Red Discus

[mbruizer187]

Sanjay- if I could get a group of red covers like yours, and have them stay that color, man that is what I would want, with the exception of 1 or 2 males I guess!
Rich

[sanjay21]

Rich, I will PM you.

And yes mostly the most red ones on a brown based Discus are females. I will inbox you after my work. Thank you!

[Altum Nut]

Ok I have been searching since I started in the hobby(3 years ago), for a good red discus. I have looked through every post possible but people don't seem to update there pics years down the road from initial purchase. I see all these beautiful Red strains and I mean RED not some sort of shade of red, and that is from small sizes right up to 5-6 inches, but they are always breeder or importer pics. Does anyone have pics of a strain that holds red better than others and doesn't turn to a shade of orange? I know you have to feed with color enhancers to keep the red color but that still doesn't seem to keep them from turning orange. Please no pics with some weird special lighting to help it pop. If these importers/breeders can get the fish to be such a stunning red why cant we figure this out?

Thanks,
Rich

Hey Rich...you might want to check out one of Simply Discus Sponsors Carolina Discus and speak to Eric or Hanna....they have some exceptional Red Discus you can see for yourself http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...ut-on-facebook!

Cheers,
...Ralph

[mbruizer187]

Hey Rich...you might want to check out one of Simply Discus Sponsors Carolina Discus and speak to Eric or Hanna....they have some exceptional Red Discus you can see for yourself http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...ut-on-facebook!

Cheers,
...Ralph

I will check them out thanks, but again I am using this thread to see what these discus look like after people get them home and keep them in their tanks for an extended period of time. All vendors seem to have outstanding photos of RED DISCUS but they seem to change to orange most of the time, why? How do they keep them so red when young when they are suppose to have less vibrant color?

Rich

[mbruizer187]

So no other members with Red discus?

[Willie]

Among red strains, the reddest fish will always be female. Among red melons, Fuji reds, etc., mature males will not have an even, intensely red appearance. It's a matter of fish hormones. Estrogen like hormones promote red color. You'll see this disparity whether it's PB-type reds or brown type reds.

Willie

[HappyFace]

Among red strains, the reddest fish will always be female. Among red melons, Fuji reds, etc., mature males will not have an even, intensely red appearance. It's a matter of fish hormones. Estrogen like hormones promote red color. You'll see this disparity whether it's PB-type reds or brown type reds.

Willie

So another words, add estrogen to your water to increase the red in your fish---just kidding.

Some foods have estrogen in them or are known to increase estrogen. I wonder if they would help bring out the red in discus. Maybe add peas to their food?

[Willie]

So you've opened up a can of worms there, Heidi.

In fact, most red discus have been treated with estrogen type hormone to make them more attractive for sale. Some strains have had such a heavy dose that the fish are clearly stressed. If you breed discus, you'll know that even PB types do not develop much coloration until 4 - 5 months. If you see brightly colored 2" fish, its the hormone talking. High hormone doses at a young age can affect fertility. Much of the fading described here can be ascribed to hormonal treatment by sellers. Testosterone was used to make discus bluer, although that practice is no longer necessary since blue coloration is well developed.

Note that foods contain estrogen like compounds, but not estrogen. Those things do nothing to affect coloration.

Willie

[zhuls1]

So you've opened up a can of worms there, Heidi.

In fact, most red discus have been treated with estrogen type hormone to make them more attractive for sale. Some strains have had such a heavy dose that the fish are clearly stressed. If you breed discus, you'll know that even PB types do not develop much coloration until 4 - 5 months. If you see brightly colored 2" fish, its the hormone talking. High hormone doses at a young age can affect fertility. Much of the fading described here can be ascribed to hormonal treatment by sellers. Testosterone was used to make discus bluer, although that practice is no longer necessary since blue coloration is well developed.

Note that foods contain estrogen like compounds, but not estrogen. Those things do nothing to affect coloration.

Willie

Willie's dead right. That is why breeders do not use colour enhancers on their breeding stock. If you look at breeding stock from many breeders, they seem very pale in colour. This isn't because they have genetics, its because colour enhancers are not in the diet. This will also allow breeders to determine which discus have the best natural colours. Some of these discus live exclusively on BH.

[HappyFace]

Thank you for the insights Willie and Jack. It would be most ideal for the discus to be naturally all red.

I recall some things block estrogen from flushing out. Taking large doses of vitamin C blocks estrogen from flushing. I have had visible estrogen reactions to some supplements and herbs so there is a possibility that some natural things can affect estrogen even if they don't contain estrogen.

[HappyFace]

It would be great to see one or more Discus sellers respond to this post with pictures and any advise or insight into keeping red discus vibrant.

I have been on the hunt for all red discus since before I purchased my first discus. I plan to invest in a lot of $ on new discus in 1-2 months and red ones are on my list.

[kalawai]

Here are my different shades of Reds.
Attachment 114037

Gorgeous!