DiscusLoverJeff
10-01-2013, 08:16 PM
I am please to announce the Pat is our chosen member spotlight for October. With her knowledge into wild discus we feel it was a good choice for October.
With a little arm wrestling from the team I agreed to be the October Spotlight Member. Thanks guys and it is a true honor to be considered for this. Like Larry I feel there are others more deserving.
Wild Pacoval
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_3336_zps5d28ca7f.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_3336_zps5d28ca7f.jpg.html)
Q - Please tell us all a little about yourself, what makes You tick? Single, married, attached? What do you do for a living? Other hobbies? Any significant non-discus achievements you want to brag about?
A - I have been a tomboy my entire life. I grew up in Florida hunting and fishing with my dad, even taught myself a little amateur taxidermy as a kid. Even today I will go outside, catch a lizard, snake; what have you. :D I will say my husband of 32 years is very forgiving of my critter catching and keeping ways. Tom and I have a 24 year old daughter whom we are most proud of. We got her through college and today she is an engineer and works for a major defense contractor. Tom and I are both software engineers; Tom is retired and I continue to work for Lockheed Martin and have since 1986. I am so ready to retire but continue to work for the health insurance courage. :( As for other hobbies I love to ride horseback and have two horses on the property. Also love to fish, hike and scuba dive.
Little Corn Snake
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/IMG_0213_zps7f41c993.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/IMG_0213_zps7f41c993.jpg.html)
Q - How did you get into discus? Where was the first discus you saw? How long had you been into fish first?
A – So have kept fish off and on since I was a kid. Even had some wild discus in my thirties but do not remember what happened to them. Most likely I killed them pretty quick since I knew squat about them. In my adult life I have mainly kept reef tanks. My first reef tank was a 180 gallon acrylic tank which I had in Colorado and bought back with me to Florida in 1994. We built that tank into the wall of our previous house and it is still there today. In 2009 we took a week vacation with the kid and went snorkeling in the keys. This reawakened my passion for reef tanks and I started a native Florida reef bio-tope in a 46 bow front.
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Florida%20Reef%20Tank/A1.jpg
Yellowhead Jawfish
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Florida%20Reef%20Tank/A19.jpg
I understand gorgonians are hard to keep. :D
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Florida%20Reef%20Tank/A6.jpg
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Florida%20Reef%20Tank/A8.jpg
I decided to upgrade the reef to a 75 and gave the 46 to my husband and he decided to try discus. So with a little research we ordered 10 2.5 inch assorted from larryp on aquabid and placed them in the 46, planted tank with black eco-complete in pure RO water (can we say newbie). Tom managed to kill them all in pretty short order while doing WCs with tap into the RO water. The fish were literally jumping out of the tank, guessing from the PH swing. Tom decided to give up on discus but I was hooked and this lead me to Simply and my journey to wild discus keeping began. So after four months of researching and fussing finally got my first wild group of Nhamunda Reds in December 2010.
Nhamunda Reds after QT
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Nhamunda%20Reds%20Home%20Tank/P4100075.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Nhamunda%20Reds%20Home%20Tank/P4100075.jpg.html)
Q - What strains are you the most happy with? Which do you think need some work? Are you working on anything new and exciting now? What strain's do you like best, personally?
A - Being primarily a wilds keeper I am totally in love the wild Cuipeua. They are a lovely fish and even domestic keepers get excited over them. But I also love the subtle beauty of the wild green Tefe. The other type of wild discus I have are heckels. These guys are growing on me.
Cuipeua
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0681_zps6ccfed66.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0681_zps6ccfed66.jpg.html)
Tefe
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0336.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0336.jpg.html)
Heckel
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2927_zpsf624e28b.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2927_zpsf624e28b.jpg.html)
As far as anything new and exciting; a while back when I first meet Kraig he challenged me to develop or re-develop some of the vintage strains the US was known for. Since my wild Tefe's had graced me with a spawn of F1s at the time the development of the vintage red spotted green seemed like a natural fit. It's sort of like walking in the shoes of the early discus pioneers developing stains from wild fish. Early next year I hope to embark on the creation of the F2 generation. For the F2 generation I have kept three Tefe F1s, two which show promise and acquired two wild RSGs.
