Anyone have experience with Discus Madness?

[WaterDog]

Anyone have experience with Discus Madness? More specifically "Red Dragons" from them? Any info about their fish quality, customer service, shipping etc would be appreciated. :computer:

[Second Hand Pat]

If you ask people here are going to say buy from a sponsor on this forum

This is true but to be fair...here is a livestock review on Discus Madness...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?55650-Discus-Madness&highlight=Discus+madness

[fiftymeatballs]

I have purchased a dozen or so adults in the past few years from his facility. Some huge ones, healthy and beautiful. I live about an hour away so I have always just took the drive so that I could hand pick the best ones.

I just skimmed that livestock review link and I agree with most of what has been said about the place. I think the majority of negative reviews come from those who have ordered through the website and received a discus that didn't look exactly like his photos. I don't think he really updates his pics based on new stocking. I think he took a pic of a beautiful red dragon he once had and that's now his photo for red dragons. Of course not all of them are un peppered, or have perfect coloring. That's where the problem arises with ordering online. Ask him for some pics of the current stock.

I personally have purchased two red dragons from him(both hand picked by me). They have both done really well, very healthy. He seems to always have a lot of them in stock every time I've visited the warehouse. I've seen some really amazing ones and inevitably several with heavy peppering and washed out colors. You really should call and speak with him before you order. He is a nice guy and I am sure will be happy to work with you. Good luck!

[fiftymeatballs]

Here are a few pics of the discus I have purchased from him over the years. All discus in these photos are from him. Unfortunately I had a freak accident and lost all the fish in the first two photos :-( such a sad day for me they were really great discus.


http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w478/fiftymeatballs/IMG_9666.jpg (http://s1077.photobucket.com/user/fiftymeatballs/media/IMG_9666.jpg.html)

http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w478/fiftymeatballs/photo.jpg (http://s1077.photobucket.com/user/fiftymeatballs/media/photo.jpg.html)


Current Stock all living and well :-)

http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w478/fiftymeatballs/YellowDiscus_zps5faaa07d.jpg (http://s1077.photobucket.com/user/fiftymeatballs/media/YellowDiscus_zps5faaa07d.jpg.html)

http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w478/fiftymeatballs/AlphaDiscus_zps4a996a9f.jpg (http://s1077.photobucket.com/user/fiftymeatballs/media/AlphaDiscus_zps4a996a9f.jpg.html)

http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w478/fiftymeatballs/DiscusParents1_zps0ee87c5b.jpg (http://s1077.photobucket.com/user/fiftymeatballs/media/DiscusParents1_zps0ee87c5b.jpg.html)

[BillyTRichVa]

I purchased 5 juvies form him at the beginning of the year and am happy with what I received (but I didn't know then what I do now - thanks to this site). I did call him before I ordered because I wanted to make sure I was home when the fish arrived as it was in the dead of winter (in Richmond Va if there is such a thing). Don't know if I would purchase from him again, but that's only because of what I know now, not due to a bad experience with DM.

[WaterDog]

Thanks for the opinions. I'm just now getting back into Discus keeping after a long long hiatus. I raised Discus from around 85 until 94 or so. Got out of it because I had way to many other priorities at that time. Here's how long ago that was. I ran a glass 180 at that time equipped with nothing but an UGF and a canister running floss and carbon. Did water changes maybe once a week. 2 times if I felt ambitious. I fed a staple diet of live tubifex once a day mind you and raised gorgeous brilliant turquoise. As I recall I had 8 or 9. The funny thing about the tubifex worms was I fed them via a cone. The fish would get most of them but of course a few would fall to the bottom. The cool thing was the worms would somehow make their way thru the gravel and be blown back out thru the powerheads. So the discus would hang out near the powerheads all day long waiting for the worms to blow out. lol!!!! Of course such a thing would totally be frowned on and ridiculed today.... ha ha ha. I never had a sick fish, hole in head disease or any of that in 9 years! Another memorable thing about that tank was I lived in Boulder Creek CA at that time. Boulder creek is in the hills above Santa Cruz near the San Andreas Fault. In the 89 earthquake it threw about half the water out of the tank and kicked the right side out about 3 inches. It didn't shift the tank on the base, moved both together. So, for the next 5 years my tank sat there crooked in the living room. Couldn't move it to straighten it. Too heavy. Made for good conversation though...
Okay, getting back on track with Online fish buying. Yes, thank you very much for enlightening me because I hadn't even thought of the fish being shown in pics not being the ones that get shipped. Makes perfect sense though. Of course they show their best fish. I was looking at the Hans site today and have some I like there as well. I may go that route but I have plenty of time to make up my mind. I just ordered a 400 gallon tank from tanks direct and the lead time is 6 weeks. By the time I get the tank, make the sump, decorate the way I want and get the water right it will probably be next year!!! I do plan on buying about twenty 2-1/2" all of the same strain to populate the tank. Looking for big pieces of driftwood and big rocks right now. Tank measures 8 foot long, 30 inches deep and 3 feet tall. I have room for big décor. I want it dark and gloomy like my 180 used to be. :D

ETS, don't worry, I wont be feeding tubifex worms anymore..... nor UGF.....;)