Buying baby discus

[kithrup]

Hi.
I'm in the planning stage for at 5ft discus tank for next year. I;m finding this a great site to learn heaps of good stuff but still have a few questions.

The tank hasn't been ordered yet so I'm getting ahead of myself talking about buying fish, but I like to have all the details worked out before jumping in feet first. I was planning on buying approx 5cm baby discus via mail order. I'm a bit weary on this though as got burned a few years ago with 10cm discus and was sent some pretty poor coloured unhealthy guys which put me off discus for quite a while. When buying babies can you expect them to look as good as the parents (when fully grown) or is there likely to be a real mix in quality e.g. markings, peppering, shape etc...? If so, at what size can you get a feel for what they will look like as adults?

Thanks in advance for your advice,
Darren

[boydie]

mate im far from an expert,but im shore there will be people on here that can help you out.
ive heard Rod Lewis is the man to get fish from but once again im no expert.
all i can say is do you research and more research and ask heaps of questions...hth

cheers marty

[turquoisegirl1]

at 5cm, simply looking at the fish itself will give little indication of how impressive it will be when fully grown - looking at the parents will give a good idea of potential, and at 5cm colour is beginning to show, but essentially, the way your discus end up will depend on how you grow them - high protein food such as beef heart, blood worms, combined with staple foods to provide nutrients etc will help, but of course there are other factors (water chemistry, the other fish in the tank and the way they interact etc).
buying young discus, in short, CAN be very rewarding - but you must put in the time and effort in order for potential to become reality :) good luck!