One of my Tefe F1
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_3314_zps32bc7c79.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_3314_zps32bc7c79.jpg.html)
Q - What do you feed your discus?
A - I believe in feeding a variety of foods; I feed a seafood mix but Al has encouraged me to feed a surf and turf :) I order a variety of flake foods from Ken's and mix them into a veggie mix. This is mainly for the heckels but feed it to all the fish. I feed Bill's super BH flake to any growing fish. I also feed Al's FDBWs as a stable, brine shrimp and live red wigglers of which I maintain two colonies.
Wild Curua
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_3301_zpscbddcd09.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_3301_zpscbddcd09.jpg.html)
Q - What is your most exhilarating moment with discus?
A - My absolutely most exhilarating moment was the afternoon I worked into the house from work and found a pair of wild Tefe on a clutch of eggs. I was surprised, pleased and totally in awe that wild discus were gracing me with such an event. It was like a gift from heaven. It was not until the third spawn that that the fry make it to attachment with the help of a foam divider (thanks Larry) and removal of all fish from the brooding chamber. Many of you shared these events with me in one of the longer threads in the "From the Source: The Amazon" section.
First Spawn
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/IMAG0841.jpg
Successful Third Spawn (videos)
Prepping the spawning site
http://youtu.be/l2HJw90JBbo
Egg Tending
http://youtu.be/SMlRtREr0zQ
Mom with Fry
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P1010160.jpg
Q What is your most frustrating moment with discus?
A - Five months into keeping wild discus and setting up my second wild discus tank which contained red Alenquers and two Uatuma blue discus. One of the Alenquers started darting and whirling all over the tank and died within a two hour time span. I was shocked, created a disease thread here on Simply and watched as fish after fish succumb to the darting/whirling madness. Folks here tried to help, Jeff, Jim and Eddie and many others but it was Francis who asked Andrew Soh to step into the thread with a high dosage metro treatment which finally saved the fish I had left. I lost all the Alenquers, one Uatuma and a couple of Tefes. I meet Andrew Soh at the NADA 2012 discus show in Atlanta. What a funny man he is and I consider him a friend for life.
Heckel Cross
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_3308_zps31b76ea0.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_3308_zps31b76ea0.jpg.html)
Q - Do you have any future discus plans that you would like to share with us?
A - I am currently growing out a group of young heckels and can hope for a breeding pair at some point. Most like a pipe dream but one can only try. I'm also toying with the idea of playing with heckel crosses; either with a domestic or wild female. I think some natural heckel crosses would be pretty cool.
Demini Heckels
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2954_zpsd9c77da6.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2954_zpsd9c77da6.jpg.html)
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2967_zpsc48481a2.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2967_zpsc48481a2.jpg.html)
Q - How do those in your life feel about discus?
A - My husband is tolerate of my fish and tanks. He is willing to help in a pinch and is my problem solver with any plumbing issues. Now my daughter, she smiles and nods. She is very kind when I get all excited over a spawn, show her a batch of new babies or a new wild. She will listen to me paddle on about this and that. Love that kid to pieces.
Q - Do you have any funny, amusing or interesting discus stories to share with us?
A - Damn I am pulling a blank on this one. Len...help.
Tefe Female
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0220.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0220.jpg.html)
Q - Do you have any thanks or credit to give for your success with discus? Any mentors or colleagues who you think deserve some applause?
A - There are many people here on simply who I credit with helping me on my journey, Larry (Bugman), Gary (Turk64), Darrell Ward, Mark (Discus Origins) and many others. There is one person who deserves a very special thanks and that is Nandi (NanDiscus). Nandi has helped me from the beginning not only here on Simply but on many long hours on Facebook chat. Nandi is one of the few people I know who has breed wilds consistently. For those of you who may not know Nandi he has raised wild Xingu and had three breeding pairs in his group of seven. So Nandi, if you see this, a very special thank you. :)
Tefe Male
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0322.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0322.jpg.html)
Q - What do you see as the future of discus keeping? More/less people? Any cool ideas for strains?
A - I feel that sites like Simply provides a unmatched resource for beginner discus keepers and have seen a recent trend where more women are joining the ranks of discus keepers. I sure hope this continues and helps to keep this killer hobby alive and well.
