Picked up new Discus (pic heavy)

[oscarzx]

What's going on Simply peeps, so my buddy from across town had to move in to a smaller apartment, he called me and asked me If I wanted his 6 discus.. total price $20 + $10 gas = $30 total.

I've been reading these forums for months, and finally decided to give myself a shot at discus.. I feel very confident with these fish, plus $20 bucks for 6 discus is not a bad deal for a beginner.. making deadly mistakes won't hurt that much.

I'm keeping the 6 discus in a 55 gallon bare bottom, (1) 250 watt heater, set temp is at 84-86.. 30-50% daily WC treated with Prime. Feeding 4-6 times a day, siphoning poop every 8 hours, etc.

Now my question, 4 discus are from 2-2.5 inches, the other 2 are around 3.5 inch. The thing I'm currently working on is distinguishing healthy from non-healthy discus, so that's why I come to you guys.

Do these Discus look healthy to you? do they look stunted in anyway?

First four discus 2-2.5 inches

ALSO COULD YOU GUYS TELL ME THE STRAINS?
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1805.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1806.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1807.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1804.jpg

3.5 inch
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1809.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1808.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1813.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1812.jpg

[BradC]

I see no pictures!???

[Skip]

more like PIC LIGHT! :)

[ericatdallas]

This is a cruel joke Oscar. A title implying "pic heavy discus thread" to the people on this board is like saying, "high res naked pictures of women" to a teenage boy.

[oscarzx]

I know I know, I pressed the wrong button before adding the pictures LOL sorry, It's updated now.. :P

[ericatdallas]

I'll take a shot at the strains... cobalt blue, ogon yellow, and blue turquoise is my guess. by the names you should be able to figure out which is which... the grayish black one seems too young to know because it hasn't gotten the colors yet, but I don't have the experienced eye for these things.

[ericatdallas]

The eyes-to-body ratio is also a little large on these guys. If you take their eyes and superimpose imaginary copies of them on top and bottom of the real eye, you should be able to fit at least 5-6 more eyes total. If you can only fit 1 or less (top and/or bottom) the Discus hasn't grown very well.

They're also football shaped. Discus should look like their name, big round disks. The bigger and rounder the better.

I see some other things, but I'll let the more experienced people talk about that because I don't really understand the other issues fully.

[warblad79]

I thought ogon suppose to be non-pigeon base. this one has peppered.

[oscarzx]

Thanks Dallas for the information, my bud had his discus in a fake planted tank with some huge gravel, said to only of fed them twice a day... didn't ask about the WCs...

Here is some more pictures.
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1830.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1827.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1818.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1817.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1816.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/oscarJDM/102_1831.jpg

[ericatdallas]

I thought ogon suppose to be non-pigeon base. this one has peppered.

I thought Mike Beals said they were PB-based, but I was wrong, he said his yellow Sunrise was PB-based. I was basing it on that.. so I could be wrong, but it does still look like a Ogon Yellow.

Actually with the new picture, the one I thought was a juvie too young to tell actually looks to be something else..not sure what though.

Here's what Kenny's looks like.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr177/kennysdiscus02/Kennys%20Discus%202010b/OgonYellowWhiteunprovenpair55-6in2.jpg

[Skip]

those turqs look bad..esp the small one.. keep your eyes them..

are they eating?!

[oscarzx]

They're eating like crazy, all six of them.. dark brown poop.. the eating part is no problem, they eat out of my hand and always begging for food.

So now If they were stunted, what does that mean for the discus? are not going to grow anymore? look ugly? etc.. :(

[oscarzx]

As for the yellow one, I believe he said It was a Marlboro red

[ericatdallas]

Are the pics representative of the colors you see in person?

[Skip]

They're eating like crazy, all six of them.. dark brown poop.. the eating part is no problem, they eat out of my hand and always begging for food.

So now If they were stunted, what does that mean for the discus? are not going to grow anymore? look ugly? etc.. :(

oscar.. those are good fish to work with! they were 20 bucks!
fish will still grow.. but may not as large as the could have.. thats ok!!! its a learning experience.. you will get others down the road.. thats what happens when you start!!!! LOL!!
just do all the stuff you want to try or have learned with this group..
have fun!!
you will love your little babys!!!

[Cevoe]

Red Turqs, Blue Diamonds and a Pigeon. Could very well be an off-colored Marlboro but definately not an Ogon Yellow.
Your set-up is solid as far as size of tank to fish, temperature, feeding and water changes.
If you stick with all of that and have a stable ph these will clean up a little better than what they are now.
These are good starters but you will most likely want to better your stock after a few weeks.
Sounds like you have the right idea.
Good luck with them.

[KEWX]

Enjoy your great deal! Once you get the discus "bug", you'll buy more. Please use one of SD sponsors when you get your next batch. Good luck!

[oscarzx]

Yea thanks guys for the great info, I definitely plan on going to a breeder in a few months for my next batch..

Closest to me would be a guy from San Diego Hatchery here in socal.. Or Inland Empire Discus, but anyways yea. thankS!

[Melissa]

Hey again Oscar, if you were still interested, I have the group of Juvies back in my possession. They're all approx. 2 1/2-3" :) I know.... I'm shameless... Cming on here advertising my babies! LOL!!!

[strawberryblonde]

These are perfect starter fish for you Oscar! Yep, they're stunted, but for the price they will be great for learning all the ins and outs of discus keeping. Since they are stunted, they will probably not grow to full size, but with good quality food and the plentiful feedings you're giving them, along with the WC's, they should grow some more and fill out a lot. It's pretty surprising just how much they can turn around and come back from malnutrition.

About how to tell if they are stunted. If you look at the eye and draw an imaginary line up to the top and down to the bottom of the fish, you should then be able to "fit" at least 2 more eyes above the actual eye and 3 more below. Your blue/red turq (first pic in second series) looks to have the best eye to body ratio of the bunch, and then possibly the biggest blue diamond, though it's hard to tell from the pics since he refused to give us a nice side view. He does look healthy though! Oh and that does look a lot like a Marlboro Red, though he's still quite yellow in coloring.

I'd say those two are going to be your nicest looking fish. The only one that really worries me is the orangish colored one with the red on its fins. He looks like he's not healthy, though with good food and clean water he might perk up for you.

Be sure to post more pics as they get comfortable with their surroundings and start to grow out, ok? Congrats on your new babies!!

[DLock3d]

They look a little stunted imo. Regardless of the outcome or quality, Oscar. It's a great starting point. Your next round of fish will have an even more knowledgeable owner. Give them a year and if you don't like the way they turn out donate or sell to an LFS. You can start another batch from there!

[noobF1]

I wanna take a guess......Rick from Milpitas?

[oscarzx]

Thanks guys, I won't give up on these guys.. even though they are stunted, I have a good feeling about them.. I'll give them my 100% attention and hopefully I'll get a nice turnout.

*crosses fingers*

[gerrard00]

My most stunted guy, actually named runt, is also one of my favorites. After giving up on him every growing, he hit a growth spurt a few months back. He's poorly shaped and has a misshapen dorsal fin, but he's also the best eater, the most willing to try new foods and the first guy to come out of hiding after the guys get spooked. I'm not breeding or competing in shows, so cosmetic perfection isn't my #1 priority.

[oscarzx]

Do you think you can send me a few pics of runt? I'd like to see the turn out if you don't mind. :)