Pat's Heckel Gallery

[boscobear]

Pat, Your discus are so beautiful. That natural body color, with the spots, and bars placed for camouflage in their natural habitat. This is what has been removed in our blended discus breeding for multi coloration. Each has its explicit place in our home showcase aquariums.
The earthworms, are they home grown?
These two types of wilds, Cuipeua, and Heckel seem far more sociable to your camera, than the Tefe wilds you posted photos of a couple years ago. Could it be the camera itself, or a difference within the fish. Are both types wild caught, or aquarium F type breeding of pure wilds. The Heckels with the deep black stress bar running through their eye area does not project that glaring wild look of the red eyes as those other types. At least its not as pronounced as some of the other types. Beautiful non the less. Thanks for those terrific photos. We love looking at the natural wild forms of discus.

[Second Hand Pat]

Yes, the earthworms or red wigglers are home grown. I maintain two colonies. Regarding the picture quality between the Tefe and the Cuipeua/Heckel pictures, I received a new camera about a year ago which gives me far better picture then before. The Tefe have always be good with me taking pictures of them. Currently they are housed in a smaller (100 gallon) tank with a black background and they seem more incline to show their bars in this tank then when they are in the 230 gallon tank with a more natural background.

The heckels have a more muted eye; just a hint of red vs the full red eye of the Tefe and Cuipeua.

[plecocicho]

Contrary to what some "experts" say, black eye heckels are wilds too, its just that red eye is more sought for. Some idiots on one discus championship even tried to disqualify black-eyed heckels, cause they were in a "wrong" section of wild discus.

[Second Hand Pat]

Fredo, how were the wilds being separated?.. by eye color?

[plecocicho]

No, phenotype corerctly (heckel, green, blue, brown (althought they are the same species)). Its just they argued tahta black-eyed are hybrids and so have to be in a open class. I cant link you that story, cause i read it quite a few years ago. Discus classes have always been a hot topic and soem classes are very poor defined, eg red discus. It can ve san merah, pigeon based, virgin red or of wild ancestory just like the original Schmidt-Foecke.