I also would like to see a return of the hobby to its roots; ie breeding wild fish and a return to strain development from the source. A effort like this might lead to undiscovered traits in wild fish and could help strengthen existing domestic bloodlines.
Yong Cuipeua Sub-Adult
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0570.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0570.jpg.html)
Q - Can you think of anything I left out you would like to bring up - either personally or discus related?
A - Personally one of my high points being on SimplyDiscus is the day Al PMed me and asked if I wished to join the SimplyDiscus team. I was amazed and never envisioned myself serving in such a role. It is a big transition from member to moderator with much to learn. In many ways the transition from moderator to administrator is even larger. Administrating the site is fairly easy and Ryan is a great teacher. The hard part is moderation; you can not make everyone happy. It is impossible. Most do not realize that we collaborate as a team on both actions and wording. So if you get a PM from a member of the team addressing a moderation issue; the PM really comes from the SimplyDiscus team.
Another hat I wear when not on Simply is I am a NADA BOD. I serve on two committees; membership and by-laws. You will see me supporting the NADA raffles here on Simply and buying tickets. I always have Jim (yim11) place the tickets in someone else name. A person whom has had a rough go of it or has a special occasion coming up. I also support and encourage all to join us at the 2014 show in Austin. I went to the 2012 show in Atlantic and I simply had a blast. The fish, the people and the speakers just could not be beat. When John N. says it is "the most fun you can have with your clothes on". That pretty much sums it up.
Cuipeua Centerbar
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0564.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0564.jpg.html)
Breeding
Q - How did you decide to take the plunge into breeding as a significant part of your fishkeeping?
A - While I was interested in breeding wilds the Tefe pair decided for me and wouldn't stop. I pulled two spawns from them and am still learning the in and outs of fry rearing. Getting the fish to spawn is easy, the fry rearing is not so easy and I have had my fair amount of issues; everything from feeding to much, keeping a clean fry tank and the need to re-mineralize the water when you have more fry then the water will support between WCs which has been my latest "ah ha" moment.
Wild Tefe Pair
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0354_zpsb5291064.jpg
Tefe F1s
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0810_zpsb8318e9d.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0810_zpsb8318e9d.jpg.html)
Q - What were the major obstacles involved in setting up as a breeder? Any advice for aspiring breeders?
A - While I do not consider myself a breeder. The wild fish just started to breed and wouldn't stop. My Tefe pair spawned for nine months straight before resting. When I exchanged the Tefe group with the Cuipeua group in the 230 gallon tank the Cuipeua paired up and spawned within ten days. I had to return the Cuipeua pair to full tap and even in tap they spawned three times before stopping. I would love to see more people get into wilds breeding and will be happy to help in any way.
Tefe with Fry
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P1010186.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P1010186.jpg.html)
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P2210048.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P2210048.jpg.html)
Q - How many pairs do you currently have producing? How many tanks?
A - I have had two wild pairs breed for me; a Tefe pair and a Cuipeua pair. No one is spawning ATM. My water has been so funky this summer with all the rains that I now filter my incoming water through an HMA filter. I currently have seven tanks; a 230, 100, 90, two 75 and two 40 breeders.
Cuipeua with Fry
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Cuipeua%20Christmas%20Spawn/DSC_1438_zpsf522be71.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Wild%20Cuipeua%20Christmas%20Spawn/DSC_1438_zpsf522be71.jpg.html)
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Cuipeua%20Christmas%20Spawn/DSC_2044_zpsc15c99a5.jpg
Family Picture
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Cuipeua%20Christmas%20Spawn/DSC_2039_zpsf2983616.jpg
Q - Any tips on breeding or raising discus? Tricks or methods you use to encourage pairs to breed?
A - While I have been fairly successful with wild discus breeding I think if you get the triggers right wild discus will breed just as often as domestics and their desire to breed is just as strong as domestics as best I can tell. Some tricks to wild discus breeding in MHO are a large tank with plenty of driftwood, soft water and healthy well conditioned fish with a low bio-load; like nine to twelve fish in a 230 gallon tank. One last note on breeding wilds. If you are trying to trigger a spawn or see pre-spawning behaviors, drop the temp to 78 and leave it. If the fish spawn leave the temp at 78 until the fry are nicely attached to the parents. Then ease it up to 82 or so.
