round vs. football

[Ralph]

I can't find any info on this and I'm hoping that someone here may know.

How did the round body shape become the preference in discus? Does anyone know when and why this happened?
I'm asking because unless the examples are very extreme, I can't really tell which is which. In other words, even the footballs look good to me. What specifically should I look for, what body lines do you use to identify the "body?"

[DarkDiscus]

Ralph,

I don't know how others do it, but when I look at a discus I imagine a perfect circle and compare the fish to a circle. It can be somewhat pointy, but when you see a real football, you can superimpose an NFL pigskin mentally and it's a better fit than a circle... It's not a science, more an art form.

When it's slightly pointy and the fish is young, they can fill in and become round. I only had one small fish that was not perfectly round (that's the benefit of going with a good breeder like Cary) and that was one of my RSGs. Now that it's about 4", the fish has filled in and is just as round as the others.

Like I said, it's not a science...

John

[shootingstar]

THAT'S WHY THEY CALLED......DISC'....US......GOT IT........HEHEHE.

[keno]

You'll hardly ever find a football shaped wild, just have a look at real wilds and you'll see what most breeders shoot for as far as shape.

Ken

I don't that's correct. If anything I believe you'll rarely find a round wild Discus.

Dave

[DarkDiscus]

I've seen both round and pointy wilds. My experience with them is limited, but Al has some very round ones, as does Jerry Baer. In fact most of Jerry's were very round and beautiful. Perfectly round, not always, but mostly round.

I haven't seen any really footbally ones, like the footballs you get with some of the strains, though...

John

[keno]

Rarely find a wild round discus? Now thats a new one to me Dave.

I'm only repeating what I've heard from those that know more about wilds then I do. My wilds are very round but I was told that that's more of a rarity then the norm. I'm not saying there are no round wild Discus, just that there are more footballs then round ones. Of course when I bought my wilds I specified that I wanted nice big round ones and wouldn't have bought a football. I assume the importer does the same thing. The fact that we are buying the cream of the wild fish that enter North America doesn't mean that they are the norm. Give David Webber an email and ask what his opinion is, he does a lot of wild Discus sales... dizzyboy@pipeline.com

Dave

You're both right. I used to think like Dave. I started with wild and all I found are not perfectly round. I had an excellent football wild brown who produced all the fry I needed to trade with the LFS for all these new strains. The fry were mostly round and in good shape. I think the wild we found depending on where you live are mostly rejects by the Europeans and Japanese. The had the first pick when the Economy was good and they paid high prices for the best looking discus. Now the Economy is poor and many companies are facing bankruptcy. Good round discus found their way to North America. that's what we find today. But only poorly shaped wild can be found before. It depends on how much the importers willing to pay. They used to cost $2.00 each from Brazil. Now it's quite expensive. If anyone never saw a classic American football wild brown. i think I have picture to show you. Just let me know.
Jimmy.

[Ralph]

It sounds like the preference for round fish is a combination of aesthetics and being a sign of a healthy, pampered fish.

[larry lob]

perfectly round without photo shop in my oppinion

[larry lob]

again in my oppinion a footy

[oodi]

I have read that BD's are typically football shaped. Is this true? If so, how football is TOO football?

Thx,

Judi

[yellow sub]

Just wondering if its just me...but does a football shaped discus remind anyone of a compressed severm?

Stephen

[DarkDiscus]

Oodi,

All my Blue Diamonds are round like perfect spheres. They have excellent shape, finnage and color.

John