strain recognition and viability

[boog3ee]

Hello all!

So these are the fish available for me to buy, some of them i recognize and some i dont in terms of strain, so i would appreciate some help with that, and please tell me if they are worth buying considering their faults and problems (cloudy eyes for example).
Now, considering that being in jordan i dont actually have many more choices and im not exactly looking for show grade fish, in other words, if the problems do not indicate bad health and they are just not perfect specimen i dont care, but would like to be told what is wrong with them to use it to bargain for a better price. (im sorry im posting links, i cant figure out how to get the photos on here!)

So, I dont know what of what strain this guy is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60927128@N05/5554616710/

or this guy:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60927128@N05/5554618264/in/photostream/

This is supposed to be a cobalt, but i think the body is too long and the gills may be slightly off, am i right? and does this mean he wont survive?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60927128@N05/5554614620/in/photostream/

The pigeon blood pair, (sorry for the bad photo, shooting in a crowded pet shop can be a pain!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60927128@N05/5554030585/in/photostream/



Thank you all for the patience and the help!
Boog3ee

[Skip]

Hello all!


The pigeon blood pair, (sorry for the bad photo)

[IMG]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150174989940477&set=a.10150174986500477.344064.513470476[/IM



Thank you all for the patience and the help!
Boog3ee


hey.. your pics from facebook are not coming up..

[boog3ee]

sorry! working on it, give me a minute!

[Skip]

the facebook pics maybe private view... you need need to download them to your desktop, the upload them to a photobuck account.. i can't even get the facebook page to come up on its own..

[boog3ee]

i uploaded them to flickr and posted the link and that is not working either! what the blah?!

[Northwoods Discus]

The pictures are working for me. I am not an expert but the fish don't look horrible. They looked pretty healthy from what I could tell on your pics. The fish with the dark bars was interesting looking. I'm sure some others will chime in soon.
Good luck with discus.

[William Palumbo]

I will say, I like the Discus in the first(link) pic. A bit different...Bill

[Keith Perkins]

The first fish to me sort of looks like some type of poor blue diamond cross. The orange undertone and blotches make me say that. Some of the markings look somewhat like a scorpion.

Don't know what the second fish is but I like it. Nice coloring and markings. Looking at it a second time I'm wondering if the eye is kind of large, which would be an indication of a stunted discus. Could be the slight angle of the picture too though.

The third fish does look long, but that won't affect lifespan.

Can't say much about the pigeon blood pair with the picture you have. Do they have much peppering or are they pretty clean? They aren't all top quality fish, but perhaps for Jordan they're nice specimens. Hope that was some help.

[Keith Perkins]

I will say, I like the Discus in the first(link) pic. A bit different...Bill

LOL, figures you'd jump in front of me with a comment like that Bill. Personal preference is a big thing when it comes to keeping discus.

[moon_knight1971]

I'm not an expert but I've had a very knowledgeable person tell me that pigeons are a very strong and hearty line because they have been around so long. Some of these other lines are newer and therefore more fragile. I myself have 6 discus: 1 5 inch Golden Crystal, 2 4 inch Checkerboard Pigeons, 1 3.5 inch Hi Body Red Turk, 1 4 inch Royal Ruby Red and 1 2.5 inch Dickson Gold and the 2 Checkerboard Pigeons are more active, aggressive and thicker than any of the other ones.

[William Palumbo]

LOL...Hey Keith, I'm usually a sucker for any SS pattern. For sure a PB/SS cross...Bill

[kent1963]

I like that first one quite a bit myself! Looks like some sort of blue/pigeon? Kinda strange looking. I'd say none of these fish look terrible the cobalt's? shape is a bit off but it appears to be healthy.

[boog3ee]

The first fish to me sort of looks like some type of poor blue diamond cross. The orange undertone and blotches make me say that. Some of the markings look somewhat like a scorpion.

Don't know what the second fish is but I like it. Nice coloring and markings. Looking at it a second time I'm wondering if the eye is kind of large, which would be an indication of a stunted discus. Could be the slight angle of the picture too though.

The third fish does look long, but that won't affect lifespan.

Can't say much about the pigeon blood pair with the picture you have. Do they have much peppering or are they pretty clean? They aren't all top quality fish, but perhaps for Jordan they're nice specimens. Hope that was some help.

I expected the first one to be some kind of a mongrel, but i kinda like it a lot because its different than anything i've seen so far, and its more or less the healthiest one in the bunch, along with it's pair...
I dont know if the second can be stunted if its already 5 inches at less than a year old, can it? As for the pigeon bloods, there is slight "peppering", but the truth is i im not entirely in love with them and since im only choosing three pairs im probably not going with the pigeons, just kept them as an option in case you guys say the Cobalt is in extreme dire straits!