With a little arm wrestling from the team I agreed to be the October Spotlight Member. Thanks guys and it is a true honor to be considered for this. Like Larry I feel there are others more deserving.
Wild Pacoval
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_3336_zps5d28ca7f.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_3336_zps5d28ca7f.jpg.html)
Q - Please tell us all a little about yourself, what makes You tick? Single, married, attached? What do you do for a living? Other hobbies? Any significant non-discus achievements you want to brag about?
A - I have been a tomboy my entire life. I grew up in Florida hunting and fishing with my dad, even taught myself a little amateur taxidermy as a kid. Even today I will go outside, catch a lizard, snake; what have you. :D I will say my husband of 32 years is very forgiving of my critter catching and keeping ways. Tom and I have a 24 year old daughter whom we are most proud of. We got her through college and today she is an engineer and works for a major defense contractor. Tom and I are both software engineers; Tom is retired and I continue to work for Lockheed Martin and have since 1986. I am so ready to retire but continue to work for the health insurance courage. :( As for other hobbies I love to ride horseback and have two horses on the property. Also love to fish, hike and scuba dive.
Little Corn Snake
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/IMG_0213_zps7f41c993.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/IMG_0213_zps7f41c993.jpg.html)
Q - How did you get into discus? Where was the first discus you saw? How long had you been into fish first?
A – So have kept fish off and on since I was a kid. Even had some wild discus in my thirties but do not remember what happened to them. Most likely I killed them pretty quick since I knew squat about them. In my adult life I have mainly kept reef tanks. My first reef tank was a 180 gallon acrylic tank which I had in Colorado and bought back with me to Florida in 1994. We built that tank into the wall of our previous house and it is still there today. In 2009 we took a week vacation with the kid and went snorkeling in the keys. This reawakened my passion for reef tanks and I started a native Florida reef bio-tope in a 46 bow front.
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Florida%20Reef%20Tank/A1.jpg
Yellowhead Jawfish
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Florida%20Reef%20Tank/A19.jpg
I understand gorgonians are hard to keep. :D
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Florida%20Reef%20Tank/A6.jpg
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Florida%20Reef%20Tank/A8.jpg
I decided to upgrade the reef to a 75 and gave the 46 to my husband and he decided to try discus. So with a little research we ordered 10 2.5 inch assorted from larryp on aquabid and placed them in the 46, planted tank with black eco-complete in pure RO water (can we say newbie). Tom managed to kill them all in pretty short order while doing WCs with tap into the RO water. The fish were literally jumping out of the tank, guessing from the PH swing. Tom decided to give up on discus but I was hooked and this lead me to Simply and my journey to wild discus keeping began. So after four months of researching and fussing finally got my first wild group of Nhamunda Reds in December 2010.
Nhamunda Reds after QT
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Nhamunda%20Reds%20Home%20Tank/P4100075.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Nhamunda%20Reds%20Home%20Tank/P4100075.jpg.html)
Q - What strains are you the most happy with? Which do you think need some work? Are you working on anything new and exciting now? What strain's do you like best, personally?
A - Being primarily a wilds keeper I am totally in love the wild Cuipeua. They are a lovely fish and even domestic keepers get excited over them. But I also love the subtle beauty of the wild green Tefe. The other type of wild discus I have are heckels. These guys are growing on me.
Cuipeua
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0681_zps6ccfed66.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0681_zps6ccfed66.jpg.html)
Tefe
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0336.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0336.jpg.html)
Heckel
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2927_zpsf624e28b.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2927_zpsf624e28b.jpg.html)
As far as anything new and exciting; a while back when I first meet Kraig he challenged me to develop or re-develop some of the vintage strains the US was known for. Since my wild Tefe's had graced me with a spawn of F1s at the time the development of the vintage red spotted green seemed like a natural fit. It's sort of like walking in the shoes of the early discus pioneers developing stains from wild fish. Early next year I hope to embark on the creation of the F2 generation. For the F2 generation I have kept three Tefe F1s, two which show promise and acquired two wild RSGs.
One of my Tefe F1
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_3314_zps32bc7c79.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_3314_zps32bc7c79.jpg.html)
Q - What do you feed your discus?
