Is this red leopard something special?

[bernie82]

This fish is 3.5 inches. I would appreciate some opinions. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being best, please rate this fish. Should it bring a premium price?

[Nightowl]

How old is this fish? what is your definition of a premium price? Having asked those questions, is it special? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
So I'll go out on a limb as a good owl should and give you my opinion: it has a nice pattern, but the eye/ head look a bit large in relation to the rest of the body. If it was a 5" fish, it would be ok, but a 3.5" fish w/ that much color is undersized,IMO, for its apparent age. Some females like that can produce lots of fry that grow out normally, so with that in mind I rate it a 6.5. Again, this is JMO. J.T.

[Rick00]

That fish is on aquabid.....

I like the pattern.....i dont like the eye to body ratio........so therefore, i wouldn't buy it....

Rick

[crazy4discus]

yeah ill pass too

[beta]

Looks like a leopard snakeskin, the shape is ok but the eye to body proportion is not good.

[yogi]

I don't think that fish is anything special at all. Yes it does have a nice round shape, but it also has a what seems to be a large eye. Leopards do seem to color up at a younger age so that is not a problem. What does happen a lot is the spots turn into striations as the fsh grows. I think I already see some of that happening in the center of the body.

Bernie your somewhere out in California. There's a lot of breeders and importers out there. You would be better off visiting one of them and handpicking your fish. The fish might cost more than an Aquabid fish, but that will be made up by saving on the shipping costs. Probably at most there is someone within a 2 hour drive.

[bernie82]

Hey guys. Thank you so much for the input. I learned something very important from your replies. You all easily noticed a serious flaw in the fish that I didn't recognize. That tells me that I've got a lot to learn about recognizing quality.
I'm trying to buy a few really nice juviniles for future breeding stock. I thought a flashy, nice round fish like that would be a good choice for future breeding. Go figure!
I get the feeling that even if the fish didn't have a problem with it's eyes /bodysize, you guys still wouldn't have been impressed with it.
Anyone have a suggestion as to what strain would be good to breed and easy to sell fry from. I'm currently breeding Blue Diamonds, and raising some Thai yellows and San Marah's that are about a 6 months away from breeding.
Thanks for the help.

[Jeff]

Consider red turqs, red melons, ocean greens

[April]

another thing.with leopards to breed..is a very small amount in the batch of fry will turn out leopards. the rest....red turqs.
red turqs or alencers...or cobalts all are good breeders and good parental instincts....i have found. think theres not enough nice cobalts or alencers around anymore.
their right about the spots turning to striations. i got some nice spotted oriental leopards which i paid alot for at the time..as time went on. lines.

[Abercrombie6202]

don't think the Discus is that special, but i do like the pattern, but the head/eye to body ratio is pretty bad