Red Cover X San Merah

[Mando]

So I fell in love with two particular style of fish. Similar families (same base) One is the Rose red w/ blue face & blue rim and the other is the golden San Merah or Golden Rose red. I'm waiting on Kenny for the Rose red blue's and I found the Golden Rose reds from Discus America.

I cannot speak on behalf of Discus America just yet, however, their packaging has been THE best packaging I've seen from any online fish retailer that I have purchased from. The fish, to me, look amazing and very nice for how young they are. It has also been the easiest acclimation I have done yet. The fish settled in like if they have always been in my tank.

Here are the parents.


http://youtu.be/X4QC0XF4Mwg


and, these are their kids? my kids!
124829
124830
124831124832124833124834124836124835

[brewmaster15]

Congrats Mando!

I am looking forward to watching them color up as they grow... at least one in the group already has a nice base red and looks distinctly different.

al

[jeep]

124831

On the left. I'd like to see this one fully grown...

[brewmaster15]

On the left. I'd like to see this one fully grown...

Bingo.. thats the one I was looking at too Brian.:)

[danotaylor]

+1 me too...blue face emerging already as well!

[Mando]

Congrats Mando!

I am looking forward to watching them color up as they grow... at least one in the group already has a nice base red and looks distinctly different.

al

Thanks, Al! I hope he maintains the red and a deep red at that. He barely shows bars and I see another that is starting to darken up like him but with bars. He's the one right of him on the first photo and complete left on the 7th photo.


On the left. I'd like to see this one fully grown...

I think he will be my favorite. He's already the one that stands out in the group. This was fresh after plopping them into the tank. Tomorrow they should be a bit darker.


+1 me too...blue face emerging already as well!

I struggled with this youtube link! lol. I kept telling myself, fix it before Dan gets you. I finally realized it was set as URL instead of Video.

[danotaylor]

Lol, that's funny. I never thought my link fixing put fear in the hearts of anyone in the community, haha ;):p

[Mando]

Lol, that's funny. I never thought my link fixing put fear in the hearts of anyone in the community, haha ;):p

No fear but it was in the back of my mind when I posted haha. As for a small update, the fish are eating already which surprised me; they destroyed a full block of red worms. If you guys noticed the sand particles in the tank, that's from a bio block I broke in half to seed the filter. This was a brand new tank and the debris did not come from the fish.

I may have to water change this tank straight from Tap since it's in a different part of the house and it's no where near the aged, heated, water storage drum I have outside. However, I could always carry buckets. I figured 2x 5g buckets is equivalent to 30% water change in a 30g tank. I would have to do this twice a day - Morning and Night.

[jeep]

Yeah, the one on the left looks more like a true San Merah which is barless. They are very faint and hopefully will fade out as it matures. True San Merah's are not that common, at least not tat I've seen because I've been looking. Many people sell using the name Red Cover (supposed to be barless) or Rose Red (has bars). I would love to acquire some Blue Faced San Merah's.

[Mando]

Yeah, the one on the left looks more like a true San Merah which is barless. They are very faint and hopefully will fade out as it matures. True San Merah's are not that common, at least not tat I've seen because I've been looking. Many people sell using the name Red Cover (supposed to be barless) or Rose Red (has bars). I would love to acquire some Blue Faced San Merah's.

I did not read much on it, but I think the blue faced San Merahs derived from a cross with a Ghost? Even though the bars are faint compared to the others, it still has a dominant bar crossing his eye. Are San Merah's even true? Aren't they a cross between red covers, virgin reds, and rose reds?

Mark Volders had a beautiful line of BLue face/Blue rim Red Covers (barless) and Unfortunately, he sold this pair and lost the line. Don't quote me but I think he got them from Goh in Malaysia. I believe Dalatdiscus will get another shipment soon. He just imported 6 from Goh and they were gone before they arrived.

There are two in here that I would have bought in a heart beat.
124854

[danotaylor]

Me too, middle one and upside down one in top left of pic...wow!

