Stress Bars

[fishscale]

Can someone explain these to me? Do they always show up? Or are they determined by conditions the discus were raised in? Or is it a sign of how stressed the fish is presently? Personally, I like the appearance of stress bars, and I am wondering what controls that.

[Apistomaster]

The "mood" bars depend on just that, mood, but it also depends a great deal on what strain and what age your discus are.

Wild discus nearly always express their mood bars to some degree.as frequently the red turquoise strains also tend to do.

What kind of discus do you have and what are their size(s)?

New fish and subdominate fish will tend to express their bars the most.

[ShinShin]

Stress bars apparently have several functions in the wild. First off, they serve as camouflage in the often dark, root infested waters the discus generally live. Scientists, as well as discus hobbyists, also believe they are used as a form of communication, esp. in the pecking order, which can be demonstarted oftentimes in a large tankful of discus at feeding time, as well as breeding time. Fish in poor health will have their stress bars displayed, which makes sense since almost all discus diseases are srtess related.

Mat

[fishscale]

I don't have any discus yet, just trying to learn as much as I can. I'm still in college, so it might be a while before I have the time/money/space to set up a proper discus tank.

[crazie.eddie]

Nice to see you here as well as PTF. In addition, some species of discus do not display any stress bars, but as black spots, mainly near the nose/mouth area. This is known as peppering.

[fishscale]

hahah, it will be a while before I get discus, but I've got my eye on the prize

[tcyiu]

How many stress bars should there be??

I have one fish with 7 and I have two fish with 9.

In all 3 fish, the bars are always visible to some degree even when they are not fighting and just hanging out right next to each other. They all appear to be healthy.

It used to worry me, but now I just accept them as they are.

Tim

[GrillMaster]

Stress bars apparently have several functions in the wild. First off, they serve as camouflage in the often dark, root infested waters the discus generally live. Scientists, as well as discus hobbyists, also believe they are used as a form of communication, esp. in the pecking order, which can be demonstarted oftentimes in a large tankful of discus at feeding time, as well as breeding time. Fish in poor health will have their stress bars displayed, which makes sense since almost all discus diseases are srtess related.

Mat

I have a 125G tank with 8 WG's in it. What Mat has posted is exactly what goes on in my planted tank. They are all passive for the most part till feeding time. The bars really stand out on the least dominant fish and the exact opposite with the more dominant fish showing no bars at all. The dominant fish will pummel the others at feeding time. When feeding is done they all settle down an the mood bars fade.

Better than TV!!

tc
Mark

[happygirl65]

Better than TV!!

tc
Mark

I bet a 125g tank could be a nice subsitute for a 60 " plasma!

[GrillMaster]

I bet a 125g tank could be a nice subsitute for a 60 " plasma!

Cheaper too!!

tc
Mark

[happygirl65]

Oh yeah!

[YSS]

Cheaper too!!

tc
Mark

Nicely setup and well stocked 125G discus tank can be a lot more expensive than a 60" plasma.

[bs6749]

How many stress bars should there be??

I have one fish with 7 and I have two fish with 9.

In all 3 fish, the bars are always visible to some degree even when they are not fighting and just hanging out right next to each other. They all appear to be healthy.

It used to worry me, but now I just accept them as they are.

Tim

Most discus have 9 bars. Heckels have 9 bars as well but they tend to show a solid/more broad "5th bar" as I have learned it is called. Snakeskin discus have 14 bars and pigeon blood discus don't have any bars, rather they tend to get what is called "peppering" as stated above by someone else. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Also, blue diamonds, white diamonds, yellow diamonds, millenium golds, snow whites, etc... I've never seen one with stress bars. Does this mean that they are a type of "pigeon blood"? Could someone please explain.