My discus

[Fishguy2727]

These are my four discus.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/reptileguy2727/bluediscusa.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/reptileguy2727/whitediscusc.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/reptileguy2727/orangediscusd.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/reptileguy2727/rainbowdiscus.jpg

[Rue]

Beautiful fish!:1luvu:

[NickFish]

Very nice fish!
I love the blue one the most!

[Tolley]

Great pics, they explain why i love discus so much lol

[Incredulous_Ed]

Very nice. Why do they have those black specks on them?

[~Erik3.8.07~]

they look beautiful, but i was wondering about the black specks myself, the ones at my lfs sometimes have them too

[Fishalicious]

Lovely - I recommend lowering your lighting though to stop the peppering on their skin

[~Erik3.8.07~]

is that what causes it? the intensity of the light?

[Fishalicious]

Yeah high lighting can cause peppering as well as the incorrect PH - but Discus really like dim lighting.... makes the spots disapear pretty quickly

[Ellen4God]

Gorgeous! I love their shadings. Very nice :)

[digital3]

Those are awesome! Discus are my favorite! :c5:

[Fishguy2727]

The black specks are peppering, a part of the coloration on many types. It is mostly genetic. Mine have been in low-light, high-light, pH 6.5-8.0, etc. and the peppering is always the same. Maybe the peppering on some changes based on some factors, but not that I have ever seen. I like the peppering, so I see no need to try and discourage or minimize it.

The tank is planted so the lights stay. They seem to do the best in this tank. The lighting really isn't an issue unless they are stressed and/or new.

Here is a whole tank shot.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/reptileguy2727/IMG_0401.jpg

[tropfish]

beautiful fish and tank! I really like the third discus.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Very nice looking tank! What kinds of lights are those?

[Fishguy2727]

Screw-in compact fluorescents for around the house from Home Depot and Wal-Mart. They are just as good but a lot less money. The ones in clamps on the sides are floodlights with the spiral tube inside. Home Depot's have rating based on color. They don't list kelvin color but they have three categories, one red-white, one white, one blue-white.

I also have these types of bulbs on my 20long. I took all the old incandescent fixtures I had and put these bulbs in them.

[Incredulous_Ed]

How's the plant growth with those fixtures? Do you have a lot of evaporation with an opened tank?

[cocoa_pleco]

Do you have a lot of evaporation with an opened tank?

all of my tanks are open top and i lose about 3" every 4-5 days

[Fishguy2727]

Lots of evaporation. At first I thought I had a leak. The tank holds at about 83F. I top off about every two to three days using a two gallon bucket that is almost full.

I just split more anacharis today. The plants in the center were doing very well, but the ones toward the outside were just maintaining. So I bought the clamp lights and more bulbs. I think I have a total of 3900 lumens on there.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Very cool. And you say you bought those clamp on lights at the home depot? how much?

[Fishguy2727]

The clamp lights are from Lowe's and were under $6 each. They are just the generic shop lights. The bulbs themselves are from Home Depot. The dome is slightly small, but the next size up was about a foot in diameter. These are only 6" in diameter. I just wish they were deeper, like Zoo Med's new deep dome for reptile lights.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Awesome. Thank you fishguy, I just found the solution to my lighting problem.
You bought the white colored bulb, right? Do they sell "plant growth" Cf bu;bs?

[Fishguy2727]

The main one hanging is more of a red-white, but was from Home Depot. The other two are blue-white. I will see how they do. If I need to when they burn out I will try one of the others.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Alright, Thank you!

[MeganL3985]

Beautiful fish. I love the look of discus :)

[Cal Discus]

The peppering will lessen with a lighter background. They naturally try to blend in with their surroundings. A lighter background would really bring out the colors better but might not look as good with the plants. Discus jump so I wouldnt be surprised if you found one on the floor soon with an open top tank.

[Lady Hobbs]

This thread is months old.

[Fishguy2727]

I have had them in all sorts of conditions and it has never affected their peppering. Dark setups, bright setups, different pHs, etc. and nothing changes the amount of peppering, at least not on mine. They are now split up, pair in their own 29 and the other two in a 40high for now, will be the 75. Hopefully they will pair off too.

[Halelorf]

Can we get some updated pictures of those little beauties?