8 new baby discus with pics , what do you think?

[OttawaDisc]

Hi everyone,

I'm picking up 4 blue diamonds and 4 blue cobalt on Monday in Montreal. They are about 2".

Here are pics of the group taken today. Since ya'll probably have a better "eye" for Discus than I do as a beginner, do they look good/healthy, well shaped to you?

Thanks for any input. I'm paying $10 for the cobalt and $20 for the diamonds, which I thinkis an excellent price. They arrived from Malaysia 2 days ago.

[Eddie]

Are you completely bound to buy them? I wouldn't buy them. 2 main reasons, first they do not look like very good quality and second, they are pretty young. Unless you have raised discus from this size before, its best to get them above 3" IMHO. Okay and I have a 3rd reason :o 20 bucks for a BD at that size, I'd be combining my 20s and paying 40 for some OUTSTANDING quality discus from April! LOL :D
Eddie

[mikel]

Hi: The following is just my personal opinion. You chose my favorite strain, the BD, to start and you wont regret it. The BD is a classic strain, and a majestic one at that. But the BDs, in my experience, also tend not to be as rounded in shape as some of the other strains. So, getting ones to grow round and thick SHOULD be your first priority (genetics, food and water quality). Another thing to look for is the color of the eyes, and their placement relative to the face. A Bd should have blood red eyes, with no bars running through it. It should not have yellow or amber eyes. Your pictures are too hazy, so I cannot tell what yours are. BDs, being a solid strain, should have an even color spread to its body...meaning there should not be blotches of more intense blue versus lighter shade on areas of the body or face. Finally the fins should all be standardized, with no bent or missing rays. The dorsal fin needs to be high and set in the right place. If yours grow up to have a trailer, that's a real plus (I love trailers....).

So, a BD needs to have good shape (imagine a circle), good eyes, and good color distribution, along with nice clear fins. Your fish seems very young, so the shape is too early to tell. But you should begin to get an idea about the face( where the eyes are set), and the fins. The best thing to do now is to do more research on what makes a good BD, and do daily water changes to keep the water quality high (Wc daily and barebottom tank), feed a good diet with Seafood Beefheart mix, high quality flakes etc, and take good care of them (talk to them, play with them using your hand while doing wc...be gentle with the slime coat, alway keep a vigilant eye toward the heaters...very dangerous). They will grow into their best potential with your care. In the end, we keep these fish as pets first, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder; so the standard is only a guide.

But I do agree with Eddie...the price is a bit high for such young fish, and you being in Canada, should have access to good suppliers who are sponsors to this site. Best of luck to you. mike:):):)

[OttawaDisc]

Thank you for sharing your opinions guys.

Eddie, could you tell me what exactly it is that makes appear to be of lower quality? (I'd love to buy BDs from April, but at $80 a piece I'd go broke with 8 of them)

Mikel: BDs are my favorites too, as I'm only into blue strains.

Thanks

[Eddie]

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=33300

[mmorris]

They seem really thin to me.

[Lytehouse]

Nice article from waaaaayyyy back Eddie

[Chad Hughes]

To be fair, the pictures are NOT the best. Yes, they do look thin and some even look pretty pointy. Fry this young should be fatties. If you could get us some better pictures, maybe the assessments would change a bit? To be honest, no one could give them a fair assessment from what has been provided.

Best wishes!

[Eddie]

To be fair, the pictures are NOT the best. Yes, they do look thin and some even look pretty pointy. Fry this young should be fatties. If you could get us some better pictures, maybe the assessments would change a bit? To be honest, no one could give them a fair assessment from what has been provided.

Best wishes!


Better pictures would be good but I can easily tell that I would not buy them. He did ask for an opinion and I have good enough eyes to see they are low quality. Just got to look really hard I guess. I can see right through them Chad. ;)

Eddie

[Chad Hughes]

Better pictures would be good but I can easily tell that I would not buy them. He did ask for an opinion and I have good enough eyes to see they are low quality. Just got to look really hard I guess. I can see right through them Chad. ;)

Eddie

I certainly agree Eddie. They don't look that great. I just think some better pictures mught be better to say whether or not they are worth trying to raise or not. I've seen some pretty sad little discus grow up to be pretty fantastic. Maybe not show quality, but definately not toss aways!

Best wishes!

[Eddie]

I certainly agree Eddie. They don't look that great. I just think some better pictures mught be better to say whether or not they are worth trying to raise or not. I've seen some pretty sad little discus grow up to be pretty fantastic. Maybe not show quality, but definately not toss aways!

Best wishes!

