The interview of Sun See Seng, Trophy Discus, part 2

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Dizkuz
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The interview of Sun See Seng, Trophy Discus, part 2

Post by Dizkuz » 26 Feb 2008, 18:04

The interview part 2, Sun See Seng




Golden Leopard snakeskin
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The genetic aspects of the Golden and albinos are also very interesting. One major point to note is that you can never find a male in the Golden leopard snakeskin (pure strain) Why? I really do not have the answer. Maybe, some of you guys out there may be able to provide me with an answer!

7) What do you feed your discus and how often?


Ideally, I know, my discus need to be fed at least three times a day. But, due to my long working hours, I find that extremely difficult to fulfil.


My discus diet consists of beefheart blended in with spirulina, tetrabits, and vit B complex. I really do not have the time to do them myself, so I take the easy way out - past all the raw materials to a friend, who would blend them, and package them nicely for me. Yes, need to pay him for the work!



8)What kind of husbandry do you do on your tanks...wcs, tank wipe downs etc.

For the last few years, we had a lot of problems with our tap water! So, I store my water overnight in big containers, bubbling them to get rid of the chlorine/chloramines. I do my water change every night, after my night’s clinic and it usually takes me up to an hour!
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My fish tanks!

I don’t do tank wipe down everyday, but I make use of the sucker fishes to clean up the slime inside the glass tank. I must say that they do a marvelous job! When these suckers
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The sucker fish – I make use of them to clean up my tanks!

grow to excessive size, occasionally more than eight inches, I would take them to the farm and exchange each of them for two of the smaller baby suckers! Haha! must be friendly to the farmer to do this barter trade!


9) Filtration preferences..what do you use?


I used to have sponge filters in all my tanks. However, later on, I figured that if I will to change about ¾ tank-water everyday, I don’t need to use any form of filtration or even as a form of biological filters. Hence, I dispense off with the sponge filters! That saves me the time needed to wash the sponge filters! Haha! This practice is very personal and probably suited to a lazy fellow like me! My fishes are growing just as well, so I guess, by not using any sponge filters, it also helps me to save some money.


10) I would like to ask you to describe your quarantine procedures in detail, so that more members can benefit from your experience.


This topic is usually covered in many discus forums. Many views have been expressed and discussed. To me, quarantine means one thing and that is to segregate all new arrivals in a separate tank, all by themselves. I was in Australia, where I saw the quarantine system in a fish importer’s room. The quarantine tanks were all connected to a common filtration system, and the water was then re-circulated back to all the tanks! I was really taken aback with that system!


I prefer to use a 3-ft tank, placed in a quiet corner of the fish room. It should not be too brightly lighted up, as the new discus need time to adjust to their surroundings. The tank should contain half –filled seasoned water, which will give a water level of about 10 inches. Why half-filled, you may ask. There are a few reasons 1) new fishes are very frightful, and have a tendency to jump out of the tank 2) you can slowly top up the water in the tank everyday without siphoning out and by this way, you can keep your hands clean so that it do not get contaminated with the water from the in-coming new fishes 3) And if there is a necessity to put in any medications, the amount needed will be much less, thus saving cost in a way.


When the new discus arrive, I will just put them in the tank as above. I prefer not to use any medications at all. Hence, the new fishes are not subjected to further stress. However, it is extremely important to monitor the fish carefully, and at any moment, if you suspect them to be harbouring any forms of gill flukes, or bacteria infection then start medication. My preferred choice of medicine is formalin solution. I will usually do a short 30-minute bath with about 40 mls in the 3- ft tank. After you have started treatment, it is important that you watch the fishes for any sign of distress! At the end of the 30-mins period, siphon off 100 per cent of the water, and re-fill with seasoned water again. I will then add in about 6 capsules of 250 mg tetracycline and leave it for the next 24 hours, after which I will do another 100 per cent water change. It’s is a bit tedious, and that’s partially the reason why I prefer to quarantine my fishes without any medications at all. If the new arrivals are not sick and eating well, just observe them! My fishes are usually quarantined for a minimum of 2 weeks, after which it should be quite safe to mix them with the other fishes.

11) We all have our own ethics when it comes to medication use.. can you elaborate on your views?