A - I believe in feeding a variety of foods; I feed a seafood mix but Al has encouraged me to feed a surf and turf :) I order a variety of flake foods from Ken's and mix them into a veggie mix. This is mainly for the heckels but feed it to all the fish. I feed Bill's super BH flake to any growing fish. I also feed Al's FDBWs as a stable, brine shrimp and live red wigglers of which I maintain two colonies.
Wild Curua
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_3301_zpscbddcd09.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_3301_zpscbddcd09.jpg.html)
Q - What is your most exhilarating moment with discus?
A - My absolutely most exhilarating moment was the afternoon I worked into the house from work and found a pair of wild Tefe on a clutch of eggs. I was surprised, pleased and totally in awe that wild discus were gracing me with such an event. It was like a gift from heaven. It was not until the third spawn that that the fry make it to attachment with the help of a foam divider (thanks Larry) and removal of all fish from the brooding chamber. Many of you shared these events with me in one of the longer threads in the "From the Source: The Amazon" section.
First Spawn
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/IMAG0841.jpg
Successful Third Spawn (videos)
Prepping the spawning site
http://youtu.be/l2HJw90JBbo
Egg Tending
http://youtu.be/SMlRtREr0zQ
Mom with Fry
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P1010160.jpg
Q What is your most frustrating moment with discus?
A - Five months into keeping wild discus and setting up my second wild discus tank which contained red Alenquers and two Uatuma blue discus. One of the Alenquers started darting and whirling all over the tank and died within a two hour time span. I was shocked, created a disease thread here on Simply and watched as fish after fish succumb to the darting/whirling madness. Folks here tried to help, Jeff, Jim and Eddie and many others but it was Francis who asked Andrew Soh to step into the thread with a high dosage metro treatment which finally saved the fish I had left. I lost all the Alenquers, one Uatuma and a couple of Tefes. I meet Andrew Soh at the NADA 2012 discus show in Atlanta. What a funny man he is and I consider him a friend for life.
Heckel Cross
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_3308_zps31b76ea0.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_3308_zps31b76ea0.jpg.html)
Q - Do you have any future discus plans that you would like to share with us?
A - I am currently growing out a group of young heckels and can hope for a breeding pair at some point. Most like a pipe dream but one can only try. I'm also toying with the idea of playing with heckel crosses; either with a domestic or wild female. I think some natural heckel crosses would be pretty cool.
Demini Heckels
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2954_zpsd9c77da6.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2954_zpsd9c77da6.jpg.html)
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2967_zpsc48481a2.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Heckel%20Gallery/DSC_2967_zpsc48481a2.jpg.html)
Q - How do those in your life feel about discus?
A - My husband is tolerate of my fish and tanks. He is willing to help in a pinch and is my problem solver with any plumbing issues. Now my daughter, she smiles and nods. She is very kind when I get all excited over a spawn, show her a batch of new babies or a new wild. She will listen to me paddle on about this and that. Love that kid to pieces.
Q - Do you have any funny, amusing or interesting discus stories to share with us?
A - Damn I am pulling a blank on this one. Len...help.
Tefe Female
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0220.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0220.jpg.html)
Q - Do you have any thanks or credit to give for your success with discus? Any mentors or colleagues who you think deserve some applause?
A - There are many people here on simply who I credit with helping me on my journey, Larry (Bugman), Gary (Turk64), Darrell Ward, Mark (Discus Origins) and many others. There is one person who deserves a very special thanks and that is Nandi (NanDiscus). Nandi has helped me from the beginning not only here on Simply but on many long hours on Facebook chat. Nandi is one of the few people I know who has breed wilds consistently. For those of you who may not know Nandi he has raised wild Xingu and had three breeding pairs in his group of seven. So Nandi, if you see this, a very special thank you. :)
Tefe Male
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0322.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0322.jpg.html)
Q - What do you see as the future of discus keeping? More/less people? Any cool ideas for strains?
A - I feel that sites like Simply provides a unmatched resource for beginner discus keepers and have seen a recent trend where more women are joining the ranks of discus keepers. I sure hope this continues and helps to keep this killer hobby alive and well.
I also would like to see a return of the hobby to its roots; ie breeding wild fish and a return to strain development from the source. A effort like this might lead to undiscovered traits in wild fish and could help strengthen existing domestic bloodlines.
