henward Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Ok, found this document on another forum specialising on discus. should have read through this forum before purchasing, a bit disappointed but thats ok. now i know and have learnt. its a shame, been to a few breeders and some tell you age of fish, but now i know that its not the case at all after reading through this forum i been to eye size chart 4.5 eye rating is usually stunted 7.5 eye rating and above is a good rating. of course there are other factors, but i believe that this is a good guide for any potential discus buyers. dont get caught unawares. i guess the knowledge overseas is much more detailed as they have more fish and experience perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted May 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 picture does not enlarge. here is the link http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=49201 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flosty Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 It is very hard to tell the age of a discus,large eyes small body size is generally a good bet that a discus is stunted, although some of the more modern strains are bred for smaller eye size.Also wild discus have larger eyes than domestics.Something else you should look at is body colour ,discus are slow to colour up,if you see them at 2 or 3 inch and fully coloured they will be alot older than you think.Body Shape is the most important thing to look at, don't buy discus that resemble footballs, a round shape is the most desirable.You will get the hang of judging what fish to buy and what not to soon enough.Its a pity that some lie about the age :evil: and sell sub standard fish at to higher prices. :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted May 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 YES I AGREE! live and learn i guess some may not know its stunted but some would definatley know the age. yeah. shape has something to do wtih the age too! if stunted, they grow into a football not a round shape i read. sucks!! i have got 10 discus now. 15 cms is a good size for a discus. but just wondering. how do you measure discus? you know with arowana and most fish, you measure tip to tip. literally. tip to tip. tip of tail and tip of lips. with discus is there a different measuring way? you know crayfish ands tuff have ways of being measured. same with discus? any different way? or is it also tip to tip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted May 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 i posted the two white discus i got. one is a snow white one is a albino when i saw them, it was large, so i bought them. looked fat and healthy! tip to tip they are 15 to 16 cms thats big! but when iposted on simply discus, they said that stunted. the snow white apparently has a weird body shape...i think its nice. the albino male apparenlty has massive eyes but its not stunted at 15 to 16 cms is it? according to many if not all articles on google, discus grows to only 15 to 16 cms! ...weird. i think discus like dogs, some will grade them down even if they look n ice looking at the finer details of their shape etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 you should stop going on that forum :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flosty Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 You can measure discus standard length which is from tip of mouth to base of caudal fin, some measure using total length which is the whole fish tip of mouth to end of tail. 15 cm is a large discus especially if its standard length.Not all discus get to this size, in fact most won't unless given optimum growing conditions. The way you photograph the fish, which angle you capture the fish at can make the discus look good or bad.A nice fish can look quite bad captured at the wrong angle, also a stunted fish can look not to bad at the right angle.Your photos don't show the fish at the best angle.Best to take picture side on and front to back of the fish. If you are happy with them thats all that counts, who cares what others on the forums think.The people on the simply have great suppliers and breeders to choose the best fish available,they are a little spoilt for choice,we however have only limited availability of strains and quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 If you like the fish, then what does it matter if its not show quality round? More importantly, make sure its eating and happy. Slightly stunted discus can still live long and happy lives and they need a home too. Also, can't open the image off the forum as i am not a member. Can you post it in a diff way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted May 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 yeah thanks guys i feel better:D lol man going to that forum, everyone is so ................ lana backwards! they have a rating system 0.0 point system that goes to 0 out of 10. its really hard out!!! its like a dog show! i mean i appreciate the feedback. and i guess i want a discus that gets big! the two white discus i have, i am definatley happy with! eating heaps now too! they are tip to tip 15 to 16 cms. caudal fin you mean from where the tail becomes part of the body to the tip of the mouth? taht would take 2 cms off. my two other larges ones the checkerboard and the white butterfly is 12 to 13 cms ish. so they are large. looking at google and all sites, 15 to 18 cms is really the biggest most discus gets to. i gues i was just looking at stunted fish and not stunted fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 going to that forum, everyone is so ................ lana backwards! Definitely....discus snobs are annoying. I mean get over yourself people. The only people who should be worried about that stuff is breeders and/pr those actually entering shows for money. Some discus are just googly or lanky, or a bit square, or awkward looking....just like people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted May 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 yeah i guess a standard is set for a fish, jus tlike dogs. i mean a show pug and a normal cheaper pug is just as cute:D the discus i guess is nicer round but i found nothing wrong wtih my apparently mis shapen snow white and albino lol i was stoked to get them! in fact might go back to the same dude and get more of his fish! now just posted on the freshwater section. on anyone dealt with vencent discus guy. before i buy from him. if anyone who is reading this reply there if you have dealt with yhim before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flosty Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Standard length is the start of the tail to the tip of mouth,on a large discus it would be more like 1.5 inches off the total length. I don't think there is anything wrong with your white butterfly and checkerboard pigeon,they are beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted May 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 oh ok, so when they measure discus lengths, its always the base of the tail to the tip of the mouth? that is a large discus then, if articles on google says 15 cms ...do they also mean the "standard" length? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 I've dealt with Vincent. He is lovely. Very helpful and quick to reply. Lately he's been VERY busy so he may take a few days to reply (hence why he is cutting back on some of his stock). He has a lot of albino varieties, but knows other breeders in auckland and can try to source something specific if you want it. All my discus except 1 are from him. I find his discus are very round if that is what you are into. They also have very muscular bodies with thick foreheads (good conditioning). I have a white butterfly which i bought because it had a big navy blotch on his head which i thought was cool I also have a ring leopard, and I absolutely love the colour on him/her....just amazing. Both these 2 are about 12cm excluding tail. And I have 2 super checkboard young which are growing out incredibly fast (in my opinion) and already getting wicked patterning. I will be getting 2 more high fin blue diamond's from his soonish as well. Here are some pics if you wanna see: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=44981&hilit=discus These pics where pretty much right after i got them. The adults are a bit darker then they were in his tanks because i have a black background and lots of plants. The babies look so tiny compared to what they are now. They where about 3-4cm then and now they are close to 6cm i think, with very robust little bodies yeah i guess a standard is set for a fish, jus tlike dogs. i mean a show pug and a normal cheaper pug is just as cute:D the discus i guess is nicer round but i found nothing wrong wtih my apparently mis shapen snow white and albino lol i was stoked to get them! in fact might go back to the same dude and get more of his fish! now just posted on the freshwater section. on anyone dealt with vencent discus guy. before i buy from him. if anyone who is reading this reply there if you have dealt with yhim before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 You may also find this interesting. A semi-reliable way to sex mature discus. http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~davidr/discus/ ... iscus.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted May 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 cool anyone else have vincent experience? he has a good variety. white, albinos and stuff like that is what i like in discus traits. i bought a tiny blue diamond - got abit beat up by the ghost knife, but seems to be ok. that has grown 1cm in 2 weeks after getting it! was under fed i think. but i would like coupel fo massive blue diamonds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flosty Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 oh ok, so when they measure discus lengths, its always the base of the tail to the tip of the mouth? that is a large discus then, if articles on google says 15 cms ...do they also mean the "standard" length? I wouldn't take anything as granted,unless it says SL ,if not it could be TL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king_gie Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 hi henward.. i will be having some blue diamonds in 3-4mnths time if ur keen. :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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