Peppering

[Loosir]

So this is not a new issue by any means but I just wanted to share some first hand experience. I brought home 10 new discus last week and put them in a bare bottom tank with a black background. The 6 PBs immediately had light peppering. I assumed it was the black background so I painted it white. Nothing happened.
You can see the light brown, almost dark tanish wood of my stand through the glass bottom of my tank . So last night during a 95% water change I was able to paint the bottom of the tank white from below. Within 15min all pepper is gone. So first hand experience I agree its the color of the bottom not the sides that affects pepper.
That's all,
Thanks

[discuspaul]

That's been my experience as well. Agree.

[Larry Bugg]

Your experiment only tells you that the bottom does affect peppering. It however, does not tell you the back and sides don't affect peppering as you suggest. I believe the bottom sides and back all affect peppering and if you had painted the bottom first then you would have still had peppering and it wouldn't have cleared until you then painted the sides and back. Reverse order than what you actually did.

[Loosir]

Your experiment only tells you that the bottom does affect peppering. It however, does not tell you the back and sides don't affect peppering as you suggest. I believe the bottom sides and back all affect peppering and if you had painted the bottom first then you would have still had peppering and it wouldn't have cleared until you then painted the sides and back. Reverse order than what you actually did.

Hmmmmm. Well that makes sense. Guess I'll pull out the scrapers and try again!

[Larry Bugg]

Hmmmmm. Well that makes sense. Guess I'll pull out the scrapers and try again!

LOL, not worth the trouble.

[discuspaul]

Your experiment only tells you that the bottom does affect peppering. It however, does not tell you the back and sides don't affect peppering as you suggest. I believe the bottom sides and back all affect peppering and if you had painted the bottom first then you would have still had peppering and it wouldn't have cleared until you then painted the sides and back. Reverse order than what you actually did.

You may be quite right, Larry.
But I kept several pigeons in a tank with white pool filter sand and a very dark blue background (almost black) for nearly a couple of years, and never had a bit of peppering. That's not proof by any means, but it did give me food for thought. LOL

[Frankr409]

Keep us posted

[RyanGSP]

So peppering can be reversed? Is there a point of no return so to speak?

[pcsb23]

So peppering can be reversed? Is there a point of no return so to speak?

Sort of. If the fish has little to no apparent peppering and is then placed in an unsuitable environment it can, and often does, show pepper. If that same fish is the removed to a better environment then the pepper most often goes or significantly diminishes. However some pigeon bloods are heavily peppered and no matter how good the environment the pepper will not go, this is genetic.

[Loosir]

So here's some of my more recent experiences. The straight Pigeon blood did not stay pepper free like the other PB's. He ended up looking worse than this for a long time, this photo is from 10/20/14, I can't find worse because I didn't take photos of him looking so peppered. He really did look at lot worse then this photo, wish I took one a month ago.

But...... as of today the gradual lighting just looks like this, yay! To guess I'd say he's about 4", got him from Hans as a 2.5" 3 months ago.
[IMG][/IMG]
Anyway, yes genetics, yes environment. clean water and read this forum!
Geoff

[pancakeswim]

This is very interesting to read as a new discus owner. I bought 6, 3" fish from Hans about a week ago, and I did not notice any peppering at all when I was picking out my fish. I purchased two Cobalts, two Blue Diamonds , a Blue PB and a Marlboro Red. They went into a 70 gallon paludarium. This set up has a 3D background above and below the water and is heavily planted. The gravel has some browns, reds and whites, but mostly looks brown. Once in my tank, I noticed the PB Blue had peppering on its face as well as the stress bars. The MR is pretty clear of peppering except on one side where there looks to be a bit in one small spot. I was initially concerned that this was a stress reaction in the fish, but they seem very happy. I am happy to read that this is most likely a genetic expression and may be related to the environment rather than water quality. I am not concerned about the peppering ascteically as I am delighted with my new discus from Hans. They are beautiful!