Half black half blue discus !!!!!!!!!

[EIHAB83]

Hello guys, the other day I was in a super pet store they have all type of fish you would think of, I started to talk with their staff about discus etcccccccccc. they said about two months ago they imported about 20 5" discus from Malysia ... the colour of the fish as he said it is rare .... he said the first half of the fish is black and the second half is blue (vertical halves) ....... it sounds very nice strain ... did u hear guys of such a strain!!! ???

[crazy4discus]

i never heard of a strain like that but if there is one i think would be pretty darn nice

[Abercrombie6202]

I'd really like a strain that was fully black with a bright red eye or a black one with white spots!! I guess i'm jsut going to have to make a strain like that, lol

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes, I've heard and seen picture of blue diamonds that are part black - usually it's the tail half

[beta]

I remember seeing a pic of a similar fish from one of the discus shows.

[EIHAB83]

Hi and thanks all for the replies, dear Carol and beta
do you have pics of this strain to share with us
EIHAB

[CliffsDiscus]

Are you talking about the Tuxedo type of Discus? They had this type of Discus around 20 years ago but they were not good sellers.

Cliff

[EIHAB83]

Hello Cliff, I am not sure mate what they are called
EIHAB

[beta]

I dont have the pic with me but i think i saw the pic in Discus Page Holland (dph)

[chirohorn]

Ask & you shall receive. Here's a fish I saw while at DallasDiscus:

I wanted to add that the owner stated that the color was not due to a disease. I asked because I've seen photos where sick discus had blackened back halves.

Addendum: This fish also came from Wattley/Gabe.

[Willie]

I've seen discus that are half black in a couple of hatcheries as well. In every case, the owner has said its not a disease. On the other hand, you never see a tankful of them, so its likely not a genetically transmissible trait.

I think (not claim) its a disease, likely some nerve damage that effects the pigment cells. The blackened area is always continguous, never spotty.

Willie

[Carol_Roberts]

RandalB:
Where is the photos you took (last spring?) of the discus seller in your area that used backgrounds with baloons and stuff? He had at least one blue diamond with a black rear end from Watley Discus (I think).

I tried to search, but couldn't locate that thread . . .

[EIHAB83]

Thank you for the pics :)

[Jorge las Heras]

I think you are talking about "Moon discus". I only have this little picture, sorry:

http://www.virtualpez.com/images/pez3.jpg

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Carol- Yes, the ones you remember seeing are from Wattley. I went down and saw them for my self before they went on sale last year. Wattley was calling them black tail blue diamonds. The parents were perfectly healthy blue diamonds, but im not sure if they are a seasoned pair or a new pair. I saw maybe 50 2.5 inch ones in a 90 gallon tank that time. Gabe had said that Jack had taken about 35 for him self to try and set the strain. So, hopefully within a few years we could be seeing some black tail blue diamonds that are a set strain.
I asked Gabe what Jack thought about them. He said that they were probably a genetic fluke that occurs once in a while even with the most seasoned pairs he had. Gabe was ready to throw the whole batch out because they had the black tails, but jack saw potential and saved them. I was tempted to buy a few, but decided to wait until/if Jack could set the strain.
The black portion of the body is a malignent(SP?) melanoma skin cancer. In plain english, the nerves that control the color for that portion of the body are paralyzed and cannot function normally. There have been some findings that this black portion of the body can go away due to the nerves healing slightly, but it does not happen until the fish is several years old. Other than the black portion of the fish, the fish is normally very healthy.
Recently I went back down there on a mini vacation to Miami and I didnt see any black tail blue diamonds at all. So, maybe it is a genetic fluke, or something in the water? Who knows.....

-Ryan

[yogi]

I live about about half an hour from the Wattley hatchery. I visit Gabe every couple of months. He has the black tail blue diamonds most of the time. I was never a big fan of blue diamonds to begin with. But the black tail ones I don't like I all. Maybe if they did reach the point of being truely half black and half blue they would look better.

[Shari]

I've read alot about this type of cancer in fish as well.
I happen to own one of Jack's black tail-blue's - yes a fluke and they are hoping for more...but if you know for sure we have a health issue let me in on it as Jack, Gabe and Jeff didn't mention that as being part of this particular Discus strain and I didn't pay what I paid for a cancer ridden fish!!!

(in fact since I got this one, I've seem quite a few more similar in the lfs's around here)

you got me worried now!

[ks]

hi,

there is a short Q&A article on this issue in diskus brief international, 1996, issue 2. but the journal cant offer any answer yet.

if this is due to some kind of deformity/cancer, hope any breeder dont sell it as 'special variety' fish :-\

[Shari]

My point exactly as I when I purchased some Wattley's I expect PUUURFECTION!

[daninthesand]

The black portion of the body is a malignent(SP?) melanoma skin cancer. In plain english, the nerves that control the color for that portion of the body are paralyzed and cannot function normally. There have been some findings that this black portion of the body can go away due to the nerves healing slightly, but it does not happen until the fish is several years old. Other than the black portion of the fish, the fish is normally very healthy.
-Ryan



Can you quote your source on this? I would be very interested in seeing this....

Thanks in advance.

Daniel

[O]

This was taken at Wattly's hatchery this July.

O

[O]

Another try...

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Daniel- Sorry I can't remember my source for this information. I read it a few months ago in a discus book and I can't remember the title of the book.

Im sorry if I caused such a comotion about this. I ment to say it is a NON-MALIGNENT. I am very sorry for the confusion. So, your fishes are safe!


sorry again for the confusion

-Ryan

[CliffsDiscus]

Try looking at Schmidt-Focke's Discus Book , there is a picture of a half black Discus.

Cliff

[korbi_doc]

;D ;D ;D Ok Ryan, glad you reversed that comment/opinion, now I don't have to challenge it! I have one of those BDs, also JWs. & guess what????? This fish demonstrated that caudal change to a dark blue-black tail base & tail,'bout 1/3 caudal body!! It was not permanent; has now changed back to a normal blue color. At the time, I was curious about it & almost sought after more info 'bout the genetic base for it, but when it changed back, I didn't bother. The fish is healthy & normal today, lol, Dottie 8)