When will my discus breed?

[Oli]

So I have a pair of discus who have been returning to one corner. They are both doing little shimmys. The male will pick at/clean certain leaves or bits of driftwood, and then the female rubs her belly along it but isn’t actually expelling any eggs?

 

[GaryE]

Book a vacation, paint the room, do something drastic - that's when they'll breed!

Keep an eye on them. It sounds like something is starting, but there are no schedules.

 

[Oli]

Haha okay, I’ll keep being patient!
On another point, I have noticed more prominent “stress bars” on the fish. It is worrying, but upon looking at pictures of discus on Google/Instagram, a large majority of discus seem to be shown with these vertical bars. They are eating well, swimming actively and seem very happy together. All water parameters are perfect (0,0,20 max) and they are fed a varied diet. They swim around at each others side and are very responsive when I come up to the tank. Are these bars something to worry about or am I overthinking it.

Like I say, when googling information, it says these bars almost always mean the fish are stressed and something is wrong. If this is the case, how come a large majority of discus pictures show them?

Thanks!

 

[GaryE]

Go on youtube, and look up discus in nature. You'll find a few clips shot underwater. Avoid the ones shot in tanks.

A friend even got one of discus with their fry in the wild. Check the barring on the 'free' fish.

 

[Oli]

I see pics like this and makes me think my discus must be okay?