Thats not an albino, ill try get some pics. You could pick those up for about $70-$80 got 6-7cm for a rough guess. The discus in the picture is actualy what i was after, found some sort of the same, will share with you's soon.
I can get albino discus but have not imported them yet due to the hideous prices, but i am importing some albino carriers very soon. They are albino X pure golden but they will produce a good percentage of albinos in the first inbred generation. They will be special order only and are prob only going to suit a serious breeder as the fish will essentially look like brown discus.
From what i hear, albinos are extremely sensative. Anyone who gets these fish should be prepaired for some extra time, money and effort to care for them.
Yeah i've heard the same about some albino strains of discus before, actually albino's have been about since the 70's but the strains were all lost eventually due to the reasons you outlined....but that is not the case with the current crop of albino's being bred in Singapore. Breeders have reported that they are hardy and not that difficult to maintain. Anyone who is a commited hobbiest and keeps the discus well won't have any extra problems. I guess if the hobbiest is lazy then they are not for them but most discus keepers are not that way and realize they need more care than average aquarium fish.