Dark Background Question

[JL15219]

Hi,I am a new member of this forum and a new discus keeper...I have been reading several thread here and they have been very informative....I came across one that said if you have a dark background or dark substrate it tend to make the discus darker to to become peppered....I just got 4 discus for Christmas :D but the tank that I put them in has a dark background and an brownish orange substrate it is Schultz Aquatic Soil for the plants...What my question is if I let the plants grow tall enough to cover most of the black background will it prevent the discus from becoming dark or peppered? Or if you would grow a moss wall would that be better? Of the 4 I got one is orange but two are kind of dark and the other is peppered....I am guessing this is because of the stress they endured from the shipping...I have had them for about 24hrs....

[Eddie]

Cool Christmas present! Discus for Christmas is the best!

Welcome to Simply!

Creating enough background foliage will help but I do find the tank bottom or substrate to have a bigger impact on the fishes colors. Some people use white sand bottoms and have dark backgrounds, and the fish do not darken much.


Eddie

[JL15219]

Cool Christmas present! Discus for Christmas is the best!

Welcome to Simply!

Creating enough background foliage will help but I do find the tank bottom or substrate to have a bigger impact on the fishes colors. Some people use white sand bottoms and have dark backgrounds, and the fish do not darken much.


Eddie

Thanks...Yeah they are great I was completely surprised when I got them.....Do you think that the Schultz Aquatic Soil is too dark?

[Eddie]

Unfortunately I have no experience with substrate aside from Silica Sand. Some members have had really good results with using silica sand on top of different plant soils.


Eddie

[JL15219]

Unfortunately I have no experience with substrate aside from Silica Sand. Some members have had really good results with using silica sand on top of different plant soils.


Eddie

Oh okay....I think I might try to take out some of the Schultz Aquatic soil and add a layer of some pool filter sand that I have.....

[Eddie]

Oh okay....I think I might try to take out some of the Schultz Aquatic soil and add a layer of some pool filter sand that I have.....

That will really make a difference for sure. Take care and all the best with your Christmas presents.

Eddie

[zamboniMan]

Moss walls look really nice in discus tanks (in my opinion) plus they provide additional filtration if you put your intake behind it.

[JL15219]

Moss walls look really nice in discus tanks (in my opinion) plus they provide additional filtration if you put your intake behind it.

What do you mean if you put your intake behind it?

[JL15219]

I have another question when I got my discus I had a black background and brownish substrate...but since then I have completely taken off the painted black background and changed the substrate to pool filter sand.....but one of the discus still has a lot of peppering...is it because I initially put it in the tank with the dark background and substrate? Will it ever go away? It does not look very nice :mad: What is the best color for the background? Should I leave it with no background?

Thanks in advanced.....

[daboo]

Peppering can go away so I have heard. It hasn't happened to my discus yet but maybe I didn't solve the thing causing it. I have light tan gravel and wood and plants so I wonder if they contibute to peppering also.

I went from a dark blue background to a very light blue background. Since my HO T5 lights sit just above the tank in the middle what you see is a grayish-light blue. This is due light refraction through the glass. Placing the lights further to the front of the aquarium helps eliminate this somewhat since the light is coming in at a straighter angle to the glass.

If you are trying to decide what color to make your background go to a paint store and collect a bunch of color samples. Place them behind your glass and you'll get an idea what to use.

[JL15219]

Peppering can go away so I have heard. It hasn't happened to my discus yet but maybe I didn't solve the thing causing it. I have light tan gravel and wood and plants so I wonder if they contibute to peppering also.

I went from a dark blue background to a very light blue background. Since my HO T5 lights sit just above the tank in the middle what you see is a grayish-light blue. This is due light refraction through the glass. Placing the lights further to the front of the aquarium helps eliminate this somewhat since the light is coming in at a straighter angle to the glass.

If you are trying to decide what color to make your background go to a paint store and collect a bunch of color samples. Place them behind your glass and you'll get an idea what to use.

I also have plants and driftwood but didnt think that that contributed to the peppering affect :confused:

[mmorris]

I don't keep pigeons simply because of the peppering so I'm not the best to answer this, but as I understand it, peppering is determined by genetics, but dark substrate/background can bring it out. If the tank back and floor are light and the pigeon is still peppered, I would expect it to remain that way.

[scottishbloke]

Peppering can go away so I have heard.

