On what characteristics do you select juvenile discus?

[ojdewet]

Given that discus do not show their true form and colouration until they are adults (based on what I have read), could anyone please provide me with some guidelines on how to choose juveniles in such a manner that I optimise my chances to obtain the best discus when they reach maturity?

If you grow out a group of 8 juveniles, would you recommend all of the same species and colouration to ensure that any breeding pair that develops will be of similar colouration?

Regards
OJ

[namasgt]

well
if your purpose is to breed discus I think its better that you pick all from the same species and colouration, for example Ive been told that, one doese not want to mix a PB with a Blue D.

as far as shape goes for me i try to pick the roundest one i can find, because sometimes you can clearly say if a particular juvie is football shaped or not, which will probobly stay that way. for eye size try to find the smallest size, look at the color of the fish if they have full perfect coloration this could be a sign of stunting (or color enhansment), a very young juvie discus should not have much coloration (the coloration should look very light), i would look for these for a 1.5 inch (no tail) juvie.

[ShinShin]

It depends on your goal. If you want to breed, select the best body shape over best coloration. Color is easier to achieve later than shape. If you just want color and are not concerned with breeding, select the best colored juveniles. I would go with one color, unless you have room, then two.

Mat

[moto250mx]

Excellent topic!!...Yes, lighter in color, small red eyes, ROUND ROUND shape, no beak or slanted forehead...Check gill plates and fins.

A bunch of these crooked breeders/importers sell Discus with eye stigmatism...Look to see if they can locate and see the food their eating...That problem never goes away.

Jason

[ojdewet]

Thank you for the advice, some interesting facts I was not aware of - especially the advice to choose for form rather than colour (as an amateur I would have tended to go for the most impressive colouration).

I am fairly new to the hobby so breeding is not on my radar yet but in the long term I will try my hand at breeding for the experience - everything I read about the breeding behaviour of discus seems magical and breeding is a great barometer of mastery of the hobby.

I therefore want to make sure that the juveniles I rear will be of the best quality for a longer term breeding strategy given the hard work you put into rearing them and creating a mating pair.

Based on the advice I have one juvenile in my tank which is obviously unsuitable for breeding - it has a rugbyball shape and has stunted growth relative to its peers (was also the poorest feeder when I got my brood). It is the runt of the tank - should I remove it or keep it until all the junveniles are grown out? What are the chances that any of the other fish will select it as a mate (which would be undesirable)?

Thank you everyone on this forum for the great advice - I have read every single book I could lay my hands on about discus which gives useful context and background in general but I find the advice from people with the necessary experience in the specific context of the query (rather than general info from a book) has been invaluable to me.

Cheers
OJ from South Africa
:angel:

[mikel]

I am also new too and I learned how important a round shape, or as round as possible, is. But also, I find the "look" of the face to be really important. I try to look at the fish head on, and from the side. The eyes not only have to be small, and blood red and have no "clip" around the eyes, but it needs to be set correctly relatively to the mouth and the whole face (not too far back, or forward). I also personally prefer pucker lips too, but that's a personal preference. So, I would also add that I wold want to own a fish with a "pretty" face too...as a pet or a breeder.

[AADiscus]

One thing to remember on the fish you already have.....runted discus have nothing to do with genetics. It is the owner. So that will not come on on fry when you breed. Check for roundness, make sure eye are small and same size. No big slope in the forhead, gill plates are fully grown. If you are going for color, it is hard on young discus to determine sometimes on different strains. If you are going for spots, you want spots to go all the way thru to the end of the fish if possible. Solid color fish you want to make sure there is not splotching of different colors. Alot of times though it is hard to do if you are picking fish from the bottom of the litter. Healthy fish is want you want to achieve as well.