Jack Wattley Discus in Miami, FL

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Yes Jack is retired. Yes the company sold to gabe after a long friendship & partnership. Yes gabe still breeds his own fish. Last time i spoke with gabe he was NOT importing. Gabe has multiple hatcheries between florida & NJ.

Gabe told me he was visiting another one of his hatcheries to see if he can fulfill my order, since I'm looking for seven Discus >5.5" or larger. He's supposed to send me videos/pics today of what he has.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Wattley Discus Update: I selected eight discus from the pics & videos Gabe sent me, which I received yesterday:

Three 5.5"-6" Rafflesia
Three 5.5"-6" Red Marlboro
Two 6" Blue Leopard Panda Cross

Upon unpacking I was a little surprised to see that I received the actual fish I had selected from them. I still have to examine them more closely today, but upon initial inspection before putting their lights out they are beautiful - shape & colors. And really large. The two Blue Leopard Panda Crosses are the largest at a little over 6"- sparse red spots on white, really nice. I will post pics of all in a couple of days hopefully.

At this point I am giving Wattley Discus a big thumbs up. Gabe there certainly delivered for me.

I previously received two shipments of Discus from DiscusUSA a few months ago. They tried to be helpful I think but I was not satisfied with about half the fish I received from them for a number of reasons. Even at this early stage I can rate Wattley Discus over them in key areas of importance.

[DISCUS STU]

I don't know if there's anymore for me to add but I've been dealing with Gabe at Wattley's for many years at this point. Obviously I'm a supporter and have purchased many fish from Gabe whom I've always found to be very helpful and generous with him time and attention.

In the last month I've also purchased a wild Blue Heckel and Green Tefe Discus from him, both are great and I'm glad he's picked up wilds as well. I've also purchased some great adolescent Altum Angels from him at affordable prices, which can't always be said for other suppliers that also sell false, phony Altums.

When I was there a little while ago he was busy taking pictures of his fish to send to a customer in Canada so they could get a better idea of what they would buy. This type of thing definitely works for me.

[DatDiscusDude]

Sounds like you got some nice fish, I am looking forward to seeing pictures... Those fancy panda crossed named guys you got sound very nice and different... Stop teasing! Lets see!

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Sounds like you got some nice fish, I am looking forward to seeing pictures... Those fancy panda crossed named guys you got sound very nice and different... Stop teasing! Lets see!

This is a pic of my fish while still at their store, he said it was ok to post it here. The two in the foreground are the actual ones I have. Their name is actually 'Leopard Blue Panda Cross'

Leopard Blue Panda Cross.jpg

[DISCUS STU]

This is a pic of my fish while still at their store, he said it was ok to post it here. The two in the foreground are the actual ones I have. Their name is actually 'Leopard Blue Panda Cross'

Leopard Blue Panda Cross.jpg

Really nice. I saw this tank when I was there a few week ago.

[DYDave82]

I have to say after a couple months of having Wattley's Red Pandas; they are by far my favorite discus. And despite their already great size when I received them (about 4.5" ; I ordered 3" btw and he hooked me up) they are still growing at a nice clip. My other discus, in another tank is all DiscusUSA growing super but at this point I wonder if they will ever reach the Pandas in color brilliance. I'm not sure where all the wattley push back comes from -- at this point -- I have zero negative things to say about his fish.

[Ryan925]

Wattley Discus Update: I selected eight discus from the pics & videos Gabe sent me, which I received yesterday:

Three 5.5"-6" Rafflesia
Three 5.5"-6" Red Marlboro
Two 6" Blue Leopard Panda Cross

Upon unpacking I was a little surprised to see that I received the actual fish I had selected from them. I still have to examine them more closely today, but upon initial inspection before putting their lights out they are beautiful - shape & colors. And really large. The two Blue Leopard Panda Crosses are the largest at a little over 6"- sparse red spots on white, really nice. I will post pics of all in a couple of days hopefully.

