Exactly what not to buy!

[timmy82]

Have a look at this ad a pair of discus he thinks @ 7cm & and 1 of them is ready to breed because he keeps flicking the heater and other objects in the tank! The poor person who brought these I didn't catch the tread early enough to worn people........ But a good example to research what your buying and some basic aquarium keeping knowledge.

http://www.qldaf.com/forums/qld-cichlid-trader-classifieds-113/discus-109125/

[Larry Bugg]

You have to have an qldaf account to see the posting.

[timmy82]

You have to have an qldaf account to see the posting.
Sorry Larry I'll cut and paste it:



Discus
REGION: North Brisbane
PRICE : $60 pr
QTY : 1 pr
SIZE : 7cm
SEX : Unknown


I've got two Tangerine Discus I need to sell as I've sold their tank. The biggest one looks like he wants to breed, he's starting to flick the heater and other objects.
So if you want to experiment with some young Discus but don't want to pay a fortune try these. Also they're very hardy, I don't keep my Discus in hot soft water, just regular tap or rain water at room temperature.

82570
ON HOLD

If you want the Koi Angels as well $20 for the two.



Last edited by DeagonTheo; Yesterday at 02:47 PM.

[Larry Bugg]

Yup, they would definitely be on my do not buy list.

[rdiscus]

1 pair? two babies fish :)

[timmy82]

Yeh I thought I would put it up as a good example of what not to buy! For some of the newbies not real familiar with the way discus are. It still has me wondering how many others are out their that think the same as this seller does????

[Tictok]

I think there are many people, such as myself, who kept discus for years not knowing what a quality specimen looked like. I have kept numerous "stunted discus" due to my not educating myself and not being able to identify good stock. I have 1 white discus that I bought 9 months ago, that I thought was a juvenile, who no matter how much fresh daily water changes, power feeding, etc... he remains bug- eyed, slope- headed and sub-par. Should cull...but have it in a tank with Congo tetras and he seems quite content. In January I found this site when setting up a new tank and became re-educated on the specifics of discus care and choosing healthy specimens. The discus I have now are so far superior ( Kenny s) that I sometimes get angry that I was paying 50-75 dollars for such low quality stock. However, I do not blame the LFS... those stunted discus still captivated me :) - the healthy ones, even more so.

[Elliots]

The fish do not look so bad. They are still small, 7 CM. Unless they have been that size for a while good husbandry will fix them. At 7 CM I do not think it is likely that they are a pair or ready to breed. They are probably shoaling, not pairing off. I would guess that the minimum breeding size is 4-5" (10-13CM) or more.

[Madaboutdiscus]

If those fish are over 12 months old they are not going to get any bigger. Just because they're small doesn't mean they're young and they'll continue growing. Those are badly stunted discus. Look at the eyes and the body shape. They'll not get much bigger if any at all.

~Victoria

[timmy82]

I think there are many people, such as myself, who kept discus for years not knowing what a quality specimen looked like. I have kept numerous "stunted discus" due to my not educating myself and not being able to identify good stock. I have 1 white discus that I bought 9 months ago, that I thought was a juvenile, who no matter how much fresh daily water changes, power feeding, etc... he remains bug- eyed, slope- headed and sub-par. Should cull...but have it in a tank with Congo tetras and he seems quite content. In January I found this site when setting up a new tank and became re-educated on the specifics of discus care and choosing healthy specimens. The discus I have now are so far superior ( Kenny s) that I sometimes get angry that I was paying 50-75 dollars for such low quality stock. However, I do not blame the LFS... those stunted discus still captivated me :) - the healthy ones, even more so.

Good points there mate we all start some where and develop and learn as we do. I thought I would pop this up just to expose the new comers that this isn't the right thing to look for. And their missinterpritation of flicking and darting that is not good the fish obviously has parasite issues not wanting to breed or maybe they might start a dwarf strain for those who carn't afford bigger tanks?

[Snow]

Since I am new to Discus (not FW tanks) I appreciate any & all things such as this! It's great for us new to the breed to actually see whats not good!

[forhonor]

Thanks for the info

[timmy82]

Glad it exposes the newbie to discus what to watch out for.

[FynePrint]

Thanks guys for the info.