Interesting Heckel

[pcsb23]

Jerry,

Very nice indeed. You have some wonderful wilds in your collection. I'm offically jealous

Oh and I thought it may be a blue face heckel too, but I'm no expert at id'ing them.

[AquaticRay]

Very nice fish.

Are these from the friend you were telling me about?

[Apistomaster]

Heckels are my main wild discus project recently and your fish in the photos are very fine indeed. I would side with those who would call it a blue or blue faced Heckel but I also know that their blues often become less intense but it can also go the other way where an average Heckel can become prettier. I think the distinctions are too fine to bother. The health matters more and that is a healthy one. I have 10 that I have grown from 3 in juveniles and there is a lot of variation among and within the group of ten and the individuals. Very dependent on the mood and position a fish is in within the group. Many of mine have developed the sootiness in the unpaired fins as well as the annular ring becoming emphasized now that they have matured enough to think about choosing their mates. These courting fish can become very dark at times and then just as quickly lighten and shown that their blues and reds have become much more intense.
I have expressed my opinion several times in the past that the Heckel is a very different discus from the all others when it comes to their less outgoing and less assertive nature. All their behaviors seem more deliberate yet reserved compared to the other major color forms. They are the essence of the beauty that lies within subtletilties.

[yogi]

Thanks for the compliments. If you visit the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area let me know. I will try to take you to the place where I get the fish. I also have two more pictures that I have tried to post, but I keep getting an error message. One was a group of RSG's, and the other was an almost Royal blue guarding eggs.

[Apistomaster]

Hi Yogi,
Thank you for your kind invitation. I don't get out of the PNW these days now that I'm on Social Security. I bought many of my present Heckels from Keith Titus down there.
Royal Blue discus were the very first discus I had spawn for me. It happened on the same day as the first moon landing so I was torn between to tv an the tank. I was seventeen then, but I also had a fishshop and had been perfecting my discus keeping skills for a year by then. I have bred RSG wild male with a tankraised strain of browns about a year later. In fact my first three mated pairs were all wild fish. It was not until I raised some of my own F1 fish that I bred a tank raised discus. They all are not terribly difficult but all that goes right out the window when it comes to breeding Heckels. I tried some back then but now is the first time where that breeding Heckels has become a serious project. In the meanwhile I continue to keep raising turquoise and soon a type being sold as red fire dragons. The fish shops can sell these easily so they help keep my boat afloat. They are beautiful fish but my first love wil always be the wild types.
I would really like to see a pure tank raised Heckel become available and maintained pure. Always struck me odd that after over 50 years in the hobby no pure tank raised Heckels have become established.

[brewmaster15]

Heres some Pics Jerry asked me to post of his collection...

-al

[Apistomaster]

Jerry,
Those are some mighty fine looking discus you have there. You definitely know how to both pick them and care for them. I only wish I had more room to expand my collection. I may be making Heckels my main project that does not alter the fact that I really like RSG and Royal Blue forms. Wild royal blues were the very first discus that spawned for me. It is hard to beat the royal blue when it comes to handing out the prizes but heavily red spotted greens are also in a class of their own. One other thing I like about these is that unlike Heckels they are relatively easy to breed. Unfortunately the wild blue and greens do not breed very true and only a small % of their fry turn out like their parents. That is where I think, if we can get the Heckels cooking, we can expect them to produce Heckel phenotype progeny. This is also why I am of the opinion that the Heckel is a valid species. It has been the results of nearly 50 years of selective breeding of the best of the blues and greens that have resulted in the huge selection of domestic color types we have to choose from today.
You really do have some beautiful fish, Jerry.
Larry Waybright

[jim_shedden]

Jerry: I think that it is a blue face.
Stunning fish.........thanks for the pics

Jim