Level of difficulty with wild discus

[wild_heckel]

I am planning to get some wild discus. I have kept discus many years ago but the only wild were 2 heckels that didn't last very long (6 and 12 months).
I like to know if wild brown is the easiest to keep? Are wild blue and green harder to keep that brown. I quess Heckel is the hardest to keep and very difficult to breed.

[ShinShin]

I am one that believes in keeping discus in soft, acid water. When I had Heckles, I kept them at 4.5 - 5.5 pH. Other wild discus were kept at 6.0 - 6.5 pH. Wild discus actually appeared hardier and as easy to keep (as domestics) in these water conditions. Clean, soft acid water is the way to go, IMO.

[fishfarm]

I have to agree, for me wilds are easier to keep than domestics, Nature has already culled out the weak ones. Getting clean ones from a good source also helps. Ken

[wild_heckel]

To get thw ph to 4.5 - 5.5 would probably need a reasonable amount of peat and will make the water quite brown all the time?
I didn't know that wild strains are easier to keep that tank bred.

[fishfarm]

I use RO water to breed, but keep them in my tap water the rest of the time. pH 6-6.5, K4 TDS 35-50. Ken

[bikhu]

I keep my wilds in exactly the same water as my domestics. I have not been trying to breed them but have one male Royal BLue that hooked up with a red turk and they soawn weekly. Have brought the eggs to wigglers once but they were in a community tank.. you know what happened then right?

As for ease or difficulty... I find the wilds are much heartier and disease resitant than the domestics. Once acclimated to a tank and diet they eat great, school beautifuly and are a pleasure to watch. I got inot discus after being attracted to some of the elaborate hybrid strains but now... My wilds are by far my favorite fish. JMHO HTH
peter

[wild_heckel]

Nice fish Peter.
How long have you have them and what do you feed them? Do you keep other fish in the tank?

[fishfarm]

Wild red. :)

[bikhu]

Nice fish Peter.
How long have you have them and what do you feed them? Do you keep other fish in the tank?

Thanks... These particular fish I have had just a little while. I got them from AL Sabetta (a.k.a. Brewmaster15) . They are in a tank by themselves both for QT purposes as well as aesthetic choice. I feed them Beefheart, Frozen Blood Worms, Tetrabits, HBH Meet Lovers Flakes, HBH Discus Flakes. The same things I feed all of my Discus. These particular fish started eating like pigs the morning after they arrived. They eat everything as though they had never eaten before. I am going really light on the Tetrabits as I want to see the goldens retain their light colors.
I also have a few wilds in with domestics. They are not as striking as the red posted just above but I like them....
This is a wild brown in with my PBs....

[bikhu]

This is a semi-Royal Blue that shares his tank with some Red Turks. He has spawned with a female RT several times but still in a community tank that looks at the occasion of birth as a buffet!

[bikhu]

Wild Green in with BD and Cobalt...
please excuse the photo quality .... I am no photographer!
Also please excuse the Python attack scar.... it is in the process of healing....

[wild_heckel]

Fishfarm I love your wild red! I think would be very expensive to get something of that quality where I live if I can get one. I am planning to get 5-6 fish of the same type so I'll will get something more common like Heckel or Tefe Green.
Personallly, good round shape is more important than colour/pattern.

Thanks for the info Peter.
Does tetrabits change discus colour (darker/stronger colour)?
My favourite is your brown discus, great shape and nice brown colour. I think nice brown it's under rated.

[bikhu]

Seems to me that my fish get more dominant red hues when they eat the Tetrabits. There are some discussion on this board about Yellow Crystals becoming orange as they mature being associated with red color enhancers in food. Some of the color in fish is due to the "Flamingo Effect".. The red in the food causes the animal to redden. I love Wild Brown Discus. IMO they are often the roundest and most interesting. I find that Brown Discus color morphs are beautiful. Also, the variety of hues in the brown family from yellow to golden to chocolate is wonderful. When at Al's last time I had a really hard time picking out just 2 of his Browns from a 125gal full of them. I wanted so many of them!!!
I don't know if Al ships to Australia but if so I would definitely recommend a conversation with him... Even if he doesn't he can give you some great info about wilds and discus in general. Thanks again for your kind words...
peter

[brewmaster15]

Hi and Welcome To SimplyDiscus! :)

Any pigments in the Diet will affect the coloration of a discus. Tetrabits will enhance reds... ... beefheart diet with nutrurose/ or asanthaxin powder or even paprika will Bring out the Reds...

hth,
al

[fishfarm]

The wild red in my pciture is a wild blue, had just a little red in the side behind the gills when I got it. Beefheart with Nutrarose is what made it so red. That fish took the first in the discus class at ACA last year. She'll be back again this year. :) This is a pciture from about a year ago. Same fish in my post above. Ken

[wild_heckel]

Thanks for the tips guys.
Ken, I am amazed with what tetrabits (&others) can do to the colour. I had no idea it could make the colour change that much. With the way it's going the body will be all red in a year or two.
Probably will make brown discus more red than brown? I have been feeding my pleco fry with tetrabits for sometimes now, I think it used to be called tetramin. They love it.