[Keith Perkins]

If it's truly both 5 inches and less than a year old, no it's not stunted. Knowing for sure that it's less than a year old though is pretty tough. You might be in the position to know that somehow, but most people aren't. The Cobalt isn't by any means in dire straits, but it appears to be somewhat misshaped and if that really bothers you it isn't going to change.

[boog3ee]

If it's truly both 5 inches and less than a year old, no it's not stunted. Knowing for sure that it's less than a year old though is pretty tough. You might be in the position to know that somehow, but most people aren't. The Cobalt isn't by any means in dire straits, but it appears to be somewhat misshaped and if that really bothers you it isn't going to change.

The only way that i know that its less than 1 year old is that the LFS guy told me so, and i have little reason to doubt him so far since he seems to have been honest in everything else he said, but obviously i cant be 100% sure, but generally through my research i have seem many stunted fish in photos and some in other shops around that i can say that this one probably looks fine, maybe the photo gave a wrong impression.
As for the cobalt, I dont mind its slightly deformed body, i'll live with it if it agrees to live with me! ;-)

Im gonna buy the first pair today, provided i manage to catch the 7 tiger barbs in the tank today, wish me luck! they are so damn illusive!!

Yacoub

[Eddie]

1) Red White throwback (basically a mut)
2) Red Turq but super red enhanced
3) Blue Turq or Cobalt
4) Pigeon Blood

All of them are extremely poor quality and not worth buying. They are not even worth paying someone to take them.

Eddie

[Keith Perkins]

I'm glad someone knows what that first one is. :)

[nc0gnet0]

I dunno, I kinda like the first one myself ;)

[boog3ee]

1) Red White throwback (basically a mut)
2) Red Turq but super red enhanced
3) Blue Turq or Cobalt
4) Pigeon Blood

All of them are extremely poor quality and not worth buying. They are not even worth paying someone to take them.

Eddie

Its funny what a difference a day makes.
In this day two pairs of this fish turned from being just fish at a store to my pets, namely the "muts" and the cobalts, for now. So this message would have been pretty helpful if it had been offered yesterday.
Incidentally, the comment itself would have been received differently; I would have seen it as a highly considerable expert opinion albeit a bit snobbish. Now I cant help but think that its extremely insensitive and void of human compassion.
At any case, thank you for recognizing the strains. And the fish are now in my aquarium and will be cared for to the best of my ability whether their "poor quality" allows them to live for a week or for ten years.
Boog3ee

[andyl9063]

don't take it the wrong way or anything. It's just the way it is. In the end, its all about quality. However, if you see something you like and they seem healthy, it shouldn't matter what they say.

Good luck to ya.


Its funny what a difference a day makes.
In this day two pairs of this fish turned from being just fish at a store to my pets, namely the "muts" and the cobalts, for now. So this message would have been pretty helpful if it had been offered yesterday.
Incidentally, the comment itself would have been received differently; I would have seen it as a highly considerable expert opinion albeit a bit snobbish. Now I cant help but think that its extremely insensitive and void of human compassion.
At any case, thank you for recognizing the strains. And the fish are now in my aquarium and will be cared for to the best of my ability whether their "poor quality" allows them to live for a week or for ten years.
Boog3ee

[nc0gnet0]

nothing wrong with a mutt, as long as it is a good looking mutt ;) Be curious to see a few more pictures now that you have him home. I am curious also how this mutt (;)) developes. My guess is he might have been color enhanced as well, time wil tell with a normal diet.

Rick

[mcarbe]

The first pic looks like a Fineline SS.Not easy to find.

[moon_knight1971]

with all the varying level of expertise we have on this forum sometimes it's easy to forget about the very basics sometimes. enjoy the fish you have! as long as you like them and are happy with them then that's all that really matters!

[jimg]

with all the varying level of expertise we have on this forum sometimes it's easy to forget about the very basics sometimes. enjoy the fish you have! as long as you like them and are happy with them then that's all that really matters!

+1 and many here actually do that!

[boog3ee]

Well, all three pairs are in the aquarium now, and guess what? the mutt pair are the dominating completely in the pecking order, which has been none stop and brutal today! (they were calm yesterday), i moved the drift wood around a bit a turned the light off for now, they are calmer, but lets see what happens...
Any advice on this or will my tank be a battle field from here on?!

[boog3ee]

nothing wrong with a mutt, as long as it is a good looking mutt ;) Be curious to see a few more pictures now that you have him home. I am curious also how this mutt (;)) developes. My guess is he might have been color enhanced as well, time wil tell with a normal diet.

Rick

Will share some pics soon, i guess i need to figure out to how upload them rather than post links, and maybe i'll wait a bit till they stop fighting and start eating properly (again the mutt is the only one eating with gusto!) !

