29 Discus tank

[elgecko]

Here's a new picture of my discus tank.
I added Pistia stratiotes and Salvinia molesta. They are both floating plants. I had to place suction cups on the front and back of the tank at the top of the water and tie a piece of fishing string between the two, so that the water surface stayed clear so light can reach the Java Fern on the one side of the tank.

 

[Sasha]

Very nice! Your discus are very colorful!

 

[silver]

WOW!!!

That is a very interesting style tank! I am really diggin'the simplicity!

 

[Sorrell]

Awesome! Are those two a breeding pair? They are just beautiful

 

[freshmike]

Looks so clean.....and WOW, are they gorgeous discus. Good luck breeding them.

 

[Bryan]

beautiful fish!!!

 

[shrimpster97]

you have the best look discus ive ever seen! great tank to, whats the plants on the top?

 

[G_Sharky]

Very nice Discus.......Now I want my Discus back......

 

[elgecko]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

As for the color, their color has changed since I've gotten them, less intense. I've been doing some researching on enhancing discus color with food. There is an excellent article in the book Exotic Discus of the World by Andrzej Ogrodnik. I have started to feed my discus with foods which have carotenoids and astaxanthin in it. Their color has gotten better in the short amount of time I have been feeding them the new foods.

Sorrell,
Yes, they are a breeding pair. The fry die when they go freeswimming. Pigeon Blood discus have a genetic defect and can not call their fry to them to feed. So most Pigeon Bloods can not raise their fry.
As I'm typing this they are laying eggs again.

shrimpster97,
I guess you looked at the picture and did not read the post. The plants floating on top are Pistia stratiotes and Salvinia molesta.

 

[maestro]

I heard about fry not being about to find their parents as the modern commercially bred ones are too light in colour, is this a simular thing? or so they somehow call out to them?

Can you not remove the fry and try and artificaily raise them?

 

[FloridaFishGuy]

Elgrecko go get some Tetra Colorbits. That will bring out there color alot. For the peppering do some more waterchanges.

 

[kenny_discus]

thats right what florida fish guy said. u should change water at least 50percent a day to more help pepper problem of your discus skin, but sometimes it doesnt work again if that pepper had been there for a long time.

 

[Sanj]

Bare Bottoms ...

 

[elgecko]

Oh wrong kind of bare bottoms.

The genetic defect with Pigeon Blood discus is that all black pigment cells (melanophore activity) are concentrated on a few areas on the body and on the fins. Other strains of discus, the black pigment occur more or less over the whole body.
Other discus can show distress by showing the typical 9 dark verticle bars on their body. This signals the owner and other discus in the tank that the discus does not feel well at the moment. Other discus are also able to intensify or diminish their colors according to their mood. Pigeon Bloods because of this defect can not do this, which is used to call their fry.
I guess if I really wanted to I could artificially raise the fry, but I have too many hobbies to do the maintance on raising the fry.

 

[Sorrell]

So does this mean that all pigeon bloods are artifically raised? They seem to be a fairly popular strain