My New Group of Red Batata X Jacarecappa from Hans Discus

[Seanliftsnyc]

I was there and viewed a lot of the fish at Hans Place. After years of looking at fish in a breeder, supplier, or sellers tank I can honestly say the colors vary and alot of things come into play. Most of the pics we see are taken out of the tank and with a flash, and wether it’s a professional camera, iPhone, or Android phone will vary and has alot to do with the colors of the fish. All the fish I saw there were really beautiful and displayed a lot of colors and looked healthy. When I see a really nice fish I immediately begin to think how much nicer that fish is going to look in my tank because I know my light plays a role and I have a pitch black background on my tanks…plus with the light sand I know they are going to pop once getting settled in.

[Seanliftsnyc]

Wow Tom….that fish is Beautiful!!! Where in Long did you pick that beauty up from?

As for the resilience of Hans new Asian Bred fish compared to the German ones, I can’t even begin to comment because I didn’t keep his German fish ever, I have kept Asian Domestic and Wild, and both had their up’s and downs. I do know a few people who kept fish from Hans previous supplier and have heard some bad and some good. Some had said they were great with no issues, others have said they broke down in a short period of time and went dark and nothing they did could turn them around! And of course the mixing part of fish. I am not one to mix fish…I kept my wilds and domestics separated, but there’s others out there that mix and do the necessary work with QT’ing and introducing fish from different lands and breeders and have no issues? But getting back to what you said and it not working out for you, I’ve heard that from a few people and I guess a few things come into play, but I never had the chance to give his German discus a try.

As for his new Asian discus from Discus X, I’m a week into keeping them and can’t really give an honest assessment yet. I have been monitoring very closely and watching things unfold. They have begun to venture out more, still mostly as a group, they did the pecking order thing with a lil scuffling back and fourth the 1st few days and that looks to be sorted out. What I can do now is just observe.

So from Long Island City Queens on a Friday afternoon leaving at 12noon it took me roughly 4 hours there and then 4 hours back….lol long ride.

However it was a nice ride, only traffic was though NYC and then into NJ…but overall was a nice ride and I will probably do it again when I get some more fish from him.

[Seanliftsnyc]

So Today marks a week I have been keeping these fish and it’s been a pretty good and quite ride so far.

I have been doing water changes every 2 days at about 25-30% and they have begun to come out of their shell with less hiding and seen to be getting more comfortable. The temp is at 85 as of this morning, PH at 6.8, and last evening I fed them Spirulina Flakes from Tropical and all 6 fish ate and seemed to enjoy them. The last few days I have also regularly had their over head light on very low and they seem to have gotten used to that as well.

The one thing I’m going back and fourth with is doing my usual med treatment that I do with all my fish. Geos, Discus, literally anything I put in my tanks. This marks the 1st time I have not done my usual trio of meds that I have done for years which is a mix of Ich X, Paracleanse, and maracyn. I do this for 7 days with water changes at 20-30% every other day and just put back the amount of meds I took out. I than let them rest a week and monitor and if I feel the need will re dose for another week. I will usually than let them relax for 10 days while monitoring and if all is good I dose expel P which is levamisole and requires a water change after 24hours and I than re dose the expel P a week later.

That is usually my med process that has for the most part never failed me and also helps me sleep better at night. After I’m done with my usual process If I see any fish scratching more than a few times but I don’t see any visible white spots my go to has become paraguard and that to has helped me in the past. Most recently I did that entire treatment with my Wild Green Discus and at the end of the road all were healthy, eating, and enjoying tank life.

What’s everyone else’s feelings on how they introduce new fish into their tanks? Also a note these fish are alone in my 90 gallon so I’m not worried about them getting other fish sick as the tank is theirs and theirs alone.

Here’s some pics I snapped
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[Iminit]

I’m not one to use medication. Water changes have always worked for me. That and salt. I qt all new fish for at least 6weeks but usually more.

