Pairing within strains or cross strains

[Sir]

Hey All,
New here to this might sound like a silly question but do discus have any preference between strains when pairing?

For example, If I was to put 5 cobalt blue and 5 blood pigeons in a tank will it be more likely that they stay withing there strains or is it just as likely that they will pair cross strain.

Also, another question which may be obvious, if discus are grown out together from about 5/6cm to maturity are they as likely to pair as fish that have been introduced after maturing a bit more.

Thanks in advance for anybody who can help.

[brewmaster15]

Hello "Sir"!
Welcome to SimplyDiscus!

That question on strains is one we have had here in the past. The general consensus is that it doesnt matter to them and thats been my experience as well. We as hobbyists see all these strains as different by their color.. discus see discus. If a female is ready to lay eggs she will with whatever male she pairs up with.

As for the other question, it doesn't matter if they are grown together put together after adult.. if they are ready to breed and conditions are right..they will breed. That said... often times a way to trigger breeding is to mix things up. If you have a stable quiet tank, alot of times adding fish will trigger spawning.

Are you currently keeping Discus?

Al

[Sir]

Hey Al,

Not keeping any discus at the moment (just made a post in the beginners forum outlining my plan to get into the hobby) but very curious and doing as much research as I can before diving in and not thinking necessary about breeding just trying to learn as much as I can so do not do anything prohibitive if I do decide to go down that avenue in the future.

In addition to everything else I've been reading I watched your presentation on "The King of DIY"s channel recently and found it super informative and put my mind at ease about a lot of the more intimidating aspects that I imagine all new hobbyists come across. I know it was from a fair while ago but I assume nothing too drastic has changed when it comes to the basics.

I did have one nagging question though. I don't expect you to remember but you spoke about buying all your discus from one supplier as opposed to from multiple sources. If I purchased say 6 blood pigeons from 1 breeder it's more than likely that they are form the same spawn. The if they are kept together and pair does that level of inbreeding make the fry a lot more susceptible to genetic abnormalities or is it common practice in the hobby. I understand that fish from different breeders carry different immunities and different diseases but if quarantined properly wouldn't 2 from from 3 different breeders give you more genetically diverse and there for healthier fry.

Cheers,

[brewmaster15]

Its a fair question. It often does make sense to use stock that would offer genetic diversity. Two checkerboard pigeons from different suppliers should have different lineage making them potentially a better match up then siblings. Luckily most hobbyists that grow out a group of sibling and breed them to each other generally do not find inbreeding defects an issue. This is because generally speaking domestic discus are outcrossed, back crossed etc to all kinds of strains.

Its a good idea to outcross but when you are first starting out you will minimize issues by getting all stock at one time and growing out. You can always buy an adult if you suspect inbreeding to be an issue with that group of growouts. But most people raise a group and pair siblings with no issues.

Glad you got something useful from that video.. nothing in it is out dated that I know of.

Al

[KIAWAHKID]

But then again why does it appear that a heckel will much more readily mate with a non heckel- different species- than it will mate with another heckel, at least in an aquarium???

[brewmaster15]

But then again why does it appear that a heckel will much more readily mate with a non heckel- different species- than it will mate with another heckel, at least in an aquarium???

Jack, just saw this one. In most cases I have seen including here at my place its a male Heckel breeding with a domestic female. Usually the female in the pair initiates breeding as she is the one with the eggs. Males usually respond to cues given by the female. FEMALE domestics are much more likely to give these cues to a wild male heckel in a tank..then a female wild heckel is.. at least thats what I believe.