I bought a dozen discus from Discus Madness three months ago. The shop is immaculate and Mathias is a very knowledgeable and ethical businessman. He has also given me much great advice and my fish are healthy and growing like crazy.
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I'd like to add an update to my previous post as a caution to others. Out of the seven adult discus I've purchased in total from Mathias, only two arrived the same size as advertised on his web-site and via e-mail communications. One fish was 1/2" smaller than what was advertised, and four were a full inch smaller than what was advertised. As silly as it may sound, it took me a while to figure this out, since I was new to the hobby, and didn't have much basis of comparison. I'm still very happy with my fish, and they are nice, quality discus. Just set your expectations going into a purchase with Discus Madness: subtract an inch from the size of the fish you are ordering. As long as you know that going into the transaction, you should be okay. This comment only applies to adult discus (5.5" or larger).
Geaux, could you share some photos of your adult discus you purchased from Mathias? Did you find that they were what you expected?
I ask because I have bought juvies from him twice with mixed reviews in terms coloration/pattern. So I was considering buying adults in order to guarantee a beautiful fish and also to prevent stunting if I did buy juvies again...
-Nick
Sure. Here are the best two fish he sent. The pigeon he stated at 6", and she was, but he said the snakeskin would be 7", and he was 6". I'm not complaining - they're both very nice fish.
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These others were nice fish, but were supposed to be 6", and ended up being 5":
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And here's a couple that came the same size as promised. These two are sort of football-ish, although the Penang is much more of a football.
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Again, they're all fairly nice fish. HOWEVER, the next time I buy I'll buy from Kenny or possibly one of the local forum members. Although overall I received some decent fish from Mathias, Kenny sends you exactly what you see in the pictures, they are all exactly the size you PAID for, and there are no mediocre fish. Probably most important to me, the customer service experience from Kenny was much better.
I know this is an old thread, but just to confirm: "Special packages are cheap because the Discus are not from the selected bunch, it is normal to have some with small imperfections like the eyes."
In my opinion, small is an understatement so I guess what you pay for.
I have purchased Discus from him several times. At least six times No regrets! I ask him for pictures several times and he has complied. His beef heart is top notch. I would highly recommend him.
I am all in for DM also ..
I make the 3 hour one way drive to DM as he is my choice for the round fish also .
Checking on another discus importer in NJ to see if he still gets Piwowarski .
Hoping to hear back from them soon ..