AquaticSuppliers.com     Cafepress Store

Results 1 to 13 of 13

Thread: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

  1. #1
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Northford,CT,USA
    Posts
    26,830

    Default Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    Hi all ,
    We used to have a section on the forum called the University where people could post pics of their adult fish and give some back ground.Experienced members would then attempt to critique and rate the fish along Discus show standards and score cards. The idea was to try to promote a general understanding of what show quality discus really are. It was a great idea on paper and initially worked well but there were inherent flaws with the system. Predominantly the lack of qualified judges that had the time to donate for this and wanted to use that time in this fashion. Theres also that members didnt always follow the submission rules and honestly judging fish in images is not the same thing as judging them in person. After having trouble getting judges that had the time and desire to help out we decided to scrap the idea.

    I do think the general concept was very good and useful.Its never a bad thing to learn more about your hobby.. Some people will never get to a fish show and this forum is the extent of their interaction . I am considering revisiting the general idea if we have a good discussion on it and members will participate.
    I would do.it differently this time. The system I see is as follows.

    Members would post a fish from multiple angles and include criteria such as age and size. We can have score cards available that call out general traits.. not as detailed as whats used in the real discus shows like the ones NADA puts on or instead of a card we could use sliding scale of 1-10 .To make this scale meaningful we could possibly try to come up a pictorial guide but Im not sure thats needed. ALL members would be able to rate the submitted fish on this general scale. If the participation is good and we have enough submissions we can then do a more aggressive grading closer in line with a fish shows scorecard of the top rated fish from the general scoring system.A few members here have been trained in Judging fish.It may be possible to recruit their help in these periodic judgings... and among our membership theres certainly people that though they lack formal "judging" are more than capable to judge from
    a score card with a tad guidance.

    So my question is would you want this here? Is it your goal to raise show quality fish? Would you participate as submitters and raters?(is that even a word?)

    My goal with the forum has always been to educate and since we took down the "University".I think we are lacking in educating on the subject of quality and grading of discus. I would like to try and fill that gap with something new that all members can participate and learn from.

    This project though would require members to participate. You actually would be the back bone of the project. Posting pictures and rating fish require members to post. Would you? Does this interest you enough for you to take ownership of it and help the hobby and forum grow?

    Id like to hear your thoughts before we commit time as a team to this idea.

    Thank you,
    Al
    Last edited by brewmaster15; 09-24-2018 at 04:30 AM.
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
    Simplydiscus LLC Owner
    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

  2. #2
    Homesteader Paul Sabucchi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Adriatic Coast, Italy
    Posts
    1,036
    Real Name
    Take a wild guess

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    I think it would be positive, having a more formal section to submit your fish for appraisal. Even for someone who is probably never going to take a fish to a show it would be very educational to learn if his/her fish are "in the ballpark" (i.e. would not be loughed out of the show room), in the car park of the ball park or not even in the same post code. I think the tricky thing is to judge size from a photo -would we have to use some kind of ruler? I would be happy to submit the ones amongst mine that I think look best but also the ones I think have flaws to see if the judgement matches mine and for the above mentioned educational purposes

  3. #3
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Northford,CT,USA
    Posts
    26,830

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    I think to get a fair assessment we need to have an accurate size so netting the fish makes the most sense and using a ruler.It only takes a moment . That plus the general age of the fish tells us alot.
    -al
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
    Simplydiscus LLC Owner
    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

  4. #4
    Homesteader Paul Sabucchi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Adriatic Coast, Italy
    Posts
    1,036
    Real Name
    Take a wild guess

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    Agreed, I think good photos from various angles, a video and measurement (as I net mine I will also weigh them).
    Maybe have a deadline for submissions every 3?-6? months and then have the judges evaluate that lot all in one session?

  5. #5
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Northford,CT,USA
    Posts
    26,830

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    Paul, If you want to weigh them that would be very good info but thankfully its not a criteria used in discus show fish judging. Alot of hobbyist have a hard time just netting and measuring the length. I think they worry its going to hurt their fish.
    Al
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
    Simplydiscus LLC Owner
    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

  6. #6
    Homesteader Paul Sabucchi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Adriatic Coast, Italy
    Posts
    1,036
    Real Name
    Take a wild guess

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    Absolutely, I was just mentioning the weight as I thought the aim was to educate rather than compete, weight would not be a mandatory requirement but, when possible to check it, it would give us "learner drivers" a direct comparison between 2 fish of the same length, how their body mass actually differs beyond just appearing more svelte or more built for comfort. So far I netted only 2 of mine (one of the biggest and the smallest) 3 months ago when they had their first birthday, was planning on doing it again in 3 months (but could do it ant time). Plopped them on a paper plate, measured, weighed then subtracted the 18g weight of the plate, I was a little apprehensive but no dramas, except for The Wife who threatened to slap me if I did not put that poor fish back in the water IMMEDIATELY!

  7. #7
    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Central Florida
    Posts
    31,726
    Real Name
    Pat

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    I definitely think this is worth considering. I think it would be worthwhile of members rated their own fish (if they wish). While we all want perfect fish that is generally not the case so looking at our own fish with a critical eye is an education in itself.
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


  8. #8
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Moselle, MS
    Posts
    13,065

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    I'm up for it. I think the sliding scale score card is a really good idea.
    Mama Bear

  9. #9
    Registered Member warblad79's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    San Jose, CA
    Posts
    1,879

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    My first generation Giant Flora 7"-7.5" from my own breeding project except the Giant Blue one on the bottom.
    20180120_101548.jpg

  10. #10
    Registered Member two utes's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Melbourne Victoria Australia
    Posts
    1,847
    Real Name
    Joe Zammit

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    I use to enjoy the critic from Eddie and some of the other experts on here in the past, and always tried to compare scores.
    One of the reasons i come on here is to learn... everyone here thinks they have nice discus and most do, but this will be a good way to gauge the fish, and may even help people decide which ones they should keep from large batches to breed... like im doing at the moment. Im sure it will also help people pick any fish they wish to buy in the future.

    So yes..id like to see this come back
    Last edited by two utes; 09-24-2018 at 05:49 PM.
    We're here for a good time...not a long time

  11. #11
    Registered Member Pices's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Port Charlotte, Florida
    Posts
    1,586
    Real Name
    Patty

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    I’d like to know the criteria for rating discus. I also like sliding scale for scoring.
    Patty
    If the discus are happy, I’m happy

  12. #12
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Northford,CT,USA
    Posts
    26,830

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    Quote Originally Posted by Pices View Post
    I’d like to know the criteria for rating discus. I also like sliding scale for scoring.
    Patty
    Hi Patty,
    This is a score card we used in the university a bit... unless its been changed since then, its the one NADA uses...

    judge-form.jpg

    This form or one close to it we would use to judge the best fish from the all the submissions based on the sliding score ..It wouldn't be used for all the fish people ask to get rated.


    al
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
    Simplydiscus LLC Owner
    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

  13. #13
    Homesteader Filip's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Macedonia-Europe
    Posts
    3,639
    Real Name
    Filip

    Default Re: Is this something you want? SHOW FISH related

    Evaluation and standardization of discus quallity are the one subject I have found least info about on-line.
    This area is pretty blank in my book and I would gladly like to participate on such project and fill the gap on this subject.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Cafepress