help with well-coloured juvies??

[turquoisegirl1]

Hi all,

have had my eye on a juvie that is for sale in a closeby LFS shop, and at 4-5cm, the fish is already very, VERY well patterned. the fish does not appear stunted, eye is in proportion, fish is not beaky, but i was wondering if anything is wrong when a fish is so well patterned at this age???
the fish isn't incredibly red yet, but the blue-green patterning covers the whole body.
Is a fish like this a result of good breeding or...?

Thanks for any help,
Jacqui

[swampy1972]

Could be either good genetics or possibly fed colour enhancers.. I'd ask to see what it's fed, but if you say it's more pattern than colour at this stage and the proportion and shape is good, it's possibly just a genetically good fish.. Are there others in the shop, and how do they compare?

What strain is it?

[TheFish]

Post a picture of it.

[turquoisegirl1]

boyfriend tells me i dont need any more fish until i upgrade my tank but...its only a few months off :P

its some kind of turq by the looks of it, in with a bunch of other strains that are all the same price - but if it makes a difference, they werent bought by the store as "assorted discus", as each strain has a different bar coding/price. eg. the fish COULD be of decent breeding, not just b grade assorted runts and unwanted stock..

may just bite the bullet and buy it tomorrow...i'll see :)

[Merrilyn]

may just bite the bullet and buy it tomorrow...i'll see :)

Something tells me we just might be seeing photos of a new fish swimming in your tank tomorrow ;)

[swifto]

tell the b/f its either a collection of discus or a collection of diamonds,im sure he'd go with as many discus as u like.
either way u win. :whip

[turquoisegirl1]

on second glance when i went back today i was a little dubious about body shape...shame really, i havent bought him/doubt i will

took a photo regardless, would like to hear your opinions :)

[TheFish]

Looks a bit stunted to me. Maybe i'm too picky though.

Not super stunted, but still decently stunted i reckon.

Also potentially its just in the photo, but it looks as if its maybe hiding towards the back a bit. Could be a bit sick.

Also the black beard algae most likely indicates poor water, probably high in phosphates.

[swampy1972]

I'd agree that it looks a bit stunted. You're certainly right about the pattern though - very good for such a young fish.

You wouldn't grow it out to any sort of show fish, but it could be grown into a lovely fish with some TLC. I just wouldn't hold your breath expecting it too big. :wink:

[turquoisegirl1]

well i didn't end up going back for this guy, but bought what i would dare say is a perfectly shaped juvenile discus only just today - probably the most full bodied juvie ive seen in a while, hints of what looks to be nice colour coming through, with a clear red eye and a friendly little guy at that :)
on a sidenote, SWIFTO, he's now the boyfriend's favourite after his mere 6 hours in our home :p
being impatient i popped him straight in the display tank however, and my other guys are a little larger - surprisingly the larger discus weren't bothered by him, but a semi adult twice his size had a great time harrassing him and chasing him round the tank.
he's now in the quarantine and i'll leave him there till he's settled and feeding on my food etc, but any advice as to sorting out the bickering?
move the semi adult out and move juvie back in, then reintroduce semi adult later??
help would be appreciated :)

[Merrilyn]

When you're ready to add the new guy, rearrange the decore in your tank somewhat, so existing territories are mixed up, and everyone is displaced. This will give the new guy a chance to establish his own territory.