German or Asian ?

[coralbandit]

I know it seems almost every sponsor here is an importer of one particular type so I think I know the answer I am going to get .
I am curios if people dare say which they think is better ?
I have my own opinions and thoughts on this but wonder what everyone else thinks ..

[RogueDiscus]

Yes, I am West Coast and hooked up with Kenny's Asian imports years ago, but I do like the girth of the Stendekers I've seen online, and some of the fish in the European show posts. They seemed rounder, specifically more vertical faces, before the Asian imports started catching up.

[LizStreithorst]

I prefer the refinement of a good Asian fish. On the other hand, I like the bulk of the Germans. I have crossed the two and I got the best of both in their offspring. The hard part is sourcing top quality breeding stock. The best of anything is always the hardest to find,

[LizStreithorst]

What is your opinion, Tom? You have a good eye. Obviously you have seen that there is a difference between the two types.

[coralbandit]

I am German all the way .
If I say any more I am sure to offend .

[Second Hand Pat]

I am wild all the way mostly lol
Pat

[Willie]

A number of us favor Stendkers because his strains can grow larger and are much easier to spawn. Their breeding system relies solely on parental care, so they're indirectly selecting for good parents. I know a couple of advanced discus keepers that only grow Stendkers because they make a tidy sum selling spawns.

Asian fish often have the latest colors and patterns. Often, the patterns are more fine and more consistent across the entire body. They also have the high back trait that I personally cannot resist. In general, however, the more expensive the fish, the more difficult it was to spawn.

So the choice is not so much which kind of fish you like, but what is your objective in the hobby. I keep both.

Willie

[Johnny95132]

Hi Willie, when you say that the Stendker's "breeding system relies solely on parental care," do you mean that they don't use artificial methods to raise the young? Like they have the discus babies feed off the parent's slime coat naturally? And as always, thanks for the information. I always learn so much about discus from your posts.
To chime in, I think it's easier to obtain "select" Asian discus, mainly due to the setup of the Stendker website. Specifically, the format of Discus Hans doesn't allow one to select individual fish. As a result, you'll receive whatever the selector happened to choose during that order. Of course, this doesn't apply to customers who visit Han's fish room and hand select their own discus. You could also obtain good specimens by buying a lot in one order and hoping that a few will be great. This is why I have gravitated towards buying discus from sites that post pictures of the exact fish, or go to the fishroom myself to purchase.

[coralbandit]

Are Piwowarski discus a thing of the past for us in America ?
And yea I appreciate your input Willie !

[LizStreithorst]

I don't believe they're available here any more. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am.

[Willie]

Hi Willie, when you say that the Stendker's "breeding system relies solely on parental care," do you mean that they don't use artificial methods to raise the young? Like they have the discus babies feed off the parent's slime coat naturally?..

Yes, this is precisely what I mean. Many Asian breeders have switched to artificial rearing simply because it's so much more efficient, but the labor cost in Europe precludes using this approach. I'm not making a value judgement on the quality of the fry, just that breeders that are not good parents do not persist in an European breeding program.

Willie

[LizStreithorst]

That was great info. I had no idea that artificial was so prevalent in Asia. It's somewhat disheartening from a domestic breeder's perspective.

[Discluv]

Wild for me as well. Ive had Stendker's and Asian varietals through the years- now, nothing but wilds for me.

[peewee1]

I am wild all the way mostly lol
Pat

I am transitioning my collection to wild crosses. It would not make a difference to me where those fish came from. Be they German or Asian, as long as I get them from Kenny.

[Iminit]

Hi Willie, when you say that the Stendker's "breeding system relies solely on parental care," do you mean that they don't use artificial methods to raise the young? Like they have the discus babies feed off the parent's slime coat naturally? And as always, thanks for the information. I always learn so much about discus from your posts.
To chime in, I think it's easier to obtain "select" Asian discus, mainly due to the setup of the Stendker website. Specifically, the format of Discus Hans doesn't allow one to select individual fish. As a result, you'll receive whatever the selector happened to choose during that order. Of course, this doesn't apply to customers who visit Han's fish room and hand select their own discus. You could also obtain good specimens by buying a lot in one order and hoping that a few will be great. This is why I have gravitated towards buying discus from sites that post pictures of the exact fish, or go to the fishroom myself to purchase.

I do agree with this about Hans fish. I bought from him about 8 months ago 6 2” discus of different types and of the 6 only 1 was as ordered. Nice healthy fish but not what I ordered. I ordered 2 uncle sams discus and got exactly what I ordered. Now I ordered the US at 6” to match most of the Hans. The Hans discus have outgrown the US so Hans fish do grow big.
Hey coral just joined. You get my first post.