That discus was bought at pets warehouse with another. Sold as super reds.BB310038-EF74-4BDA-AEA5-9906ABD58722.jpg these are about tne size of a quarter here. This is the other now3E559C20-04E8-4092-B7B9-1029C93C31B0.jpg

[Second Hand Pat]

Hey Sean, the fish are looking great. Did your tank go thru a mini-cycle? Are you going to follow your med treatment you outlined above. When I get new fish (wild discus) I want they to be comfortable and eating very well in the QT. I will do 50% water changes daily the first week and then see if they are ready to start a med treatment. I follow Al's treatment protocol which goes over six weeks. I then allow the fish to rest with daily WCs to help the fish flush any meds out of their system. Once the fish are ready I will introduce a fish from the DT to the QT and observe for another six weeks for any signs of CC etc. So generally the fish are in the QT for about three months or so. I am in no rush.
Pat

[Seanliftsnyc]

I’m not one to use medication. Water changes have always worked for me. That and salt. I qt all new fish for at least 6weeks but usually more.

That discus was bought at pets warehouse with another. Sold as super reds.BB310038-EF74-4BDA-AEA5-9906ABD58722.jpg these are about tne size of a quarter here. This is the other now3E559C20-04E8-4092-B7B9-1029C93C31B0.jpg

They look beautiful!!!

[Seanliftsnyc]

Hey Sean, the fish are looking great. Did your tank go thru a mini-cycle? Are you going to follow your med treatment you outlined above. When I get new fish (wild discus) I want they to be comfortable and eating very well in the QT. I will do 50% water changes daily the first week and then see if they are ready to start a med treatment. I follow Al's treatment protocol which goes over six weeks. I then allow the fish to rest with daily WCs to help the fish flush any meds out of their system. Once the fish are ready I will introduce a fish from the DT to the QT and observe for another six weeks for any signs of CC etc. So generally the fish are in the QT for about three months or so. I am in no rush.
Pat

So the tank they are in now is a 90 gallon that I have had running for a few years now. The tank is way over filtered and has housed some of my favorite fish that I’ve ever kept. Most recently to a group of 12 Congo Tetras and 6 Beautiful Wild Red Head Topajos that just wouldn’t stop breeding there…lol. They’ve since been re homed and I did a complete 100% water change and PP treatment before adding the new discus in there. The readings and parameters on this tank have always been great for Wild fish with a PH of about 6.6-6.8

After conversing with both Al and Hans I’m going to let things ride for now and not do my normal medication dose that I do with all my new fish and just keep up with routine water changes and monitoring them daily.

Last night and this morning they all eat very well and enjoyed Tropical Spirulina flakes and soft granules and day by day continue to keep better and better, hoping for more of the same over the next few weeks. The attached pic was taken this morning right before I fed them. 5EF0B249-0118-49CF-9E23-8829251A451B.jpg

[Second Hand Pat]

They look great Sean Well done!
Pat

[Iminit]

Yes they are a great looking group!!

[jwcarlson]

Those are some beauties, Sean!

[Seanliftsnyc]

So some updates.

Fish are doing fairly well. They are eating everything I throw in there and getting more comfortable each day.

I have noticed some markings on them as of this morning. I’m not sure if it’s from bickering which I haven’t seen, or from maybe brushing up against the piece of driftwood I have in there, which actually isn’t sharp at all….so who knows. I guess it’s something to watch.

Here some pics, over all Group is looking good.

F90B63B5-7D1F-4667-9BA2-2726117E35F9.jpg

And here’s the one with the mark on his side.
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[LizStreithorst]

Looks like a scrape. They sure are a pretty bunch.

[AquaticNerd]

I agree with Liz. It doesn't look like any pecking order marks that I've seen before.

[Seanliftsnyc]

So a little update on these guys…

We got eggs!!!! So one of the discus has laid eggs on the piece of driftwood and initially I had left it alone. 1 discus guarding the eggs but not a pair….the other 5 were kind of pushed into the corner while she aggressively guarded her eggs. After 2 days of relentless guarding it looked like she had given up and began to eat the eggs and began swimming away from her spot….And thats when I went in and did a water change and vacuumed whatever was left on the piece of wood and did some deeper looking into the rest of the fish….looks like one may have taken a few hits from her. Looks like black dots on one of the fish’s sides…I’ll post a pic so you guys can see…

Either way 3 weeks peacefulness came to a screeching halt but seems to be back for now. I’ll post some pics of her guarding her eggs and the side of one of my guys….let me know what you guys think. E038E77C-BF89-45A2-BAB0-2CC6839FC52C.jpg37FCEE1B-C309-4DA0-9D30-5E0BAD01821F.jpg

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Sean, that should clear up with a few WCs. Females mature before the guys
Pat