representative about their beautiful
discus. He made an interesting comment
that the new strains have poor digestive
systems, and he personally preferred the
standard brown discus.
There is no information about this
on the Web. Can you please (with all of
your expertise in the business) comment
on the lifespan and digestive systems
of your new creations versus the wild-caught fish?
Kenneth Kendall
Torrance, California
Dear Kenneth,
At no time have I ever heard anything
about new discus strains having poor
digestive systems. My opinion is that’s the
reason you can’t find anything about the
subject on the Web.
Many of the crosses we make are made
with wild fish crossed with domestic fish,
and never have we had problems regarding
the digestive systems of the domestic fish
compared to the wild ones. Needless to
say, as with any animal, if fish used for
breeding are highly inbred, the young they
produce may be inferior and could likely
have digestive problems.
I’ve often thought about the lifespan
of my discus and am of the opinion that
discus can probably live up to 20 years.
Many of my fish have been able to live
for 9 to 10 years, and I know of a breeder
who had a breeding pair for 14 years—so
I’ll say 10 to 20 years, if we don’t mess up
along the way.
Iggy Tavares
Discus that compete in shows should have a symmetrically round body.
Dear Jack,
I was in Tampa, Florida recently
and, having visited a tropical fish
importer, was able to purchase a
number of discus that had just arrived
from Brazil. Do I initially treat them
differently than any discus I might
find in a local aquarium shop? I like
the idea that these discus are wild fish,
and I don’t want to lose them.
I look forward to your help.
Justin Torres
Oceanside, California
Dear Justin,
In their native waters, tropical fish—
including discus and other cichlids—
will be carrying internal and external
parasites, which is not a problem when the
fish are in their native waters. The fish can
encounter problems when placed in any
home aquarium if their immune system
breaks down, however, which happens
frequently. But if the fish don’t encounter
water problems, stress, and pH changes
along the way, there should be no reason
to medicate the water.
It generally takes a bit of time for wild
discus to finally accept the foods offered
by the hobbyist. If you are able to offer
the new fish live mosquito larvae, tubifex
worms, or bloodworms, you’ll no doubt see
them accepting the food. After several days
of accepting the worms you should include
in their diet a new food, pellets and flakes.
Place about 10 percent flake or pellet
food in with the worms. It may take several
days for that small amount of flake food
to be accepted, but when it is you can
then begin to increase the percentage of
the flakes, until finally the newcomers are
eating their new food without your having
to include any worms.
Water changes must be made with the
new discus as you would with the domestic
fish, with special attention given during
the initial feedings of the flakes and
pellets—food the wild fish may be refusing
and which will then be left to rot on the
bottom of the tank. D
Tropical Fish Hobbyist
www.tfhmagazine.com
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