discus with bars

[twocat]

I purchased 10 discus that are abot 2 in. now. Most of them have bars on them however there are two that I have not seen any bars on, why?

[aalbina]

In all depends on the strains you purchased. Are they all the same strain? More importantly, at 2inches - it will be pretty hard to tell the strain unless you have a very experienced eye! If you are sure they are all the same strain: bars, some call them stress bars or mood bars, can come and go depending on what's going on with the individual fish. In the wild, when the fish feel endangered, the bars come up and the color fades a bit to allow them to blend in with their natural surroundings (vertical roots, vegetation etc.) and therefore avoid becoming a predator's dinner.

[Jhhnn]

Breeding of domestic discus has produced varieties with as much variation in that characteristic as in color. Several barless varieties exist, and modern snakeskins have 14 bars rather than the 9 of wild discus and most domestics. Some varieties breed true in that respect, like barless blue diamonds, while snakeskins will always throw some 9 bar non-snakeskin progeny...

Your little ones? Feed 'em a lot and change a lot of water- by the time they reach 4" or so, you'll have a much better idea what they'll look like as adults...

[Laconic]

I just purchased my first discus and they had full bars in the store but now they are gone so I guess they can fade if they are nervous then reappear. Who knows, they may all have bars after they acclimate....

[aalbina]

I just purchased my first discus and they had full bars in the store but now they are gone so I guess they can fade if they are nervous then reappear. Who knows, they may all have bars after they acclimate....

Actually, probably just the opposite - the bars were likely more visible in the store due to stress and not visible at home as the stress has subsided. Are they dark all over or brightly colored with no visible bars?

Adam