Hello. My name is April Ross. I live in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

I have been keeping discus for 10 years as a hobby. I buy groups of discus to grow out from well respected breeders or importers for my own private collection but sometimes I have juveniles or grown out adults for sale.

Note: Shipping available via Westjet, Coastal Airlines or Harbour Air seaplane

I can order in larger quantiies or bags of fish. Orders placed Thursdays by 12:00 to be delivered the next Thursday at 5:00.

Available stock on premises:

Juveniles

2.5 inch size . 30.00 each. Red turquoise, alencers, santarems, blue diamonds, pigeonbloods, flachen.

3 inch to 3.5 inch size. 40.00 each. Brilliants, 4inch size 50.00 and up depending on strain.

5 inch size 110.00 and up. Depending on strain.

New Life Spectrum Premium Fish Food

New Life Spectrum Premium Fish Food is a hormone-free, color enhancing formula. Spectrum food is made with high-quality easily digestible South Antarctic Krill, Herring, and New Zealand Mussel protein, and several all-natural color-enhancing ingredients for a balanced diet that boosts immune system function and enhances the full spectrum of your fish's color.

more info at this link.

We also carry ornamental and tropical fish supplies.

Products I carry geared toward discus care:

Seachem metronidazole

Ebo heaters

Ocean Nutrition flake foods

Prazzi Pro

Hikari bloodworms 16. 0z. flats. (local sales only for frozen foods)

SO..YOU’D LIKE TO BUY SOME DISCUS..

DISCUS GUIDELINES.

How many discus and what size tank The best number to start with is 6 to 8 discus. All the same size from the same source. For a new discus owner , I would suggest starting with about 3 to 3.5 inches. There are some breeder suppliers who sell 2 inch discus..but these guys are quite small, and there is always some that just don't thrive. They get stressed more easily, and then end up not eating…or passing white poo. Also gill flukes and other parasites can take hold of a fish who is already compromised.

As a guideline, one discus per 10 gallons is suggested as adults. Young discus can be started in a bit smaller tank to feel more secure. Very small fish like to school, and they feel lost in a very big tank. If there is places for them to hide they will if they feel insecure. Best way to win their confidence is to have them in a group of 6 to 8 in their own tank.

A healthy happy growout discus

A bare bottom tank to grow them out, giving them frequent small meals when they come up to the top. It won't be long till they all come swimming up to greet you each time they see you. With lots of frequent meals with a variety of foods their growth will be good. With all the feeding discus need to have daily water changes and the bottom siphoned to keep the water clean. Discus come from the Amazon where the water flows and is very clean. Most people hear that discus are hard to keep and challenging. If you can stick to a few simple guidelines and start with quality healthy stock most people can succeed. Discus don't need any fancy equipment. Most discus keepers or breeders have bare minimum in equipment. An air driven sponge filter a heater that can heat up to 90 degrees bare bottom tank, and a cover . Once you learn to keep and grow discus well, then you can graduate to a planted tank, .breeding, etc.

Most people run into problems when they try to add plants, gravel, other species, collecting different discus from different sources or not prepared for the maintenance of daily water changes.

Very small discus have a window of opportunity for their growth. A lot of the confusion comes when you are new at discus and you don't “see” the proper shape etc. it takes awhile to have an “eye” for discus. If you see a little 2 inch discus that is brightly coloured it could be far older than its actual size. Some discus with an improper start can become stunted. As a rule .most barred strains do not acquire their adult colouring until they are between 8 to 10 months of age. If you find a 2 or 3 inch discus which is brightly coloured its either A: older than its size..and stunted..or:..B. it has been hormoned or colourfed to bring out its adult colours for sales purposes. The consumer is drawn to brightly coloured fish .so as a result local fish stores want brightly coloured fish and supply and demand makes it possible. Also, some strains as in leopard snakeskins or spotted varieties..the breeders cannot see which ones will become spotted discus without hormoning or colour feeding to bring out their adult colours. Usually in a batch of spotted fish about 15 to 30 percent at most become fully spotted fish. The rest become red turquoises. If they are brightly coloured they are quite often sold as super red turqs. The problem with this, is hormones damage the fishes livers and when stress hits..they break down. Or, they start breeding at a very young age and don't live long lives.

	Barless or pigeon strains start out a very light colour. As an example .a red cover discus would start out a light yellow or orange. Selecting ones who will remain “clean” is best done on fish of at least 2.5 inches. If they are showing pepper on the nose or fins they will get more as they grow. Pepper or black spots are pigeons stress markings instead of bars. Pigeons remain cleaner looking if you keep a light background and bottom on your tank. Dark gravel or backgrounds will make them show more pepper. Discus need and like frequent water changes, stable parameters, and stored or dechlorinated water. In nature..discus are kept in very soft water . Discus have been successfully raised in harder water as long as you keep your parameters even. Water is best added that has been stored overnight with aeration . Our water in Vancouver is very soft but also ph slides very easily and its lacking minerals for good growth. If your filters are taxed our ph can begin to slide and crash. Daily water changes and rinsing your sponge filter keeps this in check. I also add crushed coral , oyster shells or aragonite to buffer in a net or in an aquaclear filter. It's also helpful to have some added to your water storage container so water being added to your tank is similar or close ph to your tank. A few excellent articles and links are available on http://forum.simplydiscus.com/index.php
There is an excellent example of selecting discus by their eye to body ratio in an article in discus university. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=49201 it shows how to assess the growth by the size of the eye according to the body size ratio. There is a reason for this beyond aesthetics. Quoted by Tony in the article.” Eye size is one of the main factors in assessing the previous care and future growth potential of a discus.” When a discus’ growth has been slowed, the eye still continues to grow. Another great article by Walter Wu shows some ill discus and what not to buy. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=46982	Parents herding their freeswimmers around

other selection tips:

Do the discus come to the front of the tank to greet you or do they hang in the back toward the bottom of the tank? A happy relaxed discus spends time in the middle corridor of the tank in a loose group. Are they huddling together? Are they showing their bars very dark? Is the whole discus dark? Are their gills moving at the same rate? Are they at the top gasping for oxygen? Are they skitterish? Are their fins erect or folded down? Do they have any holes in their head region or white pimples? Are their eyes cloudy? Are their fins raggedy? This could be caused by ammonia burns or ph crash. Also raggedy fins is a deficiency. Is their skin clean and clear or showing slime coat? Is the water temperature warm to the touch? It should be in the 80’s Fahrenheit.

No matter which discus you select, always quarantine a new group away from existing fish or discus. Different discus from different suppliers carry different immunities and or pathogens. Some who have already had an illness can carry, and not get sick while your ones at home could not be immune and they would get sick. I always start a new tank for a new group. Separate hoses , nets, and wash hands in between handling other tanks. A lot of people add one of their existing stock in with the new ones after several weeks. If no illness occurs, then it's safe to mix your stock.

This is why it's best to buy all your fish from one source at one time when starting out. Saves a lot of problems.
Written by April Ross. January 26th 2007.

Links to other Duscus web sites:

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/grangediscus/index.html

http://members.shaw.ca/duguay_649/

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/index.php

http://www.riftzoneaquatics.com/forum/index.php?sid=2f5491749eff27543c28a6a0e983df08

http://www.greatlakesdiscus.com/

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/index.php