Non hormonal and hormonal Discus ?

[sharis]

Can anyone please spot on this, whats the difference between non hormonal and hormonal discus fish

[Akili]

Hormone Fed Discus are very bright and vibrant and as time goes they fade in colour and lose its brightness.It is not natural for young discus fry to be colorful.Young fry are born a light golden brown colour.Male Discus that are exposed to hormones have ended up sterile most of the time.

[sharis]

thanks Akili for the explanation .

[DISCUS STU]

Haris this is a good question and one that doesn't get enough attention.

Here's some of my observations re hormoned fish. I've normally seen and unfortunately bought these fish over the years, usually as adolescents, almost never see this in adults. The unscrupulous practioners can vary from minimal to extreme in their use of the hormone, which is usually methyl testosterone.

1) Unnaturally overly red eyes.
2) Strange metallic sheen to their blue coloration, appearing almost as a coating, almost flake like.
3) Unusually vibrant, strong coloration in juvenile and adolescent fish 1"-1.5" or so when fish this young should not be fully colored.
4) Coloration will often fade as opposed to becoming stronger as the fish grows.
4) Unusual strong aggression in adolescent fish. This is also a side effect of the hormone. Depending on how much is dosed this aggression can be very strong. About 20 years I bought two Blue Diamonds, they were new at the time, that were about 1.25". They fought endlessly and also killed about 7 Cory catfish that were housed with them in quarantine. Eventually they both died and appeared to also have Hole in the Head, which shouldn't not have happened. I attribute this to extreme hormone poisoning.
5) Often attendant health issues affecting skin and internal organs. Again this depends on the dosage given
6) It will often affect the overall health of the fish and their growth often resulting in stunted fish, though this could also be related to applying this to often sub standard fish to begin with.

Treating with hormones, also known as "Juicing", is done to make young fish more attractive to buyers as Discus normally would not develop prominent markings and coloration until much later in their development and would be less "sellable". It is also a way of taking "junk" C grade Discus and making them more attractive to unwary buyers.

Juicing is a disgusting, unethical, and reprehensible practice that is very common and can be seen in Discus, and some other types of fish, at many lfs / lps stores, especially the larger chain stores. Better breeders and importers for the most part do not engage in or sell fish of this type with one seller going as far as advertising that his company is the "Home of Hormone Free Discus" in the banner on his website.

[sharis]

Nicely Explain , Thanks DISCUS STU. Actually I seen a video of My LFS that claims its the non Hormonal Discus. its first time I heard that thing so i wanna know about it,
I am hoping that the discus I had from last year, are Non Hormonal. :huh: