4th Annual Discus Grow Out Contest Official Rules & Entry Thread

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

Canadian Aqua Farm's 4th Annual Discus Grow Out Contest

I am excited to announce the official rules and entry for the 4th Annual CAF Discus Grow Out Contest. Below you will find all of the details required to submit your entry. Please read over this post carefully and make sure that you are able to commit to all that is required. Keep in mind that monthly updates accompanied by photos and/or video are expected.


Overview:
Each entrant in the grow out contest will receive a group of Red Map discus fry around the size of a dime that were born and raised here at CAF. The cost will be $100 for 6 or $150 for 9 or $200 for 12 (shipping if required is extra). In order to distribute the discus fry in the most fair manner possible each group of fry will be selected by me and contain an equal representation of sizes (no customer selection allowed). Each contestant will grow their discus over a period of approximately 11 months. At the end of that time each contestant will select the one discus from their group that they feel is the best and submit photos for judging. During the period of the contest each contestant will maintain a thread in Canadian Aqua Farm's sponsor section that will need to be updated at least once a month with current photos and or video for the entire duration of the contest. All contestants that provide at least one update accompanied with a photo or video in each of the calendar months that the contest runs will receive a $50 gift CAF gift certificate.

Deadline for entry: May 31st, 2015
Start date: Fish can be picked up between May 21st, 2015 and May 31st, 2015. Shipments will also be arranged during this time.
End date: April 30th, 2016
Winners Announced: May 2016
*Please only enter if you are serious about seeing the contest through from start to finish.


Hobbyists of all experience levels are encouraged to enter. First time keepers are welcome. In order for your entry to be valid you must agree to the following:
1. Each member is limited to one entry.
2. Must be willing and able to post photo updates on BCA at least once in each calendar month and include details about the frequency of water changes, feedings and so on for the entire 11 months that the contest runs (June 2015 through April 2016). Each participant will have their own thread in Canadian Aqua Farm's sponsor section in which to post the updates.
3. Must be able to pick up contest fish in Maple Ridge. Long distance participants are welcome but must pay all shipping costs associated with receiving the fish ($40-$95 depending on location).
4. Must be able to provide suitable living conditions for a group of juvenile discus. If you are unsure if your set-up is suitable please feel free to contact me for guidance.
5. Must not mix the contest discus with any other similar looking pigeon strains. It's ok to mix with other discus strains that look significantly different. We just need to be able to easily distinguish which fish are in the contest and which are not.

Judging:
The contest will end on April 30th, 2016. Participants will be expected to submit photos of their best one fish for assessment. A deadline for submitting these photos will be posted closer to the end of the contest. I will find an expert or possibly a panel of experts to do the judging.

Required is one profile photo showing the fish from the side, it should not be angled towards nor away from the camera and it should be as clear as possible. This photo will be used to judge the following criteria:

Body Shape (roundness, smooth contours, lack of blemishes) /10
Fins (shape, balance, rays well formed, lack of blemishes) /10
Eyes (shape, proportion to body, colour) /10
Gill/Head Structure (well formed with smooth contours) /10
Colour (intensity, pattern) /10
Health (erect fins, bright colours, clear eyes, etc) /10
Overall Impression /10

The second photo needs to show the fish with a ruler or measuring tape on top of it's body. This photo will be used to judge the size of the fish and points will be awarded as follows.

Over 3" +5.0 points
Over 3.5" +7.5 points
Over 4" +10.0 points
Over 4.5" +12.5 points
Over 5" +15.0 points
Over 5.5" +17.5 points
Over 6" +20.0 points

The third criteria that points will be awarded for is participation. One point will be awarded for each calendar month in which an update accompanied by video and/or photos is posted (starting June 2015 and running through to April 2016). More frequent updates are welcome and encouraged This will add up to a possible 11 points and will likely be a significant factor in the final placement.


Prizes:
1st, 2nd and 3rd place will receive trophies. 1st place will also have a photo of their fish posted in the CAF Hall Of Fame located at the bottom of this page. All participants that provide a photo or video update in each of the 11 months (June 2015 through April 2016) will receive a $50 CAF gift certificate.


How to enter:
Please send me a PM expressing your interest to enter the contest. Make sure to let me know if you want to purchase a group of 6, 9 or 12 fry so that I can reserve the appropriate amount. Upon receipt of your entry I will send you a confirmation by PM and post your user ID below. If you do not hear from me or see your user ID below then please contact me.

Confirmed Entries:
smelly fish (6 fry)
Pixel (6 fry)
aregma (6 fry)
Sumo boy 5 (6 fry)
CEPARSONS (6 fry)
Kimrocks (6 fry)
phillyko (6 fry)
pamdb33 (6 fry)
Staceym (6 fry)
Joanne (6 fry)
Jaykit (12 fry)
RyanGSP (12 fry)

Control Group:
Canadian_Aqua_Farm

Here is a video of the Red Map discus parents with the school of fry that will be used for this contest. The fry will be around the size of a dime by the time they are distributed for the contest.

Links To Participants Journals:

Canadian_Aqua_Farm (control group) https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...-group-143122/

smelly fish https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...y-fish-142418/

Sumo boy 5 https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...oy-5-a-141274/

Kimrocks https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...mrocks-142266/

phillyko https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...illyko-141394/

pamdb33 https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...amdb33-141778/

Staceym https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...stacey-141810/

Joanne https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...rrival-142410/

Jaykit https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...jaykit-142394/

CEPARSONS https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...arsons-143649/

Ryangsp https://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/caf-a...yangsp-142954/

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

smelly fish's entry is confirmed. Also a reminder to everyone else who had reserved a space that I will need to hear from you regarding what size group of fry you would like. For any one else that would like to join the contest there are spaces available so feel free to let me know here on this thread or shoot me a pm.

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

Pixel, aregma and Sumo boy 5's entries are confirmed. Thanks!

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

With the confirmation of CEPARSONS entry I am pleased to announce that this will be the first year that we have an out of province contestant joining the contest as he is located in Newfoundland. It would be great to get more discus hobbyists from all over Canada involved.

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

Kimrock's entry is confirmed. Welcome back for a third straight year!

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

With the confirmation of hugo78's entry that brings us to a total of 7 participants. This is shaping up to be a great year and I have plenty of fry available for any one else that would like to join.

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

phillyko's entry is confirmed.

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

The east coast will be well represented this year. pamdb33 and staceym's entries are confirmed. Pam and Stacey are both located in Prince Edward Island.

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

I have another maritime entry to confirm today. Welcome aboard Juiceyfish!

If any one has questions or comments on the contest please feel free to post on this thread or contact me at [email protected]

[Canadian_Aqua_Farm]

Here are the cute little guys that are destined for the grow out contest. Of course they will be much larger and actually look like discus by the time the contest is starting...