Oh for sure, I have some of those. :D Do I think those fish posted can develop into decent fish, maybe a few. Now the question is, do you want to start off, with a step in that direction. :inquisitive:

[Chad Hughes]

:D
Oh for sure, I have some of those. :D Do I think those fish posted can develop into decent fish, maybe a few. Now the question is, do you want to start off, with a step in that direction. :inquisitive:

But that wasn't the question. The question was "what do we think?". There is not right answer, just incorrect opinions. LOL! :D

[hmccsal]

The price sounds good but..there is always a but. As a beginner, you should be changing their water every single day, maybe twice a day. If you really want to enjoy the fish buy them bigger and stronger, you may be saving money now but will be spending it on meds later. I got some nice turqs from a gentleman in Calgary and he had got his discus I believe from Jeffrey Yang in montreal(please excuse me if my spelling is off). I paid him $45.00 a piece and they have grown probly 1.5 inches since I got them. This is just my .02

[Eddie]

:D

But that wasn't the question. The question was "what do we think?". There is not right answer, just incorrect opinions. LOL! :D

Yes, I know.....that was in my first post. I was just supporting your post about ugly fish growing out to be nice, it can happen. ;)

Eddie

[Chad Hughes]

Yes, I know.....that was in my first post. I was just supporting your post about ugly fish growing out to be nice, it can happen. ;)

Eddie

And I'm just giving you a hard time. :p

[Eddie]

And I'm just giving you a hard time. :p

Thats not like you Chad! LOL, if we didn't give each other a hard time, Simply wouldn't be the same. ;)

Eddie

[Chad Hughes]

Thats not like you Chad! LOL, if we didn't give each other a hard time, Simply wouldn't be the same. ;)

Eddie

It's not? I agree. I like to have fun on here sometimes. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. LOL! :D

[mikel]

If cost is an issue, then you might want to consider whether you need to have 8 fish? Why not 5? How big is your tank (or did you include this info and I just spaced?). Frankly, young fish tend to look awkward, but the others are right...they are thin. Also having them just arrive from Malaysia without anyone knowledgeable like our very own Kenny (a sponsor here) vetting them and caring for them and checking them before releasing them to you is...quite frankly, a bit scary to me, especially when you are a new hobbyist.

Is holding back a bit, doing more research, and saving money and getting less number of more decent fish an option for you? Trust me, you want to start with the best quality in terms of health and genes you can afford....as you grow in the hobby, you will come to regret and resent any hasty decisions that you made when you were less experienced.

You can look at the many images of fish on this site to get an idea of what they should look like....most of the fish here are not "champion show quality", but we strive for health, robust growth and solid overall presentation. Before I found this site, I thought discus could only look like the ones I saw at the LFS...boy was I wrong! Check out the sponsor sites and see the images of the fish available to get an idea of what's available and for what price, and go from there. If you really want my blunt opinion, I would not buy those fish (the factors are just too risky); instead I would save my money and get fish from someone more solid in Canada (you can read the reviews for sponsors there...they speak for themselves) HTH! mike:):):)

[OttawaDisc]

Thanks guys, I'm passing on these fish...best to take the opinions/experiences of those who know than to learn myself through error.

I do feel uncomrfotable discussing how "nice" they are though, maybe because I'm a social worker and deal with kids who are not the right "shape", "age", "health" or "color" to be adopted and sit in foster homes all their childhood. Isn't it what we do with our animal friends too? Though I do realize the difference between humans and animals. Pure bred dogs, siamese kittens, round Discus fish...anyway, someone else will buy those fish and care for them and hopefully love them regardless of whether they will grow up or remain stunted. Can I be that person? Why not? I don't know. And can I afford to pay $80 for a fish? Yes. Am I going to? No. I couldn't do that myself or explain it to my kids. I did it twice and got burned.

Thank you again for sharing your expertise everyone, this site is very helpful.

[mareshow]

Thank you for sharing your opinions guys.

Eddie, could you tell me what exactly it is that makes appear to be of lower quality? (I'd love to buy BDs from April, but at $80 a piece I'd go broke with 8 of them)

Mikel: BDs are my favorites too, as I'm only into blue strains.

Thanks

April has cheaper ones as well, and let me tell you they are gorgeous :D i know this from personal experience, and they do really well, within the first day they were eating like mad fiends!

[April]

aprils blue diamonds i can sell for 60.00 but the reason they were high price is they are large. 4.5 inches . strong and healthy .

[2075turner]

OttawaDiscus,

I have gotten fish from April as well in the past and I can tell you that she is top notch with what fish she will send and packing is great. I would have no problem in recommending her to you. I also live in Ottawa and if you would like to come by and see my Blue Diamonds, you would be more than welcome to stop by. Just shoot me a pm to get my addy and phone number.

Evelyn:)

[April]

now thats an offer you shouldnt refuse. evelyn has an amazing collection of beautiful discus and is quite successful in caring and raising them. she can give you some good tips on selecting discus and maybe leads.
its nice to see large beautiful discus and meet another simply member

[mareshow]

IMHO i think you should order from April, I'm not even two weeks in from receiving my order and I'm already thinking about ordering some more! its too bad i dont have the tank space or else they'd be here tomorrow!