red melon parents, orange progeny

[judy]

well, the red melons I have-- both beautifully coloured, have just begun their third successful spawn (optimistically-- we are at wiggler stage), but the first two batches all turned out to be not red melon, but a solid light orange-peach colour with black fins.
I am wondering why that would be...

[John_Nicholson]

How old are the orange babies? Young discus normally do not show adult colors unless they are hormoned.

-john

[judy]

well, the one I kept from the first batch is bigger than mom and is showing the shimmying signs of sexual interest when other mated pair in the display tank start doing their thing, so I think it's a young adult-- well, it has to be, it's a year old.

[mmorris]

It sounds pretty. Can you post a pic?

[judy]

http://www.wordsink.ca/orangediscus.jpg

[Rod]

Hi Judy, If i read your post right, this is the only one you kept from the spawn? Not all strains are set, sometimes there will be variation from individual to individual and yours looks like he won't have much red. You could try some astaxanthin in the food, it may help bring out stronger color.

Rod:)

[judy]

Yes, this is the only one I kept, but all the others (about twenty total) came up this colour, too. As did all the ones in the second batch of fifteen. I actually like this colour very much, but it's curious that there would not be at least some variation and a few that turned out more the colour of the parents.
There's a third batch brewing now. The wigglers are doing fine. It will be interesting to see if the pattern holds, which I suppose it will.

[kaceyo]

I've never bred red discus, so I don't know how true it is, but I've red that many, maybe even most red fish imported are colored with carophyll pink/red. Their offspring will never have the strong red colors of the parents unless they are also fed carophyll enhancers.
Maybe some breeders with red strain experience can chime in!

Kacey

[doc3toes]

can u post pics of the parents too? maybe there is something in their background genetics that is making them throw the orange. i would be curious about back crossing the orange offspring to a red parent and then see if u get red fry. cheers

[judy]

http://www.wordsink.ca/femaleparent001.jpg (http://www.wordsink.ca/femaleparent001.jpg)

This is momma, back in the main tank as once her eggs hatch she goes cannibal. Dad looks identical, only a bit larger. Can't get a decent shot of him as he is in the dimly-lit spawning tank guarding his wigglers...

[Runningfish]

The fins of the offspring look dark like the tip of the females fins. The color might just have changed from different genes being dominant or not.