What's the best discus???

[Barney]

I want to start a new tank but I don't know which discus to get! ???

[United21Soccer]

Red melons ;D ;D

[Carol_Roberts]

The best discus is a healthy discus from a reputable supplier - any color you like ;D

[Howie_W]

Hi Barney,

Welcome to the forum! Tells us a little bit about your plans;

Will this be your first Discus set-up? Carol's suggestion is one of the most important factors to consider in selecting your new fish. After that, cost is often an issue, especially when you'll be buying at least six or more. Getting a handful of juveniles and growing them out to full size will cost less than buying adults...plus it's a lot of fun!

Howie

[aggie_67]

The downside of buying juveniles is I bought 8 from one of the most highly thought of breeder on this forum and after 6 months none of them look anything like those on his website.

[Carol_Roberts]

That's pretty common with your first batch. I ended up with one decent snakeskin out of my first group. There is an art to keeping discus and a learning curve.

Try bigger fish this time. Generally, the older strains (red turks, pigeons, cobalts, SS) usually grow better and are hardier than the newer snowflakes and leopards

[Discus_Newbie19]

Best ones to get are Healthy ones like carol said.

[aggie_67]

Agree there is a learning curve to keeping discus, due to this forum I have done very well with my fish. They have grown and are healthy, some are big and round too. Only problem is the fish from some breeders don't look like the pictures on their web site.

My learning curve is don't trust the pictures on the websites, they are probably the best the breeders has ever done. The ones you receive will probably not look that good. Know bigger fish are more expensive, buy as big as you can afford. Better to buy one good fish, rather than many small fish with the plan of culling, might not be any real good ones in the batch.

I always advice the first time discus keepers to buy only a few 3-4 larger fish about 4-5" instead of a group of small 2". They are more forgiving and provide a smoother learning curve. As for which type of discus. As long as they are healthy and begging for food constantly. Even a stunted deformed discus will be a pleasure to keep.
Jimmy.

[aggie_67]

Jimmy,

I agree!!! That's what makes it so bad. I love all my discus, they are like my kids. Don't know how anyone could cull.

[Benis]

Hello All,
That sounds bad. It's the second time in my life that I'm going to buy some discus and I'm worried now. My first experience was a bad one all the way around :'(Should everyone stay away from buying samml discus ???

[Carol_Roberts]

What are samml discus?

[Benis]

Carol,
Sorry :o small discus ;D

[Carol_Roberts]

With proper care healthy discus of any agre will grow out nicely. With that said you have a better chance of ending up with a 6+ inch fish if you buy a fish that is already 5 inches. At that size you don't have to guess what the color and pattern will be. Most of the discus I buy are 3-4 inches

[Benis]

What if they are under the 3" & 4" and you have a group of 12 ???

[Howie_W]

Hi Benis,

Carol hit the nail on the head. There's no guarantee in life when talking about mother nature. Proper care will give you healthy fish, regardless of their size and color. Buying adults eliminates surprises. Weigh your options and go from there.

Also check your messages! :)

Howie

[Benis]

Howie,
That's funny ;D because the new message pop up while I was writting you back. ;D ;D ;D

[walk23]

I would suggest you buy discus of at least 3 inches or more and if you are buying different strains to make sure they are all close in size to begin with. :bandana:

[ozone]

Dude in my experience the best Discus to buy are the more recent strains that have came out. If you buy ten at 5cm within about 10 months they will be adult and you will be able to make up some pairs out of them.

It dosn't take long before they are adult. For example I am buying 6 leopard snake skins which you don't really see in the shops here
arn't that new but when I form a pair out of them and breed I will be able to offload the young much easier than if they were just cobalts.

There is so many different strains to choose from especially over in the states.

Red spotted greens are another strain that is selling well these days along with those red melons that the dude earlier mentioned.

The main thing that I look out for when buying discus is you need to know what they're feeding on and how well they're eating.

Have a look in the picture section and see what ones you like!!

The newer the strain also the more money you pay for them so that's another thing you gotta consider:)

[tpl*co]

Is that from what I've seen and from attending a talk from a local aquarium club on discus is that you risk getting someone else's cull (ate eggs, didn't grow well, etc). Also, like someone else said, they may be accustomed to eating a particular food and it is hard to get them eating something else. My last fish were around 4.5 inches and I had a harder time aclimating them than my younger ones that I got at 2". (the young ones we got to know each other from the start ).

My toughest fish in the tank and the ones I started with are my pigeons. Perhaps if these are your first fish you could start with a pigeon based fish such as a manderin (sp?). Besides the peppering there are some beautiful pigeon based fish out there.

[ryanchristopher_6]

I am about to be a new discus owner and I have never had them before.this is the only fish I have never had. I am planning on buying small fish, say 2", so that I can watch them grow and I am planning on buying 1 each 12 different varieties for one tank. I really don't care what they look like when they grow up so long as they have personality. Do you think this will be cool?

[RyanH]

I am about to be a new discus owner and I have never had them before.this is the only fish I have never had. I am planning on buying small fish, say 2", so that I can watch them grow and I am planning on buying 1 each 12 different varieties for one tank. I really don't care what they look like when they grow up so long as they have personality. Do you think this will be cool?

If they are roughly the same size you should be fine. What is your setup going to be like?

[EyeOfThierry]

That's pretty common with your first batch. I ended up with one decent snakeskin out of my first group. There is an art to keeping discus and a learning curve.

Try bigger fish this time. Generally, the older strains (red turks, pigeons, cobalts, SS) usually grow better and are hardier than the newer snowflakes and leopards

You know that definitely has been my experience. My longest lived and 'always' healthy (knock on wood) have been my cobalt and pigeon. All the other variations seem very flakey. Guess there is something about breeding good stock ;)

[ShinShin]

It has been demonstated over time, and often recommended by professional breeders, that the Pigeon Blood is a hardier discus and easier to maintain and spawn than most other varieties. My experience has been the same as that.

Mat

[Lee C]

If you have the time to spend on the smaller ones to grow them out properly, I would say get 10 or 12 for a 55 gallon tank. Law of averages, 2 or 3 may not grow or get sick.
If you don't have the time, go ahead and buy about 4 or 5 that are adult or 4 inch Juvies. That way, all the hard grow out work has been done and you can relax more.
I agree with Mat on the Pigeon Blood strain.:p

[Kap]

I like to buy 'em with the body about the size of a quarter. No, they do not have color to amount to anything yet but take a good look at the parents--AND pick out the ones you like from the grow-out tank, a few bigger ones, a few smaller ones. No, you won't get everything you hoped for but buying 6-8 at a time will increase your chances if the stock is good to start with.

And I agree with all the others who said health is the most important thing. It will immensely add to your enjoyment of the fish. Do your water changes and they will grow, even on dry foods.