Selecting your Discus Livestock

Sources of livestock

Finding quality Discus in the 21st Century is a lot easier than it was 20 years ago. What used to be a time consuming, and sometimes frustrating process is much easier with the advent of the internet. When I began, you had few choices. You were mostly limited to your local fish store, members of local fish clubs, or sight unseen through ads in the American Cichlid Association newsletter.

However, even with the internet, locating a decent source of Discus stock can still be a time consuming and frustrating process. Internet fraud is rampant, and I have seen many a hobbyist who have gotten burned buying fish this way. Fortunately there are some great resources like simplydiscus.com that can help ease the pain of locating quality livestock. If your goal is high quality Discus that will reproduce true, then your local pet shop will most likely not be a very good source, even if they are a large store and specialize in unique and hard to get fishes. Years of Discus experience and many frequent trips making the rounds of the local shops (and not so local) have led me to the conclusion that few pet shops have the knowledge or means to properly take care of Discus. I can't begin to tell you how many times I have seen clamped, dark colored Discus, or small Discus with HUGE eyes (evidence that their growth is stunted) or small Discus housed with large Bala Sharks and fast moving Australian Rainbows. It is rare for a pet shop to have decent quality Discus, but not totally impossible.You might get lucky and your dealer will know a local breeder that they may be willing to refer you to, purchasing from a breeder is absolutely your best bet in obtaining high quality Discus. If your city has a local aquarium society look them up, chances are that there is at least a couple of Discus fanciers in the membership. And even if there isn't a Discus fancier in the club, the potential for resources and contacts is fantastic. Go to a club fish show and you'll see what I mean, I have met a lot of interesting people at shows.

Publications

Hobbyist magazines are another source (with caution) of finding Discus stock. Any aquarium magazine is chock full of ads from "Discus Breeders". Most of these ads are from legitimate breeders, however there are a few that are from "get-rich-quick" artists who think Discus are their meal ticket to the good life at your expense. These people buy bulk Discus, mostly culls, at incredibly low prices having no idea as to the quality of the stock they are selling or care. I once purchased several adult, supposedly "Schmidt-Focke" Discus from a breeder who had been advertising in the magazines for years, I was guaranteed he had good quality fish on the phone so I placed an order and I paid $150.00 each. When I received my fish, every single specimen was deformed or flawed in some way. Many had shortened gill covers, one had a bent spine another had deformed fins. I called this breeder to complain and was told that what I got was worth 150.00, if I wanted specimens that didn't have defects it would cost me 350.00 each or more. Of couse he didn't tell me this when I placed my order, he waited until after he got my money and I got left holding the bag with his garbage Discus. Needless to say I never ordered from this guy again. Even more astonishing is this breeder is still in business!!

Exercise some caution before shelling out your hard earned dollars.

MAKING YOUR SELECTION

Behavior

Behavior is one of the first things you should look for when you go Discus shopping. Normal healthy Discus will rush towards the front of the tank looking for food when you approach their aquarium, they will flash and flare their fins erect, eagerly awaiting food. No signs of fear or trepidation will be apparent in their mannerism as they gracefully parade back and forth along the front of the tank. Specimens that dart and hide, are darkly colored or seem too shy should be immediately disqualified as they likely have a problem that could later come back to haunt you..

General Health

Discus are not any more or less prone to parasites and diseases than any other fish. However, their ability to fend off disease can become greatly diminished especially if they have been exposed to poor water conditions, sudden and rapid environmental and temperature changes, overcrowding or consistantly fed live foods. The last I say with some hesitation, as this is conditional. Live foods are great for your discus, but it has to be clean and freeof contamination, and you cannot be certain if foods they were fed before you buy them are up to par. You should be observant and look for signs of possible problems before you buy. look for cloudy or milk eyes, spots on the body or fins, pin prick holes in the forehead, secretions, look for feces in the tank or coming from the fish, it should be dark and solid looking. Avoid fish with white and stringy looking feces, it's trouble.

The Discus should be breathing "slow" and easily, if they are breathing rapidly and look stressed, skip them. Look to see if both gills are working properly, if a Discus is using only one gill or it is breathing rapidly and laobred, it probably has gill flukes. Although reasonably easy to treat, why take the chance?

NOTE: It is important at this point to mention that Discus in the wild, and in fact many Discus bred in captivity carry potentially harmful parasites and pathogens that can under certain conditions be severely detrimental to their health and cause death. Gill flukes are actually a common condition, and many healthy Discus are carriers of gill flukes and other parasites. This is usually not a problem if they are healthy and well cared for. The most important factor is water quality, good water quality is the best prophylactic for disease.

The skin should look smooth and even in texture with no abberations or discoloration. Discus with a webby looking white film should be avoided at all costs, as well as any other fish from that tank. Back in 1986, a so-called "Plague" wiped out huge populations of Angelfish and Discus. A rigid quarantine program should be maintained anytime you purchase new stock.

