys like cories. They'll eat in the entire water column (including the gravel) and add some movement to the tank. Cool fish!

I just realized I wrote a small novel....sorry about that guys!

Cheers!

Jason

BTW - I do think I'm going to get another 120/140 where I'll probably start keeping a handful of altums until adulthood. I've read that they can reach 12+" in the wild and I'd like to see if it's possible in a home system.

[mark razmandi]

thats exactly what i figured. your geos look extremely unhealthy. You are gonna catch alot of grief about this from members as you should. you need to do something about your setup, do you test your water regularly? If i am no mistaken, altums require a disgusting low ph and they thrive in aged water, thus making weekly water changes of houston tap a bad idea. i dont know much about discus or altums so i cant say much.

[JasonC]

your geos look extremely unhealthy.

Please elaborate! If I'm missing something I'd like to make the correction. Keep in mind these guys are young and about 1.5-2" long.

[mark razmandi]

oh my bad man! ahaha i didnt mean to say they look unhealthy. i meant to say they look healthy now but geos are EXTREMELY prone to HITH and in those conditions i guarentee they will get it as they get bigger. the weird thing about geos is they are more resilient as they are fry/juvis and become more fragile as they become matured....