I am jealous of your discus tank. It's drop dead gorgeous.

Do you know anything Silver Dollars will not eat, I was told Java Ferns but they tore them apart.

Sorry, when I first started getting into planted tanks I did research on which fish I could keep in order to have a planted tank with out the fish destroying it. I don't specifically remember those particular ones so they probably aren't good for planted tanks I know a lot of fish will ruin planted tanks. I could give you ideas for fish that won't. But I bet your attached to the fish you already have. Maybe if they pass away you can get a better type for planted tanks. Sorry I can't be much help on that subject.

I did a quick search and found this "Silver Dollars are probably the closest thing to a lawn mower/Weed Eater you can find for planted tanks." The thread had the person talking about all the plants the fish ate. They are herbivores.

I guess I will have to stick with the moss balls for now they leave them alone. I have the Silver Dollars for many years now , could not get rid of them.

Yup, I understand. Unfortunately herbivores aren't good for planted tanks! They think it's food!

I still hope it becomes a forum so I can pick up tips along the way.

Yes I wish there were more interest!

Why not start a thread in 'Ponds and Water Gardening' and see....(warning, there is a small joke coming up)
...and see if anyone bites.

But seriously, I can see that the people who keep water gardens outside might be interested in having an indoor planted tank.
If enough people chit-chat about the subject on the thread perhaps later it can become a separate forum?

My 42 gallon bow front tank




Some of the Moss Balls

I would love to have a planted aquarium. I have lots of ponds (3) but the water here is so hard that if I want Discus (which I really do) then it would have to be an aquarium as they need lower PH from my understanding. Your Discus tank is really spectacular, love it.

If you do start a forum, I would love to read along and maybe one of these days I'll get it together to put in a tank.

NJBob said:
My 42 gallon bow front tank
Some of the Moss Balls

Very nice! I think it's great you have the moss balls at east! I have one in my 6 gal. snail tank.

extranjera said:I would love to have a planted aquarium. I have lots of ponds (3) but the water here is so hard that if I want Discus (which I really do) then it would have to be an aquarium as they need lower PH from my understanding. Your Discus tank is really spectacular, love it.

If you do start a forum, I would love to read along and maybe one of these days I'll get it together to put in a tank.

It is actually a myth that you can't keep Discus in hard water. It is only true of wild Discus. A lot of people on Simply Discus talk about having hard water. The key is consistency. You can't shock a fish and change it's water all of a sudden. Which is why you should never use the products they sell to alter ph and such. They are known to cause unstable water with large ph swings. You are better off using your native water and acclimating the Discus very slowly with a drip line which is very easy to do with some airline hose and the fish in a 5 gallon bucket. I would be glad to answer any questions about it if you decide to try.

How interesting. Wow! Now I'm wondering if I could keep them in my outside pond. I think I have the perfect weather for them, unless they need it colder. My ponds stay between 25° and 30°C (75° - 85°F) all year. I wonder if they would do well in the new roof pond that's under construction? Our water is around 8 in PH, sometimes less or more depending on rain, it comes from a well. I don't know though, it is not as easy to see fish, especially flat ones like Discus or Angels, from above. They do look better from the side in an aquarium.

Only aquarium I had was a single male Betta in a tank I hate people who think bowls are ok.

Speaking of aquatic plants, I don't get why lucky bamboo is sold as aquatic, it likes a good amount of water but if submerged it rots. They thrive in soil.

extranjera said:How interesting. Wow! Now I'm wondering if I could keep them in my outside pond. I think I have the perfect weather for them, unless they need it colder. My ponds stay between 25° and 30°C (75° - 85°F) all year. I wonder if they would do well in the new roof pond that's under construction? Our water is around 8 in PH, sometimes less or more depending on rain, it comes from a well. I don't know though, it is not as easy to see fish, especially flat ones like Discus or Angels, from above. They do look better from the side in an aquarium.

The ideal temp for them is 84 degrees, some say 86 degrees. I wouldn't go lower than 82.
You could always use a heater to keep it the right temp though. I have heard of people in warm places having outside aquariums but yes I don't think you'd enjoy them in a pond. They just look so skinny from above.

And yes bamboo is not aquatic, that is not the only one pet stores try to pass off as aquatic.

If your PH is around 8 you might consider some African Zebra Cichlids. They come in many colors .

You can't have plants with them though.

I have some lake Malawi cichlids in one pond. That's the only name I have for them. One sex is orange and the other is blue with the adolescents a kind of green color. They have stripes when young but are not convicts. They breed like bunnies in the pond and I'm always giving them away. I do not know which color is which gender but my gut feeling is that the orange is the male. They seem more aggressive and it seems slightly more orange than blue are born. They are the kind of cichlid that holds their babies in their mouths for a while. I just have not ever caught one doing it to know which color.

They do eat veggies and their favorite is lettuce, any kind of water lettuce or aquatic plant I've put in there they have eaten. That pond is inside though, it gets sun for about an hour or two a day in the summer and not in the winter, so not many plants would do well anyway.