When I moved my discus from a 55g to a 90g, I temporarily kept them (for a couple of days) in a large Rubbermaid 30g tub of a light beige, almost white color with a canister filter and heater hooked up to it. Surrounded on all sides by this color, within a day they had changed color so much they almost looked like albinos, especially my RGD whose black colored fin edges turned a translucent gray and almost disappeared entirely, the rest of the fish becoming pinkish-white. My Blue Diamond and my Flachen cross became extremely pale blue, almost silver, and the blue in my Penang Eruption and Penang x LSS virtually turned white as well. I must admit I did not like their new, washed-out looking colors at all. When they went into their new home, which is a BB with planted driftwood, no background except for the wall behind the tank that is painted a pale green, and a light bottom, they rapidly returned to their former colors, which are far nicer IMHO.

Colin

[Don Trinko]

Fish change color based on their suroundings. It is their natural form of camoflage.
I have 2 RT's that almost never showed bars when in a tank with a light blue background and white sand. I moved them to a tank with a dark blue background and normal sand. They now show the bars most of the time.
Don T.

[daboo]

I don't keep pigeons simply because of the peppering so I'm not the best to answer this, but as I understand it, peppering is determined by genetics, but dark substrate/background can bring it out. If the tank back and floor are light and the pigeon is still peppered, I would expect it to remain that way.

I have two Stendker discus. One I bought at a LFS and a Fire Red I bought from Discus-Hans directly (my avatar has the one bought at the LFS). Both had little peppering when I bought them. In my tank they developed peppering which did not change after I tried switching the color of the background. You don't see the peppering from further away but you notice it up close. It's not that big of a deal.

None of Hans' discus have appreciable peppering at his facility. There is another LFS selling Hans' discus and their Marlboro reds have developed a lot of peppering. Yes genetics is part of it, just like the patterns each discus shows is genetics, but environment does play a role. Others have said they saw the peppering go away with 1-3 weeks after changing the background. So this seems to be dependent on these two factors.

[mmorris]

Yes genetics is part of it, just like the patterns each discus shows is genetics, but environment does play a role. Others have said they saw the peppering go away with 1-3 weeks after changing the background. So this seems to be dependent on these two factors.

As I understand it a discus can only pepper if he has the genetic capacity to do so, and he can pepper only as much as his genes allow him to.

[daboo]

As I understand it a discus can only pepper if he has the genetic capacity to do so, and he can pepper only as much as his genes allow him to.
I think we both agree. It is genetics that allows him to do it. But there are factors that cause him to turn this capability on or off. Perhaps even the discus' response to those factors may be genetically influenced?

[JL15219]

Okay since it is genetics and I already changed the substrate to pool filter sand and dont currently have a background...and still show a lot of peppering that means that it is probably not going to go away? :(

[Eddie]

Okay since it is genetics and I already changed the substrate to pool filter sand and dont currently have a background...and still show a lot of peppering that means that it is probably not going to go away? :(

It also has to do with mood, environmental/water conditions and health.

[JL15219]

well I have been doing water changes of 75% every other day...water parameters seem in order...and he/she is always eating and is the first to try something new....Should I post a pic?

[Eddie]

well I have been doing water changes of 75% every other day...water parameters seem in order...and he/she is always eating and is the first to try something new....Should I post a pic?

If you have the water down and you know the fish is healthy, then it may just be the genetics. Some fish have heavy peppering and some have little to none at all.

Eddie

[JL15219]

If you have the water down and you know the fish is healthy, then it may just be the genetics. Some fish have heavy peppering and some have little to none at all.

Eddie

I believe he is healthy since he eats whenever food is available...but since I am new to discus not 100% sure if he is healthy or not......but like you and many have said might just be genetics.....

[mmorris]

You'd know it if he wasn't feeling well, I think. Sorry about the peppering. Not the greatest quality I suppose.

[JL15219]

You'd know it if he wasn't feeling well, I think. Sorry about the peppering. Not the greatest quality I suppose.

Yeah i guess i just got one that was not the best quality... :(

[Don Trinko]

Don't get all worked up over the peppering. It is only on opinion (majority opinion) That is is bad and it is strickly cosmetic. Most pigion bloods that are readily available will have some peppering. Don T.

[JL15219]

Don't get all worked up over the peppering. It is only on opinion (majority opinion) That is is bad and it is strickly cosmetic. Most pigion bloods that are readily available will have some peppering. Don T.

I know I shouldn't up over the peppering but this discus has a lot of peppering it just does not look that nice....if it had just a little peppering I would not mind it...