[Mando]

Me too, middle one and upside down one in top left of pic...wow!

Exactly!

[Mando]

These guys are aggressive! They fight constantly when the worms go in. The red base you guys like is not eating much but you could see him in a stand off for food on one of the pics. I've treated the tank with salt and increased the temperature a little bit.

124917
124918
124919
124920
124921
124922

[Mando]

These guys are now feeding on the tetra color bits so I will add the auto feeder while I'm at work. I was making sure that all of them are feeding before auto feeding. They devoured the two portions of color bits I fed yesterday within seconds. I cannot wait to start offering Al's worms. I am currently out at the moment.

The red base finally started eating. These fish are very aggressive when they eat and are constantly battling each other. Hardcore face to face matchups.

If a mod could mod could move this thread, I would greatly appreciate it. This is not a tank journal, it's a growout.

[brewmaster15]

Done!

al

ps... fish are looking Great Mando!:)

[Mando]

First time feeding Al’s fdbw! Success :o


124990124991124992124993124994

[Mando]

Little 7 day update. Can’t tell if they’ve grown. I’m literally in their privacy 24/7. Lol

125068125069125070125071125072

[danotaylor]

Looking good mate!! Definitely look like they have grown to me. Nice clean set up...

[Mando]

Looking good mate!! Definitely look like they have grown to me. Nice clean set up...

Thank you! I hope they continue to round out. I check water parameters twice a day to make sure water quality is to discus standard. I do 25% wc in the morning and 50% right after 6pm feed. So far no issues with ammonia, nitrates, or nitrites and that’s that I feed up to 8 times a day.

[jeep]

They look very nice!! Hopefully we will be enhancing their diet soon :eek:

[Mando]

They look very nice!! Hopefully we will be enhancing their diet soon :eek:

Yep! get them nice and fat. Thank you :bounce:

[Second Hand Pat]

These guys look great Armando. Nice job raising them out :D
Pat

[Mando]

These guys look great Armando. Nice job raising them out :D
Pat

Thank you, Pat :). Just learning from the best.

[Mando]

Friday (7day) update.

I'm falling in love ;). I had to up the water changes. Good thing I was checking water quality twice a day. I came home one day to 40 ppm nitrite. I immediately did 80% water change. So now, my routine is 50% in the morning and 80% in the evenings. The fish showed no ill sign and it was caught through simple testing. I want these to be the best size possible so I'm WC'ing and testing quality twice a day.

Here are pics from this morning's water change.

125140
Meet Smalls. He's the runt but he's the aggressive eater and the bully of the tank.
125141
125142
125143
125144

[danotaylor]

Good catch mate, they look great. You could add salt at 2-3tbsp/10gal for a couple of days to help clear any nitrite poisoning from their systems

[Mando]

Good catch mate, they look great. You could add salt at 2-3tbsp/10gal for a couple of days to help clear any nitrite poisoning from their systems

I added salt immediately, but I'm using Sera Nitrate test and not sure if that's accurate. I might buy the API one and just compare the two.

[Second Hand Pat]

Armando, are we talking nitrite or nitrate? They look great :D
Pat

[Mando]

Armando, are we talking nitrite or nitrate? They look great :D
Pat

Good catch, Pat!
Nitrates! I just realized I typed nitrite above.
Ammonia was 0 and Nitrites were 0

[jeep]

They all look nice, but this one is extra nice. Great shape!!
125181

[danotaylor]

Haha, you're good then mate. Nitrite at 4ppm is potentially lethal, nitrate on the other hand is pretty much harmless at 4, and corrected with your WC schedule. Lol
The salt won't hurt either way, just don't replace it with your wc's.

