[homy77]

Hi All,

I am debating making a change in my community tank.

I'm getting sick of guppies and how fast the reproduce....

I have a 55 Gallon planted tank.

I love the way my plants look and the colours of the guppies and tetras that i have, but i'm starting to get over run with guppy fry.

I was thinking about selling off all my guppies and either going to African Cichlids or Discus.

I'm looking to keep the tank colourful and i've been keeping fish (various types) for a couple of years now, so i'm confident i can keep either successfully

I know that Discus are more involved to keep, but they look amazing and I can keep my plants.

African's also look really nice, but i've read that they'll uproot all of the plants due to the way they look for food?

which way do you guys recommend going? is it a certainty that the africans will destroy my plants?

really value your feedback

thanks

 

[charlie1]

Homy, Africans will mow down your plants AKA enjoy the salad bar, there is only a few tough hardy plants they leave alone , such as Java fern, Annubias, Vallersenia?
Up rooting is mild to the mowing .

 

[homy77]

maybe i'll look at south or central american cichlids as well.....

really don't want to lose my plants.

thanks for the feedback

 

[mistersprinkles]

How about a pair of angels and a pair of either bolivian rams or Kribensis? Lose the neons and the guppies, switch to a bigger more impressive tetra like bleeding hearts. That'd be a nice tank.

 

[homy77]

thanks for the feedback guys.

I was looking at photos of rainbow fish and they look nice as well

i'll keep you all posted once I decide on what direction i'm going...

 

[clubsoda]

Go with 4-5 Discus you have the tank size for it. You know it'll always be in your mind. Besides discus has the best coloring out of all cichlids even African but you'll have to pay premiums for them.

 

[Mykuhl]

I agree with Clubsoda....go with the discus. He is right once you get really attracted to discus, they will always be on your mind till you finally get them. I know...I have wanted discus for years now, but decided to go with african cichlids instead(for my big tank), and I keep thinking maybe I should have went with discus instead.

Please do keep in mind though that keeping discus healthy and thriving is more challenging in a planted tank than in a bare bottom tank. This is a well know fact amongst the discus community. Most experts recommend bare bottom tanks for discus, and they recommend stocking with adult or near adult discus if you ARE going to go planted.

 

[homy77]

you're right, I think i have my eyes set on Discus.

now just to make sure my wife doesn't figure out how much they cost, lol

Or see if i can get them cheap.....and not have something wrong with them.

 

[solarz]

Great looking tank!

 

[SKurj]

Discus.. are you prepared to do 30-40% water changes more than 3 times a week?

I'd suggest maybe a pair of Firemouths and some swordtails

 

[homy77]

Water changes aren't a big deal for me

I do 35% every week now due to the large number of fish I've ended up with now

Plus my tank is close enough to my sink that I don't need to use buckets

I've read varying opinions on the number of water changes per week

I've read that they should be done daily to once a week

I think it depends on the water quality, and how the individual fish are reacting to the schedule you've set up

I still need to sell all my livestock before I make any moves

Ill let you guys know which way I go

 

[bob123]

From past experience, fry need water changes every day of about 60 - 70 % after about 3 months I would do every other day. Once they got to about 2.5" I would do about 50% water changes every other day after they are about 4" I would change water every third day of about 30%. They grew well and free of problems until I lost hydro for two days in 2002 and lost everything. Discus are wonderful fish to keep and very colourful.

 

[Mykuhl]

I have done quite a lot of reading about discus over the years I have read pretty much agrees with what Bob's experience. It tends to depend on their age, corresponding size and stocking level. The younger they are and the more heavily stocked you are the more you need to do water changes.

 

[bowser]

If you go with discus, I'd get adults or sub-adults... they tend to do much better than juveniles if the tank is not bare bottom. Also I'd try my best to ensure they come from a good source (lots of crappy discus out there).

 

[Fijidevil]

Great variey of Discus

I was out at fish shop at Hwy 7 & Leslie in the same block as Tim Hortons had a huge selection of juvenile Discus cheap

 

[Tino]

Discus are nice but really difficult to keep. I would say go with Angels or gouramis.
First though, start with a nice school of neon tetras, wait until they get full grown, then go with juvi Angels or Gouramis.
Ultimately, the size of the fully grown Angels and Gouramis will cause the tetras to school nicely.

 

[TBemba]

Only problem with discus and plants is that the discus require higher temps than most plants will tolerate. Rainbows, barbs, tetras are all great choices. If you have your heart set on discus go for it they have their rewards and personalities

 

[John_C]

Nice

ThAT IS a beautiful planted tank!!!

I have a 55 planted tank too full of guppies (Blue Grass), which i wanted to get rid of but I payed too much for them from a breeder to just give them up, so I'm keeping the stock lol...

But before i went to guppies, I had kept various "non digging" cichlids in it: Nannacara annomala, nannacara adoketa, Keyholes, Sajica or T-bar cichlids...

It was a nice to keep something different, and watching the breeding behaviors was especially entertaining.. The nannacara adoketa were especially fun and full of character.. If you can find them here I'd go with them hands down.