Slate Gray Discus Fish

Slate Gray Discus Fish Room
Whether I’m looking at the Slate Alenquer Cross, the Slate Green Snakeskin or the Slate Blue Snakeskin 14 Bar Discus I start thinking about the color Gray.
Gray is okay.  Remember that slogan? You might not if you’re of the younger generations. It meant that senior citizens were, well, okay, just like everyone else.
Now that I’ve got a few gray hairs of my own and have been a caretaker for my now passed on father, I understand what this means. So when we see the color gray, in any of its many mutations, why not show some respect for the older guy or gal? After all, they’re survivors. And furthermore…there’s much to be said for experience. 
Of course the color gray can mean other things besides all of us getting older. “There’s a lot of gray area there son,” a friend said to me when we were discussing politics. 
For sure these days one doesn’t know what to believe. What with all the “fake news” and all. However, perhaps the gray zone can represent the meeting of minds. It’s sort of a little bit like the Yin and Yang symbol. There’s a little bit of the white in the black and a little bit of the black in the white. 
Recognizing we are all similar is the point. And when we have differences of opinion, it’s best if we mix some white with black and get…Gray. 
I guess I just enjoy reading about the Eastern philosophies which tell us to follow the true path, the middle way, the Tao.  
Perhaps one should always remember the word Namaste when having this discussion, and speak it to others if you feel so inclined.
I know what you’re thinking…“I understand gray could represent the middle way.  I get that, but what does that Sanskrit word Namaste really mean?
 
According to my friend the yoga teacher, Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another.
Perhaps author John Steinbeck said it best when he wrote, in his famous book The Grapes of Wrath, that: “Maybe like Casy says, a fella ain’t got a soul of his own, but on’y a piece of a big one.”
If this is true, and I believe it is, then we are already truly ONE.
Aging though is something of a struggle, at least for most. When we see that first gray hair we pluck it out, don’t we? But we’re all in this together so let’s help each other. We can, simply, age gracefully.
Maybe it’s tough because we all want to be, like Dylan sings, “Forever Young.”  At my daughter’s recent wedding, she played “Forever Young” for our dance together. I guess I’m exactly that way myself–not facing my own aging process so gracefully. 
But we all get gray and it’s….okay.  It’s okay because we all have mortality in common, don’t we? 
Mystical gray discus fish…Slate Alenquer Cross…Slate Green Snakeskin…Slate Blue Snakeskin 14 Bar…you’ve helped me see both sides, taught me to meet folks in the middle, compromise, age gracefully, and accept my fate. 
Namaste!

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  4. My Discus pair have begun to spawn every week since Christmas. The eggs are fertile. As they hatch, the parents seem to fight over the babies; which then soon disappear. What should I do?

  6. Im having issues off and on by loosing fish. I have 7.6 ph tap water. I keep a 40 gallon barrel with heater and air Stone. I treat the barrel to lower ph in between weekly water changes for 40 and 90 gallon tanks. Any suggestions are welcomed.

  7. I have 2 pair of Breeding Discus. They are all in separate breeding Tank (20 Gallon). The female lay eggs almost every week. the male also ejaculates, but within a few weeks, the fertilization fails. Eggs are all white, and I am not successful. Are both male impotent? Sometimes they also eat their eggs. Can you help me ? Thx

  9. I received in the shipment of the purchase #10880 an extra package of a yellow powder that medicine is and how they are used. Excellent the fish shipped although 2 of the 4 Altums 2 of them were not the expected size 3” but very healthy and beautiful fish the super excellent and punctual packaging under the adverse weather conditions to send.

  11. Great article and very informative.
    I myself use to use 3 large canister filters in my 150 gallon xh aquarium, but maintaining 3 sun sun 704b canister filters became alot of work for me and made it hard for me to enjoy my discus I purchased from DISCUS.COM. so I took the plunge into a sump for my discus tank. 40 breeder aquarium makes a great sump…and now I definitely enjoy sitting and relaxing watching my beautiful discus…maintaining my sump is very easy and takes minutes, instead of hours cleaning several canister filters….also adds volume and is a place to add all my equipment…thank you Michael for providing such a wonderful website with loads of information and beautiful discus..

  15. I have a few questions rather than a comment.

    Would opening the shipping bag and allowing the built-up CO2 (from the trip) to escape suddenly raise the pH and make the ammonia in the water from the trip dangerous (by a sudden conversion from ammonium to ammonia due to the pH rise)?

    Would it be safer to prepare new water at the pH they are accustomed to and then open the bag and quickly transfer them to the fresh water without ammonia present?

    Also, what pH are your discus accustomed to so I may match my water to yours? Thank you, Mark, California.

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