Heckels Popularity

[wannafish]

Why are the Heckels not as popular as the other wilds.
Looking at ten years ago they seem to be more widespread
and noticeable on this forum. Is it because of their availability
or price?

[pitdogg2]

I sure wish there was more available. I've seen several Heckle crosses, they at one time ( yrs ago) were considered very hard to keep.

[Willie]

In my experience, wild caught Heckels are much more difficult to keep than other wild caught discus. The ones I had were visibly happier with 100% R/O and pH ~5. Under these conditions, a pH crash is not uncommon. Heckel discus can survive much lower pH's, but those crashes would wipe out any cories and plecos in the tank. I was relying on test strips back in the days and had no way to tell just how low the pH dropped.

Pure Heckels are beautiful fish, but you need to devote a tank and a lot of time every day monitoring water conditions to keep them thriving. One local guy was successful with crossing Heckel crosses using very deep tanks and feeding live black worms. Those are not acceptable approaches for me.

[jwcarlson]

One local guy was successful with crossing Heckel crosses using very deep tanks and feeding live black worms. Those are not acceptable approaches for me.

What's the significance of the deeper tanks, Willie? Or in other words, how did deeper tanks contribute to his success?

[Willie]

What's the significance of the deeper tanks, Willie? Or in other words, how did deeper tanks contribute to his success?

He felt that Heckels were more likely to spawn in a 36" - 40" deep tank because these fish do not spawn near the surface. That may or may not be true, but I think using live black worms was a more important factor.

In my experience, discus will gradually get sick with regular feedings of live black worms. But they will spawn more readily. I stopped feeding live black worms 20+ year ago because they negatively impact discus health. Having said that, other species seem to handle live black worms without getting sick.