got my first discus

woo-hoo! my planted tank is coming along!

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Cool discus!

Where did you get him, Nick? He/she is a beauty!
How large, dorsal fin tip to anal fin tip?
And what's that pattern named?

Enough questions for now...!

Awesome! One of these days, like a lot of hobbyists, I want a discus tank!

wow, i missed all the responses on this one...
thanks earthfish, ron and crazed ace...i got it at midway, one of their $25 youngsters...its color improved quite a bit when i got it into my tank. its been a week and its doing well, although a bit finicky with food..
im waiting for them to get some new ones in...eventually id like 5 in my 75 gal.

plants are growing like gangbusters, cant wait to see what happens when my co2 comes on line...

rpn. its probably 2 1/2 - 3 inches tall

it appears to be a juvenile.
have you done much studying of discus keeping??

What a beauty! If you're plants are doing good already why do you wanna add co2? Wouldn't you risk throwing things off balance?

yea, my plants are doing much better than i realized till i compared photos....my main reason to add the CO2? cuz ive gor the parts laying around. im not entirely worried about throwing things off balance, cuz the system will be automated with a ph controller (im waiting for the new probe to arrive). the probe controls a relay that switches the solenoid on the regulator. this explains it better [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

its not the model i have but the concept is the same

About your Discus Nick:
The good: Very nice patern and colour
The bad: The body shape and the size of the eye is telling me it is a stunted fish rather than a juvenile.
Discus is a group fish , he/she will enjoy for sure some tank mates.
If you are planning to buy some baby discus keep them in a sterile tank and heavy feed them.

star_rider- id been reading on and off again about discus for 20 years now and finally decided to make the plunge. never had them before, because i never make the same type of tank twice, every new tank i start at the bottom of the learning curve

flo77- im looking to add more, im planning around 5 total. currently dont have the room for a separate sterile tank (i moved from a 3 bedroom house in texas to a 1 bedroom apartment, so things are still somewhat crowded). im currently looking for some tank mates, wanted to give this guy some time in the tank to see how it does before i take the plunge. it seems to be doing fine, albeit a bit finnicky at meal times

if there is a problem with my guy, i hope i get better at spotting differences in quality before i get too far!

I have stunted discus myself. It is rather a quality issue rather than a health issue. They are healthy but far from top quality. Actually the price you paid for is not too big and is good for the begining.
It is usually a nutrition and water quality problem in the early stages of life. The proportion between body size and eye size is the best indicator.
If you plan to buy baby discus and want to raise them right be prepared to feed them 4-5 times a day and do masive water changes. That's why is better to raise discus in a sterile tank and keep only mature discus in aplanted tank. My 2 cents, maybe somebody with more experience than me in raising discus will join the discussion.

its coloration seemed to show up much better in my tank than at the store, so i was pleasantly surprised. i cant seem to find a good spotting guide as to what to look for in a good vs a poor quality discus

If you google stunted discus you can see some pictures. Notice the large eyes and the body shape is rather oval than round.

yup, round shape is the preferred shape.
and they can be nearly circular in shape. slant or slope head, pointed or beaked mouth are generally not preferred.

flo is correct the problem is more common in discus at your LFS ..the best shaped discus are found with discus breeders..
often large breeders will sell the b, c quality fish to fish stores keeping the A or prime fish for them selves or their customers.

the stunting occurs , as mentioned, when the fish arrives at the LFS.where they usually don't have the time or resources to care properly for the juveniles.

again, nice color and with good care this discus will provide you with many years(yes they live a long time) of enjoyment.

btw when I first ventured into discus I settled for B quality as this was more affordable for me to partake in the adventure.

I now purchase the A quality ..which even given proper care you may find a lower quality discus in the mix.
I purchase them in groups of 6

knowing what i know now, i wouldve still bought the little guy, stunted or not...i was able to minimize my risk, putting this small one in first before i invested in larger, pricier ones. it may not grow large, but its coloration is nice and its proving to be quite inquisitive. it is developing quite a personality. when i saw it was doing well in my tank then i felt more comfortable putting in nicer, higher priced discus.

sometimes it's worth it as it is more affordable.

you will probably still wind up with a decent fish.
tho upkeep in a planted tank is a bit more difficult.

if discus were easier than a planted tank, the fish would be feeding and cleaning up after himself! my plants are doing quite well on their own

the small guy, stunted or not, is turning out to be a great little fish. his eyes are the same size as my much larger fish, so they are larger in proportion to the little guys body

its not so comfortable with the larger ones around, but i see it following them around like a lost puppy sometimes

its larger tank mates are still adjusting to their new environment

what tank mates, if any were you planning? I read you were planning on 5 in a shoal.

Some neons, a pair of keyholes and a pair of cupidos. So far everyone is doing fine though I may take it down to 4 discus. I definately need to thin myplants out for the larger guys

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thought i would share, prime example of wonderful healthy discus specimens.

really good discus information can also be found at simplydiscus.com

Keep in mind that at simply, these are very avid and successful discus keepers.
they can be very critical of discus keeping.. so read that info and take what is useful to you.
the info on raising juveniles is accurate and there are a lot of hobby breeders with great quality fish available for reasonable pricing.