New @LFS albino orange finned Sterbi

[triplecrown333]

Babyjizay, I am old and low tech, I do not know how to post photos on this site. I'll learn in June. The store is Pacific Aquarium on Delancy Street. They are open 7 days and are worth a visit, nice fish, great plants. Maybe the best in NYC for plants. They are not real close to any subway stops, about a 1/4 mile from the Delancy St. station.

i used to live on broad st in fidi...take the f train to delancey street , it takes you like a block away...

[Elliots]

The Delancy St station is Delancy and Essex, that is where I get out to go to Shopsins. Essex St is a continuation of Ave. A. Pacific is located several blocks west of there, just east of the street that becomes Second Ave. (Christie Street?)..I usually drive so I'd guess 5-6 blocks. When I walk there it is from my apt. that is way west of the store.

[triplecrown333]

yes delancey and essex street is the station, i used to live on henry street when i was a kid, ten minute walk to that pet shop, same owner for years and they used to be across the street..good memories...

[EVhere]

Elliots, (?)nikonds70 has a group of wild Heckel discus that he was trying to sell. I have some from the same guy - Snookn21- and they have turned out spectacular! I know you prefer the brown and red discus but they may be worth a look. Also, DiscusOrigins is representing WB Sabby and I am going to try to get some of his Collection line discus next season. They are expensive but if you are interested then the 2 of us ordering may be able to get some great discus like the ones sent to the EU and Japan.

[Innivus]

Two things:

1- Since this has turned into an NYC-lite thread, shouldn't we maybe try to start up a group? Is that allowed/possible on this forum? It'd be great to get some communication/topics with other discus keepers in the NYC area (1st discussion: is it a blessing or a curse that we have amazing tap water and almost no room for breeding tanks...?)

2- Speaking of NYC discus folks, I was looking to get some of Kraig's Piwowarski extras (Link here)...anybody want to try and jump in and save on shipping? PM me if interested.

[EVhere]

Hey Innivus - I think that is a great idea. I am just learning how to post so I am not quite sure how to set up a NYC specific thread. I agree that NYC is blessed with terrific water for discus but the premium for space per square foot for an aquarium is spectacularly high (with no limit in sight).

[Elliots]

EV thanks for thinking about me to buy Discus. I just got my tank. I do not think I'll be in the Discus market until Aug. or Sept. Snookn21 has beautiful fish, exactly my taste. I was considering flying down to Fla. to pick out fish there but I can't bring them back with me on the plane. I could possibly ship them but I hoped that carrying the fish back would reduce the cost of the airfare. I actually contacted the TSA about carrying fish on a plane. It seems liquid with live fish swimming in it can be carried on a plane but American Airlines would not allow the fish. I did not contact any other airlines. From what I read on SD WB shabby Discus are more expensive than I want to spend on Discus. I'll drive to Hans when I am ready. You can call me on my cell if you like 917 698 1876. The phone is not attached to my ear so leave a message.

[EVhere]

Welcome. I will try to give you a buzz soon. I understand the price issue and Snookn21 gets some very nice discus over the season. By the way, I have read that many hobbyist's recommend not mixing domestic discus from different breeders. Do you follow the same advice with the wilds?

[Elliots]

EV, I do not really know. I have no experience to go by. I will buy a group of 8-12 when I am ready from Hans. I am not opposed to mixing from any suppliers but I think I should buy all my fish to start from one person. That lessens the possibility of one group giving something to another group. Hopefully my first group will live for years. Remember that a lot of people buy Discus and do not have a lot of problems and they don't post problems on SD. You do however, see a lot of posts from happy Discus owners. I last had Discus 25-30 years ago. I kept them at 90 degrees, the recommended temperature at that time. I fed live and flake foods. I changed maybe 50% of water weekly or maybe less frequently and they lived. I think I only had 3 or 4 at the most. Now people keep schools of most fish, that was not true back then..If you are friendly with any of the sponsors on SD ask them how many people they sell to a month, multiply that number by the number of sponsors. Also remember most Discus owners do not buy fish monthly. By people I mean Discus owners and not stores. You'll get a better idea of how many Discus owners do not have problems. It is my feeling that Discus are hardier than it appears by reading SD anddo not have as many problems as it appears by reading SD.

[EVhere]

I have been raising discus on and off for the past 20 years as well and I ,fortunately, have never had any significant problems also. All the wild discus I have had in the past have been very hardy. I asked my question mainly because you seemed to be choosing 1 vendor or the other for your discus and I didn't know if that was a function of being able too see the discus in person before you bought (along with the joy) or if it was due to the theory of not mixing discus. My collection of discus have always come from multiple sources as in the past it was difficult to find good discus.

[Elliots]

EV,I go to LFS frequently to see Discus. I also went to one on Whitney St. in Elmhurst, I do not remember the name but it was two colors, Brown and Blue???. They had a nice selection upstairs and I was shown the basement with literally hundreds of Discus. I look at photos on SD and sometimes at look at videos on SD. If you look at Hans' web site you will see how many tanks he has and what sizes and types are for sale. I think you may actually have to open two of his sites to see everything as a second site seemed to have available sizes and prices. Before I make an appointment to visit I will check to see if he has the sizes and types I want. If he does not I'll try to find out when they may be available and wait. I hope to have the Discus for years so I want what I like. Hans and Snookn21 seem to have the largest selection of types I want of all the suppliers I looked at. There are Discus breeders in Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island and New Jersey but based on what I want Hans is best. By the way, most of the varieties on the market that I actually would not take for free.