Ugly Fish

[okrazykat]

One pretty Discus and four ugly ones. Seriously, they were cute when they were the size of a half-dollar, but grown up they're just boring. My blue is now mostly brownish grey drab with a hint of blue. My "wild" brown is no longer the golden shade of youth, and my two yellows are covered in peppering head-to-toe.
What the heck do you do with Ugly Fish? All the new beautiful strains now, a healthy tank, and I'm itching to replace. All these incredibile photos from Oz and nothing at the LFS here in LA.
What's worse, two of them have paired off. What if they start breeding? Think of the children!

[spencer]

Hi okrazykat
I dont think any discus are ugly, there just all different

Cheers Max

[Littlefish]

Think of the children! That's priceless! :lol:

But let's get serious. Ugly fish need love too, otherwise they get an inferiority complex and develop eating disorders (notice all the 'fish not eating' posts on the various forums).

My wife says my big ol' tandanus cat (Dewey) is ugly as sin, but I love him best of all. I must admit I have very catholic tastes when it comes to fish (which doesn't mean I eat them on Fridays). That presents an idea, though:

Brush your ugly fish with lemon juice, add garlic and cracked pepper, wrap in aluminium foil and place in a moderate oven until tender. You'll love them!

Fred :P

[nicholas76]

You have a situation most people have dealt with one time or another.

give them to your lfs, to a friend, or kill them off.

harsh reality but these are your options!


can you show us better pictures please

[spencer]

KILL them off?
They are pets!

Cheers
Max

[nicholas76]

Max,,,,, everyone to there own,,, I did list several options.


Serious enthusiasts, discus farms, breeders of all sorts understand the importance of "culling" poor specimens. Its an option that discus keepers take to improve the strain and there stock holdings. (hence why I also asked for better pictures).

in your case Max enjoy the fish for what they are... your pets!

[okrazykat]

It's just a shame to spend thousands and years developing the perfect display tank where the fish are just bland. Especially when you know better.
I could never kill a healthy fish, not even place one deliberately in harm's way. But I also can't see a LFS taking these beasts back on credit. I will post some pics in the morning.
Thanks for the support.

[spencer]

Yes, to each their own
I hope you dont start breeding dogs and cats

Max :cry:

[Merrilyn]

Hi okrazycat. If your fish are healthy, no reason why your local fish store wouldn't take them, and may even allow you a credit.

Just because the fish are not to your liking, doesn't mean that someone else won't find them attractive.

There is always a market for healthy fish.

[dreamer]

you gotta kidding me when you said you couldnt find better fish in la. try to see some breeders from simplydiscus forums, im surely you will take back your word!!

[nicholas76]

Yes, to each their own
I hope you dont start breeding dogs and cats

Max :cry:


Max

I'll clarify it for you as it seems with all due respect ,,you dont understand.

1. Dog and cat breeders dont cull when offspring are not "perfect"

2. Fish breeders/ keepers do. ( ps. most of the breeders on this site actualy do! It dosent make them barbarick)

If you would like me to break it down further for you or send you to a site which explains fish culling send me a pm and ill gladly assist you with further readings.

[okrazykat]

Hey Nicholas, it's all good. I understand your points perfectly. Selective breeding is not very ethical either, when put to human standards.
In the end I will either give away the offenders to a good home, or just add a couple more beauties, and hope the variety make a nice display.
Here are a few pics...

This one is so-so at best, wild brown. At first I wanted a tank full of these "natural" ones.

[okrazykat]

"Fugly" is the word?

[okrazykat]

A pair of twins, one now in mating mode.

[okrazykat]

A real Beauty.

[spencer]

nicholas76

whatever.......

[endless]

wow you are right they are ugly :lol: jk. Seriously just keep them and buy two or more discus. From your first picture, you tank seems large enough to accomodate additional discus. Try buying adult or semi adult discus, that way you can pretty much judge how they will turn out when they become adult size. Also breeders tend to keep the better ones to sell when they become larger.

[Littlefish]

Why not set up an ugly tank so your ugly fish won't look out of place? Y'know, like a polluted creek bed. Arrange some broken concrete, old beer bottles, twisted pipe, etc. in an artistic way.

Actually, I like the look of that twin in the second pic.

There are no ugly fish, just interesting fish.

Fred :wink:

[nicholas76]

okrazykat,

thanks for the pics.

yep keep that one pigeon ! its not that bad!! 127-2702_IMG.JPG

the rest are pretty averege. if you cant get rid of them , can you set up a seperate bare bottom tank and put them in.

I like challanges 127-2707_IMG.JPG would look better on a course of heavy fresh foods, with w/c. He looks a little runted but id give it a go.

that other pigeon has a nice red eye but you are right it is peppered to the max.

alternatively ring the lfs say your moving interstate they need a home, they are for free ! see what they say

cheers

[goldenpigeon]

may i suggest to you 1 thing?

in the future when buying discus set the lfs (unless it is very reputable) as your last resort. definetly get the local paper, go on various forums etc to find breeders with the stock you are looking for. alot of breeders will accidentally look past 1 fish when it is younger and it grows to about 7/8cm and then the breeder notices it has nice colour but it has a beaked forehead. so instead of culling the established fish they just sell it to the lfs to buy more food for the discus. you wont really find much at lfs unless they are in the market for quality discus and they import them or what ever.

you have a nice red melon there. the others im not crash hot on (i mean that with due respect) but thats my oppinion.

i would go and ask you lfs's about it and see what solution you can come up with. but definetly dont keep them if you dont appreciate them. that is how animals get neglected and live a very unhappy life.

so i guess i have 2 suggestions lol

my second suggestion is:

do something about them now while they are in good health (im not a all saying you will neglect them). it is alot easier to get rid of something ugly but in good health than something ugly and in a poor condition.

just my oppinion, hope it works out the best for you :D

[kazkirk]

Dog and cat breeders dont cull when offspring are not "perfect"

Actually, yeah, sometimes they do :?

[Merrilyn]

Having bred and shown dogs for more than 20 years, I would have to say I have never seen or heard of a breeder culling puppies because they were not perfect. Culling because of medical deformities, yes, but not because of lack of perfection.

Maybe some do, but it's rare. As a fish breeder, on the other hand, I will not only cull deformed fish, but those that do not conform to the desired size or shape. Difference being the size of the litter. With fish we are talking about 200 or 300 fry. With puppies, 4 or 5.

[mcloughlin2]

I dont reckon they are that bad...I actually like the peppered one..not for breeding but it looks kinda funky... :wink:

But i agree with GP itz alot easyier to sell healthy fish then it is to sell neglected fish :D

[DiscusMan]

I would add that perhaps a change in PH might change the appearance.

I have some turquoise discus that when the PH is lower ( 6 ) they seem to be darker. When its up at neutral they are much brighter in colour As int eh blackness goes away a bit. Browns arent that great to look at when they are dark. Browns are in my top 2 favourite colours and nice light ones are good dark ones are bad.

I hope you can sort it out with a LFS or another enthuisiast

Wayne

[okrazykat]

Thank you all for the advice. I think I'm going to add a couple more, then wait a few months. At that point we'll see how it looks and how they get along. In the mean time, I'll treat them like kings.