This may be a follow-up to the topic on Quarantine. As a trained doctor, it is our usual practice not to prescribed medications unnecessarily. Hence, we tend to shy away from the liberty of using too much antibiotics. Many of you are aware that the excessive use of antibiotics may result in antibiotic- resistant strains of bacteria coming up in the future!

The problem with most of us (including me!) is that when a fish is sick, we are not sure of the organisms involved! Hence, we just drop in our tetracyclines, metronidazoles, neomycins or potassium permanganate! We just follow whatever is written in the books. And sometimes I wonder, whether the dosages that are recommended in most discus books are scientifically tested! Are we given them the optimum dosage to get rid of the infection! And that is where we culture the problems of antibiotic- resistant bacteria!


The other controversial issue in discus medication is the use of additives for colouring discuss. Again, there are many views. I feel that if you do use food colouring, like axtaxanthine, spirulina that are derived from algae, then that should not be a problem at all. However, the use of hormones in discus is still largely controversial. Some countries like the United States have banned the use of hormone, like testosterone in fishes. To my knowledge, there is as yet no chemicals that will otherwise bring up the blue/green colouration in discus. Hence, I do feel that testosterone may be used in small dosage, and for only a short period of time if the situation allows it. If properly used, it should not cause much too much liver problem to the discus!



12) Do you have any advice for hobbyists looking to buy discus? what should they look for?


Like all pets, hobbyists coming into the discus hobby should be certain that they are able to look after their fishes. It is good to decide from there the variety of discus that interest them. I have always encouraged hobbyists to breed their fishes, because I see that as the greatest challenge in the hobby. Unless, of course, if you are keeping discus in a display tank.

When you are first into the hobby, it’s always good to have discus with good shape, be it round or slightly high-bodied. Body colour or pattern will be your next consideration, but don’t worry if you can’t find a perfectly coloured or spotted one. Some of the off-springs that win Grand Champion trophies do not have nice looking parents.


13) When you look at a fish what do you like to see?


Honestly, to me discus should be a round body fish. Maybe, I am too old-fashioned, but the shape of the discus is the first thing that should attract you! I have bred some fishes that came out with elongated or long body, and I get so frustrated that I usually culled them away!


14) What would you like to personally accomplish? In the discus hobby.


My greatest dream is to visit the Great Amazon and to see for myself the natural fauna and flora of the Wild discus habitats. To me, that is the equivalent to a mountaineer’s dream of climbing Mt Everest!

15) Do you see any negative aspects to the Discus Hobby these days?


Yes, the main negative aspect that I can view is the indiscriminate crossings of discus, so much so that many of the discus found in our tanks do not have a stable genetic set-up.

The breeding of discus should be more scientific, with emphasis on maintaining the stability of the strains. Hence, it’s always good to buy your discus from a reliable, and trustful breeder who is able to tell you the exact genetic make-up of his fish!






16) Have you had any mentors in this hobby, that you want to recognize?


I have the greatest respect to two famous personalities in the discus world and they are Dr Eduard Schmidt Focke, and Mr Jack Wattley. I consider both of them to be of equal stature, and they are truly the fathers of Modern Discus.



Any last word you would like to share to us here at DFS?


Yes, and that is to build up the friendship and fellowship amongst us, the crazy discus hobbyists!


Thank you for being so patient with me!




I think thats about all I can think to ask you about Dr sun Thanks for being here today to answer the questions and thanks for time you spend in the hobby and for the Discus world

Brgd Diskusforum.se
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Re: The interview of Sun See Seng, Trophy Discus, part 2

Post by Poddan » 20 Jun 2008, 21:24

Hello!

By a mistake we locked the possibiliy to ask questions in the interview section :blush3:

I really want to know how to judge a fish.
( I know your quite famous there )


Could you give us som example based on good or bad things on a fish.
And how you judge it.
:-)
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Re: The interview of Sun See Seng, Trophy Discus, part 2

Post by SSSun » 25 Jun 2008, 17:03

Hi Poddan,

Sorry that I missed this thread … my sincere apology.

Yes, I have being doing judging at discus competitions for quite some years, but to be very honest; I am still learning at every single competition.

