MY WILD BLUE PAIR

[William Palumbo]

Here are a few pics of my last Blue pair...and of their F1 juvies I am raising up. Taking forever to color up!. Just getting some blue in the top and bottom fins now. Are maybe about 2+ inches...Bill

[rickztahone]

love that 3rd shot!

[Eddie]

Wow Bill, the pair is nice but them juveniles have got MAD potential. I'd love some of those! You gonna hold onto them for future breeding or are you selling them off? They look fantastic!

Eddie

[TRUC10507]

Bill how do you do that? I try many time with wild discus but never get them to breed.
thanks

[William Palumbo]

Thanks guys...I am holding on to that batch Eddie...and I have some "select" ones in another, less crowded tank for myself. Most look at that tank and just pass it by anyways...no color! I will part with some, as there are a few people on here that would like some, because of what they are, but not selling to the mainstream public. Hey Truc...just a lot of luck!...It's like fishing, you can only do so much to catch fish...the rest is luck! Not really doing anything special with them, except those guys love that peat stained water...Bill

[Ed13]

I would def be begging at your door for some of those Bill!

[wgtaylor]

Nice color on that pair Bill and those f1's sure will make good breeding stock.
Always nice to see pics of wilds. Ya, wild juvies take forever to color but worth every minute of the wait. Can't imagine anyone walking by that tank, great job. :)
Bill

[William Palumbo]

Thanks Ed and Bill...I figured I better save a batch, as the pair is pretty old now, and tho still can spawn regularly...the batches get less and less. Awhile back they were easier to sell when I first started spawning them. Now with all the new colored strains, most people are not intrested in them. They want instant color. Can't say I blame them. Even now the older Brilliant strain I have is a hard sell...Bill

[scottthomas]

I would love to have some of those. Beautiful parents and youve done an outstanding job raising the offspring.. great uniform shape it appears in the photo. I bet they will eventually color up nicely.

[kirkp]

GIMMEGIMMEGIMMEGIMMEGIMMEGIMMEGIMMEGIMMEGIMME :)

KIRK

[Scribbles]

Beautiful pair, and the fry look outstanding! I would love to have some.

Chris

[Jhhnn]

Beautiful classic pair, well matched. Too bad there's not more demand for such fish- I'd take their offspring over Hans' alenquers, for example, anytime.

I'm convinced that the market is moving away from providers who don't ship, at least seasonally. I'm curious as to why you haven't moved in that direction...

[TURBOFROG]

Bill they look great!! I have to come and visit after the holiday for sure!

[William Palumbo]

Jhhnn...I guess because I am only a hobbyist, who every now and then, find myself blessed with Discus fry from breeding pairs, most of which I can move or trade locally. A lot less work. I never shipped before, but I know it's a lot of work. Maybe I will later, but for now, I am just not too intrested in it now. I realize being able to ship does widen your horizons and opens you up to more sales. Maybe this summer, if I have an abundance of fry, I may look into what it takes to ship. Hey Brian...you want to stop by, just let me know...Bill

[Apistomaster]

It is a lot of work to ship the discus or any other fish for that matter.
You have to invest in or make your own shipping boxes and if you use an overnight carrier you have to get your packaging methods tested by the carrier before they will let you ship.
USPS doesn't but they can't and won't guarantee overnight delivery to all part of the lower 48.
I know I won't ship Discus if it's going to take 2-3 days for them to arrive.
Whenever you ship much, eventually you will have to deal with shipments that go awry and deal with a customer who received dead fish. It can be a hassle to ship fish so if you can sell most of them locally it is a lot easier.

Customer relations can take up a lot of your time as well and there are many people who use up a lot of your time then never order. It can take the fun out of one's hobby once it becomes your business.

[born2lovefish]

I have been breeding angels for a couple years now. I ship them around the US, but it is a lot of work. One can make homemade insulated boxes cheap, but it takes time. Quarter size angels ship well. Adults and breeding pairs are a pain to ship, in my opinion. I can not imagine shipping discus, as people want larger ones with color!

[philip69285]

I love those babies... Im a sucker for browns now. I use to hate it and now I find them amazing. I would love to get a hold of some of those myself to as many do hehe.

[Apistomaster]

It really is hard to ship young adult or older discus, at least from my location using USPS Express mail because it takes two days. I only tried it once with six 4-1/2" Red Turquoise and half of them were DOA.
As long as they are about 2-1/2" it works OK as long as you allow them plenty of room.
I am now only trying to breed wild Discus so any of their young at 2-1/2" will not have any color nor will their ultimate color be known until they are nearly full grown.
I am working with 6 Alenquers and 12 Royal Blues.
Anyone who wants to go with tank raised young from wild fish needs to understand that their fishes colors will vary greatly but at least they will have the nice shape and strong instincts of their wild parents. I think of all the wild type Discus, even ordinary Browns, look more natural in planted Discus display tanks than most of the more gaudy colored domestics.

