Pairs Too Young Or Not

[buzz]

New to discus, we purchased Pigeon Bloods, now app. 4', Marlboro Reds app. 3.5", Red pearls app. 3.5", Cobalt Blues app. 3", all juveniles. The Pearls we could only get 4, and 1 didn't make it. Placed them with the 6 Cobalts.Of the 3, 2 have been acting like a pair. Is this normal for juveniles? Could they be 2 females? 1 is agressive like a male. Should this puppy love pair be placed in their own tank? We have only been at this 3 weeks, after a 30 year sabatical(we bred Africans).
Growth, juvies bought in stores, 2.5 to 3", how old. I'm guessing 4 to 6 months. Would that be right?
Any info appreciated.
Greg

[trebor69]

I would like to know where you bought the 4 foot PBs? hahaha

3.5" discus should not be old enough to spawn yet....but I fear that if bought in LFSs they may be old enough to spawn at that size because they havent been raised to their potential.

2.5" - 3" discus should not be 6 months old. They should be younger than that....but yours may be. Really they should probably be younger than even 4 months at that size range.

[buzz]

Bought at Big Al's Aquarium Services. So far their stock is nice, and we suspect that they are coming from Aquarium Fish Supplier. The Discus themselves are robust, with healthy appetites, and very good colour. Their growth has been good, and the colour noticably improving almost daily, particularly the Cobalt Blues (the smallest of the bunch). They are acclimatizing to human contact very quickly. We believe that they are good quality at the least, and quality is something that we are experienced with through many years of breeding a variety of cichlids. Quality made our hobby pay for itself years ago, but this is our first experience with discus.
Greg

[barrowkwan]

wow.. can you post some pic of that 4 foot PB? I thought the huge 8" Discus that I saw from Kenny last time is HUGE but now this 4 foot is even much bigger!! :D

[happygirl65]

They are probably still establishing their pecking order. :)

[Valik]

Do you have any pics? BTW if your in Canada and you are looking for Discus I would highly recommend talking to April. She is known for supplying some very good quality Discus.


Matt

[buzz]

Thanks Matt, but we are going with one of your neighbours for our first import experience. Steve of Macs Discus has a nice Gold Crystal that we like and he seems to be very knowlegeable and very helpful. We'll find out Monday if it is as good as it looks, which is impressive.
As for pics, we have to learn how to use this forum. Computers aren't our strong suit.
And we have already learned that puppy love does exist in juveniles, that indeed they may bond long before they are anywhere near ready to breed, which we expect will probably be a little more than a year away. Lots of time for us to grow with them.
Greg

[kaceyo]

I would also recommend April over Mac's, and not just because she's a sponcer here. I know where both Mac's and April get there fish from and April's source is by far the superior supplier for quality fish.
JMO,

Kacey

[Don Trinko]

They do a lot of body waving and other stuff when they are very young and when fully mature. I'm not trying to be sarkastic but when one lay's eggs and the other goes over the eggs you probably have a pair.
I have one that lays eggs regularly. The male(?) encourages her but then eats the eggs. They are not the best shape and have markings that they shouldn't have so I leave them in the community tank. The other fish ( much nicer shape and color) don't seem to want to pair up. ( one of Murphy's laws I think) Don T.

[Valik]

Hey Buzz check your pm.