Who Gives A Fish Forums

Every hobbyist reaches a point where they know it's not forever. I started with discus in junior high, back in the 60's in New York City. Later, I found out they were probably the first batch of discus bred in Singapore and exported. After a break, I got back into the hobby in the mid-90's and have had discus in my fish room ever since. Ten years ago, I set up my fish room for daily water changes and it became an obsession. But I'm pretty sure I won't be doing daily water changes in another decade. Since growing out good fish takes over a year, I've been thinking about the end game.

I was talking to a discus friend of 20+ years about all the strains that have come and gone. After all this time, I've decided a tank of Flachens would make me happy. If you're not familiar, Flachens are Stendker's cobalt discus with a greenish sheen. Like all Stendkers, they'll grow big and spawn. I had a conversation with Hans last month, with specific instructions on what I wanted. Hans told me to wait for the next shipment, but then this happened.

These guys were picked up from the FedEx office around 9:30 and were looking for food by 11:30. I estimate they're around 3+ months old, so let's say an October 2019 spawn. They'll get 100% daily water changes and plenty of beefheart. I'll try to give updates periodically.

Lovely additions to your discus family, wilde. What's the size of these young ones? I wish you all the best with them.

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Those discus of yours are quite the catch. I've got a rough idea how they'll turn out when they're all grown up - similar to this video I came across (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69fdnyifllU). I'd say they're around 2-3 inches now? How's the feeding schedule looking - how many times a day and how much are you giving them each time?

Looking forward to seeing how they grow out.

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Hans' selection skills are still top-notch, wilde - those discus look fantastic.

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Love the new additions, wilde. My own biggest discus also happens to be a Flachen - just can't get enough of them.

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They're 3-inchers now, and I'm planning to feed them a mix of beefheart and Vibra Bites for the time being. My hope is they'll retain that nice green sheen, though I suspect they'll start taking on more blue hues as they mature.

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I was at Hans' shop on Saturday and it was packed, but he still made time to chat. His selection was incredible this time – we just got lucky with the timing. I picked up a near-perfect Fire Red, just a tiny bit of pepper on the tail, but it caught my eye right away. Your Flachens look amazing, by the way. I'd been eyeing his last albino leopard for ages, but it had just been sold when I got there – I'd visited his shop five times before deciding to take the plunge, but I was too late. The Fire Red has helped me forget about it, for now.

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Being close to an importer is a real perk. I'd definitely plan my next visit strategically and hand-pick from the shipment. For me, the nearest importer is a 5-hour drive away, and they only deal with wilds. When I'm ready to set up a tank for wilds, I'm planning to make a day trip out of it.

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They'll likely mature into a beautiful blue-green hue. I recall seeing a local pair with fry from Hans about a decade ago - those were some stunning fish.

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I had a similar experience with my Flachen, it had that distinctive greenish sheen like a Cobalt discus. I paired it with a Blue Scorpion female and the results were stunning - we got a bunch of gorgeous babies.