[Eddie]

Its funny what a difference a day makes.
In this day two pairs of this fish turned from being just fish at a store to my pets, namely the "muts" and the cobalts, for now. So this message would have been pretty helpful if it had been offered yesterday.
Incidentally, the comment itself would have been received differently; I would have seen it as a highly considerable expert opinion albeit a bit snobbish. Now I cant help but think that its extremely insensitive and void of human compassion.
At any case, thank you for recognizing the strains. And the fish are now in my aquarium and will be cared for to the best of my ability whether their "poor quality" allows them to live for a week or for ten years.
Boog3ee

It is what it is, good luck with them. If you ask for an opinion, you will get plenty. One mans discus is another mans cull.

[mmorris]

1)

All of them are extremely poor quality and not worth buying. They are not even worth paying someone to take them.

Eddie

Jeez, Eddie.
I really like the color of the first one. Two and three are a bit long and it's difficult to tell the quality of the discus in the fourth pic. I got my scuba certification in Aqaba and was kissed by a camel in Wadi Rum. Really! It's a beautiful, friendly country. What part of Jordan are you from?
Martha

[ShinShin]

I agree with Bill in that #1 pic shows an interesting cross. I kind of like it. #2 is most likely a decent discus, just a poor photo. 3 & 4 do nothing for me.

Mat

[boog3ee]

Jeez, Eddie.
I really like the color of the first one. Two and three are a bit long and it's difficult to tell the quality of the discus in the fourth pic. I got my scuba certification in Aqaba and was kissed by a camel in Wadi Rum. Really! It's a beautiful, friendly country. What part of Jordan are you from?
Martha

Hello mmorris! Well I'm from Amman, born and raised! and i got my scuba diving certification from Aqaba too, although i havent used it in 8 years! and i spend a couple of weeks a year give or take camping in Wadi Rum! Im not big on kissing camels though! ;-)


I agree with Bill in that #1 pic shows an interesting cross. I kind of like it. #2 is most likely a decent discus, just a poor photo. 3 & 4 do nothing for me.

Mat

The photos are poor, bad lighting, their tank in the shop was pretty high up and my SLR is a piece of excrement! i'll be taking better photos soon. The point is though, im not looking to keep show grade discus, they are lively and beautiful in the aquarium and they bring me a lot of joy, even as i watch their bitter fight to assert dominance!
You want to hear something else crazy? I think there is a chance the "mutt" pair might be courting! they were shaking their bodies slightly and that made me a bit worried, so i looked it up and it turns out that is kind of a mating dance or something, imagine that! I could be completely wrong but i feel like im going through the experiences one would go through in a year of keeping discus in a matter of three days!!

[Keith Perkins]

LOL Yea, it doesn't sound like you're wasting any time anymore. Glad you're enjoying your purchase.

[Eddie]

The photos are poor, bad lighting, their tank in the shop was pretty high up and my SLR is a piece of excrement! i'll be taking better photos soon. The point is though, im not looking to keep show grade discus, they are lively and beautiful in the aquarium and they bring me a lot of joy, even as i watch their bitter fight to assert dominance!


You might find a handful of people on here that have show grade fish, if anything, 2 handfuls. I've never owned any myself, would be nice though.

[mmorris]

Hello mmorris! Well I'm from Amman, born and raised! and i got my scuba diving certification from Aqaba too, although i havent used it in 8 years! and i spend a couple of weeks a year give or take camping in Wadi Rum! Im not big on kissing camels though! ;-)



Red Sea Dive Center? If so, was Ahmed, I think his name was, there? Great guy and a lot of fun. It was freezing cold and sort-of raining when I was in Wadi Rum, so a kiss was much appreciated. That camel was a sweetheart.

Best of luck with the pair! Hopefully we'll see you in the breeding section! (Help! My discus laid eggs! LOL)

[boog3ee]

Red Sea Dive Center? If so, was Ahmed, I think his name was, there? Great guy and a lot of fun. It was freezing cold and sort-of raining when I was in Wadi Rum, so a kiss was much appreciated. That camel was a sweetheart.

Best of luck with the pair! Hopefully we'll see you in the breeding section! (Help! My discus laid eggs! LOL)

Yes, well, its actually called the red sea diving club now i think, I dont recall someone called ahmed though, although there must be a few there cause that name is as common as John! :-)
Maybe you will see me in the breeding section soon! this whole thing is like a roller coaster ride so far! half the fish hasnt acclimatized enough to start eating properly and the other half is fixin' to get funky and it doesnt look like they plan to use contraceptives!

[tdiscusman]

The first pic, if it's a throw back of red/white, I like the throw back much better.

Considering it's hard to get decent fishes where you are. The only one I would NOT get is the colbalt. The other are OK.

Tony