[danotaylor]

They all look nice, but this one is extra nice. Great shape!!
125181

Good one Jeep, I hope that isn't permanent marker you put on the front of Mando's tank ;)

[Mando]

Haha, you're good then mate. Nitrite at 4ppm is potentially lethal, nitrate on the other hand is pretty much harmless at 4, and corrected with your WC schedule. Lol
The salt won't hurt either way, just don't replace it with your wc's.

It was 40ppm though. Possibly more.


Good one Jeep, I hope that isn't permanent marker you put on the front of Mando's tank ;)

Omg this made me laugh. Lol

[Mando]

They all look nice, but this one is extra nice. Great shape!!
125181

That’s the one you and Al keep pointing out. Every so often, the bar across his eyes are gone. But when I bring the camera it comes right back.

[LizStreithorst]

Don't worry a bit. Your fish look great.

[Mando]

Don't worry a bit. Your fish look great.

Thank you, Liz! :sun:

[jeep]

Good one Jeep, I hope that isn't permanent marker you put on the front of Mando's tank ;)

That means "I got dibs" :p

[Mando]

That means "I got dibs" :p

You sure do! I plan on breeding these. I'm going to keep them in their own tank once they hit adult stage and I'll throw my red cover in there. Might be nice to mix one with my red cover. I'm foreseeing two new 100g+ tanks. One full of these guys and the other full of the blue face blue rims. I might end up outside with the dogs though if I keep pushing my limits.

[LizStreithorst]

Mando, you are as bad as I am. When you want it you want it so much you end up getting getting it. Also, It seems like you're hooked to death on breeding. Thank God that nobody can tell me what or what not I can do.

Actually, I'm worse than you. I bred 2 mixed breed dogs on purpose. I didn't think that I'd be blessed with 8, but in the batch I have 2 that I will keep. A third is working on my heart. I think that mixed breeds are underrated. I go big on personality, structural correctness, and general appearance. I am addicted to breeding different animals least as much as the worst breeding junky.

Best of luck growing out these good little kids to good big breeding age fish, having them pair up and fry attached.

[jeep]

I saw a blue face with black halo once. Stunning!

[Mando]

I saw a blue face with black halo once. Stunning!

Must have been amazing! Brian, can you check out my tank journal thread and tell me if my fish have an issue? I think their eyes are a bit swollen especially the snakeskin who hit a year this month.


Mando, you are as bad as I am. When you want it you want it so much you end up getting getting it. Also, It seems like you're hooked to death on breeding. Thank God that nobody can tell me what or what not I can do.

Actually, I'm worse than you. I bred 2 mixed breed dogs on purpose. I didn't think that I'd be blessed with 8, but in the batch I have 2 that I will keep. A third is working on my heart. I think that mixed breeds are underrated. I go big on personality, structural correctness, and general appearance. I am addicted to breeding different animals least as much as the worst breeding junky.

Best of luck growing out these good little kids to good big breeding age fish, having them pair up and fry attached.

Well, I have a few addictions in my life LOL. My cars (expensive) and my fish (getting expensive) and I can understand that I tend to go overboard. Maybe I'll do a post with all my cars to share with you guys. I like to restore old Jap cars. Thank you on the Luck :)

[Mando]

Wohoo! it's that 7 day update again! Next week I will be adding to their diet. Let's get these guys FAT!

125236
125237
125238
125239
125240
125241

[Mando]

I swear the quality on my phone looks so much better. Not sure how to upload and keep quality.

125242

[jeep]

I swear the quality on my phone looks so much better. Not sure how to upload and keep quality.

I was thinking the same thing until Pat pointed out that my phone probably has a better quality screen than my laptop. Much of what I thought was missing was actually still there...

[Mando]

I was thinking the same thing until Pat pointed out that my phone probably has a better quality screen than my laptop. Much of what I thought was missing was actually still there...

I guess i'll have to pull out my Cannon t3i to take some pics. This low quality stuff does not allow you to capture the full growth of these fish.

