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Discus Won't Last Long


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#1 Pchmb

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Posted 07 October 2016 - 02:24 PM

Just popped in to Rob's Aquarium while in the area. They have just had a customer drop off the most incredible and huge Discus (easily 25 centimeters in diameter). I'd say there is at least 15 at that size. If I had the tank space, or the funds... these are the biggest and most beautiful discus I've seen to date. And that's a BIG call.

Still contemplating leaving with a few, as I write this post. Get in and check them out.

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#2 Pchmb

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Posted 07 October 2016 - 09:12 PM

I must have stayed at Rob's watching them for about an hour. This is the guy (me) in the area to pick up his car after a service and not visit a fish store... Lucky i keep a couple of 3 foot tanks cycling for my MTS, as yes I left with two red ones.

#3 Delapool

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Posted 08 October 2016 - 07:22 AM

Just out of interest and if ok, what makes a good discus fish well good? I've got discus next on the bucket list to keep so just curious.

#4 Westie

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Posted 08 October 2016 - 09:20 AM

I've never owned discus, but it's something to do with shape and size and colour. So no stunting (big eyes with small body) or peppering. Someone that actually knows what they're talking about will be able to elaborate more though.

#5 Poncho

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Posted 08 October 2016 - 09:32 AM

Great question though - Andrew Soh's talk in March should hopefully provide such answers. I'm not that familiar with discus either but like you Delapool, it's coming up as a high priority on my bucket list too.

#6 Pchmb

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Posted 09 October 2016 - 09:35 PM

Just out of interest and if ok, what makes a good discus fish well good? I've got discus next on the bucket list to keep so just curious.


I am absolutely no expert. Take this advice like all others you read out there on the web. I have read a bit and kept a few. I have also killed a few. Do not feed live blood worms what ever you do!

What Jason said in regards to shape and size, no stunting- big eyes with small body (often due to malnutrition/ parasites). Fins like many of our favourite cichlids, you look for long and healthy dorsal, anal and ventral fins, these are particularly apparent in males. Females have quite small and thick ventral fins. The forehead of males is also noticeably wider. Skin coat/ mucus is highly sensitive so something else to pay attention to. Peppering, in the top photo you could see on one in the background (that was not one of the discus delivered). And then there is colour and patterns, and eyes etc. which I suppose all comes down to personal preference.

What do you look for in healthy angelfish? Same goes, I think angelfish are quite a good comparison for comparing what a "well good" Discus should look like.

Dark vertical lines are also noticed in Discus. Sometime this can be caused by stress, again you can see this in one of the pictures above... but then again many of the healthiest and best looking Discus have dark vertical lines. And then there are the wild caught varieties...

I asked about water changes and food, because I knew the Discus came from one of Rob's regulars (who originally purchased from him) and was told they had been fed 3-4 times a day with premium foods, and a variety too (supposedly makes his own food). I do trust Rob. I guess you can see in their colour and also thickness, but I have never done the research or experimentation to prove. They also received water changes multiple times a week and were housed in a 10 foot tank. Many of these points I mention run true when looking for other quality cichlids I have found.

When I finally decided I couldn't leave without a couple, I picked out the male that was most dominant in the tank. He was locking lips and pushing other males away. He was showing mating behaviour, waving his body alongside a female, that also looked to have egg tubes showing. Whether these are a pair or not, they have every chance to be now. They had been in the tank at Rob's only a few hours so really hard to tell honestly.

Last year I had 8-10 large Discus, pretty close to this size. Three were magnificent males. What I found was that the dominant male and his partner hammered every other Discus, meaning two out of three of the males stayed hidden in the corners and behind objects in the tank. And so I returned these two back to Rob's. Don't always buy the biggest and best looking Discus is my only advice... choose wisely.

#7 Delapool

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Posted 09 October 2016 - 10:14 PM

Thanks! Really appreciate the replies.

The talk would be good.

#8 Buccal

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Posted 09 October 2016 - 10:37 PM

Just out of interest and if ok, what makes a good discus fish well good? I've got discus next on the bucket list to keep so just curious.

pretty much what you see in those pics above.
I havnt seen consistent quality like that around here before,, and it's really not that long ago since the good stuff started coming in.

#9 Delapool

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Posted 10 October 2016 - 06:39 AM

What sort of water changes are done? Twice a week?

From memory I've seen 90% pwc's mentioned elsewhere. Wondering if that is high or norm?




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