Can anybody identify this 4 month old discus which I was recently given?

[scorpio]

/Users/davidgooch/Desktop/DISCUS-120520.jpg
I was told it is a Stendker Pigeon Blood, but somebody else has told me its a marlboro red...will the peppering go away? And how long before the markings become more prominent?
Many thanks.

[scorpio]

hmm...how do I get the pic to show?

[scorpio]

Lets try again

[scorpio]

nope....grrrr

[scorpio]

It says 'scroll down' after writing text,....which I have done...but nothing is there....is this a Mac thing?

[scorpio]

Trying again

[LizStreithorst]

Pigeon Blood

[danotaylor]

Pigeon Blood

+1 w Liz but it's hard to say if it's a Stendker as there is multituiof PB strains out there. The peppering is fairly light and looks to be where the (stress) bars would be located on a wild type discus. When you fish is stressed the peppering will be more evident, but it may not go away completely either.

[Willie]

It's not a Stendker. All Stendker strains have a very similar shape, particularly in the forehead, and this one does not.

It is an old fashion pigeon blood with peppering. Marlboro Reds would have a solid body, so this doesn't qualify either. Normally I would say that the peppering will be reduce as the fish grows. The total amount of peppering does not change so a larger fish will look less peppered than a younger version of itself. However, the eye to head ratio on this fish suggest that it's somewhat stunted and older than it may appear. I'm not confident that it's going to grow much more, so the ratio of peppering to non-peppering is unlikely to change.

[farebox]

Here's an short video of my Stendker Red Pigeon Blood from Discus Hans: https://youtu.be/gJMahEjLchI

[Willie]

Here's an short video of my Stendker Red Pigeon Blood from Discus Hans: https://youtu.be/gJMahEjLchI

If you look carefully at this video, almost all the fish share the same forehead shape. All Stendkers. :o

Willie

[scorpio]

I'm somewhat confused about the remarks saying this is not a Stendker, i accompanied the purchaser during the last week of February to Maidenhead Aquatics to buy this and another discus. Maidenhead are a main UK agent for Stendker. The purchaser is a neighbour and friend of mine and we were told the fish was a Stendker about 8 weeks old. Unfortunately, 2 months on and my neighbour is no longer able to carry out the water changes due to medical problems so she gave me the fish to look after. I realise it may not be a prize-winning shape, but it is reallly entertaining to watch and is a very young fish.....and has grown to almost twice the size it was when purchased 2 months ago.
I will go back to Maidnhead and tell them about Willie's remarks and see what their response is. If he's right I think its scandalous that a fish imported by a Stendker agent is selling fish claiming to be Stendkers when they are not. I do appreciate the comments though....many thanks.

[Willie]

When you view the linked video, every fish in the tank has the classic Stendker hump (outlined in a screen capture from the video). I've raised Stendkers from the time Hans first emigrated to the US and all the strains - except for Santarems - have this forehead shape.

127711

On some adults, primarily female discus, the forehead may slowly round out to reduce the effect of the hump. However, it's always there in young Stendkers and in most adult Stendkers as well. Your PB doesn't have this feature.

I can't foretell what your local distributor will claim, but the evidence is fairly clear.

Good luck, Willie

[scorpio]

Well I complained to the Manager of Maidenhead Aquatics...he was very upset because he said he only ever uses Stendker in Germany as his sole source for Discus. He gave me the email address of Stendker and suggested I send my photo to them for their comments.
I just received their reply as follows:
"As a juvenile fish the shape is good for this fish, so it can be a discus of us. The pettern let it look like a checkerbord and not as a simpl pigeon blood. The peppering is sometimes shown because of the water composition. So all in all it can be a fish from us."

Best reguards
V. Stendker
Diskuszucht Stendker GmbH & Co. KG
Am Holzbach 18
D-48231 Warendorf[/I][/I]

Thank you to everybody who helped me with this, and sorry for mentioning it in the wrong forum.

[scorpio]

127749Young Checkerboard starting to colour up.....picture on left is 16wks old....picture on right is 18 wks old.

[peewee1]

Is it possible that individual fish will, or will not, feature the Stendker shape head? This one example does not. I have a Malaysian bred female that does feature the "bump". I am now wondering if somewhere in her crossings there was a Stendker?

[sanjay21]

It can still be Stendkers, I’m not sure about all Stendkers having bump on the forehead .. here are my Stendker pigeons-
127752
127753

[Willie]

My previous comments have been misinterpreted. Many Stendker strains, WHEN YOUNG, have a characteristic bump on their forehead. (I see this in all Stendker strains except for their Santarems.) In my experience, the bump will grow out into a nice round head in adult discus with large water changes. This pair looks to be two that have grown out nicely.

It's not a criticism of Stendker discus shape, but an observation of their development. Likely, Stendker strains were developed from base pedigree that have a bump as young discus. If you look at the juvenile Stendkers in the following thread, you'll see that all of the fish have this bump.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?136504-My-4-quot-Stendker-Discus

With lots of water changes and good food, Stendker discuss will develop into nicely shaped adults. My point is how you raise discus will impact their appearance. A beautiful adult discus is the result of both great genetics AND great care. If a discus turns out poorly, often the blame can be shared between the seller and the hobbyist.

Similarly, Wayne Ng discus have a straight forehead when young. These will also grow into beautiful adults if handled correctly.

Willie

[LizStreithorst]

You're right, Willie. The care the fish get matters most. It's something that many people understand. I fish with excellent potential can look like crap if it's raised without proper care.

[scorpio]

Well, I've been keeping freshwater and marine fish for over 50 years, and one thing above all else that i've learnt, especially where Discus are concerned...is Never judge the shape or quality of a fish until it has grown.