[pastry]

Mando, I think you are running out of space. I'll help you out... just send me a few and I'll keep an eye on them:antlers:

[Mando]

Mando, I think you are running out of space. I'll help you out... just send me a few and I'll keep an eye on them:antlers:

;) Running out of space is an understatement. I need to build a fish room next!

I’m not sure what happened but two of the X’s took off in growth and left every one else behind. They were all growing so evenly. Can’t wait to get them nice and round. I’m praying I do a good job :cry:

[Mando]

Friday update :) I really cannot tell if they have grown but here are the photos. They are now eating beef heart.
125308
125309
125310
125311
125312
125313
125314
125315
125316
125317

[Mando]

125318125319125320

[Second Hand Pat]

These guys look fabulous Armando :) They have definitely grown to my eye. Loving the hints of color showing up.
Pat

[pastry]

OMG... sorry, but for a brown-based red fanatic, this is porn

[bluelagoon]

Looking nice!!!

[jeep]

OMG... sorry, but for a brown-based red fanatic, this is porn

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

[danotaylor]

They're a beautiful group Mando. Every week your tank looks in pristine condition. It's no wonder they're growing so nicely! Well done mate :)

[Mando]

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Brian, they love the beef heart. This is their morning food. I tend to feed them more of this on the weekends.


They're a beautiful group Mando. Every week your tank looks in pristine condition. It's no wonder they're growing so nicely! Well done mate :)

I try to keep this one super clean but these fish are very Skittish. I've never had discus this skittish. I started feeding Al's worms again to these guys and now they see my hand as food. So hopefully that addresses the issue. I also keep a dualsponge filter and I added a sponge to the spicket on the HOB.


Looking nice!!!

Thank you! :)


OMG... sorry, but for a brown-based red fanatic, this is porn

LOL. you just killed me laughing. They developed some red over the weekend. Can't wait to update you guys on Thursday.

[Mando]

I will be in New York from Thurs to Monday. I will not feed the day of departure and I will do 90% water-change as late as I can before my trip. I'm not worried about the main tank and the shrimp tank. But these guys I am.

Maybe I should stop feeding Wednesday to avoid nitrate from climbing.

[jeep]

I'm glad they like the BH. I've never seen a discus that hasn't taken to this recipe on the first feeding. I'll be making a new batch as soon as I can 5 gallons of salsa that's been taking up all the space in my fridge :D.

To stop feeding will certainly help keep water quality in check. When I was traveling, I was gone 4 days at a time every week so I had auto feeders feeding very lightly 3 times per day then pounded them on the weekends with water changes and BH. I think yours will be fine for this short time.

[Mando]

I got a little more info on their history. Meet an uncle. He was a big 7" inch Golden San Merah male.

125347

[pastry]

Mando, where were the updates from Thursday? This is technically blue balls!:antlers:

[Mando]

Mando, where were the updates from Thursday? This is technically blue balls!:antlers:

Hahaha.

I left those poor little guys with no food :( they should be fine. I'm always scared when I go on trips to come back and find myself a disaster.

[danotaylor]

You'll be fine mate. I went to Australia for 18 days. I had a non fish savy mate stop in and feed 2 AFDBW cubes every 3rd day and no wc's. Can home to a happy, health, HUNGRY bunch of lovely discus! Lol :D

[Mando]

You'll be fine mate. I went to Australia for 18 days. I had a non fish savy mate stop in and feed 2 AFDBW cubes every 3rd day and no wc's. Can home to a happy, health, HUNGRY bunch of lovely discus! Lol :D

I came home to a main tank who's water evaporated and my reef octopus pump grinding! luckily, the pump worked miraculously once I added water. Everyone was fine! shrimp tank never turned off despite the internal timer on the light. :angry: I had some algae growth but was wiped clean already. The juvies were fine. They stayed in ambient lighting the whole time but I did forget to turn on their sponge filter and HOB filter for two days. I had my mother inlaw go into the room and connect it. Unfortunately, I have to turn these off when doing water changes because of how skittish they are.

