Q's on vertical bars on fish

[JimmyB]

Quick Q: Can someone give me the general background on the differences between 8 lines and 14 lines on the sides of discus (or is it 7 and 12?). I have searched a little but I find contradictory and confusing information.

I am babysitting a little guy that is supposed to be a "Blue Turq", he has many vertical lines (12-14) a greenish background color, with some striations of red on his dorsal fin. But I have a red turk of my own that has only 8 or so bars.

[RyanH]

Hi Jimmy,

There are variations in the number of bars on Discus but the "standard" number is 9. For Snakeskin varieties, the number is 14.

Because domestic Discus have been bred and inbred for specific characteristics over a period of many years, flaws in the number of stress bars have occurred as well. It's not uncommon to see 13 bars on a snakeskin-type fish or 8 bars on a non-snakeskin fish, for example.

It should also be noted that even a "standard' 14 bar snakeskin is also a man-made product and doesn't occur in nature.

I can speculate that this is due to the fact that breeders are for the most part indifferent to the stress bar count and concentrate on body shape, color, striations or spots, eye size and color, etc., when selecting fish for their breeding programs. Hobbyists (their customers) also seem mostly indifferent to stress bar counts so why do anything different?

hth :)
-Ryan

[JimmyB]

So could I assume for now that this particular fish with 13+ vertical stripes could be a variety of snakeskin? It has a greenish/pale brown background color with turquoise blue striping on the nose. Since it is young, the color is only just starting to show on it sides. If so, what makes a "snakeskin", is it just the fact that the striping on the sides of the fish are thin-lined as compared to a 'thick-line'?

[JimmyB]

Here's a horrendous picture of him/her. The lines on the nose and head are actually blue/turquoise, they look white in this photo. It is a fuzzy and low quality photo, but luckily this is not a Kodak forum anyway. I am keeping this for my friend who is getting a new tank cycled after finishing his wood floors, should I try to negotiate for it and add it to my little discus group?

13321

[nacra99]

I can't really make out the patterns on the gill plates, SS usually have distinct fine pattern on the gill plates. The striations on the forehead do look "turkish"
But at first glance... from the stripes..i think it's a SS.

[nolefan]

snakeskin

[RyanH]

So could I assume for now that this particular fish with 13+ vertical stripes could be a variety of snakeskin? It has a greenish/pale brown background color with turquoise blue striping on the nose. Since it is young, the color is only just starting to show on it sides. If so, what makes a "snakeskin", is it just the fact that the striping on the sides of the fish are thin-lined as compared to a 'thick-line'?


Your fish is a snakeskin. It will have finer striations than a red turq once it's grown out and fully colored up.

[JimmyB]

It's not MY fish, but I am keeping it temporarily. Is it "keeper" quality, or should I let it go without a struggle? I could negotiate or do some trades, since I have been babysitting this thing and others, I have some leverage. It is a one-of-a-kind fish, neither of us has another one like it. I am struggling with the idea of having a mixed colorful tank, or trying to keep tanks with all similar colors of fish in it.

[RyanH]

It's personal preference. This fish looks to have decent shape and finnage. Coloration may be nice but it's tough to tell at this point.

The eye is a bit large and It looks a little behind on its growth. It will need lots of clean water and good food to catch up.

I would not try to grow it out in a planted tank with substrate. You will only be disappointed with the results.