To discus or not to discus?

[AndyL]

All but two were dead tonight, passing (No they weren't going for free fish (But they were happy to take some guppy fry, and cory fry off my hands...)) I haven't given up yet, the other LPS has some BIG ones (Pigeon blood maybe?) But I'm not sure I want 2 that big (or that expensive).

Andy

[April]

Yes Darcy i have fry too. but mine arent old enough to go by any means.
so..if smokey cleaned you out....maybe that means he wont be waiting for my manas? i'll tell him hes full up. lol.
well they went to a good home darcy. the guys a bit obsessive. lol.
we may never see him on line now.he will be busy .

[larry lob]

Hmmmmm...... Do i dare make another comment? do i fear world war 4 for an oppinion?
I suppose so!

Listen i was only throwing another angle on things. yes i agree with all of you on all the ways of looking at this but don't you think it is all a little out of context?

andy asked a question that was simple with no correct answer. we all know what is the right way to start with progressing with discus, BUY GOOD FISH, however this was an oppertunity to LEARN from scratch as to andys dedication to keeping the king of the aquarium, the shop said it was not going to get discus again and it was a one off, so in this case there is no issue of stopping a LFS from trading in discus.
They got the fish for a show tank, is there a chance the fish were good fish?

they will still make a profit? i doubt it since LFS'S make 400% profit on live stock so 6 for 1 would be just about cost price.

Time and money on meds and food? well if they don't make it the meds are good for the cabinet and if they make it, money well spent.

My whole reply was LEARN AT LOW COST and you never know where you might end up. In my eyes it was a win win situation. they make it you have background knowledge on what works for the future. They don't make it you have a platform for better decitions in the future.

No one can call the shots without SEEING the fish for themselves.

Hey if it was me i would not buy them because i am past that unless they looked like they had potential. 8 years ago i would have bought them to learn from.

Don't forget It's Just An Oppinion and a View.

Love To All

Larry

[darcy]

Ok Larry
you points are well taken!! But it really doesn't matter anymore. Andy asked for some opinions and he got them. I have talked with Andy about some fry I have, they are not sick, no ich no huddling and they are not dark!!! I will send Andy some of these guys for free and he can learn with them!!!! So I guess he can learn now for a low cost, but with healthy fish!!!! Sorry for the crappy pic it's hard to get these guys to pose!!

[darcy]

LoL April!!!! Smokey is a very nice guy and it was great to actually meet somone off the board!!! I thought I would have heard from him by now but your right he's probably very busy!!!! Manas???? Maybe you should send some of them to me!!! I have a open growout tank empty!!!!!
Darcy

[Fisheyes]

Good for you Darcy ;D
Ken

[darcy]

Thanks Ken!!!! There's a few of them with your name on them in the next batch!!!!!

Darcy

[Fisheyes]

Hey right on ;D ;D ;D
I will do my best to get these pigeons up and running .
Hope the flu gets better
Ken

[darcy]

Wow man If I could strike an arc on my head I would weld a hole through it to relieve the pressure!!!!!!! My finger's are crossed for ya!!!
darcy

We were all just giving our opinions. No one opinion is more right then others. Facing this information Andy had to make a decision, in the end the fish made the decision for him. Hindsight is 20/20 and in this case $65 is too much to pay for 4 dead fish and 2 soon-to-be-dead fish. His first experience with Discus will be much more rewarding starting with healthy fish in my opinion.

Dave

[ronrca]

Darcy?!!!!!!!!

Im over here!! I need experience too!!!! ;D send fry this way!

LOL!

Like Dave said, the discus decided! Again, patience is a virtue and sometimes waiting a week will often decide things for you. I never buy the first time I see a fish that I like in the lfs. I think about it, do the research, check my tanks and go back a week later. O, yeah! Sometimes have to wait a month to save the money anyways! >

I like larrylob's points although not many agree with 'cheap learning' or 'cheap experience'! I guess Im not really a good when it comes to saving money (the opposite of my wife who can save a lot of money in a short period of time) although this hobby sure is teaching me to be! O, well! I love these messageboards!

[AndyL]

I'm actually somewhat surprised this turned into such a flame war, to me it seemed a pretty simple question!

Like many of you, I don't normally rescue sick fish. But at the same time, the deal was pretty good (for the record, 40$ canadian) I've paid a lot more than that just for shipping for some of my fish. And their only problem was most likely ich. If they died, they died, would have happened anyway. I've been wanting discus for some time now, and the price has always been what has stopped me from buying them.

Yes, LPS fish are usually piss poor, and reputable dealers are the way to go (It only took me 30ish angelfish to learn this) But lets face it, sometimes you've gotta learn to drive the chevette before you go get the corvette.

Anywho, thanks to darcy, looking forward to hearing of the progress of your next spawn. Thanks to the rest of you for your words of wisdom, and kind words. In the meantime, I think I'll go do some more discus reading (usefull links always greatly appreciated).

Andy

Andy,
I don't see how this thread turned into a "flame war"??
You asked for opinions, and various people gave them. Some people gave their opinions and were content to leave it at that. Others couldn't accept any other opinion but their own and kept popping back in to argue ... ;D
It never became a flame war...of course that's just my opinion :

good luck with your fish...

[Ralph]

I've definately seen worse arguments on the board. Normally it's pretty calm here though. There are certain issues that bring out a wide range of responses and you happened to touch on one of them. Not your fault and maybe some good came out of it.
Anyways, don't let it discourage you from asking some more questions and good luck with your new fish.

Way to go Darcy!

[lovdiscus]

Just reading this thread and found it interesting...just wondering if all the newbies realized that most if not all LFS do not have water supply adequate for Discus.

I have not found one yet that had Discus on a separate filtration system....they cannot afford to do that.
They have all their tanks connected to one large filtration system normally set at 76-78F . So, if you see ick in one tank-it is basically in all tanks. What causes the fish to get the ich is the stress of the fish and weakness to the water conditions. I find it humorous that they label the "Hospital" tanks in many shops - but the hospital tank is connected to all the rest of the tanks...?? New aquarist don't realize this.

So, basically, I guess I am saying that some local breeder with very high quality Discus could have brought them to the store in fine condition...but once in the system, the Discus become stressed and suseptible to illness.

There is the possiblity that you can purchase these and take them home, treat them with TLC and meds and they can become beautiful fish. It is an unknown outcome.
Without knowing where the fish originated- no one knows.
I think it is up to the person buying them..knowing the odds.

Just putting my two cents in....thats all.