[Mando]

Small update.

This was early in the morning and they were very light colored. I will take a picture in the afternoon when they are more red.


125410
125411
125412
125413
125414

[danotaylor]

Rounding out nicely mate. They look awesome!

[Mando]

Rounding out nicely mate. They look awesome!

Yea. It's been a crazy week with the return of my trip, 4 exams at school, and loads of work to catch up at work that I had too much going on in my head. I, once again, forgot to turn on their filter and, this time, I had the auto feeder on. Unfortunately, I put them through an ammonia spike and I had about .25ppm of nitrite. I was so disappointing in my self that I kinda wanted to give everything up. But, I will stick it out since I don't think two weeks will jeopardize their growth. I think I still have a nice shot to get them as big as their uncles.

On the plus side, I made top 15% of my class which is a huge accolade. Now, to aim for top 10%. I'll definitely hit Dean's list again this semester for 6 semesters in a row.

[Mando]

Here so you can indulge

12542012542112542212542312542412542512542612542712 5428

[jeep]

You are doing a great job with them Armando!!!

[Tshethar]

You are doing a great job with them Armando!!!

+1

And congrats on your academic accomplishments. Nice going! Hard to balance everything but sure looks like you're doing great. :thumbsup:

[pastry]

And Indulge I did... I just indulged the hell out of those pics. Armando... friend... brother... you must tell me if you ever have another batch!

[Mando]

And Indulge I did... I just indulged the hell out of those pics. Armando... friend... brother... you must tell me if you ever have another batch!

Will do, Elliot :). It looks like there is quite a line for some of these guys. Sometimes I wish I can fast forward a few months just to see them in their prime stage. Cannot wait for their rings and colors to develop.

[Mando]

Remember, they are much lighter/pale in the mornings. Here is the Friday update :). Enjoy. I will update later with afternoon shots.
12554712554812554912555012555112555212555312555412 5555

[Mando]

I have two that are exceptionally smaller than the others. I'm assuming that their growth spurt will come later on or could it be a female thing?

I'm falling in love with these fish. I'm noticing their rings are developing more and more.


+1

And congrats on your academic accomplishments. Nice going! Hard to balance everything but sure looks like you're doing great. :thumbsup:

Thank you! It was definitely a happy moment. Balancing is hard!.

[Mando]

here are the afternoon shots

125562125570125564125565125566125567125568125569

[Mando]

The fish in 7th photo is called Red. That’s the one Brian and Al are always pointing out. Thr fish in 4th photo is the biggest one of all.

I think #5 and Red have the best shape. What do ya’ll think?

[danotaylor]

They all look great mate. But red is the best shape for sure. When you have a really nice shaped fish like red in a group the minor irregularities of the other fish seem larger than life, lol. Your fish still have a lot of growing and filling out to do yet Mando. You're doing a fabo job with them!

[Mando]

They all look great mate. But red is the best shape for sure. When you have a really nice shaped fish like red in a group the minor irregularities of the other fish seem larger than life, lol. Your fish still have a lot of growing and filling out to do yet Mando. You're doing a fabo job with them!

Thank you, Dan. They have a lot to grow still. So far, this has been my best growing batch so I believe I’ll hit the 6.5” mark, possibly more.

[jeep]

The fish in 7th photo is called Red. That’s the one Brian and Al are always pointing out. Thr fish in 4th photo is the biggest one of all.

I think #5 and Red have the best shape. What do ya’ll think?

Agreed!

[sanjay21]

Great job on the grow out Mando ! lots of potential in this group.

[Mando]

Yes, some of them look promising. Can't wait until they hit a year old to enjoy their beauty.

[Mando]

My Fish Friday update :) I swear I told myself to only upload 1 to 2 photos, but I just can't.

