Searching for a strain

[tonytheboss1]

:confused: Does anyone know if any of the sponsors here sell Manacapuru Red/Blue Discus? Is this a reliable venue? https://www.discusfish.com/product/extremely-rare-xxl-monster-manacapuru-redblue-discus.html Curios as to first hand experiences but opinions are also welcome as to mixing w/ Stendkers I presently have. Thanx in advance.

[Altum Nut]

Hello Tony,

I cannot comment on the vender you have mentioned having never dealt with them.
I would encourage you check out some SD sponsors I have listed below who deal in wild Discus who are extremely reputable.

- Discus Origins (Mark Chen) - Ocala, Florida
- SNOOKN21's Wild Discus/Freshwater Tropicals (John) - Fort Myers, Florida

Good luck,
...Ralph

[Larry Bugg]

Manacapura is a location in the Amazon. I've had wild blue Manacapura wild discus but I have not heard of Manacapura reds. THEY ARE NOT RARE!!! The pictures looks like average wild blues. Nothing really special and the price reflects that. I'm not sure what they mean by "long term captive". Are they old discus? Are they not really wilds but offspring from wilds?

[rickztahone]

:confused: Does anyone know if any of the sponsors here sell Manacapuru Red/Blue Discus? Is this a reliable venue? https://www.discusfish.com/product/extremely-rare-xxl-monster-manacapuru-redblue-discus.html Curios as to first hand experiences but opinions are also welcome as to mixing w/ Stendkers I presently have. Thanx in advance.

I'm not sure about the reliable venue, but it does say that they have Jack Wattley certification. Does that mean something? Well, over the years you have heard less and less of J. Wattley because they aren't what they use to be many years ago. With that being said, I do not have first hand experience so I will not bad-mouth someone I have not dealt directly with.

[yogi]

Check the phone numbers in your link and they are the same phone numbers as Wattley Discus. http://wattleydiscus.com/

[William Palumbo]

They advertise Schmidt-Focke Discus...which is BS as those strains disappeared years ago...Bill

[blueluv]

They advertise Schmidt-Focke Discus...which is BS as those strains disappeared years ago...Bill
Who is Schmidt-Focke and what's his involvement with discus. My apologies for this question as I've never heard of him

[DISCUS STU]

This correct. I purchased these fish from Gabriel at Jack Wattley's in Florida about a month ago. These fish are true to the pictures. He also had some very nice Heckels. I purchased one of each.

After proper quarantine I would mix them with any other fish though others may have different opinions regarding this.

[DISCUS STU]

Who is Schmidt-Focke and what's his involvement with discus. My apologies for this question as I've never heard of him

Good question. Dr. Eduard Schmidt-Focke was a German biologist and one of the original pioneers of Discus keeping. It was he who first line bred Discus to create new strains from the original wild strains. This really hadn't been done before that. His unique breakthrough was the original Red Turquoise, still abundantly available today and a very hardy, beautiful strain that eventually led to the Pigeon Blood strain, not created by Professor Schmidt-Focke. He was a giant, one of the "founding fathers" of Discus keeping as well as I believe in developing the Betta fish, or at least he did a great deal of work on the latter.

Much of his original work goes back to the early 60's and 70's. He died about 10 years ago. We owe much of this hobby and everything that has come afterward to his work. Without him, Jack Wattley (still alive) and a few others I doubt there would be the proliferation of Discus keeping and Discus strains that we see today.

[MendoMan]

Good question. Dr. Eduard Schmidt-Focke was a German biologist and one of the original pioneers of Discus keeping. It was he who first line bred Discus to create new strains from the original wild strains. This really hadn't been done before that. His unique breakthrough was the original Red Turquoise, still abundantly available today and a very hardy, beautiful strain that eventually led to the Pigeon Blood strain, not created by Professor Schmidt-Focke. He was a giant, one of the "founding fathers" of Discus keeping as well as I believe in developing the Betta fish, or at least he did a great deal of work on the latter.

Much of his original work goes back to the early 60's and 70's. He died about 10 years ago. We owe much of this hobby and everything that has come afterward to his work. Without him, Jack Wattley (still alive) and a few others I doubt there would be the proliferation of Discus keeping and Discus strains that we see today.

