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2Toned

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Orchids are just one of Creations muses for me. As a youngster of 4 or 5 I was fascinated by... everything! As such, I had collections of birds, birds' eggs, butterflies, cicadas, lizards, frogs, native orchids, native fish, etc...

Today, I keep a modest 7 aquaria. Here are some of the inhabitants:










They're like aquatic orchids to my eyes :D hope you enjoy them, as well.
 
FANTASTIC!!!
In my eyes there's nothing modest about aquaria in which the caretaker maintains & breeds discus! Please tell us what the color varieties are! The crustaceans certainly are plentiful & colorful as well!
 
How long have they been submerged?
Are they growing or onlt existing?

Hi Lance, these mosses have acclimated really well and, at the time of pics, had been growing and thriving submersed for over 7 months. I'm finding that approximately 2/3 will adapt. The growth habit changes, sometimes considerably, but I find them wonderful new species to work with.


FANTASTIC!!!
In my eyes there's nothing modest about aquaria in which the caretaker maintains & breeds discus! Please tell us what the color varieties are! The crustaceans certainly are plentiful & colorful as well!

Rose, you truly flatter me :eek: I've kept discus on & off for 40 yrs with limited success until my move to my current home, which I FINALLY, settled on in July. The rainwater is a godsend! Add the the tannins in the inevitable leaf litter that accumulates in the tank, the water comes close to Amazonian. I bought the pair of Goldens (Louis & Marie) first, merely as canaries. However, 70 fry later :)) I set up 2 more 3ft tanks, 1 for the fry to grow out & 1 for the gorgeous Checkered Pigeon Bloods, Helen & Troy. Unfortunately they succumbed to the dreaded erwinia of the aquarium, Camallanus worms. Insidious things! so hard to eradicate. Their life cycle is 4 weeks (the asian species) and our quarantine period is only 2 weeks. The importer is now following my regime and replaced Helen & Troy with Big Red (Super Melon) and his mate, The Divine Miss M! (Checkered Pigeon).

My last batch, now 6 mths old, numbered 120 with <5% mortality. I've been culling by giving away to young hobbyists and mentoring them with the keeping. I remember that it took me 6 months to save for my first discus in 1974, a German Red Turquoise. I've killed more than I care to mention. It's nice to pass them on & still be in touch.

Thank you, both. Tony
 
I've never seen such gorgeous Discus and the younguns' look very healthy
too. Discus are wonderful parents when conditions are right for them. The
moss garden is quite unexpected and really beautiful.
 
Where did you get the discus from? I bought 1 more discus from Kenny's discus, and I won a $70 leopard eruption discus (both come friday).

Do you have OEBT shrimp? I think the orange eyes are cool. I have some; they aren't as hardy as the cardinal shrimp.

Terry Root of OZ used to be a discus breeder; he thought his plants did extra well since he used the water from his discus tanks to water his paphs. You should try it.
 
Hi Lance, these mosses have acclimated really well and, at the time of pics, had been growing and thriving submersed for over 7 months. I'm finding that approximately 2/3 will adapt. The growth habit changes, sometimes considerably, but I find them wonderful new species to work with.

Very interesting!

Are you adding CO2 or nutrients for the moss?
What light levels does the moss get?

Are you collecting terrestrial mosses that grow near water or are some also arboreal?
 
Beautiful mosses. And I love to watch fish -- they are so fascinating.

It looks like the shrimp are in a feeding frenzy.

Yes Dot, they're very keen on banana, which I feed to them once a week. Frenzied is exactly how they respond!

Where did you get the discus from? I bought 1 more discus from Kenny's discus, and I won a $70 leopard eruption discus (both come friday).

Do you have OEBT shrimp? I think the orange eyes are cool. I have some; they aren't as hardy as the cardinal shrimp.

Terry Root of OZ used to be a discus breeder; he thought his plants did extra well since he used the water from his discus tanks to water his paphs. You should try it.

I purchased the fish from two retail outlets in Oz, one in Sydney that imports through Indonesia and the other closer to my home in the Hunter Valley that imports through Thailand. I visit each regularly hoping to discover a specimen with... je ne sais quoi. I hope your new purchases are what you're hoping for, as there's such variety within each strain, much like variability to found in paph hybrids.

I'm picking up my first 20 Tiger Shrimp in two days, some of which are orange eyed. I'm excited to be introducing these and beginning a new breeding project crossing them with my current line of white crystal shrimp with the objective of producing White Tigers.

As to using the tank water on my paphs - I'm going to make a point of doing so routinely and will let you know how the plants respond. Thank you for making the link to Terry :)

Very interesting!

Are you adding CO2 or nutrients for the moss?
What light levels does the moss get?

Are you collecting terrestrial mosses that grow near water or are some also arboreal?

Lance, I don't "add" CO2 to my tanks, as I've devised a substrate that generates sufficient CO2 for most aquatic plants to thrive. I add little in the way of ferts, preferring macros to be supplied by fish waste. I do add magnesium sulphate, as my water is rain water, Ca is supplied in the sub. I also add micros in the form of seaweed extract at each water change.

Lighting varies widely! from <1 watt per gallon to >6wpg. No science, just pragmatism - whatever is at hand :eek:

Collection is purely opportunistic, but mainly terrestrial. However, I recently came across a profusion of fallen trees covered in what I initially thought was a species I didn't have. However, a more thorough examination determined that is was one that grows around my home, but takes a very different form during the last stage of its life cycle. The nutrients from the decaying wood, the lower light levels and the higher humidity all providing optimal conditions for its growth.

Keeping discus for 40 yrs has endowed me with an intuitive discernment for quality... similar to the skills of senior ST members who's replies I read and reflect on while referring to the new pic postings. In time I believe I can build my appreciation for quality in paph breeding to a similar level as that which I've acquired in discus breeding by digesting the detailed replies of members who provide explanations/descriptions/cross references/etc... Thank you to everyone who makes this possible for all us rookies.
 
Incredible fishes. I have also some gouramis in an aquarium (140 L). Discus were always my dream but non compatible with the attention the orchids need. Orchids are time consuming...
 
Incredible fishes. I have also some gouramis in an aquarium (140 L). Discus were always my dream but non compatible with the attention the orchids need. Orchids are time consuming...

Yes and no. Wild discus are a lot of work (high water quality, etc). But if you get many of the highly bred ones (cobalt, blue diamond, pigeon blood, etc), they are more forgiving of water quality. If you can keep cardinal tetras, then you can keep discus.
 

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