125640125641125642125643125644125645125646

[pantherlax]

Looking really great! Hope you keep posting pics, great to see the progress over the thread

[Mando]

Looking really great! Hope you keep posting pics, great to see the progress over the thread

thank you! I will post every Friday. I kinda like to see a timeline of their growth as well. It’s somewhat rewarding and encouraging when you go back and forth every so often and see the results. I had already forgotten what they looked like when they first arrived.

[Mando]

So, I read somewhere that the blue face blue rim san merahs came from a rose red x ghost. Do you guys think I would get those results if I cross with a ghost such as this one?
I wish I could find the site again, it came up during my research trying to find the blue face blue rimmed San Merahs.

125736

[jawfish]

Hi Mando.

I've seen reports of ghost throwbacks in San Merah spawns so yes I believe that is was crossed at one point. When I was breeding Sanmerah/Red Covers I never got a ghost but I would get quite a few goldens in my spawns so I always assumed it was not a simple rose red x ghost that gave rise to the Sanmerah/Red Covers blue face and rim.

If I would have continued with them I would have definetly expirimented with a ghost cross to reinforce the blue face and rim.

I love your fish. Your doing a great job with them. Keep the pictures coming. I'm really currious where will you be taking them.

Cheers
Fred

[danotaylor]

125736
I think that is one of the roundest discus I have ever seen... beautiful!

[fivestar68]

Absolutely Beautiful.

[FischAutoTechGarten]

That Discus literally looks like a Gei-sha. Absolutely elegant.



So, I read somewhere that the blue face blue rim san merahs came from a rose red x ghost. Do you guys think I would get those results if I cross with a ghost such as this one?
I wish I could find the site again, it came up during my research trying to find the blue face blue rimmed San Merahs.

125736

[Mando]

Little teaser since I skipped last Friday.

125887125888125889

[danotaylor]

Bewdy mate...missed you last week :)

[Mando]

Bewdy mate...missed you last week :)

Swamped with exams again! :(. Tomorrow I have one more exam, a presentation, and a project; all in the same day. Followed by another exam 12/9 and 12/10. and finally these 5 classes will be over. I do start one more class on 12/10/19 (mini term) that runs for 1 month; another high demand, fast paced class.

I will update on Friday with better pics. These guys have grown tremendously. I have 2 that have not grown much and I'm not sure why. They eat like crazy and always have fat bellies. I'm wondering females maybe?

[Mando]

Fish Friday

125916
125917

[Mando]

Sorry about the debris in the tank. I performed a water change and when the filter started running, it released those little white worms everywhere. I also bunched up the pictures so it's not such a LONG post. I'm sure some will appreciate it :)

[Mando]

Measured a few fish yesterday.

Largest is 5" and average is 4.5". smallest being 4".

Sorry no pics. I was nervous as it was to pull them out of the tank.

[Mando]

Almost Friday post!

I wanted to show a 9/10/19 photo of when I got my babies.
126069

And this is Right now. One was showing no bars! Not even across its eyes.

126070
126071

[Mando]

126072
126073126074126075126076126077126078

[danotaylor]

Some lovely red's coming through Mando. You do realize it's Thursday right? :p

Haha just saw the 1sy post today "almost Friday" oh well...

[Mando]

Some lovely red's coming through Mando. You do realize it's Thursday right? :p

Haha just saw the 1sy post today "almost Friday" oh well...

LOL! I was expecting a post like it anyways. Yes, color looks deeper in person.

[jeep]

They never cease to amaze me. Just remember who's got dibs when they become parents :juggle:

[Mando]

They never cease to amaze me. Just remember who's got dibs when they become parents :juggle:

You're at the very top :gossip:

Their shape is just rounding out more! it's thanks to your beef heart and the live worms. They only eat worms when I have time to get them; the success is coming from your beef heart and wc's.
I'm down a slab and a half already. They devour it. About half are on it from the main tank. I'm having trouble getting the other half on it. I noticed some of my fish don't like to eat from the bottom.

The pleco's and the clown loach loves it.