A couple others would be Degen and Axelrod. I still have several of their books. That's all there was before the net.

[pitdogg2]

Good question. Dr. Eduard Schmidt-Focke was a German biologist and one of the original pioneers of Discus keeping. It was he who first line bred Discus to create new strains from the original wild strains. This really hadn't been done before that. His unique breakthrough was the original Red Turquoise, still abundantly available today and a very hardy, beautiful strain that eventually led to the Pigeon Blood strain, not created by Professor Schmidt-Focke. He was a giant, one of the "founding fathers" of Discus keeping as well as I believe in developing the Betta fish, or at least he did a great deal of work on the latter.

Much of his original work goes back to the early 60's and 70's. He died about 10 years ago. We owe much of this hobby and everything that has come afterward to his work. Without him, Jack Wattley (still alive) and a few others I doubt there would be the proliferation of Discus keeping and Discus strains that we see today.


All correct I had them 20yrs ago, Mine were Schmidt-Focke #9 as they were called. Yes he did create a BLACK betta that is long gone from this earth.

[pitdogg2]

A couple others would be Degen and Axelrod. I still have several of their books. That's all there was before the net.

Back when Jack Wattley bred his own fish instead of being a re-seller of Asian Discus today. Jack made a lot of nice strains that he and the other 3 were very involved with also.

[DISCUS STU]

A couple others would be Degen and Axelrod. I still have several of their books. That's all there was before the net.
I have their books too! I also have a great article by Dr. Schmidt-Focke from Tropical Fish Hobbyist from back in the early 60's heralding one of the first, if the actual first, Discus breeding's. long before most people knew anything about Discus. It goes into detail about how he did it, I believe he possibly mentions hormones for the male to increase his fertility. It's really a nice piece with great photography. I happened to have found it in a pile of magazines in a fish store a few years ago. The ads are hilarious.

Dr. Axelrod, originally form Bayonne, NJ, popularized Discus and tropical fish as a hobby with his Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine and his TFH publishing empire, but wasn't really responsible for the development of Discus even though the Brown Discus, Symphysodon Aquefasciata Axelrodi, is named for him. Bernd Degen came later, more in the 80's and 90's.

Yup, this was all there was before the internet. And the guy from the lps that usually may or may not have been barkin' some malarkey.

Dr. Schmidt-Focke seemed to have been a very humble man who actually took his wife's last name (the Focke part) as she was the last of her line. From his book, as a young German genetiscist in WW2 the Nazi's, every the bullies, used to piss into the fish tanks he was using for his research into genetics.

[tonytheboss1]

:bandana: WOW!!!! Thanx everyone for the input. DISCUS STU appreciate the feedback on the venue. "Ralph" thanx for the sponsor leads. I will follow up.
BOOKS! BOOKS! Don't get me started. Schmidt-Focke, Degen, Burgess, G.Axelrod, H.Axelrod, G.Untergasser, D.Untergasser, Scott, Yamada, Mori, W.Emmens, C. Proneck, J. Stuart, L.Schultz, J. Dawes and of course Mr. J. Wattley just to name a few on my shelves. lol Yes some of the books are dated but there is value in history. I still refer to some of them because although not all current, some of the info is still valid. Before I found 'Simply' my learning & understanding of this wonderful fish began in these books so forgive an old mans sentimental attachment. Thanx again all for your help! "T"

[pitdogg2]

hey Tony your Neapolitan Mastiff is quite the looker....So much more dog to come..he he ..keep a drool towel handy:)

[DISCUS STU]

Some of these were great books and the only source of good info. at the time, and the occasional TFH or FAMA article. FAMA (Fresh Water & Marine Aquarium) was really a great mag. with very seriously written, articles that were more in depth than TFH.

[tonytheboss1]

hey Tony your Neapolitan Mastiff is quite the looker....So much more dog to come..he he ..keep a drool towel handy:)


:bandana: lol lol Yea Ivan that's a likeness of one I had who is now about 6yrs old & close to 160lbs!! He's with family out west cause I just didn't have the room for him to thrive. And yes he's quite the drooler! lol "T"