they're only 'mopey' and 'slow' when being kept by people who dunno how to keep 'em
heh, well i did have my ups and downs with them, but after keeping and breeding discus in FW planted tanks for the better part of a decade, i feel confident in my discus care regiment
heckels are my favorite, actually, of all discus.
i dunno ... i just wasn't down with the ULTRA high maintenance requirements, and truthfully, my discus did show some of that cichlid attitude. in some tanks i had trouble finding the right balance of size/# of discus ... and then once i would get it down, one would die throwing the whole equation outta whack.
also, any fish that gets really scared and swims away fast only to ram into the glass and kill itself instantly ... YOU'RE CUT!
i suppose i think if they were dogs, they'd be dalmations. excessive inbreeding has turned dalmations dumb, aggressive and difficult to train.
*shruggo*
anyhow, props to ppl that can keep the discus and whatnot. I wasn't dissing you, I was dissing the fish!