You also want to examine the body for signs of emaciation or malnutrition. the body should look full and smooth, with no sharp or angular edges. Look at the Discus from the front, the forehead should be thick and full looking. If it has a "pinched-in" look to it, the fish is sick and should be avoided. Along the sides of the Discus is a line, about 1/3 rd the way down the side running from behind the gills to just in front of the tail. This is called the lateral line. Look for signs of "erosion" along this line, lateral line erosion as well as Hole-in-the-head disease are symptoms of dietary and water quality deficiency

Size

The size of Discus you wish to purchase can vary on a number of factors such as tank size, and most importantly your cash reserves. You will find Discus for sale anywhere from 2 cm. up to breeder size. Fish below 7 cm. in size will be hard to determine what their actual adult quality will be, and little color will have formed at this size. If you are looking at small but highly colorful Discus, odds are that they are being hormoned and should be avoided, although many breeders practice hormoning their fish as it will give them an idea of adult coloration, (as well as making them more saleable) there are potential long term side effects to this, most notably being loss of fertility. Color feeding, such as food mixes that include things like carrots or other natural sources of red pigmentation are acceptable as these will have no long term bearing on the Discus. HOPEFULLY THE BREEDER WILL BE HONEST ENOUGH TO LET YOU KNOW. In small specimens the eyes will most likely not show the characteristic red coloration yet, if this is a major concern for you then you should buy slightly older Discus. Body form, health and overall vigor can be seen within reason, on smaller Discus, but the rest will take months. In larger specimens it is far easier to spot deformed gills and other imperfections.

If cost is not a major concern, or your patience level is low you may want to jump ahead and buy larger fish in the 8-9 cm. range. At this size the quality of the specimens are quite obvious, and most strains will have most of their adult coloration at this size. Of course there is always the prospect of buying Adult fish right from the begining and not have to wait for them to grow. Although some people will tell you that this not a good idea, claiming they will be hard to adapt or will never breed once you move them, I have not foudn this to be the case with healthy Discus stock. Healthy, well cared for fish will take little notice of being moved to a new environment, and will settle in almost right away. I've even had freshly caught and shipped wilds eating within a couple of hours after being let into their new tanks.

Based on personal experience, I would advise some caution when purchasing adult or so-called breeder Discus. A breeder who has invested the time and money raising Discus to near breeder size is not likely to sell them, especially at a "cheap" price. Expect adult specimens to be expensive, if they are not.......question it. There is a reason this fish is being sold cheap. Keep in mind that I am not saying adult Discus or breeder size are bad, or there are not decent deals to be had, I am just advising caution. It is possible that a breeder raises a number of fish to choose from gets his pairs and sells the rest. I do it myself. But not very often.

Color

Young Discus below 6 cm. in size are usually a light to medium brown color, sometimes with a pale sheen of blue along the dorsal area of the body above the lateral line, as well as a dark band through the eye. The body will either show or not show it's body bars depending on their mood. At about 5cm. in size, many Discus will start to develop a bright red color to the eyes. This trait is considered by most to be highly desireable and is often one of the first things looked for in young fish. Unfortunately, not all Discus have the bright red eyes and some may lose this appearance as they grow. If you can see the parents you will get a fair idea of what to expect. As I previously mentioned, super colorful Discus with brilliant red eyes that are only 3 or 4 cm. in size should be AVOIDED. Selecting color can be difficult for the inexperienced, Obviously the first consideration is personal choice, if you like it then buy it. If you are looking for true breeding quality stock, chooing fish can be a little harder. You must rely on the honesty of the breeder to give you a background on your new purchase. I have seen too many times where someone purchased several Discus, Brilliants, Red Spotted Brilliants, Cobalts and Red Turquoise from a breeder, only to find out months later that they were all the same fish! Years ago, I talked to a breeder/dealer who was distributing the fish of a well known Discus author, I inquired about purchasing some of the Discus and wanted to know what strains were available. This guy actually told me to look in the author in questions book, and let him know what I wanted. I did so, selecting Cobalts (striated), Brilliant Turquoise (solid), a solid metallic colored cobalt, and a striped turquoise that had a checkerboard pattern to it, after making my selections I was informed that these were all from the same parents! I was at least thankful he told me. I didn't buy them.

Water Conditions

Water condition is one of the msot important considerations you have to deal with when making the choice to keep and raise Discus. I am sure I will make enemies with this one but, NEVER buy Discus that were raised in hard, alkaline tap water. If your eventual goal is to breed Discus, these fish will most likely be a big disappointment to you. The high mineral content of hard water can cause a number of health and breeding problems that can severely hinder or destroy all your hard work.. Discus raised in hard alkaline water (ph 7.0 or higher), will not develop a proper slime coating (it's first line of defense against disease and parasites) and will be far more susceptible to infection and disease, they will be far harder to acclimize to a new tank, and the mineral content (calcium carbonate) of the water can cause calcification of the sperm ducts, inhibiting fertility or rendering the fish sterile. With that in mind it may then become apparent why so many so-called experts claim Discus are so hard to keep, or spawn sucessfully.

Ideally, you should start with stock that has been raised in water that has a pH ranging from 6.0 to 6.5, with a hardness of around 100ppm or less. There are a number of methods and products available that will help you maintain the proper balance of minerals and trace elements in the water. Everything from suing peat moss to products that provide a basic "Instant Amazon" for your tanks. Frequent and regular water changes are the best thing you can do for your Discus, and it should never be put off. It is advisable to always have a quantity of pre made water available to refill your tank with.

With a little care and planning, your new Discus should give you many years of enjoyment.