Yong Cuipeua Sub-Adult
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0570.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0570.jpg.html)
Q - Can you think of anything I left out you would like to bring up - either personally or discus related?
A - Personally one of my high points being on SimplyDiscus is the day Al PMed me and asked if I wished to join the SimplyDiscus team. I was amazed and never envisioned myself serving in such a role. It is a big transition from member to moderator with much to learn. In many ways the transition from moderator to administrator is even larger. Administrating the site is fairly easy and Ryan is a great teacher. The hard part is moderation; you can not make everyone happy. It is impossible. Most do not realize that we collaborate as a team on both actions and wording. So if you get a PM from a member of the team addressing a moderation issue; the PM really comes from the SimplyDiscus team.
Another hat I wear when not on Simply is I am a NADA BOD. I serve on two committees; membership and by-laws. You will see me supporting the NADA raffles here on Simply and buying tickets. I always have Jim (yim11) place the tickets in someone else name. A person whom has had a rough go of it or has a special occasion coming up. I also support and encourage all to join us at the 2014 show in Austin. I went to the 2012 show in Atlantic and I simply had a blast. The fish, the people and the speakers just could not be beat. When John N. says it is "the most fun you can have with your clothes on". That pretty much sums it up.
Cuipeua Centerbar
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0564.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0564.jpg.html)
Breeding
Q - How did you decide to take the plunge into breeding as a significant part of your fishkeeping?
A - While I was interested in breeding wilds the Tefe pair decided for me and wouldn't stop. I pulled two spawns from them and am still learning the in and outs of fry rearing. Getting the fish to spawn is easy, the fry rearing is not so easy and I have had my fair amount of issues; everything from feeding to much, keeping a clean fry tank and the need to re-mineralize the water when you have more fry then the water will support between WCs which has been my latest "ah ha" moment.
Wild Tefe Pair
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0354_zpsb5291064.jpg
Tefe F1s
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/DSC_0810_zpsb8318e9d.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/DSC_0810_zpsb8318e9d.jpg.html)
Q - What were the major obstacles involved in setting up as a breeder? Any advice for aspiring breeders?
A - While I do not consider myself a breeder. The wild fish just started to breed and wouldn't stop. My Tefe pair spawned for nine months straight before resting. When I exchanged the Tefe group with the Cuipeua group in the 230 gallon tank the Cuipeua paired up and spawned within ten days. I had to return the Cuipeua pair to full tap and even in tap they spawned three times before stopping. I would love to see more people get into wilds breeding and will be happy to help in any way.
Tefe with Fry
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P1010186.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P1010186.jpg.html)
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P2210048.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Wild%20Tefe%20Spawn/P2210048.jpg.html)
Q - How many pairs do you currently have producing? How many tanks?
A - I have had two wild pairs breed for me; a Tefe pair and a Cuipeua pair. No one is spawning ATM. My water has been so funky this summer with all the rains that I now filter my incoming water through an HMA filter. I currently have seven tanks; a 230, 100, 90, two 75 and two 40 breeders.
Cuipeua with Fry
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Cuipeua%20Christmas%20Spawn/DSC_1438_zpsf522be71.jpg (http://s925.photobucket.com/user/Second_Hand_Pat/media/Wild%20Cuipeua%20Christmas%20Spawn/DSC_1438_zpsf522be71.jpg.html)
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Cuipeua%20Christmas%20Spawn/DSC_2044_zpsc15c99a5.jpg
Family Picture
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Wild%20Cuipeua%20Christmas%20Spawn/DSC_2039_zpsf2983616.jpg
Q - Any tips on breeding or raising discus? Tricks or methods you use to encourage pairs to breed?
A - While I have been fairly successful with wild discus breeding I think if you get the triggers right wild discus will breed just as often as domestics and their desire to breed is just as strong as domestics as best I can tell. Some tricks to wild discus breeding in MHO are a large tank with plenty of driftwood, soft water and healthy well conditioned fish with a low bio-load; like nine to twelve fish in a 230 gallon tank. One last note on breeding wilds. If you are trying to trigger a spawn or see pre-spawning behaviors, drop the temp to 78 and leave it. If the fish spawn leave the temp at 78 until the fry are nicely attached to the parents. Then ease it up to 82 or so.