Fish advice

[pece1976]

My friend is offering me 2 Discus around 7 cm (his cousin just bought them and he is not willing to take care of them, he have other fish too). What do you think of them? сhould I get them or they are not good? I will keep them in BB tank and maybe I'll add one or two more.


http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/5494/photo1qn.jpg

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/8598/photo2ful.jpg

Thanks in advance and sorry for my English.

[kimbo]

I'm no expert but I like the color and pattern of that first fish. What type/strain is that?

[pece1976]

I'm no expert but I like the color and pattern of that first fish. What type/strain is that?

They told me that the first one is Red Turquoise and the 2nd is Blood Pigeon, I would like to know what experience Discus keepers will tell.

[Moon]

The eye to body ratio is off. Apart from that they look good. This first is a turq cross and the second is PB.

[DLock3d]

You could do worse for sure. Wouldn't be a bad pickup for free. Just make sure to quarantine.

[pece1976]

Thanks Moon, is the eye to body ratio that bad on those two samples? Any other "anomalies", shape etc?

edit: thanks Dan

[Bill63SG]

The eye to body ratio shows that they havent been cared for,the eye too large for the body at that size.The pb's body is starting to look a little like a football,another sign that it wasnt cared for.That being said,if for free,they dont look that bad,great starter discus,and if you feed them well and do plenty of water changes,they should grow up to be some ok looking fish.

[sandy]

The eye to body ratio shows that they havent been cared for,the eye too large for the body at that size.The pb's body is starting to look a little like a football,another sign that it wasnt cared for.That being said,if for free,they dont look that bad,great starter discus,and if you feed them well and do plenty of water changes,they should grow up to be some ok looking fish.

+1
go for it

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[pece1976]

thanks Bill and Sandy

One more question. Should I go with only those two for start or its better to get one or two more, its 50 gallon tank. Maximum number of fishes (5)?

[ashtricks]

I love the fact that the PB does not show any peppering! Discus do better in a bigger group. But then another level of complication is added... mixing discus from different sources.. some dont recommend it, some say go for it.

[pece1976]

Thanks @ashtricks

OK you convinced me :). BTW I just saw the fishes and the PB is always chasing the Red Turq, he barely can eat, any advice (maybe to add one more)? I just checked what peppering mean, when peppering start to show, age, size? The PB is around 8-9 cm the Red Turq is 9-10 cm.

If I decide to add one or two more does they have to be more or less the same size or the bigger will not be a problem

[John_Nicholson]

The RT is the better of the two. The PB is a low quality fish. Neither are in bad shape or great shape. If you want to keep discus remember that they will do better in groups of 6 or more, so if you get 2 for free you will still have better luck if you add 4 more.

-john

[pece1976]

my previous comment is not posted, here it is again


Thanks @ashtricks and @Jhon

Today I checked the fishes, the PB is chasing the Red Turq whole the time, he can barely eat, the PB is 8-9 cm while the Red Turq is 9-10, will adding 1 or 2 more change this behavior? If I add more fish do they have to be more or less the same size or adding bigger samples will not be a problem? I just checked what peppering mean, is this size, age related?

The problem is that here (in Macedonia) is not easy to find good samples

[pece1976]

Thanks @ashtricks and @Jhon

Today I checked the fishes, the PB is chasing the Red Turq whole the time, he can barely eat, the PB is 8-9 cm while the Red Turq is 9-10, will adding 1 or 2 more change this behavior? If I add more fish do they have to be more or less the same size or adding bigger samples will not be a problem? I just checked what peppering mean, is this size, age related?

The problem is that here (in Macedonia) is not easy to find good samples

[pece1976]

I don't know why my posts are not published :o

Today I checked the fishes, the PB is chasing the Red Turq whole the time, he can barely eat, the PB is 8-9 cm while the Red Turq is 9-10, will adding 1 or 2 more change this behavior? If I add more fish do they have to be more or less the same size or adding bigger samples will not be a problem?I just checked what peppering mean, is this size, age related?

[Trier20]

I don't know why my posts are not published :o

Today I checked the fishes, the PB is chasing the Red Turq whole the time, he can barely eat, the PB is 8-9 cm while the Red Turq is 9-10, will adding 1 or 2 more change this behavior? If I add more fish do they have to be more or less the same size or adding bigger samples will not be a problem?I just checked what peppering mean, is this size, age related?

Pigeon bloods don't have stress bars. Instead they get black dots on their body that look like someone threw pepper all over them. But to answer you question it's neither size or age relates most due to stress and genetics. If you add more fish to the tank it will spread aggression out more through the group rather than just one fish. They establish a pecking order with an alpha who leads the tank. There will still be bickering between the fish but that's normal. Don't forget to quarantine the new fish for at least 3 weeks to make sure they don't have any illness before adding them to current stock. HTH good luck!

[pece1976]

Thanks Trier20

So basically if its not peppered at young age (the size they are at the moment) it will not appear later? What about the size of the new fish? Can I get a bigger one? Just one for start maybe another one or two next month?

[Trier20]

It can still appear at a later age. Keep up on the water changes and stay away from dark backgrounds and substrate and you have a better chance. I would shoot to get discus of a similar size of the two you have.

[pece1976]

Hi guys just one question (or two :) )

How do you rate these two samples and type/strain please? (sorry if this post appears twice)

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/5215/img0499vb.jpg

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/861/img0504wr.jpg

will post more photos tommorow

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Peco, where did you get them? Not sure about the first, perhaps a PB and the second maybe a scorpion. Being a simple wilds keeper I am not up on the domestic stains as I should be. I am sure others will id better then myself. :)
Pat

[John_Nicholson]

I agree with Pat on the strains...as far as quality I would say low end fish.

-john

[pece1976]

thanks guys!

[pece1976]

Here are some photos (sorry not the best quality) of the same fish

Taken on 17.01.2013

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/281/img0512pt.jpg

Taken on 16.03.2013

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8839/img0162rx.jpg

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/9163/img0171bk.jpg

I know that they are not the best looking fish, but its impossible to find "first class" Discus in Macedonia. I'm glad that they are doing fine and are healthy.

[pece1976]

Here is a photo from the Blue (Scorpion?)

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7513/img0331ry.jpg

Photos are not edited, all are taken with an iPhone 5.

What do you say about the progress?