At this point I am giving Wattley Discus a big thumbs up. Gabe there certainly delivered for me.

I previously received two shipments of Discus from DiscusUSA a few months ago. They tried to be helpful I think but I was not satisfied with about half the fish I received from them for a number of reasons. Even at this early stage I can rate Wattley Discus over them in key areas of importance.

Look forward to seeing them.

And after reading this thread ...man there are some haters here....

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Look forward to seeing them.

And after reading this thread ...man there are some haters here....

Hi Ryan,

My daughter is supposed to take some pics tonight.

RE: haters: I do get that feeling myself. For myself I'm just rating my personal experiences. And I know these will vary for others. The main points I considered were advertised vs actual size of fish, price, and whether fish had visible defects that never resolved over time.

[smsimcik]

Look forward to seeing them.

And after reading this thread ...man there are some haters here....

I've read this whole thread and I'm not sure what haters you're referring to. Seems like everyone on here loves Gabe and his fish.

[Ryan925]

I've read this whole thread and I'm not sure what haters you're referring to. Seems like everyone on here loves Gabe and his fish.

Maybe I read something different but it looked to me certain posts were making accusations about Gabe from what they heard or read on the almighty facebook

It would seem to me people that have first hand experience with him has great things to say...

Anyway don't want to hijack this thread with more of the same nonsense that goes on here. I don't think that's fair to Kenny.

Look forward to seeing those fish Kenny

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Maybe I read something different but it looked to me certain posts were making accusations about Gabe from what they heard or read on the almighty facebook

I definitely get that Ryan, imo just so long as they don't cross the line.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

I posted pics of my new fish at the end of my other thread in the Tank Journals section:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...69#post1255769

[Ryan]

Maybe I read something different but it looked to me certain posts were making accusations about Gabe from what they heard or read on the almighty facebook

It would seem to me people that have first hand experience with him has great things to say...

The issue is that Gabe used to sell the fish as Wattley fish, with certificates, even though they were not being bred by him. They were imported from Asia. It was false advertising, and IMO it's unethical to misrepresent something you're selling. Jack Wattley made a name for himself by being a discus pioneer and creating the bases of many of the most popular strains today, and all Gabe is doing is using that name to move fish. He's not putting in the same work and dedication that Jack did to maintain those lines.

It'd be like Stendker importing/reselling Asian fish and then touting their amazing German-bred quality.

Almost all of the US discus breeders who actually used to raise and sell their own stock eventually switched to importing and tried to pass the fish off as their own. There's no need to lie about that stuff. I have way more respect and trust in a business that is honest with me about the product they're selling.

[adrian31@outlook.com]

The issue is that Gabe used to sell the fish as Wattley fish, with certificates, even though they were not being bred by him. They were imported from Asia. It was false advertising, and IMO it's unethical to misrepresent something you're selling. Jack Wattley made a name for himself by being a discus pioneer and creating the bases of many of the most popular strains today, and all Gabe is doing is using that name to move fish. He's not putting in the same work and dedication that Jack did to maintain those lines.

It'd be like Stendker importing/reselling Asian fish and then touting their amazing German-bred quality.

Almost all of the US discus breeders who actually used to raise and sell their own stock eventually switched to importing and tried to pass the fish off as their own. There's no need to lie about that stuff. I have way more respect and trust in a business that is honest with me about the product they're selling.

Ryan, thanks for shedding some light on this. As far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter to me where the fish come from so long as they're quality and healthy. I'm extremely pleased with the eight I just received from him, but then the extent of my experience is my two previous orders from DiscusUSA and my LPS.

I'm not positive whether my fish were domestic bred or imported, but he did mention he was visiting another hatchery to fulfill my order. I didn't get any certificate with my order. Last night I inquired from him about getting two more Rafflesia (love these) and he said he would be going to his West Palm Beach hatchery to get these for me.