Purchasing Quality Discus in WA

[waterflash]

I am keen to hear from anyone who has worked out how to buy quality Discus in WA. It seems most of the LFS over here bring in the cheapest stock/quality and flog it off for the highest price. Which is somewhat acceptable if you are only ever going to have 2 discus in your tank.

I am at the point of ordering direct from those in the Eastern States and bringing them over myself. Would love recommendations of who to buy from over there.

If anyone else is having this problem in WA I am also happy to talk to you regarding the development of a buying group.

Cheeers

Robin

[Merrilyn]

I'm sure some of our sponsors are able and willing to ship to WA. It would make good economic sense for several people to get together and share the cost of freight.

[Dave76]

Hi Robin

I've purchased discus a few times from the east coast & had them shipped over no problems.

After you've decided where you are buying from, if you post a message on the Perth Cichlid Society forums you may find some other people interested in splitting shipping costs.

Cheers

Dave

[G-1000]

Hi Robin,

I am sure this question has been asked before on the forum and luckily I remember the answer!

SLS and I think also GNS can ship to your nearest airport (perth) overnight in an insulated box of some sort.

I think they quoted 60 dollars per box to send it over..

HTH

G

[jim from sydney]

Robin.......pm sent.....Jim

[aquafrogstuff]

Hi Robin,

I live in the northern part of Perth. There are at least four fish shops I can think of that sell discus, they are:-
1. Seaview Aquariums, Westminster;
2. Aquotix, Canningvale;
3. The Pet Shop, Wanneroo
4. Exotic Tropical Fish, Wangara.

I find Seaview usually have a reasonable stock level. Compared with Sydney and Brisbane based fish shops I've been to, they are quite good. Hope that helps.

Dwayne

[waterflash]

Thanks Dwayne,
but my experience has been that the quality and health of many of the LFS's in Perth are poor. Variety is very limited and Perth really does have a second rate service when it comes to finding quality Discus. I have been in the tropical fish scene in Perth for 22 years and know of all these shops mentioned. Some of them bring discus over from suppliers in the east that really need improvement. The fish are very wasted and I tend not to have a great deal of faith in fish that haven't been given a good start to life. (even though some fish are amazing at survival)

I know quarantine can knock fish about but what I am seeing is disappointing. I look forward to finding a shop that is interested in providing quality to the serious hobbyist just as much as they are interested in turnover of anything they can flog off to the less experienced.

Cheers

Robin

[aquafrogstuff]

Well, if you find such a shop, please let me know!

I should let you know that I am currently getting imported fish from ExoticDiscus through Seaview. They have assured me that in the event that I'd like to purchase a particular breed, they can usually order a few so that the best can be picked. At the moment I'm trying to source a breeding pair that should be in Perth on Thursday night so I'll let you know how I go. I guess the point is that we may battle with having a LFS stocked with top quality fish, but working through a LFS may give you access to better imported stock.

BTW. Apart from the LFS I've listed, where else sells discus in Perth???

[duck]

I have 3 discus brought locally the other 9 interstate.
Every time i have brought discus local 3 months later belly up.
The 3 that i brought local(1 just recently purchased) i got them before they went anywhere near the LFS tank water.

Midland pet&Aquarium
Morley Aquarium
The one in bayswater can't remember the name
Vebas
Pescies(spelling)
Even some city farmer's have them,Believe it or not
Perth aquarium display center off Albany HWY

[aquafrogstuff]

Duck,

I've bought all my discus (5) from two of local fish shops listed in my first response above. In all cases I've spent time looking at the fish making sure that they were in good condition, settled and would rise to the top of the tank for food if I stuck my hand hear the top.

My first purchase was a bit of a disaster because my water quality was not quite right and even though the fish (2 at the time) survived, it took some months of me faffing around with filtration before I got the water crystal clear. Now all five look great.

The only main drama I've had was with some discus I bought (fish shop can remain nameless) that appeared to have discus plague. I had to quarunteen one of them but they all survived.

Thanks for the other fish shops. Gives me some new places to visit this weekend.

[waterflash]

Hey Dwayne
So you must be the reason why we are not getting the quality fish cause you are getting the pick of the bunch and we a left with all the withered frail ones...lol

Thanks mate
Robin

[aquafrogstuff]

Hey Robin, Seaview Aquariums are importing nine breeding pairs from ExoticDiscus. They arrive tomorrow. They include blue turks and golden pigeons. If you're interested. I only asked for one pair, but they got 9 because they believe they can sell the others fairly quickly.

P.S. I got first dips on the golden pigeons !

P.P.S. I wish I was the reason for buying all the good fish but I would score very poorly on the SAF (Spouse Approval Factor). Particularly if we had to sell one of the kids....hey that's an idea....LOL!