[Mando]

Small update. They are still growing just not as fast. Remember that they are super light coloured in the mornings. I'll take some in the afternoon so you can see their colors.

Also, their siblings (same batch) already have the blue rim. I'm wondering why mine have not gotten blue rims? The supplier sent me photos of their siblings and they ALL have blue rims. He has them in a dark blue tank, mine is all white with no background. So I don't quite understand it if it's an environmental factor.

These are medium sized in the photo. I have two that are much larger and two that are smaller.

[Mando]

126508
126509
126510

[LizStreithorst]

They are beauties!

[danotaylor]

Very nice indeed mate!

[seanyuki]

Great work raising them.may I know what you’re feeding them and how many times per day.

[Mando]

Great work raising them.may I know what you’re feeding them and how many times per day.

I feed live worms in the morning, tetra bits during the day 3 times a day, Frzn beef heart, (WC), and then, finally, Al's FDBW.

Anyone know why mine would not have any rings yet and ALL of their siblings do? I noticed a few have blue/gray shadows but not a defined blue ring.

[Second Hand Pat]

I feed live worms in the morning, tetra bits during the day 3 times a day, Frzn beef heart, (WC), and then, finally, Al's FDBW.

Anyone know why mine would not have any rings yet and ALL of their siblings do? I noticed a few have blue/gray shadows but not a defined blue ring.

Maybe different foods Armando?
Pat

[Mando]

Let me ask to see what they are feeding.

This is them 3wks ago.
126518

Vs. mine

126520

[Larry208]

Looking great.

[danotaylor]

What do mean by "blue ring" Mando? D'ya mean the halo? The other person's tank looks to have a blue/black background. Do you have a background? That could be part of the equation...

[Mando]

What do mean by "blue ring" Mando? D'ya mean the halo? The other person's tank looks to have a blue/black background. Do you have a background? That could be part of the equation...

Yes, the ring. That's what the vendor is telling me. To put them in a darker tank. The tank they are going into has blue background so we will soon see.


Looking great.

Thank you, Larry!

[Mando]

I noticed them a tad bigger this weekend. Not sure if it was a mini growth spurt or they are happier that they are in well water now. I see that their finds are really held high this time and perhaps this is what's making them appear bigger.

I transitioned them to well water over the course of 6 days. About 10 gallons of water per day and finally a 50% on day 5 and 100% on day 6. Only Brian knows this, but a few weeks ago I did 100% water change from tap and 10 minutes later my discus were gasping for air on the surface. After 5 minutes, all were laying flat on the tank bottom. I thought they were dead and I felt so helpless. It was a stressful day.

[ccc]

Wow. This is the first time I've seen this thread, and I'm gobsmacked. These juvies are gorgeous!

[Mando]

Wow. This is the first time I've seen this thread, and I'm gobsmacked. These juvies are gorgeous!

Thank you! These guys give me a lot of work but I think it's paying off.

[sanjay21]

[QUOTE=Mando;1331808]Yes, the ring. That's what the vendor is telling me. To put them in a darker tank. The tank they are going into has blue background so we will soon see.



Darker background definitely helps for these strains. Both blue or black are good choices. Some countries call the Halo as the 'ring' I've noticed that.
Great job raising these guys, always nice to see a threads like these. Thanks for posting these updates :)

[jeep]

Armando, are they still eating the BH?

[Mando]

Armando, are they still eating the BH?

Yes, Brian. They devour it.

THank you, Sanjay. I tried. Many ups and downs but I think I can soon graduate from growing discus. Next batch will be even better kept. ALso, they will be in a better tank today. Hopefully I can get the red to pop and the halo to show. I do see a shadow part on their fin as if it's about to come out anytime soon.

[Bathi]

any updates...:)

[peewee1]

any updates...:)

Yes, it should be time for a few color photos.

[pastry]

You know me, I'm a brown-based red wh*re... "me 3!"

[dornblaser]

That is a beautiful strain of fish!