best source for discus photos/descriptions

[JimmyB]

Any suggestions on where to find the most accurate description and photos of all the different kinds of discus on the web? I am amazed and baffled how inconsistent the naming of these fish is on the net. I did searches on San Merahs and red marlboros, and I feel I am no farther along that before looking at 20 pictures of each. I would guess 18 out of 20 are mis-named.

[Ryan]

Jimmy,

That's the problem -- there's no accurate naming system, and so there are no accurate pictures. What one breeder may call a Snowflake, another may call a White, another may call a Platinum, etc. It really comes down to where you're getting the fish and what you want.

Some fish are more consistent than others. For instance, blue diamonds, turquoise, snakeskins, etc. all are generally similar looking and unless the seller is totally clueless (as some pet stores and fly-by-night importers are), you can find good examples of those types online. But when it comes down to newer varieties, pigeon varieties, and spotted fish, your best bet is picking the fish out in person or asking the breeder/importer you're getting them from for pictures. And not pictures of the parents, or pictures from their importer. Actual pictures in their facility that they took themselves of the actual fish you're getting. Otherwise it's anyones' guess what they look like, or what they will grow into as adults.

In my opinion, the naming of the "variety" is pretty meaningless. Decide what appeals to you and then try to seek out someone who's got what you're looking for. Discus are discus, regardless of what you call them. Information is sketchy about the origins of most "strains" since most aren't actual "strains" but crosses that result in several different types of fry, so any research you're trying to do about "strains" might not yield much information. Like I said, there are exceptions for well-known and established types like blue diamonds, turquoise, pigeon bloods...

Ryan

[JimmyB]

Thanks. Well said. Can you give me a quick Discus 101, for example what is the distinct marking that makes a snakeskin, and what about a leopard? And what makes a Turk a turk? I hear people say they have Red Turks, blue Turks, etc. I have a 'turk' that is somewhat grey/green on the body, with the turquoise stripes across the forehead, and turquoise and red striping on the anal fins. What color turk would that be? And I think I have a pigeon, although the entire body is a clear orange, there is only a hint of the striping across the forehead. I guess I am looking for some general "rules of thumb" when it comes to nomenclature. I think I have the "spotted" down pat.:o

[Ryan]

Red turquoise have a deep brown/red background behind the irridescent blue stripes. To me, most "blue turquoise" look the same as plain "turquoise" and I'm assuming that's the same fish. They lack the dark red background hence the color of the fish is mostly blue, though I've seen some with red in the actual fins.

Snakeskin mostly refers to the pattern on the gills. While a fish like, say, a red turquoise would have a few broad blue stripes on its face and gills, the lines on a snakeskin would be much more fine and numerous. Go to most of the breeders' sites and you will see the difference between the pattern of a snakeskin vs., say, a turquoise fish. Snakeskins commonly have more bars than other discus. Most discus have 9 bars while snakes usually have somewhere around 14 (I've counted more and less), but this is not always the case. There are some 9 bar snakes, and there are 14 bar non-snakes. That's where genetics gets tricky and it depends on what fish have been crossed down the line.

Pigeons are easiest to distinguish by their bright orange/red eye. Solid orange/red with a black pupil, no white or anything. They also have peppering, little black specks rather than actual "bars" that other discus have. There are ultra-clean pigeons that show zero peppering and there are ultra-dirty pigeons that look like someone rolled them in dirt. Again, it depends on the lineage of the fish and what it's been crossed with. Also, peppering seems to be influenced by environment -- put pigeons on a dark background and it will bring out the pepper. Or to get rid of pepper, you can lighten a background. Pigeons come in all sorts of colors, most notably oranges, reds, and yellows or variations of those. There are also white pigeons ("White Butterflies").

Marlboro Reds are a type of pigeon. San Merah are not.

We have a few pictures in our SimplyDiscus gallery that you might check out. The gallery is broken into Striated Discus, Solid Discus, Spotted Discus, Pigeon Blood Discus, and Wild Discus. Check it out:

http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/gallery.shtml

Ryan

[CAGE-RATTLER]

I think the gallery needs some updating ............... there isnt even a spotted discus listed.

[Ryan]

Well, it takes a lot of work and it's something that got put on the back burner for a while. Hard to manage a forum, a day job, a personal life, and build a website too. One day we'll probably get some updates, but for now there's a couple examples of each (with the exception of spotted fish, and I think those are self-explanatory and can be found all throughout the Photo Gallery here on the forum).

Ryan

[Carol_Roberts]

I've done a discus classification article for NADA - it's at www.discusnada.org click on Discus Classification on the left hand side