Choosing Juvenile Discus

[Surferdave]

I understand it is easier to pick out quality when choosing adult discus as opposed to juveniles. One question I have is when purchasing a juvenile discus, what attributes do you look for if things like "color" and "patterning" have not fully developed? Also if a juvenile, say 3-3.5" discus has a slightly larger eye, will that eye grow proportional to the body, or if it is fed well, will the eye stay small and move towards that 7:1 scale. Also, I currently have a 60gal planted tank, would I be able to raise about 9 discus in a tank of this size? Thanks!

Dave

[RickMay1]

It is easier to pick adult discus because what you see is what you’ll get. However Adults come at a price. Juvenile discus aren’t a sure thing, but they are much cheaper. If you want to put them in a planted tank, I’d go for the adults. It is harder to grow out juveniles in a planted tank. It can be done, its just more work. Here’s a link to guidelines for picking up juvenile fish.http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=33300