I would like to answer your question by first stating that judging discus is actually quite simple…. Haha, I’m not arrogant! Forgive me if I sound so! Actually, most hobbyists will know what makes a nice discus after some time keeping discus …. most hobbyists will go for a round or high body shaped discus, full coloured or full spotted, no defect or deformity.

For me, I personally go for round body discus, with striking colours. Size is important in a discus competition, but there are occasions, in which I see some very nice, near perfect discus and they lost out in size. In Europe, very large discus are seldom seen, but in discus competitions in Asia (especially in Singapore and Malaysia), discus 9 inches in length are not uncommon. These discus are specially groomed for competitions! They can be very impressive! However, sometimes these ‘monsters’ can be so overfed, that they present with ‘humps’ at the forehead, and receding chins. Herein, lays the difficulty with judging …… do you penalize the fish?

Other important criteria are things like the presentation of the stripes and spots. Stripes that are uniform, with clear edges and contrast well to the body base colour usually score more points. The same goes with the presentation of the spots in the spotted category. The spots should also be discrete, and not lumped together! Some judges will award more marks to fishes that have spots/ stripes extending up to the finnage.

However, at the end of the day … the deportment of the fish, i.e performance of the discus at the time of judging is very important. Some discus are just so ‘shy’ or frightened that they do not swim around in the competition tank. In this case, it is difficult for the judges to assess the full potential of the discus!

I hope that I have very briefly answered your questions. Please let me know if I am wrong.

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Re: The interview of Sun See Seng, Trophy Discus, part 2

Post by Matte_g » 26 Jun 2008, 16:43

SSSun wrote:Hi Poddan,

Sorry that I missed this thread … my sincere apology.

Yes, I have being doing judging at discus competitions for quite some years, but to be very honest; I am still learning at every single competition.

I would like to answer your question by first stating that judging discus is actually quite simple…. Haha, I’m not arrogant! Forgive me if I sound so! Actually, most hobbyists will know what makes a nice discus after some time keeping discus …. most hobbyists will go for a round or high body shaped discus, full coloured or full spotted, no defect or deformity.

For me, I personally go for round body discus, with striking colours. Size is important in a discus competition, but there are occasions, in which I see some very nice, near perfect discus and they lost out in size. In Europe, very large discus are seldom seen, but in discus competitions in Asia (especially in Singapore and Malaysia), discus 9 inches in length are not uncommon. These discus are specially groomed for competitions! They can be very impressive! However, sometimes these ‘monsters’ can be so overfed, that they present with ‘humps’ at the forehead, and receding chins. Herein, lays the difficulty with judging …… do you penalize the fish?

Other important criteria are things like the presentation of the stripes and spots. Stripes that are uniform, with clear edges and contrast well to the body base colour usually score more points. The same goes with the presentation of the spots in the spotted category. The spots should also be discrete, and not lumped together! Some judges will award more marks to fishes that have spots/ stripes extending up to the finnage.

However, at the end of the day … the deportment of the fish, i.e performance of the discus at the time of judging is very important. Some discus are just so ‘shy’ or frightened that they do not swim around in the competition tank. In this case, it is difficult for the judges to assess the full potential of the discus!

I hope that I have very briefly answered your questions. Please let me know if I am wrong.

Thanks for cheering.

9 inches wow how do they get them that big?

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Dizkuz
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Re: The interview of Sun See Seng, Trophy Discus, part 2

Post by Dizkuz » 26 Jun 2008, 18:38

Hi there Dr Sun :wink1:
9 inch is huge, never seen anyone that huge in real life :stick: I would really love to see that size in a discus... what is the biggest one you have seen ever and how big can a discus really get?
For me personal i like shape and size long before the color and cover on a discus... i doesn't matter if i has the most perfect color/strip/spot if the shape is poor :nono:
Maybe we should start a section "judge my discus" here at DFS so we can learn more about quality. :confus1:

Brgds Danne
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Re: The interview of Sun See Seng, Trophy Discus, part 2

Post by Poddan » 27 Jun 2008, 00:26

Thanks for sharing DR Sun!

Well judging is nothing for me. I dont have the skill.

But if you have some time in the future please show DFS some pictures of
+ and - in a fish.
:-)
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