[William Palumbo]

I agree Larry. The F1's are slow to develop color, which in turn makes them hard to sell to the average Discus hobbyist. I have a small spawn I am raising, and the bigger fish are at least 2 1/2", and still no color, except for a bit of blue in the bottom fins. Will be interesting to watch their development. I also agree that the wild Discus look best in a planted tank...Bill

[VIOLIN33]

well all 15 doing great are eatting well ,changed tanks and they are much happier now.. thanks bill will be up for some of the other fry's ....dave

[Harriett]

Bill, the blue babies are gorgeous--wonderful job! Amazing potential. Glad to see you got such interest from posting these photos! Would love to come up at some point and just see your fish room and look at what you are doing!
Gee, we are getting not much interest in another meeting....what do you think?
Harriett

[William Palumbo]

Hi Harriett...Thanks for the compliments. I am almost sold out. I did keep a small spawn for myself. The pair is somewhat old now, and their spawns and brooding are iffy at best. I just put them now in my 75g wild tank. That should give them some rest and time to recoup. Let me know if you ever want to stop by..I downsized a bit, but still plenty of tanks! It does seem there will be a small turn-out for this meeting, at least for now anyways. Just hard to believe there is not much intrest. I'll be there...Bill

[poconoboss]

It really is hard to ship young adult or older discus, at least from my location using USPS Express mail because it takes two days. I only tried it once with six 4-1/2" Red Turquoise and half of them were DOA.
As long as they are about 2-1/2" it works OK as long as you allow them plenty of room.

I wouldn't mail a rock and expect it to get their in one piece with the USPO!!

I never heard of anybody shipping this way.

Most use FEDEX overnight priority (arrives around 10AM) or airport to airport (Arrives same day) which is the best, the fish could literally be in your home in 6-8 hours.

[Apistomaster]

I wouldn't mail a rock and expect it to get their in one piece with the USPO!!

I never heard of anybody shipping this way.

Most use FEDEX overnight priority (arrives around 10AM) or airport to airport (Arrives same day) which is the best, the fish could literally be in your home in 6-8 hours.

poconoboss,

One doesn't just walk in to a FedEx center with a box a fish and send them on their way. FedEx does not accept live fish until they have tested and approved each size of box you intend to use. FedEx is a very expensive method to use when a majority of fish travel by mail just fine. I only use USPS when the weather is mild enough to avoid cold weather.
The USPS does not have that requirement and the vast majority of the fish I ship are small Plecos and Apistogramma and out of over 400 Plecos I have sent I have only had 3 arrive DOA. Each fish is packed in it's own breathable bag and I use a fish tranquilizer which slows down their respiration and minimizes the stress on the fish. I have only sent out Discus by USPS 2 times and only the group of larger specimens had troubles and 3 of the 6 did arrive DOA, I have been shipping live pairs of Killifish by mail successfully for over 4 decades. Talk to me after you have caught up to me in your experience shipping fish. Many people use USPS Express for shipping fish.
I can ship 6 plecos by Express Mail for >$35 but FedEx charges about $65 for the same package. I guarantee live arrival so buyers do not absorb any losses. Replacing just 3 plecos did not hurt me. I have sent out over 100 pairs of Apistogramma without a single loss.
April Ross, a simplydiscus sponsor, bought 30 L134 Leopard Frog Plecos from me and they all arrived in fine condition. My track record is very good. How many expensive fish have you shipped?

[Apistomaster]

Oh yeah,

If you check out www.aquabid.com you will see that there are literally hundreds of vendors who ship via USPS Express. I am hardly unique except I refuse to do so during cold weather.

[William Palumbo]

Cold weather is rough no matter who or what ships it. I get the FEDEX next day, and with my Chicago winter...the water in the bags are colder than I would like...but not deadly cold. Tho if those shipments end up arriving a few hours late...could be problems...Bill

[Apistomaster]

There are several of us who ship nationally who won't ship even via FedEx overnight during a nation wide cold snap because of the same problems you described, William, All FedEx shipments go to their Nashville center and are then routed to their final destination no matter where you and your customer lives. I have tried ordering fish when it's very cold and some of the overnight FedEx shipments arrived too cold and I had high losses.
It is best to use restraint and be patient until the weather isn't too cold. Even when using heat packs that isn't enough if the fish get exposed to some time in very cold conditions. It is difficult to compensate by using more heat packs because if the shipment is well protected the heat packs can overheat the fish. It takes experience, good judgment and some luck when shipping in the dead of winter.

[ExReefer]

Are these all sold out? I'm local.

[ockyra215]

Well Hey if you have any left I would take some by mail Id take a chance on Cliff CLaven those are real nice.

[William Palumbo]

Sorry guys, but I have been sold out of them now for awhile. I do have a small group I am raising for myself tho. Maybe in time I'll let some of those go...Bil

[milton]

look great will

[VIOLIN33]

THEY ARE NICE IVE SEEN THEM AND HAVE SOME THEY ARE VERY NICE...DAVE