Why do a lot of strains resemble Turquoise?

[Raul-7]

Excuse my ignorance. From looking at a lot of the strains; you either have solid colors, hybrids or strains that all seem to resemble the Turquoise strain. Am I wrong? And why?

[brewmaster15]

Excuse my ignorance. From looking at a lot of the strains; you either have solid colors, hybrids or strains that all seem to resemble the Turquoise strain. Am I wrong? And why?

Hi Raul,
Most likely its because the striations on Discus are a wild Discus trait, They are present on all wilds to some degree and we have our domestics derived from wilds. Initially those striations and patterns so common on Turqs were some of the first patterns that worked on.

al

[Willie]

...They are present on all wilds to some degree and we have our domestics derived from wilds. Initially those striations and patterns so common on Turqs were some of the first patterns that worked on...

You have to be really, really old to know this. The first wilds first to be collected were solids. Striated fish were described as "Royal", e.g. Royal Blues, Royal Browns. So striations denoted higher quality, even though the striations seldom extend past the forehead. Jack Wattley is credited with the first domestic discus strain when he bred the Wattley Turquoise which had striations that extended across the entire body surface.

[brewmaster15]

Willie Im going to have to disagree alittle... just a little. After my stint buying and selling wilds Im sure of this.. there are no truly solid wilds. Even.the lowly browns and blues that were first collected have striations though they are mostly "solid".. usually in the head and towards the gills and towards the anal fins they have striations.. they werent really solids as we call some of our domestics. Though I know what you mean... I' m nit picking I know.
Other than that.. I agree.

Example..
Screenshot_20230918_155236.jpg

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...ghlight=Cameta


Then theres that whole issue of how blues throw all sorts of offspring that express varying degrees of striations from almost none to almost fully striated when they are bred.

I should probably clarify what I personally consider "Solid".. blue Diamonds, snow whites , full coverage reds, etc. I know some qualify 90% coverage as being a solid but it seems arbitrary to me.

[Willie]

Good point.

[LizStreithorst]

Thanks for the interesting chat, gentlemen.

[Tshethar]

Personally I love the horizontal striations on the "royals" and that one sees on wild Heckels. That quality of the Piwowarski turqs was something that attracted me to them. Was that more or less characteristic of the early Wattley's as well?

I'm not nearly as much a fan of the more contemporary turq variants that show a lot more variation in the patterning, ranging from tiger or maze or carnation patterns as opposed to a more "straight line" look. I'm sure I'd still be impressed by super high quality show specimens, but I can see why a classic turquoise is still a favorite for long time hobbyists...