Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

[William Palumbo]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

Nice looking fish Mark...I guess I'm one of the odd ones as far as spots go. Not really obsessed with them anymore. As stated before, give me a nicely round and proportioned Green...hold the spots. Your Discus without those spots, which aren't that many, would probably cost 1/2 the price. +1 what Kevin said about shape...Bill

[wgtaylor]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

Hey Mark
Your greens look in great condition, good job you have done with them.
The 4th picture of the one with the blue in the dorsal fin is really unique, awesome color.

I have greens from Tefe lake where the shape seem to be better but the ones I have are very plain looking compared to yours. Bad pic but the lead discus in these pics is pretty round.
Bill

[Discus Origins]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

Your Discus without those spots, which aren't that many, would probably cost 1/2 the price. +1 what Kevin said about shape...Bill

Hi Bill, thanks for your comments. On the spots, I'm not sure if the pix showed enough detail but every one of them has over 100 spots on each side. The 4th picture of the dominant male in the tank he has over 150 spots on each side and double trailers on his dorsal fin. I don't think they come with more spots than that.

[YSS]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

Hey Mark
Your greens look in great condition, good job you have done with them.
The 4th picture of the one with the blue in the dorsal fin is really unique, awesome color.

I have greens from Tefe lake where the shape seem to be better but the ones I have are very plain looking compared to yours. Bad pic but the lead discus in these pics is pretty round.
Bill

Your greens look pretty red. :-)

By the way, do greens have more tendancy to show darker stress bars? I have 4 greens in my tank and they have more pronounced stress bars than other fish in the tank. Just wondering ....

Again, nice fish Bill!

And nice fish, too m3h3c3!

You too, 3dees!

[Dutch dude]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

Hi there. Those are awesome looking greens! I'm curious abouth your tank set-ups. I like to know the water parameters (PH, GH, KH, temp, conductivity). How many fish in what tank size? How abouth filtration and water changing regime. What are your expiriences if it comes to social behaviour of the greens compared to domestics and other wilds? In short,....I like to know what is needed to keep the fish happy and healthy.

[Discus Origins]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

Greens IMO are the next easiest of the wilds to keep after blues. They come from water with higher ph 6.0-6.5 but again with wilds the softness of the water is most important. Keep GH under 3, kh around 6 to stabilize ph. I keep my wilds between 82-84F. General rule for adult fish is one per 10 gal, of course if you can do daily water changes then there isn't a problem with higher density. Hope this helps.

Mark

[Dutch dude]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the information. At first,....I assume you swapped the values for KH and GH right? KH=3 and GH=6? From my very very short expirience wilds show more "aggression". How many do you keep in what size tank and how do they behave? Do they get along or do they quarel a lot?

[Discus Origins]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

No, gh (general hardness) I like to be as low as possible 1-3, kH(carbonate hardness) I like to keep around 5-6 as it stabilizes pH, if using buffer to lower ph. Currently I am keeping a group of 6 RSGs along with a group of 6 Jatapu Heckels in a 90 gallon tank on a high efficiency wet/dry filter. The only one who is really aggressive is the dominant male, the rest might 'peck' at each other a little bit but nothing out of the ordinary. But imo the larger the total number of fish the less aggressive they are....so keeping 6 in a 90 gallon may bring out more aggression than I've seen with a tank of 12 adults.

[Dutch dude]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

I might be wrong but isn't the KH part of the GH? For that the GH should be at least equal to the KH but more likely higher? I don't use buffer or what ever addition to the water. I currently mix 2 parts RO with 1 part tap.

I'm very surprised you keep 12 wild discus in a 90 gallon tank. Sounds seriously cramped to me but rather common to people who kept African cichlids. The funny thing is that I'm in the middle of a conversation (by PM) with someone who just is on the other side of the spectrum and recommends 20+ gallons for each fish.

How much water do you change Mark and how often?

[Discus Origins]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

I know it sounds cramped doesn't it? But when you look at the tank there is plenty of room and every fish has it's favorite place among the driftwood. I change 50% every 2-3 days depending on my schedule. They are all adults so no need to worry about stunting it's more for cleanliness of the water.

You are correct but KH is part of GH as GH includes all factors of measuring hardness as KH only measures the carbonate part. You can have higher KH than GH if the water chemistry is controlled that way.

[Dave B]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

Can anyone explain why the red spots are desirable? To me they look like flaws. I'm with Bill about preferring the spot-free ones with a good even green sheen over them.

[Discus Origins]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

Can anyone explain why the red spots are desirable? To me they look like flaws. I'm with Bill about preferring the spot-free ones with a good even green sheen over them.

Simple...red spotted greens are more rare than regular greens as evidenced by % collected and price difference. There's usually a large price diff between just a few spots and 'royal' spotted greens, so as with all strains it comes down to rarity and demand. Why are the blue moon heckels more desirable than Rio Negro heckels, why are Cuipeau/Alenquer Reds more desirable than brown discus, why are Nhamunda Royal Blues more desirable than plain Haraldi? Color/pattern differences separate them from the norm, and that 's where the demand is more than supply.

To each its own in the end, I love the plain yellow Xingu discus....but for years there wasn't a demand so no one imported them and now it looks like with the dams being built in the region we may lose that entire strain in the near future, very sad.

[William Palumbo]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

RSG's were always sought after. In the early 80's they were a bit easier to get than now. I owned some from my LFS, that were what I judge all others by to this day. Big money $50-$60 each!...LOL...These were "true" red spotted. Where the spots were actually RED!...Not the rust colored background showing thru in a spotted pattern like you see today. Put them under a Gro-Lux light and stand back!... Buy as said, it's what you prefer, or what your tastes evolve into. I wish I had my Xingus back, as I really like them and appreciate them a whole lot more these days...Bill

[Discus Origins]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

RSG's were always sought after. In the early 80's they were a bit easier to get than now. I owned some from my LFS, that were what I judge all others by to this day. Big money $50-$60 each!...LOL

Hey Bill, $60 in the early 80s is about $200 in todays money....just saying

[Darrell Ward]

Re: Wild Discus Tech Notes 2... Wild Greens...The basics and More....

I had some "cheap" Tefes that grew out to be pretty nice. Wish I still had them, but as they say, "money talks". I sold them for three times what I paid. Below is one of them from an old post. All is not lost though, looking to get another group of "cheapies" to raise by next week. I don't think I'll get them this week because of an upcoming snowstorm. Not worth the risk of the shipment being delayed.