What Discus are these?

[enigmatic]

Ok, I'll fess up now. I was holding out to go to Xtreme which I did today but in a moment of weakness last Fri, I bought 2 Discus at the LFS in Erina.

The guy in the store wasn't that knowledgeable on exactly which Discus they were and was obviously seeing $ signs given the price to size ratio (when compared to Xtreme stock).

Very nice fish (although one appears to have nibbled the tail fin of the other) but exactly what strain are they?

I think one is a Blue Diamond but I'm thrown a bit with the black stripes (bought 2 Blue Diamond today and no stripes).

Thanks in advance....

[Nathan]

there stunted first of all!

there definitely not blue diamonds.

i thnk the top one is a red turk.

an im really not sure about the bottom one, kinda looks like an ocean green but they dnt have the stress bars, it may turn out to be a blue turk

[samir]

i dont think anything with the name diamond attached should have bars. the first looks like a blue turquoise and the second a cobalt (not sure. the tail should grow back in a few days as long it is not stressed. For the future I would advise you to read through some of the articles on picking discus. Also you will never get a good discus cheap. I would recommend buying from a place like Extreme because the chances are much higher that you will get healthier fish. when you are starting off the most important thing is to buy healthy fish otherwise things have the potential to become very difficult and frustrating.

[goldenpigeon]

the first is a red turq, second is a cobalt

[viobank]

the first is a red turq, second is a cobalt

sono due discus stresati :lol:

[mcloughlin2]

the first is a red turq, second is a cobalt

I agree with GP.

I also believe these fish are both quite stunted and they do not look to be in the best health (The eyes are not very clean and the missing part of the RT tails looks like it is being attack by fungus)

HTH

Sam :D

[enigmatic]

Thanks for the replies. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and after my trip to Xtreme I've already said I regret buying the first 2 Discus locally. I can honestly say I will not buy Discus from any other store now having seen Xtreme.

I can't change what has done and will have to put this down to experience and learning (the hard way)

Let me see if I can get better photos. The eyes are clean but the photos may not show this clearly as they were taken at 1000 ISO, cropped from a larger photo and quality was lost in saving them for the web.

Re the fungus, how do I confirm this to be the case and what do I need to do about it if it is a fungus?

Cheers,

Chris

[mcloughlin2]

Re the fungus, how do I confirm this to be the case and what do I need to do about it if it is a fungus?

Cheers,

Chris

Give it a few days. If you notice that the white on the edge of the fins develops any further go to your LFS and purchase a anti fungal medication.

If you want to try prevent it you could try using a broad spectrum medication. :wink:

[enigmatic]

Give it a few days. If you notice that the white on the edge of the fins develops any further go to your LFS and purchase a anti fungal medication.

If you want to try prevent it you could try using a broad spectrum medication. :wink:

Given my experiences with LFS, I'm not inclined to buy anything locally on the advice of the store.

What sort of products am I looking at? I've got some Pimafix - will this do or do I need Melafix.

If I need to get some in, I'd rather order from ASA or at a push, collect from ALA here in Gosford.

Cheers,

Chris

[nicholas76]

honestly id be probably give those away , trade them in for food and start fesh.

thats not giving you cheek, but as a new discus keeper you deserve better than those. You probably wont see much development in these fish no matter how much love you put into them.

xtreme does have wicked discus.

[enigmatic]

honestly id be probably give those away , trade them in for food and start fesh.

thats not giving you cheek, but as a new discus keeper you deserve better than those. You probably wont see much development in these fish no matter how much love you put into them.

Extreme does have wicked discus.

Advice taken but I don't think I could take them back. The shop will only sell them on again and besides, they look fine to me if only small compared to the others I got from Xtreme. As I say, I've learnt my lesson the hard way.

[mcloughlin2]

Give it a few days. If you notice that the white on the edge of the fins develops any further go to your LFS and purchase a anti fungal medication.

If you want to try prevent it you could try using a broad spectrum medication. :wink:

Given my experiences with LFS, I'm not inclined to buy anything locally on the advice of the store.

What sort of products am I looking at? I've got some Pimafix - will this do or do I need Melafix.

If I need to get some in, I'd rather order from ASA or at a push, collect from ALA here in Gosford.

Cheers,

Chris

Mate,

Take a trip to your LFS and check out their medication section.

They should have a number of brands of different fungal treatments. Don't go for the cheapest one, go for a brand your comfortable with. It would be good if you take up on a broad spectrum med aswell as it treats a number of illnesses and dieseases.

I actually am not aware of how good melafix or pimafix are - So i can't help you there.

I see where your coming from with ASA. But we hobbiests have to support our LFS that supply us with our fish and tanks too. :wink: I have shopped at one LFS for 5yrs and i now recieve amazing prices and service.

Sam.

[samir]

on the bright side they might give you some experience at a much cheaper price. :)

[darren burgess]

sorry but i think there floor slappers !

[scott bowler]

hi enigmatic
dont worry treat the fish and look after them you can put it down experience and see how they go , they are discus after all and still you can do something with them grow them on see how they turn out as you are still new to the game they may suprise you and we have all got fish at some point that are not up to scrach even after many years in the trade people buy in rubish so dont worry and give it your best good luck with it mate

[enigmatic]

sorry but i think there floor slappers !

Thanks for your input, really helps. If this is all you can add, please don't bother.

[enigmatic]

Scott, Sam,

Thanks for your input.

Went to ALA here in Gosford yesterday and picked up some Wardley Fungus-Ade. Have used the lower dose of this as I have Neon Tetras in the tank and the instructions indicated they don't cope well with the normal dose.

The tank is running at 28C, I've turned the UV off. Have also added aquarium salt to the tank at 1 teaspoon of salt per 40L of water.

Lights are off although the tank is getting some natural light on it. Do I need to cover the tank?

Thanks,

Chris

[Proteus]

If looked after, fed well and lots of water changes they will be fine. Obviously the runting that has already occurred cannot be reversed, but that does not mean they are not otherwise healthy.

Runting is not genetic either, so down the track if they spwan, there will be no follow on issues.

[scott bowler]

no that will be fine it wont do any harm

[enigmatic]

Cheers Scott.

How long will I need to keep the lights off?

[discusprinllo]

I agree with Proteus, I think they will turn out nice, not exceptional,but nice

[jim from sydney]

enigmatic

out of interest what did you pay for these two.......if too much take them back and complain.....

[discusprinllo]

I'm not sure, I was just wondering if the 1st fish is a RRB and the 2nd fish is what they used to call Marine Blue.

[enigmatic]

enigmatic

out of interest what did you pay for these two.......if too much take them back and complain.....

I paid $70 for the pair - a rip off when compared to Xtreme's stock. As I've said before, I'm not taking them back as a) I won't get anything from the shop and b) he'll only sell them on to someone else.

They both seem pretty happy with the larger fish I got from Xtreme and are eating. Beyond being small, they are OK to me.

With my experience at this LFS, I won't be buying anymore fish from the store and another store on the coast has pretty much the same stock only more expensive.