discus strain ratings and pigeon types

[malcourt]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the different ratings they give to discus mean like select grade, AB grade, A grade and so on?

Also wondering if someone can tell me the different strains that have pigeon in them. I am trying to avoid peppering!

Thanks for any information you can give.

[danotaylor]

I have red melon, Marlborough yellow, red panda, and had a royal yellow as well, all of which a completely clean of peppering on the body. The red melon, royal yellow & panda has some black in the fins which reveal them as a PB type but as you can see the bodies are clean of peppering. You can buy PB types free of peppering, you just have to buy 5"+ fish so you can see that they're clean.
The big issue with peppering is breeding non PB fish to PB fish.
124446
Red melon
124447
Marlb yellow
124448
Red melon & red panda
124449
My old Royal yellow, also a PB type

[LizStreithorst]

I have red melon, Marlborough yellow, red panda, and had a royal yellow as well, all of which a completely clean of peppering on the body. The red melon, royal yellow & panda has some black in the fins which reveal them as a PB type but as you can see the bodies are clean of peppering. You can buy PB types free of peppering, you just have to buy 5"+ fish so you can see that they're clean.
The big issue with peppering is breeding non PB fish to PB fish.
124446
Red melon
124447
Marlb yellow
124448
Red melon & red panda
124449
My old Royal yellow, also a PB type

Looks like I was wrong about the red eye. Your Royal Yellow is a nice fish.

[peewee1]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the different ratings they give to discus mean like select grade, AB grade, A grade and so on?

Also wondering if someone can tell me the different strains that have pigeon in them. I am trying to avoid peppering!

Thanks for any information you can give.

The seller would be able to tell you which of his/her stock will most likely pepper. I now have a Blue Scorpion, Red White, Albino Gold, Leopard Snakeskin, three Alenquer (wild cross), and a Red Heckel cross. The only peppered fish is the Red/White. I do believe that the Albinos are pepper resistant.

[LizStreithorst]

I'd like to see a pic of your Red White. I'd have guessed that a Red White would be a non pigeon.

Yes, the thing to ask before or soon after you buy a fish, and you are trying to learn, any decent breeder will tell you if the fish you are considering is PB or non PB (Although I've seen them lie with hard to breed strains like Solid Yellows). See what I mean when it takes time and interest in Discus to figure it all out. I found out that something I thought wasn't necessarily true on this thread, I'm the old timer here and I learned I what I thought wasn't always true in this very thread. See what I mean?

As far as I know all albions are double recessive for the albino trait. Genetics of albinos is not my strong suite. It's due to my personal preference. I'm not fond of albinos.

[bluelagoon]

There should not be any peppering on albinos. The dark pigment is non exsistent in anything albino. They will always have pink or red pupils.

[dspeers]

Pink or red Iris The Iris is the pigmented part of the eye that "surrounds" the pupil, which is nothing more than an aperture to let light in. Abnormal pigmentation in the pupil is usually associated with a mass in the eye, or detached retina. ;)

[bluelagoon]

I thought that the pupil was the center of the eyeball. In non albinos, "just looks" black and in albinos "just looks" red. All 4 of my albinos had bright red centers and didn't seem blind. I just don't know how to upload pics and tired of trying. The iris was not that pink but rather redish and with white.