3 year-old Cobalts and Fire Reds

In June of 2015 I purchased 1"-1.5" discus: 8 cobalts and 6 Fire Reds. I posted some pics along with some follow up pictures: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...ghlight=eirich. The discus are now over 3 years old and I have 3 remaining cobalts and 5 fire reds. The three cobalts are 7" (or a bit larger) head to end of tail. Two of the fire reds are in the same size range. The remaining fire reds are in the 6" to 7" range. I feed Tetra Color Bits three times a day and change 70% of the water daily. I have struggled to keep them healthy and alive for the three years that I have had them, and have had slightly more than a modicum of success, but have enjoyed them nevertheless. At least the remaining 8 fish seem to be healthy and eating well, although I just recently treated the tank for a gill fluke infestation. In some of the pictures you can see the larger filter which is 5.38 inches in diameter.

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Wow! The care you gave them shows in these pics. These guys are gorgeous, huge and thick. Looking at those little ones, I would’ve never guessed they could become so colorful. Your effort really paid off. That red is incredible!
Patty

The fish looked good when you got them and they look good now, but anyone can ruin a good small fish. It takes excellent care to get the best from the fish you have grown out. You have done it.

wow mate, stunning fish, incredible colors...good job raising them such a remarkable size...any breeding action? I read in one of the last posts on the thread linked here that your plan was to breed and sell fry locally...I live in Cincinnati and would be very interested in fire red fry. Lemme know what's cookin mate! Cheers. Danny

Not sure they’re red enough.

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These are probably the reddest fish I’ve seen yet without any photo manipulation. My eyes literally needed a few seconds to readjust. Crazy.
Awesome job

Tobi

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Originally Posted by Pices

Wow! The care you gave them shows in these pics. These guys are gorgeous, huge and thick. Looking at those little ones, I would’ve never guessed they could become so colorful. Your effort really paid off. That red is incredible!
Patty

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Thank you Patty.

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Originally Posted by LizStreithorst

The fish looked good when you got them and they look good now, but anyone can ruin a good small fish. It takes excellent care to get the best from the fish you have grown out. You have done it.

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Thanks Liz for the kind words. It is a bit easier to do when one is retired and has more time to care for them. It is still a challenge to keep them healthy in the long run. It seems like every few months I am finding some ailment that needs addressing.

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Originally Posted by danotaylor

wow mate, stunning fish, incredible colors...good job raising them such a remarkable size...any breeding action? I read in one of the last posts on the thread linked here that your plan was to breed and sell fry locally...I live in Cincinnati and would be very interested in fire red fry. Lemme know what's cookin mate! Cheers. Danny

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Hi Danny. Good to hear from you. I would love to tell you that I have fry to sell, but I have tried to get them to breed for the last two years without any success. I posted about a year ago asking for advice and have tried all of the suggestions. Even so, no fish seem remotely interested in attracting a mate and settling down to raise a family. It is unlikely that I have all the same sex of fish, so I am attributing it to poor water quality. I have had 6 fish die from some disease or another and have had to medicate more frequently than I would have liked. That could have something to do with the lack of breeding success. I maintain a 70% daily water change regimen and the nitrate levels are consistently at 5 ppm or less just prior to water changes, so that regimen seems to be sufficient. It may simply be something in Clermont County water that is the culprit. In any case, I have decided to simply enjoy them and their beauty. In the meantime I have gotten some angel fish that I hope to breed at some point.

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Originally Posted by Swedgin

Not sure they’re red enough.

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Tobi, just for you, the next time I post, I will "enhance" the red color a bit using some editing software. LOL. Actually the red color hasn't been enhanced, but is fairly true to what you would see if you were in my fish room. It is pretty difficult to provide an accurate coloration, even with a good camera (which I have), but these turned out to be pretty true to life. Probably being a bit further away from the tank and using a flash (which often washes out color if you are too close) when I took the pictures helped.

Thank you for your reply Dudley. I am sorry to hear of your challenges with breeding your lovely discus, but your decision to simply enjoy them is wise and understandable. I wish I could say I have another another suggestion that may assist, but alas I have no experience in stimulating discus to spawn. It does seem rather odd that neither the reds or cobalts have spawned, especially with your meticulous wc regime. That does lend support to your clermont county water quality hypothesis. Did you ever try remineralized RO water route? Do you happen to know if Don still has the parent pair that your fry were produced from? I wish you well with your angel fish project sir! Peace

Stunning fish !! 3 years of good care and results shows it :)
Cobalts and reds are contrasting each other nicely.

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Originally Posted by danotaylor

Thank you for your reply Dudley. I am sorry to hear of your challenges with breeding your lovely discus, but your decision to simply enjoy them is wise and understandable. I wish I could say I have another another suggestion that may assist, but alas I have no experience in stimulating discus to spawn. It does seem rather odd that neither the reds or cobalts have spawned, especially with your meticulous wc regime. That does lend support to your clermont county water quality hypothesis. Did you ever try remineralized RO water route? Do you happen to know if Don still has the parent pair that your fry were produced from? I wish you well with your angel fish project sir! Peace

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Dan, I do have an RO filter system and did try lowering the TDS for a couple of months with no success or evidence of interest in breeding. I don't know whether or not Don has maintained a breeding pair of Fire Reds. You could PM him. I know that they were Stendker developed discus so you might also investigate that way as well.

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Originally Posted by sanjay21

Stunning fish !! 3 years of good care and results shows it :)
Cobalts and reds are contrasting each other nicely.

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Thank you Sanjay. I also like the contrast. I have always liked Cobalts and my first successful mating pair were cobalts...big ones as well. I love the Fire Reds though and most people who see them side-by-side prefer the Fire Reds over the Cobalts.

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Originally Posted by Dudley Eirich

Dan, I do have an RO filter system and did try lowering the TDS for a couple of months with no success or evidence of interest in breeding. I don't know whether or not Don has maintained a breeding pair of Fire Reds. You could PM him. I know that they were Stendker developed discus so you might also investigate that way as well.

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Thank you Dudley. I msg'd Don, he no longer breeds discus. Hans is always an option, just a little more expensive than I am wanting atm...looking for hobbyist bred solid fry to raise once I get my 125gal emptied of it inhabitants. Cheers mate!