what do you look for in a discus the most?

[nikond70s]

i'm very picky when it comes to discus. most of the time i dont care much about the colors if its bright or not. but one thing i must like in a discus is the shape. to me, the shape is the most important thing when im looking for a discus. it must have that nice round shape. doesnt have to be perfectly round but a very nice round like shape. i cannot stand football shape discus. i dont care how bright the color is. but if it has bad shape its a no go for me. i really want to get a nice group of wild discus and put them with my wild altums. but whats really holding me back is the lack of shape i see in most wild discus. and the fact i cant go to a vendor and hand pick the discus.

so what does everyone look for the most when choosing a discus?

[chrisb01]

In the little that I know, I have to say that for me color and shape would play an equal part.

I think you're speaking color as far as strain is concerned, and I agree with that. But the part of color that I would look for is the brightness. A drab, dull looking fish sometimes goes further than meets the eye, and that goes for any fish not just Discus.

Shape, yes I would look for round, but as I have looked at pics here and other venues, I think I'd prefer the high body type, then round would be the second choice. For football, I watch a game or two every Sunday :-)

[Scribbles]

Equally...health, shape, and pattern/color true to strain.

Chris

[Discus Origins]

i'm very picky when it comes to discus. most of the time i dont care much about the colors if its bright or not. but one thing i must like in a discus is the shape. to me, the shape is the most important thing when im looking for a discus. it must have that nice round shape. doesnt have to be perfectly round but a very nice round like shape. i cannot stand football shape discus. i dont care how bright the color is. but if it has bad shape its a no go for me. i really want to get a nice group of wild discus and put them with my wild altums. but whats really holding me back is the lack of shape i see in most wild discus. and the fact i cant go to a vendor and hand pick the discus.

so what does everyone look for the most when choosing a discus?

If you are really looking at wilds, then I would suggest that you take a look at them in a different light. These fish were created by mother nature and survived their environment to adulthood by adaptation to the needs required. By the time they get into a seller's hands, these same fish have been picked thru for their condition and shape. Believe it or not what you are seeing is the best 10-20% of what is collected. They weren't culled multiple times by breeders for shape or color, they have only been culled by nature.

Are there some nice round wilds, yes. Are there some not so round wilds, most of them. You get wilds to have a piece of nature in your tank. If having all perfectly shaped fish is your goal then you may be disappointed with wilds and should look at domestics.

[keegee1012]

I like health the most. A perfectly healthy discus is already beautiful, for it will always show the best of what it could show. (Shape, color, etc.).

[Discusgeo2]

Shape is the first thing I look at then color. I see a lot of Discus sold here that don't have the best shape but they are being bought up so it must be the color that people want.

[Skip]

shape..

don't care about color, if its a young fish.. the color will come in later..

healthy.. and little eyes...

don't do wilds.. :)